Just for Fun Notes

[Hair&Scales]

With the bow season fast approaching, I was wondering how many people keep random sighting notes. I started a few years ago just to see how much time I waste

Feel free to share, here were my findings last year as I keep a broad yet clear easy to track statistics for myself, this was public/private combined may be interesting to seperate them out in the future. Also I can by hours sat instead of sits which may also be nice to know.

I spent 113 hours in a stand last season.

I saw 47 bucks (bigger than a spike is what I count as a buck)

I saw 7 bucks that I would of shot.

This is all timber hunting for reference.

 

[203ntyp]

I was wondering how many people keep random sighting notes. I started a few years ago just to see how much time I waste

Never had with the exception of one hunt in Illinois, notched buck and doe sightings that day on a tree in the edge of a very small patch in the middle of a field. Saw 21 buck that day and several dozen doe and watched a young buck breed a doe 10yrds from me. First time I heard a breeding bellow from a doe, wild and crazy.

I used to hunt practically every day of all the deer hunting season, learned that was a waste of time. Now I am very patient and select my hunting days carefully. I do not hunt until the 3rd week of October, pays off for me. I used to hunt hundreds of hours, now I'm usually tagged out after 5 or 6 hunts. Hunt smarter, not harder.

Good luck to you

 

[JNRBRONC]

Last fall archery, 6 sits, 30.5 hours, 12 bucks spotted, none I cared to arrow. I did draw back on one but passed due to a busted tine. I receive the Iowa Bowhunters survey and that is what started me tracking hunts.

 

[sure shot]

I started with and continue to do it for the Iowa bowhunter survey. I only take detailed notes bowhunting before gun season. 21 hours, 11 bucks, 10 does. I also started keeping track of stand sat in, wind direction and temp.

 

[jkratz5]

Pretty good free app to do this called
Trophy Tracks.

You can enter every day you hunt, register every deer and size, etc. it keeps track of weather, moon l, etc for each entry. You can drop pins in a map for every stand location and the the. Make entries for specific locations. Pretty slick for a free app.

 

[Bucksnbears]

Never wrote things down. Kinda wished I had.
Alway relied on memory but noticed the past few years, those aren't as clear as they used to be.

I'm 59. I think I've shot 209 deer with a bow, 59 bear, (55) with a bow,
bout 1000 coyotes,1000 red fox.
1000s of other critters. Hunting has been my life. From early age.
Other than work, it's all I know.
I have Zero hobbies. No kids/ wife to attend to.
Would sure be fun to have started a diary 40+ years ago to look back on.

 

[Muddyrem]

I do it for waterfowl hunting. Started it about 10 years ago just to keep tract of trends with movements and weather for my own personal keeping. Wish I would have started it 10 years before that. Cool to look back on and connect dots. I would definitely suggest doing it.