By JOHN L. SLOAN
Man, it is hot! Sweat is rolling down my cheeks and the heat from my face is blurring the scope. I sight the TenPoint carefully and get the green dot in the center of the crosshairs to rest on the white spot 30-yards away. I push the second safety and slowly begin to squeeze the trigger. Whop! The arrow quivers dead center in the circle.

I am ready.

Each year, no matter how well your crossbow shot last year, you need to sight it in and make sure it is on. Then, shoot a few practice shots. My TenPoint, Phantom is ready. The string has been inspected and well waxed. All the cables are perfect and there is a new battery in the scope.

The great thing about the TenPoint scope is you can shoot it with or without illuminating the bright dots. Therefore, if the battery dies, you are still in business.

I am a considerably healthier this year than in the two or three past. I am stronger and in considerable less pain. I plan to hunt many days during our long archery season and even have an elk hunt on tap. I still cannot shoot a vertical bow and never will be able to again.

However, I have supreme confidence in my TenPoint crossbow. After shooting it a few times, I know it is dialed in at 20-30-35 yards. I have killed several deer with it in recent years.

Due to injuries and health reasons, I have been shooting a crossbow for about seven years. Just an estimate but I believe I have killed 16 deer with it including one or two nice bucks.

A crossbow does not make hunting easier. Knowledge and experience do that. A crossbow only does two things: It makes it possible for a hunter to continue bow hunting when injuries or age makes pulling a vertical bow impossible. It also mostly eliminates the need to practice as you would with a vertical.

What crossbows do not do is this: They do not shoot one bit farther than a compound. They are not supreme poaching tools and they are not one bit more accurate or faster than a compound bow.

Yes, they are heavy and cumbersome but after a little use, you get accustomed to walking in the woods with one and find out that even though you don’t have to draw one, getting one in position to shoot a deer is just as likely to spook that animal as drawing a vertical bow. It also sure helps to practice some before heading to the woods.

So I am out in 90-plus weather shooting mine and getting ready. I am optimistic for my chances this year.

We have a lot of deer in Wilson County and I know this TenPoint can drill one out to 35-yards. It has done so several times before. I need to check my ladder stands and I have one more ground blind to put out and brush in.

So, get out there despite the heat. It is time to get ready. The season opens next month on Sept. 24, as always, the last Saturday in September and it closes Oct. 31. In Wilson County you are allowed three does a day and three bucks total for the season, no more than one per day. It is hot…but it is also time.

Contact John L. Sloan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it