Pittston Dispatch // PD Columnists // Don Jacobs - Outdoors With Jake

Sunday September 14, 2008 | 07:53 AM

There is a perfect world and then there’s the reality of the real world. The prefect world would include months and months of practice time. The weekends would be all about getting ready for the upcoming hunting seasons. I would be spending countless hours in the field scouting for deer and then head to an archery range to spend a few hours shooting my bow. I would target practice with my rifle once a week and I would be a crack shot with a shotgun because of all the practice time I have. I would do all this while holding down a full time job, staying involved with my charities, sneaking in a little fishing and keeping up with the honey-do list (the list of house chores my wife has that is never ending). The perfect world would also include enough time to visit with family and sneak away monthly with Debbie for a romantic weekend. That’s the perfect world but it sure isn’t mine.

The reality of it all for me at least is that I try to cram as much as I can into a ten hour day. It very rarely includes the luxury of hours of practicing anything. Most of us have a hard enough time keeping up with the lawn and the daily demands of life. That’s why I felt it necessary to remind my fellow archers that the season opens in three weeks and we owe it to our quarry to be as efficient as possible with our bows and arrows. Three weeks is plenty of time to blow the dust off of your equipment and start shooting.

Even if you can’t make it to a range, it is a good idea to simply pull back your bow a few times every evening. This will help you get reacquainted with it and strengthen you arms along the way.

The first thing you should do before firing an arrow from it is to make sure of all the nuts and screws are tightened. They can loosen from lack of use and movement. When you can get out and practice shooting, try making your location as realistic as possible. Chances are that a number of trees as well as other obstacles will get in your way during an actual hunt. You can recreate these situations by practicing in a wooded area. The best practice is stump shooting. Pick various dead or rotting stumps in your hunting woods and shoot at unfamiliar distances. If you hunt from a tree stand, be sure to climb into one and shoot from it.

A few years ago I started practicing while wearing my hunting clothes.

Remember that watches, face masks, snaps, zippers, gloves and shirt pockets often cause problems in the field. By practicing in your hunting clothes, you will be aware of these issues and be able to correct them.

It is common knowledge that most archery deer are taken during periods of low light either in the early morning or evening. You should practice during these times to determine how effective your sights are in poor light. While any practice is better than no practice at all, it is a good idea to shoot practice arrows at a target that best represents the kill zones on a deer.

3-D targets are the best example of these. I know I hit the target with this story because I’m aiming for the archery season.

The 51st Pennsylvania Bowhunters Festival

If you are looking for a traditional way to get ready for the archery season, the Pennsylvania Bowhunters Festival may be what you’re looking for. The tradition started 51 years ago in Sullivan County. Every year since 1957, in mid-September, thousands of Bowhunters journey to the small town of Forksville, in Sullivan County for the Pennsylvania Bowhunters Festival.

Organizers say it’s the oldest gathering of Bowhunters in the world. The three-day event offers a wide variety of educational and shooting activities and events designed to prepare Bowhunters for the upcoming archery season while entertaining them at the same time.

This year’s festival starts on Friday September 19 and wraps up on Sunday, September 2. The Festival features the famous “Forksville Running Deer” target, mechanical bear and turkey targets, pop-up and moving small game targets, a timed clay pigeon shoot, stationary targets set at variable distances, and three game trails designed to simulate bow hunting in a northern hardwood forest. All targets are McKenzie style 3-D targets. There are vendors and manufacturers, clinics and seminars, entertainment, and great food.

All profits from the Festival are donated directly to Sullivan County charities, youth groups, school teams and clubs, and service organizations. These include Scouting Troops and Packs, Youth Baseball and Soccer Leagues, 4-H Groups, Food Pantries, Volunteer Fire Companies, Volunteer Ambulance Services, Victim Services, Scholarship Funds, School Clubs and Athletic Teams, the Library, and many more.

For a complete listing of activities and to register for events, go to their website at www.pabowhunters.com.

Youth Waterfowl Hunting Day

Next Saturday, September 20 is a day of duck hunting just for the youth. It is open to licensed junior hunters ages 12-15 as long as they are properly accompanied by a licensed adult. These young hunters can harvest ducks, mergansers, moorhens and coots, and Canada goose. The regular season for duck hunting begins in mid-October.

Out of the Darkness Walk

It’s not too late to be part of the “Out of the Darkness Walk” sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). The AFSP is the leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research and education, and to reaching out to people with mood disorders and those impacted by suicide.

The walk starts today at Kirby Park with registration beginning at 1:00 this afternoon. The actual walk begins at 2:00 and will make its way through Wilkes-Barre and back to Kirby Park. By walking in the 2008 Out of the Darkness Community Walks to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), you will be walking with thousands of people nationwide to raise money for AFSP’s vital research and education programs to prevent suicide, save lives, increase national awareness about depression and suicide, and assist survivors of suicide loss.

Everyone is welcomed to join us for today’s walk. For more information on Out of the Darkness walks, visit their website at www.afsp.org and click on Out of the Darkness Walks.