We have a lot of money invested in our activities of big game hunting.  Especially if you hunt more than one season.  If you hunt during the bow, gun, black powder or any combination of these seasons, you've got up to several thousand dollars tied up in weapons, equipment, clothing, stands and miscellaneous stuff.  Get your calculator out and see for yourself, but don't include the pick-up, ATV, guide & outfitters fees, travel & hotel expenses or other related hunting cost.  Tally up only the equipment you carry, use and wear during your hunts. 

I'll bet you a caribou trip in Canada that 90% of hunters do more and spend more to obtain the latest gear they believe they need to successfully tag their much anticipated trophy.  Yes, I know that great equipment leads to success, I rely on it too,  but not on its own merit.   We all get the best equipment we can afford so when the shot presents itself, we're ready. 

But, ARE   you? 

How does this equipment help you determine when, where or how you should hunt throughout the season?  It can't.  Harvest statistics provided by state fish & game departments across the country illustrate that point well, especially if you bowhunt, whose seasonal success rates barely push 20% for all big game species combined.   Let me state here that I am not going to address the quality of the overall hunt experience, which in the end should be what really matters to us.  Friendships, traditions and good times are created like a good camp stew.  Our success in taking an animal becomes one of the many ingredients that flavor the total experience.  Because we don't always have it to add to the mix, shouldn't prevent us from building great memories.  Let's now focus on a very inexpensive piece of equipment you can use to improve your hunting ability and that will make a significant difference in your successes, the hunter's log & workbook.

The hunting and scouting log, which I call a recorder, is a simple workbook that you can create for less than $10.00 utilizing a ring binder, dividers and some notebook paper.  Or, you can buy one (from me I hope) and save yourself some trouble.  Be sure to create a recorder for each big game species you pursue and one for each different area you hunt a species.  Remember, you're going to use your recorded experiences and observations to help you create strategies for each area you hunt in.

A well-designed, easy to use recorder should consist of three parts, with each section providing a source of pertinent information and function.  They are the:  1)  Information Section,  2) Field Notes Section and,  3) Performance and Analysis Section.  Here's what each section, tabbed and labeled, should contain.

1. INFORMATION SECTION:  Place this section up front in the log/workbook.  It will get you started and provide information you can review to help you create plans for the hunt.  Also, you will have other important information that will come in handy from time to time throughout the season. 

In this section you should include a page titled "Important Numbers".  On this page include the names and phone numbers of the local game warden, sheriff's office, landowner, lease captain and others who are important to your hunting area.  Leave plenty of spaces for your hunting friends, pro-shops, etc, and for those who you meet that can be of help to you or can provide information about an area you hunt.  Classic examples include area ranchers and farmers you meet who can tell you about certain animals they've seen, when and where.  They're great sources of information when you begin planning each season as well.  This also applies for those recorders you keep for those backcountry hunts on national and public lands.  Remember the cafe owner in Mayhill, New Mexico who told you about the logging operation going on in Bear Creek, smack dab in the middle of your #1 hunting area?  It's nice to know you have someone to call when you begin laying plans for a special deer hunt.  You get the idea. 

The next page(s) is titled "Stands & Locations".  If you hunt multiple stand sites or locations within an area, then you need to remember why you put them where you did, when is the best time to hunt them and under what conditions.  Layout these headings across the top of the page and follow up with the entry lines.  NAME/LOCATION/TYPE/FOR/BEST WINDS.  You can get about 25 entry lines per 81/2" x 11" page.  Each heading represents a column that will contain information about each stand or area.  Name:  Name your stands, be creative and have fun.  Location:  This entry can be a GPS way point, topo map name & coordinates, the name of a farm, hill, or other geographical location or feature of or within your hunt area.  Type:  This tells you if it is a tree (T) stand, ground blind (G), still-hunting area (SH), fixed (F) or portable (P) stand, or any combination of these.  For:  This entry refers to the game activity you expect from that stand or location, such as Travel Lane, Feeding, Rutting, Bedding, Funnel, etc.  Best Winds:  Tells you which wind direction(s) is ideal for that stand or area.  Never try to hunt it otherwise.  You'll be sorry you did.

2.  FIELD NOTES SECTION:  This section is the heart of your log/workbook.  Your observations and experiences afield will be recorded here during your scouting trips and after each hunt.  You can get creative with what you want to record, but the  suggested ENTRIES have worked well for me over the years.  Date, Day, Time Afield, Sunrise/Sunset, Barometer, Temp, Wind Direction & Speed, Moon Phase, Moonrise/Moonset, Conditions, Area Hunted, Hunt Method, Sightings, Actions Taken, Results/Notes. 

