The Hunt Is On: Your Deer Season Prep Checklist

Fall is here, and for deer hunters across Northwest Florida, that means one thing: prep starts now.

You may not be sitting in the stand yet, but the weeks leading up to opening day can be some of the most important of the entire season. This is the time to check your plots, get feeders and cameras working, restock the things you know you’ll need, and make sure your hunting property is ready before the season gets busy.

For hunters around Pace, Milton, and the surrounding Northwest Florida area, Zone D archery season begins October 24, so the first part of the month is a great time to get everything in order.

Here are a few things worth checking off before the hunt begins.

1. Give Your Food Plot One More Look

By October, most of the major food-plot preparation should already be underway, but that doesn’t mean you should forget about it. Walk your plot and look at how well it established.

Are there thin spots? Heavy weed pressure? Areas that stayed too wet or dried out? Did the seed make good contact with the soil? A few weeks can make a big difference in a fall plot.

Manning’s carries food-plot seed and wildlife products, and our recent food-plot lineup has included products like Buck Buster, along with several fall seed mixes and wildlife products. Manning’s is also an authorized Wildlife Management Solutions (WMS) dealer in both Milton and Pace.

Depending on what you still need to plant or touch up, WMS offers fall blends such as Deer Magnet, Brassica Blend, Mississippi Mix, No-Till Blend, Perennial Plus, Clover Feast, and other cool-season food-plot options. 

And if you’ve used Manning’s Mix before, October is a good time to check how your plot is developing and whether anything needs attention before hunting activity picks up.

2. Check Your Feeders Before Opening Weekend

Nothing is more frustrating than getting to the property and realizing a feeder hasn’t been working.

Take a few minutes now to:

• Check batteries and timers

• Make sure the feeder is dispensing properly

• Clean out old or damp feed

• Look for damage from weather or wildlife

• Make sure the feeder is stable

• Check how much feed you have left

Manning’s has featured Moultrie deer feeders, including smaller mobile feeders that can be useful depending on how your property is set up.

This is also the time to buy your feed instead of waiting until the last minute.

3. Stock Up on Deer Feed

Deer feed is one of the categories Manning’s has carried for years, and there are several different options depending on what you use on your property.

Products Manning’s has carried or featured include:

• Purina AntlerMax Deer 20

• Whole Deer Corn

• Tri-Cleaned Apple Corn

• Record Rack Deer Corn

• Peanut Butter Crunch

• Sweet Deer Feed Mix

• Rice Bran

• 200-lb Antler King Protein Tubs

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Our most recent food-plot blog also specifically featured AntlerMax Deer 20, apple corn, Peanut Butter Crunch, and Deadly Drift Deer Attractant as products available through Manning’s.

Availability can change throughout hunting season, so if you’re looking for something specific, check with the Pace or Milton store before you head out to the property.

4. Get Your Attractants Ready

If attractants are part of your property setup, don’t wait until opening weekend to realize you’re out.

Manning’s has carried several deer attractants and specialty wildlife products, including:

Deadly Drift Deer Attractant

as well as Backwoods Attractants such as:

Rice Bran Persimmon, Buck Robber Apple, Game Changer, Flame Kissed, Cotton Candy, Kitchen Sink, Peanut Grub, and Graminac XL.

You may also see products such as Buck Lickers mineral blocks depending on seasonal inventory.

The important part is knowing what you plan to use ahead of time instead of changing everything on your property right before the season starts.

Always check the current FWC regulations for the property you hunt before placing feed, minerals, or attractants. Florida regulations differ between private land, WMAs, and areas affected by CWD rules.

5. Check Your Trail Cameras

October is a good time to get your cameras exactly where you want them and then leave the area alone as much as possible.

Check:

• Batteries

• Memory cards

• Date and time

• Camera angle

• Vegetation in front of the sensor

• Whether anything has shifted after storms

• How frequently you’re getting deer activity

You’re looking for patterns, not just one good picture.

Pay attention to which trails are being used, what times deer are moving, and whether activity around your food plots and feeding areas is changing.

6. Walk Your Stand and Access Routes

Do this now — not in the dark on opening morning.

Clear anything that needs clearing along your route, but avoid making unnecessary changes right before the season.

Check your stand, ladder, platform, straps, and surrounding area carefully. Anything worn, damaged, loose, or questionable should be dealt with before you hunt.

And start thinking about how you’ll enter and leave the property without creating more disturbance than necessary.

7. Start Thinking About Scent

Once hunting gets close, scent becomes another part of preparation.

Wash and organize the clothing you plan to hunt in, keep it separate from strong household odors, and make sure you have whatever scent-control products you normally use ready ahead of time.

Manning’s has previously featured Scent Away products during hunting-season promotions, so this is another item worth adding to the checklist before opening weekend.

8. Check the Little Things Now

The big stuff is easy to remember.

It’s usually the little things that get forgotten.

Before October 24 gets here, check:

• Boots

• Hunting clothes

• Cooler

• Flashlights/headlamps

• Batteries

• Trail-camera supplies

• Feed

• Attractants

• Scent-control products

• Feeder batteries

• Stand equipment

• Property keys

• Anything else you regularly take with you

Put everything together now and you’ll have a lot less scrambling to do later.

October Is Prep Month

For Northwest Florida hunters, October isn’t just the beginning of fall.

It’s the month when hunting season starts becoming real.

Zone D archery and crossbow season opens October 24, which means you still have time to walk your property, check your plots and feeders, watch your cameras, organize your gear, and stock up before opening weekend.

Whether you need deer corn, food-plot seed, wildlife feed, attractants, feeders, or other hunting-season supplies, stop by Manning’s Feed & Seed in Pace or Milton.

We’ve been helping Northwest Florida hunters get ready for the season for generations.

The Hunt Is On. Start at Manning’s.

I’d use this one for your “Hunt Is On” homepage banner because it connects perfectly with that graphic and gives customers a reason to click it instead of just seeing a hunting advertisement.