Season is Coming - A Checklist for Opening Day

The most anticipated time of the year is upon us…Opening Day! As you and your hunting mates plan the first big trip, it’s important to ensure you’re fully prepared for what lies ahead. There’s nothing worse than getting out in the field and realising you’re missing equipment, something got damaged in storage, or worse, your best hunting mate isn’t ready. Here’s a quick checklist to go through to make sure you’ve got smooth sailing on Opening Day:

1. Health Check: We always like to schedule our dogs’ well visits a few weeks before the season starts just to be certain our best hunting partners are prepared for a strong and healthy season. It’s always wise to have your vet’s approval of your dog’s health before anything goes awry in the field. Also, if your dog is on any medication this is an excellent time to get refills to ensure you’re well-stocked for any upcoming trips.

2. Equipment check: If you’ve not used your equipment in a while, go ahead and pull it out now. Give the gun a good clean, check the batteries on all your e-collars, check for holes in any field clothing. You do not want to be in the field and realise you forgot to charge your collar. If your e-collars are a few years old, it might be a good idea to go ahead and order backup batteries to ensure they’ll last through the season.

3. Paperwork: Having everything in order several weeks before your trip will help reduce stress when it's time to enjoy your hunt. Ensure you have all the proper tags and permits for the area where you'll be hunting. Check the destination for any required paperwork for your dog and obtain that from the vet, and make sure your hunting licence is stored in a convenient place for easy access by wildlife officers.

4. First Aid Kits: Nothing spoils a day out in the field like a sudden emergency. It's wise to have a sizeable first-aid kit in the car for major emergencies, but also carry a compact one for use in the field. This should contain plasters, creams, adrenaline auto-injectors or similar emergency medications for your dogs and shooting companions, and a painkiller/antipyretic. For those of us fortunate enough to have encountered few field emergencies, this is an easy one to overlook, but should you find yourself in a situation where you need it, you'll be kicking yourself for not having it.

Getting all this ready to roll now will help you and your hunting partners make the most of Opening Day and all the trips to follow. Do you have anything else you swear by for must-have field gear? Let us know.

Happy Hunting!