Question? Journal?

[obert1]

Does anyone else keep a journal for deer hunting? What do you put in it?

[Wildfire]

I don't write a journal. I never felt the need to. Maybe if I was going up to Canada with a bunch of people and was told to write a story about it....maybe.

[platteriverretrievers]

Every bow hunt I go on is logged. Stand location, wind direction, am or pm, and what I see. Go back alot of times and read where I was hunting the years before during a certain time frame and try and use that to my advantage on where to sit.

[huntman025]

Any logging that I do is just in my GPS and with game camera. I mark current sign and take a look at it, to help get an idea of how the deer are moving. I know the deer on the properties I hunt do the same basic thing every year, depending on food sources, time of year and weather.

[Flatcoats]

I write everything down, very similar to what platte said. if you're hunting 40 days a season, youre bound to forget something if you dont.

If nothing else, its entertaining to go back and look at the year over again.

[obert1]

I do too, but seem to lose my dang journal and start a new one for that year. I found 4 back in the process of moving though. I'm an idiot. Will be starting a new one here this year too, being in a different place.

I write down: Wind direction, stand location, weather, direction deer come from and headed, time I get in and out and see deer. I think that covers it.

[Mark B]

Not only are journals fun to re-read, but they can be a useful tool also. I've kept a journal for years. Pretty much the same info as stated above including total deer, total bucks, and if the bucks were shooters. Last year I went through four years of notes. I wanted to know which stands were best during the first two weeks of the season, which were best up against the gun season, and which produced in December. I was pretty surprised with the results. What I always thought was the best stand (location) may not go up this year.

[hunter1370]

I believe the moon phase is an important factor in time of day deer move, so I include that along with time of day I saw the deer, temperature, wind, and any hot new sign (scrapes & rubs). But I think all that info is irrelevant during the rut. During the rut, hunt all day every chance you get!

[Pokerwilly21]

Much more predictable 2 weeks prior to rut. Journals will work great for this time period. Dont forget to write doe movement and possible bedding areas. Where the does go the big boys will follow! I thing people overlook this at times.

[cornking]

my father-in-law has been keeping a journal for the 40 years he has been rifle hunting, where we got the deer , how we got the deer , when we got the deer, plus all the good times we,ve over the years, i,m in on the last 25years of the journal, it,s great to go back to the years gone buy. I wish i could find a way to put this in book form , and not have it cost an arm and a leg