It’s almost firearm deer season!

Outside the Walls, a blog written by Nick VanderWall, is sponsored by VanderHaag Car Sales, 1680 W. U.S. 10-31, Scottville; 231-757-2727; www.vanderhaagcarsales.com, Mason County’s premier car rental outlet and also Legends Taxidermy of Scottville; 231-757-9589; www.legendstaxidermy.com. It appears here on the second and fourth Monday of the month.

We are less than a week away from the hunter’s holiday and that is Nov, 15.  I have some tips for you just in case you forget about them.

One of the things hunters forget to do is to sight in their guns.  This is very important to do because that can be the one thing from shooting a big buck and missing it.

“Start close, like at 25 yards with a large piece of paper, so you won’t miss,” Frank Koehle, a hunter safety instructor said.  “Then you make sure it is securely rested on something like sandbags, and when you feel ready, slowly pull the trigger.”

You only pull the trigger once, so you can see if your guns off at all, he said.  “If it is you would go back and put the crosshairs on the original point of aim, and adjust the scope to go where the impact point was.

A bore sight is another way to site in your gun.  Take it in a darkened room after the bore site is on your gun and project the laser at a wall or the end of a hallway.  Then you adjust accordingly.  I would still strongly recommend going to the range and firing it to see if it is on or not.

“Make sure you take the bore sight off before you chamber a round,” Koehle said.  “There has been people that have gotten too busy that have forgotten about it, and they’ve fired with bad results.”

After you get it sighted in from a close distance you want to extend the distance out to around 100 yards.  On most hunts this will be enough to hopefully kill a deer if you see one worth shooting.

Now if you’re in a field that is larger you will have to compensate for that, but you will know where you are hunting.  Just remember for every 50 yards past the site in point it drops around an inch.

I recommend firing your gun before you hunt every year because your scope can be off.  My family knows this from experience

Another good thing when sighting in your gun is to clean it because that will change its projection.  A bore snake is what Koehle recommends.   Also you want to clean it if it is a brand new gun, he said.  “A brand new gun will need to be cleaned because it will still have packing grease from shipping, so you will want to clean it and then fire it two or three times before siting it in.”

Some other tips that you won’t want to forget is to always wear hunter’s orange in the woods during firearm season.  You only have to have a hat that has hunter’s orange on it, but it has to be visible from 360 degrees.

Another thing is to never fire at movement.  This is when accidents can happen.  If it happens to be a deer, great, but remember if it’s a buck it has to have three on a side.

Make sure you know the rules and regulations for your hunting area.  If you’re hunting another person’s property be respectful and listen to what they specify.  If they say you can only shoot does and a nice buck walks out, shoot it, but make sure it is with a camera or your phone and not your gun.

Just remember to have a lot of fun and to enjoy God’s beautiful outdoors and creation. Good luck on the 15.