Nine Bar Ranch Blog
As Temperatures Continue to Rise, How Can Texas Hunters Beat the Heat?
Can Texas Hunters Beat the Heat?
As much of the planet is heating up faster than anyone expected due to global warming, outdoor activities can become a challenge. Avoiding heat stroke, sunburn, sun poisoning, or worse heat-related ailments is exceedingly important if you venture out of doors to enjoy your favorite hobby. Here in Decatur, we’re facing rolling heat advisories and a heat index of 100 or higher, and there’s no end in sight. How can Texas hunters beat the heat? Read on for our top tips.
Wear the Right Gear
Selecting the right hunting apparel presents a significant challenge in summer. When you’re on a hunt, your clothing needs to serve three purposes: repel bugs, provide sun protection, and help with temperature regulation. Though it may seem counterintuitive in high temperatures, you’re still going to want plenty of coverage from your clothing.
Make sure that every layer is moisture-wicking, down to your underwear. Opt for synthetic blends that provide breathability, UPF protection, and odor elimination. You’re bound to break a sweat, and odor-eliminating clothes can keep game from picking up your scent.
Head Out When the Sun Is Down
Don’t just glance at the reported high when deciding if it’s a good day to hunt. Pay close attention to the heat index, also commonly referred to as “real feel temperature,” which takes into account factors like sun exposure and humidity to calculate how hot it will really feel.
Believe it or not, direct sunlight can increase the real feel by up to 15 degrees. Because of this, you’re better off hunting before dawn and after dusk, which isn’t a bad idea for a number of reasons. Animals are also looking to beat the heat, which means they tend to do most of their activities when the sun is down.
Recognize Heat Exhaustion Signs
If you’re going to hunt in the summer, you need to know when it’s time to call it a day before any serious health events occur. Do your best to prevent heat exhaustion by staying hydrated, taking breaks, and avoiding direct sun. Keep a very close watch on everyone in your hunting group, especially those who may be more sensitive to the heat, like older hunters or those with an existing health condition. The second you note that someone in your party is exhibiting signs of heat exhaustion, such as pale skin, weakness, dizziness, or muscle cramping, it’s time to bring your hunt to an end and head back to your camp at the Nine Bar lodge.
On-property lodging makes it easy for hunters to maximize their hunting successes while planning around the heat. Contact us to schedule your next trip to Nine Bar Ranch.
Tips for Introducing Your Tween to Texas Deer Hunting
This November, deer season will begin once more in Texas. If you are the parent or guardian of a pre-teen, this could be the perfect time to bring them out with you on your hunts. On the other hand, you may be daunted at the prospect of pulling your child’s attention away from their devices, waking them before dawn, and asking them to sit quietly in a blind for hours in the cold. Try not to stress too much! We’re here to help with our best tips for introducing your tween to Texas deer hunting.
Tip #1: Start With a Low-Stakes, Action-Packed Hunt
A common mistake we see is parents taking their children out to hunt deer at 4 am as their first hunting experience. The kids are miserable, they don’t associate the outing with anything enjoyable, and they certainly don’t take down a deer in their first season.
Avoid this pitfall by taking your tween out ahead of the season to hunt squirrels, doves, or even grasshoppers and lizards. The main objective is to keep your child moving, motivated, and hunting game they’re able to take down on their own.
A dove or squirrel hunt is also the ideal opportunity to teach your child how to clean their kills. Starting small can help them get used to this process incrementally, thus hopefully making it easier for them to understand and feel comfortable with the cleaning process for deer.
Tip #2: Allow Your Tween to Dress Comfortably
Rather than insisting that your tween be kitted out in the newest camo patterns, allow them to choose weather-appropriate clothing of their own that fits the general color scheme for staying hidden. Muted greens, browns, and khakis can all work just as well as camouflage, especially when your pre-teen will be spending the morning waiting in a blind.
This bit of independence is especially important to children at this age, and by giving yours this responsibility, you will be communicating your willingness to trust your tween to make smart choices.
Tip #3: Protect Their Ears
The tiny hairs deep in your child’s ear are fragile and irreplaceable. Once damaged, they cannot regenerate or be repaired. Please insist that your child use ear protection, properly fitted and worn, before every single shot is fired. Instill this habit now, and your child will continue to use proper ear protection on every hunt throughout their lives.
Perhaps just as important, model this behavior yourself! If your child is told to protect their hearing, but sees that you do not protect yours, they are far more likely to think of this precaution as something only necessary for children. Hearing loss is tragic, painful, permanent—and usually preventable!
Tip #4: Let Them Bring Their Devices
We have seen plenty of parents and guardians insist that their kids leave their devices at home, then act irritated and surprised when children and tweens cannot sit still and silent for hours waiting for deer to walk by the blind. We recommend allowing them to bring their devices, quiet snacks, plenty of water, and allowing them to create positive associations with the hunt.
Spending time with you, learning about the process of the hunt, helping wherever they can, and gradually working up to taking down large game is the way to create positive memories. If a smart phone, tablet, or portable gaming device brings you closer to this ultimate goal, there’s nothing wrong with bringing it along.
Tip #5: Manage Your Expectations
Your child is not going to be the perfect hunter from the first outing. They will make too much noise, they’ll move too much, they’ll ask too many questions, they’ll slow you down, and yes, they will wear you out.
And that’s okay. That’s just the nature of introducing your tween to the hunt. Expect each of these issues, plus several more, and you’ll be better equipped to be patient and positive throughout the outing.
Over the next few years, your tween will come into their own as a hunter. Before long, they’ll surprise you by sitting silently in the blind without distraction, watching the morning mists carefully for signs of movement. Finally, they’ll take down their own buck, handle most of the cleaning, and even help cook up the venison that winter.
As proud as you’ll be in that moment, there will be a part of you that misses the days when a talkative, bouncy, distractible tween scared off deer after deer. Enjoy each age and stage along the way, nurture your child’s love of the outdoors, and you’ll have years ahead of you to enjoy your child as a capable hunter at your side.