Keeping a Hunting Journal

[redleg06]

Any of you guys keep a hunting Journal?

I've been doing this for a while now, it'll be my 23 season in the turkey woods, and I look back and as much as I wish I could say that I remember every single hunt/kill, I just dont and wish I could.  About 4 seasons ago I started making myself carry a camera with me to the woods so when I had a great hunt and even a kill, I'd be able to take a picture and keep some memories.

I see some of you guys that have been doing this for a while are going for milestones like maybe first 100 birds or something like that and while I know it's not neccessarily a numbers game, I think that's something to be proud of and I'd be interested to know what yall do to keep up. I had someone ask me the other day how many I'd killed and I'd have to give a rough estimate of between 40-60 but that's just averaging out the number of birds I have roughly taken over the number of season's I've been hunting. I'd like to be able to have a more firm number and plan on doing that going forward.

I'd like to hear about what some of you guys do to keep up with the memories. 

[gotcha]

I dont keep a written journal but have pictures of all but 2 birds killed.For some reason my long term memory is almost spooky{being its very good}but short term is terrible.but short term is terrible.but short term is terrible.I can remember all kills and setups but do need to keep a wriiten record.Been thinking of getting the program that you speak to your computer and it types it for a journal.

[BowBendr]

I've been keeping a journal for about the past 10 years or so. Long ago I thought that I could remember every detail of every hunt, but your mind always takes new memories and pushes back the older ones.

Mine is more like a log book, and I record all weather conditions, what happened on the hunt along with the other important stats like who, what, when, and where. It makes it real easy to go back and forcast what may happen in a certain place under conditions that I may have faced in the past.

Pictures are something I keep seperate from the log book, but when I catalog the pics I also record the data on the back of the pic, cause i'll soon forget that too !

[Neill_Prater]

Oddly enough, even though I kind of like to write, I've never kept a journal. I have attempted starting one a couple of times, but found that after a day afield, I was often tired, or had something I needed to get done, so would put off writing, eventually failing to get it done.

Looking back at a lifetime of hunting, and 35 years of chasing turkeys, I wish I had done so, even if I only recorded the basics of where, when, with whom, and number of birds chased and bagged. I do know how many turkeys I've killed, because several years ago, when I was at around 50 birds, I realized I might one day get to the point where I couldn't remember, so mentally recalled every bird up to that point. That was the year I bought my first GPS, so I began entering the date and time of each kill in it while hunting.

I've killed over 100 turkeys, but can still remember every one I shot, if I mentally go over every area I've ever hunted. I can even recall which way each bird was facing, and some of the circumstances, although details do tend to get fuzzy with time.

It is a great idea to keep a journal of all your outdoor activities, because memory is often tricky, especially as you get older. I remember when I was perhaps 10 years old, I was fishing in a small stream a couple of miles from our house and fell in the creek when the root I was sitting on broke. I can still show you almost exactly where that happened, even though I am sure the tree is long gone now. We had our 30th high school reunion in 1999, and a boy I went to school with, Jan, was talking to me, and asked if I remembered the time we were fishing on Stahl Creek and the root broke and we fell in the water? I told him I sure did, but I didn't remember that he was with me. I recall him going with me a few times, but even after he jogged my memory, I absolutely could not remember that he was right beside me when this happened.

[redleg06]

I've been keeping a journal for about the past 10 years or so. Long ago I thought that I could remember every detail of every hunt, but your mind always takes new memories and pushes back the older ones.

Mine is more like a log book, and I record all weather conditions, what happened on the hunt along with the other important stats like who, what, when, and where. It makes it real easy to go back and forcast what may happen in a certain place under conditions that I may have faced in the past.

Pictures are something I keep seperate from the log book, but when I catalog the pics I also record the data on the back of the pic, cause i'll soon forget that too !

I think this is a pretty good idea. Sometimes when you learn new things (I'm always trying to learn a new trick after going thru a spell where I thought I knew it all ) you forget some of the things old lesson you learned a while back. I think keeping records like this could be extremely valueble in not only keeping good game plans on specific properties but just for generally looking back on to improve as a hunter.

My buddy does this for waterfowl hunting, he's a guide so it makes sense for him but I've just never thought about it. I think I might start though. I think it would be something I could look back on when I'm older and maybe even pass it to my son one day if he likes hunting like I think he will (he's 3 now).

[runngun]

I keep one and have for a long time. The who, what, where, when, and with what. I have filled up two and a half books so far. It is fun to go back and read about the hunts......

[pseshooter300]

I started last year

[redleg06]

This may be a dumb question but what kind of book or journal do yall use to record stuff and where could I find one?

[deerhunt1988]

I made an Excel spreadsheet a few weeks ago with all my kills on it.

I have columns for #, date, state, county, place, beard length(s), spurs, weight, gun, shell, distance, whether it was called in or ambushed, and also have a column for notes.

[BigJim]

I have never kept a journal, but I like the idea. It would be cool to look at years down the road.

[Sherrell]

I used one for nearly thirty years and quit about ten years ago.wish I'd of kept it going,but laziness got the best of me.



Here's a link to one journal.

http://www.trailexplorers.com/turkey-hunting-journal-allweather-1713-p-376.html

[jblackburn]

I have one for every deer and turkey I have taken.  I few years ago I started keeping track of birds I called in for others.  It is one of the best things I have ever done, I love looking through it every once in a while and reliving those great hunts!

[mnturkey]

I have a journal that I have kept since about 1984 or so with all my hunts sucessful or not.
The original was a half sheet of paper with fill in the blanks about who what we were hunting, dogs, guns used game shot, weather and what type of cover.
After dinner every night I hunt I fill it out, takes about 5 minutes and it is great to be able to look back over it and relive all the hunts.
I now have about 6 books.  The last entry was two weeks ago when I got my new pup.
The journal also helps with my hunting buddies and keeps them honest. (of course my deer always gets a few extra pounds).

[rawalley]

I tried it during duck season but too many bad hunts ended that quickly.