Keep a Hunting Journal

[happy honker]

My son, hunting partner and I were out early this week sighting in rifles, cutting brush for better sight lines, dropping off firewood in camp etc. It was a great day and awesome to get all that done.

As we worked away, we reminisced about all the years we've been hunting that spot, it was funny how we remembered certain things differently, or one or the other had forgotten about some stories entirely.
"Remember when we got that moose down there to the south"?
"No, it was just to the left on that first trail".
"Not that one...the bull with one broken antler"
"That wasn't me, that was your brother."
"Are you sure"?

Anyway, it occurred to us that we really should have started a journal all those years ago. It would make for some good reading some day.

The time your kid shot their first grouse.
The time the guys in the vacuum truck pulled you out of the ruts after you were sitting there for 7 hours.
The time you got 8 wasp stings setting up your tree stand.
The time uncle George had too much "fresh air" and fell in the fire when he got up to go to bed.

This year while I'm sitting waiting for that booner to walk out in front of me, I might pull out my phone and start a journal of things I still think I remember from this camp over the years.

I recommend any of you younger guys to start a journal of your hunting trips, seasons, adventures. It will probably make an entertaining read some day.

I sure wish I had.
Hopefully, lots of seasons left for me, but I think I better get started.

Have a great season everyone...and take a few minutes to scribble it down somewhere.

[jpohlic]

I have a journal in my camper to document our family adventures and I often have the camper when I'm hunting so the journal has lots of hunting tales in it. The time I lost the trail of a moose in some nasty willow thickets and gave up, started walking back to the truck and saw him standing at the end of the cutline near the road at last light, the time I went 5 for 5 on grouse head shots with the 7-08mm but only 4 for 5 for head shots, the last pheasant my one brit ever pointed that I shot... stuff like that. Glad I wrote it down but wish I had started sooner.

[bobtodrick]

I've kept a journal of our family adventures since my first son was born 17 years ago.
I paste in photos from our trips, tickets to events we've been too, etc.
This used to so common in years gone by but has pretty much disappeared since the invention of the computer.
I have a friend who is an archivist from the Provincial Museum. Much of what we know about history we've gotten from journals and letters from the past. Historians are actually quite worried that the historians in the future will find that when they look back on today (then the past) it will be just a barren wasteland of information.

[59whiskers]

Started hunting journal and marking maps since early 80,s indicating all the spots where we seen and shot all types of game in the mountains and the dates. Most important is where and when we see rams. Rams often show up like clock work in the same spots we seen them 35 years ago or more today. About 90% of the hunting time is laid back uneventfull. Interesting to read back on in these events in changing times.

[buckbrush]

This is a good idea. Never thought of it.

Would make a great family heirloom. I would love to have a hunting journal from generations before.

[Smokinyotes]

......but then if you kept a journal your wife may read it and you wouldn’t be allowed to go anymore.

[Maxwell78]

For the last three years, i have been keeping records of my yote hunts. I take pics of the yote on my phone and record the :
date and time
temperature
distance shot
wind direction
male or female
type of call uses

I then go onto google earth and with the distance function, draw out where i sat and where i dropped the yote and save the screenshot on a file on my computer. It only takes a couple minutes to input everything

This helps me during the next season with an idea of what worked before

[happy honker]

Originally Posted by Smokinyotes

......but then if you kept a journal your wife may read it and you wouldn’t be allowed to go anymore.

Just don't include fuel receipts and you should be fine.