Even though most everyone looks forward to summer, with its longer days and laid-back feel, those long days can stretch into what feels like years of anxious anticipation for hunters ready to start the next season. Although it may seem like an eternity before it’s time to trade beach chairs and flip-flops for dove buckets and camo, have no fear. American Hunter’s Kyle Wintersteen provides eight summer survival tips for hunters, including taking a rifle class and training your gun dog.

Gun Dog Photo by Smokin Gun Dogs

Summer is a difficult time to be a hunter It’s not just the heat, or the unnerving reality that turkey season is over and dove season is many weeks away. The most dreadful aspect of summer is the separation from the outdoors it threatens to foist upon us. When we don’t experience wild places, well, are we truly ourselves?

Summer can, however, be overcome. There are ways to indulge your outdoor spirit—thereby keeping your sanity intact for fall—even when deer and ducks cannot be pursued.

Photos: Henry Repeating Arms (top); Smokin Gun Dogs (above)