Deer camp stories

Ten Ways to Protect, Improve Your Deer Camp

Whether you have a fancy cabin with all the comforts of home or something more rustic to get away to on a deer hunting weekend, it’s never a bad idea to do a few improvements.

I’ve stayed in both kinds of places for hunting trips. Some, literally, have been jaw-dropping stunners that reminded me of something from Garden & Gun or Southern Living. Gorgeous. Hardwood floors, tile in the mud room, and so on. Not a durn thing wrong with that, either. Others have been akin to Uncle Scooby’s shack in the woods, with rough-hewn unfinished walls, dirt in the corners, a wood-burning stove that probably has ashes from the Nixon Administration and so on.

Deer camp stories
Winterize your deer camp with a few simple things to make it more comfortable and safe.

I like both of them. To me, you’re no less of a hunter if you’re enjoying a camphouse with nice things and don’t want to track mud through the den to watch the game on the big screen TV. And you’re not a gross slob if you enjoy that rustic hideaway like Uncle Scooby had it 28 years ago. To each his own.

But in each of those scenarios, I’ve seen little things: cold wind coming in around windows, leaky faucets, gutters stuffed with heavy (wet) leaves, and so on. Hunting camps are getaways, of course, but that doesn’t mean you have to let some things slide that can help you stay warmer, safer and comfortable.

One major, important and often forgotten thing EVERY hunting camp — fancy, cabin, trailer, hovel by the river, whatever — should have is at least one, if not several, battery-powered smoke alarms. Yes, you may set them off burning the oil to cook the cornbread. But these are inexpensive, important and can save your life. Do not shrug off this idea. Get some and get them in your camps. You don’t want to be a headline news story and have your family get a terrible call simply because you were too damned cheap with a nickel to get some smoke detectors. Get ’em.

Check out this list of 10 winter preparation tips from Jim Cobb in our sister publication, Living Ready, and see if you need to shore up anything at camp.

By Jim Cobb

As we get ever closer to our annual rendezvous with Old Man Winter, we human beings are sort of biologically, as well as psychologically, wired to batten down the hatches, so to speak. For many of us, we go into full “prep” mode, striving to stock up on everything and anything. This isn’t a bad idea, provided you don’t go overboard with it and miss a mortgage payment because you couldn’t resist buying three pallets of toilet paper, even if the price was absolutely stellar.

For those new to prepping, what follows is a short list of chores you might consider adding to your To Do list before winter hits. For the more experienced among you, consider these reminders to ensure they get done properly.

Fall Prepping Chore #1: Stock Up on Firewood
If you have a fireplace or wood stove, lay in a good supply of seasoned firewood. While a couple cords of split logs are great, don’t forget the smaller stuff for kindling.

Several years ago, I built a small cubby in our attached garage where we can store enough firewood to last a few days at a time. It is an unheated garage and the cubby is on the opposite side from the house, so I’m not overly concerned about bugs getting into the home from the wood.

We also have a lawn cart that we’ll fill with kindling and wood scraps. I don’t know about you, but I’ve found strips of thick bark are awesome for kindling. I’m to the point now where I’ll often strip off bark from logs before bringing them into the house, setting the bark aside for kindling for future fires.

Fall Prepping Chore #2: Turn Off Spigots
Turn off and cover all outdoor spigots. Pipes bursting due to ice is never a good thing. Head to your local hardware store and spend the buck or two on foam covers for the spigots. If you have a shut off valve inside the home for those faucets, turn them off and drain the water that remains in the line.

Fall Prepping Chore #3: Insulate
Install weather-stripping and insulation
as needed around all doors and windows. Older homes in particular can be very drafty. In an emergency, when the furnace isn’t pumping out warm air, you want to prevent cold air coming in as much as possible.

Fall Prepping Chore #4: Check Cold Weather Gear
Check all snow shovels and other snow removal equipment
and repair or replace as needed. When there is a foot of snow on the ground is not the time to remember your snow shovel broke last year and you never got around to buying a new one. While you’re at it, pick up a bag or two of salt or sand.

(Editor’s note: If you live in the Southeast, snow shovels may not be on your mind. But think about having some rock salt, bags of sand or even some cheap kitty litter on hand for icy conditions and stuck ATVs or vehicles. Don’t neglect building and maintaining your tool kit for the camp, either.)

Fall Prepping Chore #5: Cover Outdoor Furniture
Store or cover your patio furniture and grills.
Melting snow will rust grill burners. I learned that the hard way. If something were to happen that would necessitate using the grill in place of your stove top, it would be easy enough to wheel it out of the garage or uncover it.

Fall Prepping Chore #6: Clean Gutters
Clear all gutters of leaves and debris.
Gutters freezing up leads to ice dams along the roof overhang, which is a costly repair.

Fall Prepping Chore #7: Review Cold Weather Clothes
Go through your winter outerwear
(coats, snow pants, boots, etc.) and inspect each item. Repair or replace anything that isn’t in good condition. Make sure everything still fits, too.

Fall Prepping Chore #8: Take Advantage of Grocery Deals
Stock up on staples.
As we approach the holidays, you’ll notice many grocery stores put certain items on sale at very low prices. I’m talking about things like baking ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, mixes) as well as hams and turkeys. If you have room to store these things, stock up when the prices are low.

Fall Prepping Chore #9: Check Vehicle Emergency Kits
Inspect all vehicle emergency kits.
Replace anything you’ve used up through the year, rotate food and water supplies. Be sure you have a good ice scraper in the car, too.

Fall Prepping Chore #10: Stock Up on Entertainment
If you don’t have it already, get yourself a DVD copy of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Seriously, this is, hands down, the best Christmas special to ever air on TV. Don’t count on being able to remember to tune in when it airs this year.

View More ArticlesView More Deer Hunting TipsView More Featured