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SUMMER PREP EQUALS A BETTER FALL DEER SEASON
Don't wait until the season starts.
It’s hard to think about frosty mornings at hunting camp this time of the year. The outside temperature for many of us is still hovering around the triple-digit mark, and the air is so thick you could probably squeeze water out of it if you made a fist. But now is exactly when you need to be putting in the work for the upcoming season.
UPGRADE YOUR GEAR
Think back to last season. Did a fogged scope cost you a big buck? Did your treestand squeak when you tried to get into position for a shot? Did you leave a hunt early or skip going out altogether because of inclement weather?
Now is the time to remedy all those problems. Available stock on sporting goods always seems to be in short supply just before season. Don’t wait until the gear you need is sold out before you start shopping. Purchasing early also allows you to get familiar with your new equipment, particularly firearms and optics. Not having to stop to think about where the safety is on a new rifle can mean the difference in getting off a shot and watching your quarry disappear into the cover.
Summer is also a great time to score deals on merchandise that will be full price as fall and early winter hunting seasons draw near. Many retail and online suppliers drastically mark down leftover merchandise from last season before new stock comes in, and you might be able to upgrade gear that needs replacing without spending as much as you will later on.
PUT IN THE RANGE TIME
Not everyone is lucky enough to have the space to safely practice with their favorite hunting firearms on private land. That means regular trips to a public shooting range or an investment in a gun club membership will be the solution. As hunting seasons draw near, these ranges get crowded, though, and long waits, lots of distractions and short time limits don’t make for quality practice time. Go to those same ranges in the month or so before the official start of autumn and you often have them to yourself. That means more time to work with multiple firearms, less downtime for target changes and easy access to multiple lanes for various firing distances.
MOUNT A NEW OPTIC
If a fogged or malfunctioning scope messed up last year’s deer season, now is the time to upgrade. You’ll need a few tools to mount a new scope to your rifle, starting with a set of gunsmithing screwdrivers with bits that fit tightly into your scope mount choice. The right bits lessen the chance of one slipping out and scratching your rifle or scope. A quality torque screwdriver, preferred by many gunsmiths, can also prevent overtightening a screw and either snapping it off or stripping the threads. Most scope manufacturers recommend 20 to 25 pounds of torque to adequately tighten screws without causing damage.
To keep your screws from backing out from repeated recoil, a drop of thread-locking compound like Loctite applied to the screw threads before tightening is a good idea. Clean the screws with alcohol or a commercially produced gun scrubber to remove any oil from the threads before applying the thread locker.
When it comes time to mount the scope, place your rifle (unloaded, of course) in a vise and, while sitting in a normal shooting position, adjust the scope back and forth until you can see the full scope diameter while looking through it. A dark ring around the view means your scope is too far away. Slide it back a bit until you get a full view through the scope. Take care not to move the scope too far to the rear—no one likes to get cracked in the eye by their scope when their gun recoils. For most scopes, three to four inches between the scope’s eyepiece and your eye—the eye relief—is about right. The scope’s manufacturer also states the eye relief for whatever model you have.
Once you have your scope positioned correctly for eye relief, use a scope level to ensure your crosshairs are vertical. (Tip! A scope level also helps you keep your rifle aimed in a level way and can help you correct cant, or tilt, in your gun before you pull the trigger.) When everything is to your liking, apply the thread locker and install the screws to the recommended torque. Tighten them in rotation—left, right, front, back, repeat—until tight. Give the thread locker 15 to 30 minutes to dry before firing your rifle.
STOCK UP ON AMMO
Walk through the ammo section of your favorite store these days (the summer of 2020, with coronavirus pandemic news still in focus) and the empty shelves might shock you. You may have to do some internet digging, place an order with your favorite retailer or start hitting the road to find a dealer further out that stocks what you need now, because if you wait until just before season to stock up, and you might be plumb out of luck.
Not every firearm shoots well with every brand of ammo or even every load within a brand. Luckily, hunters have a dizzying number of choices across just about any caliber imagined, and summer, with its less-crowded ranges, is a good time to get together with your hunting buddies and compare loads. If you happen to shoot the same caliber, share a few loads with each other and test them in your rifle. You might find a new favorite.
Don’t know anyone who shoots the same caliber you do? Pick three to four factory loads with different velocities, bullet weights and styles applicable to the game you hunt and test each one. Chances are good that one will outperform the rest. Once you’ve found your load, stock up all that you can (especially in this unusual year) to get you through the season so you don’t find yourself scrambling to find more when inventories are at their traditional lowest.
The one caveat about summer rifle shooting is that once temperatures do drop, you’ll want to hit the range again and confirm your zero. This is especially true for really cold mornings. The first shot out of a cold rifle is going to be the same cold shot you take on a deer, so you want to know where it’s going to go, and it’s likely going to be different than that first shot out of a barrel on a 90-degree day. Shoot often and reconfirm as conditions dictate. It’s all about knowing your gun.