I suggest you break the hunting day into two separate events for recording purposes, because morning and afternoon game patterns are very different and require individual strategies.  Creating two sets of ENTRIES, one over the other, allows you to record two hunts per page.  This double set layout is perfect whether you hunt the whole day, mornings or afternoons.  Note, leave the backside of each of these FIELD NOTES pages blank, this provides a perfect place to sketch maps, make scouting notes and for recording unusual events and observations. 

I'm only going to detail some of the entries, the others being obvious.  Let's begin with CONDITIONS: A brief one line weather report of the conditions you experienced during the hunt is perfect here. Mention weather conditions such as rain, fog, snowfall, cloud conditions, any change in the weather pattern from when you began the hunt, stalking conditions and other phenomenon you experience.   SIGHTINGS:  In addition to recording what animals you saw, try to be concise with what you saw them doing and how they were behaving.  You'll be surprised at what you can learn from their behavior.  Doing this will also divert your attention, giving you something to focus on, thus helping you to remain calm, a real benefit if you decide to shoot.  Remember to record the time you saw them as well.   ACTIONS TAKEN:  I include the things I do before, during and after big game sightings during each hunt; calling, rattling, tending/creating mock scrapes, stalking techniques and so on.  RESULTS/NOTES:  Here's where you will 
describe the reaction you got from your actions above and the outcome of your hunt.

3.  PERFORMANCE & ANALYSIS SECTION:  This is where you will   evaluate two important things that can be used to help you develop trends in your hunt area.  1)  How well did your stand sites and hunting areas perform and,  2)  where and when did you see the bucks (or bulls) and what were they doing. 

Let's begin with the first page of this section and label it, HUNT TO SIGHTINGS CHART.  You should be able to get about 25 lines of ENTRIES under the following four headings.  Stand/Area Name,  Sightings,   #of Hunts,   % .  To utilize this chart, enter the stand or area name you want to evaluate.  Then, look through your recorder and count the total number sightings you experienced there and enter under the SIGHTINGS heading.  Again, look through your log and get the total count for the number of hunts you conducted there as well.  Then divide the number of SIGHTINGS by  the number of HUNTS and you will get the percentage of times you saw game from that stand or area.  Example:  3 sightings (divided by) 7 hunts = 43%.  Keep in mind that you will see more game in travel areas, funnels and feeding areas throughout the season than you will overlooking scrapes and rubs.   Thus, every stand is unique to its location and time of use during each phase of the season, therefore be creative and flexible in using this 
chart.  You might conduct several evaluations for some areas/stands, and only one for other areas/stands during the season.  Utilizing this information can also help you find breeding zones that bucks use during the rut, thus maximizing your time over those limited time use stands.

The next page should be labeled the BUCK ACTIVITY REPORT.  Again, you will get about 25 entry lines per page.  Create these four headings across the top of the page,  Date, Time, Activity, Location.  Record this information after each hunt, or look through the FIELD NOTES SECTION after the season for buck sightings only and record the appropriate information here.

 This report will illustrate when and where you saw bucks and what they were doing in your hunt area.  Typical buck activities consist of bucks feeding, traveling to/from feeding or bedding areas, pre-rut bucks chasing does, peak rut bucks paired with does, bucks servicing scrapes, rubs, etc.   It will also help you determine the dates of peak rutting activity, which is unique to each area you hunt.  You should utilize this report throughout the season and chart the buck activities and travels on a map of your hunt area.  You'll then be able to illustrate seasonal patterns, times and conditions of these buck activities.  Remember, bucks use these areas each year unless dramatic changes occur in their habitat.  Also, review this information before each season starts to help you formulate new strategies and for locating new stand placements. 

Well, there you have it.  A working hunt and scouting log/workbook ready for use.  Add to it as much as you'd like, but I wouldn't pare it down much. 

In closing, by maintaining a Recorder for each of your hunting areas, you'll be able to reflect on, study, plan and execute new strategies based on the information you garner afield and evaluate the actions you take.  You'll also propel yourself into a much faster "learning curve".  For the little time invested, doing these things are far more rewarding than the time you waste in front of the TV.  Join with me, create your own entertainment that pays you "big bucks" and offers you an exciting season rather than just another year wondering how others do it.

In my next article, Article #3 Getting The Most From Your Hunting Records System, I'll discuss how to utilize your Recorder to create and develop new strategies that you can begin to use right away. 

So far in this article we’ve taken a look at how to put together the perfect hunters log & workbook, what it should contain, and how to utilize it for creating new hunt strategies to implement for immediate use. And the last article ties it all together in Article #3 Getting The Most From Your Hunting Records System. If you have questions or comments about keeping your hunting records I invite you to email me at zan@huntrecorder.com.

Part Two of
Why Use A Hunter’s Log & Workbook
by Zan D. Christensen, Copyright 1999