![A broadhead Toby designed and has been field testing. Thus far, he is very pleased with its performance. [Photo by Toby Benoit]](https://www.hernandosun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1000001266.png "1000001266")
It’s about time…. I’ve been waiting all year for another opening day of archery season. And this Saturday, September 14th, at thirty minutes prior to sunrise, the opening day of archery season 2024, will officially begin. It’s a beautiful time of the year.
I’m doubly excited for opening day to arrive. Not only for the purely, peaceful joy of the sport of bowhunting but for the delicious, free-range venison I’ll be adding to my supper table. It’s much needed as I ran out of venison some time ago and have been dining far too frequently on wild pork and chicken bought from the store. I have definitely been missing that organic red meat!
I know I’m not alone. Everywhere I go, I see folks making plans, prepping their gear, and sharing with me their opening day strategies. Of course, I share my own plans for filling up a cooler or two. The planning of the day is almost as fun as the day itself.
There has been a very mild acorn drop recently. The main drop is yet a couple of weeks away. That’s excellent news for the corn pile crew. Those little golden nuggets will remain quite an attractant for a while yet. It’s good news for those of us planning an ambush along the travel routes. The need for feed will keep them on their feet and moving a bit longer and more often prior to the main acorn drop.
Just be aware, that once the acorns do begin to fall in high quantities, you will want to adjust your strategies accordingly. Corn piles will no longer hold the same appeal and travel patterns all change. That’s the time of year when I begin to target bedding areas and plan all-day hunts.
My bow and arrow set up this year will be a 45# Black Hunter, takedown recurve, which I purchased a couple of years back from Golddiggers and Gunslingers in Inverness. From that now, I’m firing aluminum arrows, crested and fletched with five-inch parabolic feathers, in a right-hand helical pattern. I have tipped those arrows with 125 grain and cut them on contact broadheads of my own design. I used them last year with great results and have great confidence in them. I haven’t even named them yet, but I am open to suggestions. By next season, they should be available on the shelf at a Bass Pro Shop near you.
If I could find a single thing to gripe about, it’s the heat and humidity. Oh yeah, it’s going to be hot, sweaty weather. I’m going to wear my lightweight 3-D camo. It’s a breathable mesh that really helps me stay cool. I’ll be adding a few frozen water bottles to my day pack each morning I leave the house. As they melt, I can enjoy good cold water to keep hydrated and cool my core temperature.
Hunting from the ground, eye to eye with the deer, I don’t like the extra movement involved with drinking often, but I will risk it as the last thing any of us needs is to get sick from the heat. So, stay cool, be safe and good luck, and send me a note of your success at [email protected]. God Bless, and good hunting!
Toby Benoit is a best selling novelist and professional outdoors-man with thirty-five years of experience guiding and outfitting for big game all across America. Toby is a renowned archer and turkey hunting expert who manufactures custom game calls and is a regular judge at NWTF sanctioned turkey calling events across the Southeast.