SAFETY CHECK FOR TREESTANDS AND OTHER GEAR
Summer—not the weekend before season opens—is the time to get out treestands, ladders, climbing sticks, harnesses, and safety ropes for a safety inspection. (Stand placement and placement timing are a column all their own; we’re concerned with safety here.)
Check stands for worn straps or chains, rusted bolts and cables and any missing nuts or hardware. Most companies offer replacement parts for stands, allowing you to do any needed maintenance to keep you safe.
Go over your safety harness and safety ropes, inspecting for worn, nicked or frayed areas. Check clips and carabiners, too, to make sure they open and close correctly and aren’t bent or dented. Lubricate any moving joints on stands and other equipment so they will operate quietly while hunting and to give any lingering odors time to dissipate before season. If a squeak got you busted last year, the value of this will not escape you.
Besides eliminating the worry and stress of rushing to get everything together at crunch time, knowing your gear is ready to go frees up your fall for important things like scouting, hanging stands and running trail cameras. As your hunting buddies rush frantically from store to store trying to locate everything they need for the upcoming season, you’ll be kicking back, making a game plan for getting in close to a big buck.
The Right Way to Clean and Store Your Hunting Rifle
Properly caring for your deer gun’s barrel and action ensures it’ll be ready to go again next fall
Deer season is over, and now is the perfect time to give your rifle a thorough annual cleaning. Store your gun in a secure and rust-free environment and it will be in good working order when you break it out for a range session in a few months.
Gun-Cleaning Gear
To do the job right, you need to secure your rifle horizontally in a vise. A vise attached to a workbench at your house will work fine. Or you can purchase a portable gun vise from a company that specializes in firearms-cleaning accessories.
Spend $40 or more for a universal gun-cleaning kit, which will include a three-piece bore rod and an assortment of jags, brushes, patches, and other accessories for cleaning not only your bolt-action, but also other handguns and long guns that you own.
Also, and this is important, purchase a bore guide, which will protect the bore and action of your rifle by properly aligning the cleaning rod as you work.
You’ll need a quality solvent like Hoppe’s No. 9 for swabbing the bore, and a gun oil like Break Free CLP (best I’ve used for preventing rust) for wiping down the exterior of your rifle.
5 Steps to a Shiny Bore
Fit the cleaning rod with a jag of the proper caliber, and insert a clean patch into the jag’s slot. Soak the patch in bore solvent. Run the rod and wet patch through the bore guide and down the barrel, always working from breech to muzzle, the same way a bullet travels.
Run a dry patch through the bore and look to see how dirty it is when the patch comes out the muzzle. I’m going out on a limb and saying that patch will be pretty black with carbon because you probably haven’t done a deep bore clean in a while.
Run one or two more soaked patches through the bore. Remove the jag, screw on a bronze brush of the correct caliber and soak it in solvent. Push the brush through the bore and out the muzzle, then pull it back until it exits the chamber. Repeat brushing 10 times.
Remove brush, go back to the jag and run two or three more soaked patches through the bore. Loosen the rifle in the vise, tilt the muzzle slightly down to keep solvent from running back into the action and re-tighten. Allow the bore to soak for 30 minutes to an hour.
After the soak, run dry patches through the bore until the last patch out is pure white, and the bore is shiny.
Rifle Storage
Wipe down the action, trigger guard, scope, barrel, and all exterior metalwork of the rifle with a light coat of gun oil. When I plan to store a rifle for two months or more, I run one last patch dabbed with a light coat of oil into the bore to prevent rust.
To further avoid rust, firearms should be stored in an environment that stays around 70 degrees F year-round with humidity of 50 to 55 percent. It is best to lock all your guns and ammunition in a gun safe. At the very least, secure firearms and ammo in a closet or room that you lock tight. Affix trigger or cable locks to all guns for added security and peace of mind.
When you break out your rifle for a practice session before next deer season, run a dry patch through the bore to remove trace oil. Then get to shooting. I think you’ll be impressed at how much tighter your groups are from the squeaky-clean barrel.
Hunting Seasons in Kentucky 2025: Big Game and Small Game, Licenses, and Regulations Guide
Plan your 2025–26 KY hunt with our state‑by‑state guide—season dates, bag limits, licenses, bow & rifle rules, and key game species from whitetail deer to wild turkey to ducks. Whether you’re drawing your rifle for fall deer seasons in ridge‑and‑valley woodlands or slipping into flooded timber for early teal flights, Kentucky offers diverse opportunities backed by clear regulations and accessible licensing.
What Is There to Hunt in Kentucky?
Kentucky’s varied landscape of hardwood forests, farmlands, and river bottomlands supports abundant game: whitetail deer, wild turkey, black bear, furbearers like raccoon and opossum, and predators such as coyote. Waterfowl hunters pursue ducks, geese, and light geese across public and private wetlands, while small‑game enthusiasts chase rabbits, squirrels, grouse, and quail in the state’s rolling hills.
What Animals Can You Hunt Year‑Round in Kentucky?
On private lands, unprotected or open‑season species like coyote, groundhogs, and furbearers (raccoon, opossum) carry no closed season and no bag limits, offering off‑season predator‑control and trapping opportunities. Public‑land hunts must still follow season and method rules set by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
Kentucky Big Game Hunting Seasons 2025–26
Whitetail Deer
Archery (Rifle‑season archery): Oct 1 – Dec 31, 2025
Firearms: Nov 21 – Dec 1, Dec 5 – Dec 28, 2025
Muzzleloader: Dec 2 – Dec 4, 2025
Youth Deer Hunt: Oct 24 – 25, 2025
Kentucky’s deer seasons include extended archery windows overlapping rifle and muzzleloader splits. Bag limits and local WMU quotas ensure balanced herd management across zones.
Wild Turkey (Spring)
Season: Apr 6 – May 25, 2026
Youth Hunt: Mar 30 – Apr 5, 2026
Fall Turkey: Sept 1 – Sept 30, 2025
Calling in gobblers across oak ridges and creek hollows, spring turkey hunters choose bows or shotguns under season‑specific permit rules, while a fall archery season offers additional opportunities.
Black Bear
Fall Season: Nov 1 – Dec 31, 2025 (quota‑based permit)
Limited bear harvests via draw permits help maintain healthy populations; hunters must follow strict tagging and reporting protocols.
Kentucky Small Game & Waterfowl Seasons 2025–26
Small Game & Upland Birds
Rabbit: Oct 1 – Feb 28, 2026
Squirrel: Sept 1 – Feb 28, 2026
Ruffed Grouse: Sept 1 – Jan 15, 2026
Bobwhite Quail: Dec 1 – Jan 31, 2026
Shotgunners and bird dogs patrol field edges and hardwood ridges for small game opportunities throughout fall and winter.
Waterfowl & Migratory Birds
Ducks & Geese: Nov 7 – Dec 13, Dec 21 – Jan 31, 2026
Youth Waterfowl Day: Oct 24, 2025
Rails & Coots: Sept 1 – Oct 13, 2025
Shooting Hours: Sunrise – sunset; non‑toxic shot required
Kentucky’s waterfowl seasons align with migration through the Mississippi Flyway, with daily limits designed to sustain healthy waterfowl populations and robust license revenues.
Bag Limits by Species
Whitetail Deer: 1 buck per license; antlerless tags via WMU quotas
Wild Turkey: 1 gobbler per spring; fall archery youth only
Black Bear: 1 per permit
Ducks: 6 per day; sub‑limits on mallard and teal
Geese: 5 Canada geese per day
Rabbit & Squirrel: 8 per day each
Coyote & Furbearers: No limits on private lands
Bag limits combine season length with daily limits to achieve management objectives; confirm WMU‑specific quotas and harvest reporting duties.
License & Tags Information for Kentucky Hunters (2025–26)
All hunters must carry a valid Kentucky hunting license and appropriate permits:
Resident License: ~$25
Nonresident License: ~$175
Deer Harvest Permits: Antlered and antlerless, drawn or OTC by WMU
Turkey Permits: Spring applications; fall archery open OTC
Waterfowl Stamps & HIP Registration: Required for ducks and geese
Hunter Education: Mandatory for hunters born after Jan 1 1990
Licenses and permits fund conservation and access programs; purchase early and note draw deadlines for limited hunts.
Hunting Methods: Bow, Rifle, Muzzleloader
Kentucky permits multiple gear types:
Archery: Compound, recurve bows, crossbows (archery seasons)
Firearms: Center‑fire rifles, shotguns with slugs during firearm seasons
Muzzleloaders: Single‑shot black‑powder firearms in designated windows
Dogs & Bait: Permitted for raccoon and turkey under specific guidelines
Weapon choice must align with season regulations and WMU restrictions to maintain safety and fair chase.
Regulations & Resources
Kentucky DFW regulations include:
Shooting Hours: Sunrise to sunset; migratory birds vary
WMU Boundaries: Defined for deer, turkey, and waterfowl seasons; maps online
Mandatory Harvest Reporting: Required for deer and turkey
Special Zones: Wildlife management areas, DOW properties, and bait restrictions
Before you head out, always verify season dates, bag limits, and license requirements on the official Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources website to stay compliant and ensure a legal, ethical hunt.
This guide was created based on information from the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources (KDFWR): https://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/default.aspx
With extensive archery and firearms seasons, generous small game and waterfowl opportunities, and accessible license structures, Kentucky delivers rewarding hunts across its woodlands, fields, and wetlands. Secure your permits, review WMU quotas, and prepare for a safe, ethical 2025–26 hunting season in the Bluegrass State.
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