Now that you have your hunting log & workbook (the Recorder) set up, it's time to put it to use.  Ahhh, the perfect excuse to start hunting, scouting or both.  Before we get too far into this article, I want you to think about your hunt recorder in a different way than you do of your other hunting equipment.  When you use your recorder, think of it as though you were "going to the bank", your knowledge bank.  You'll either make a deposit or withdrawal.  Every time you record an entry, you're making a "deposit".  The activity of hunting or scouting represents the "time" factor of the equation.  Thus, these deposits and time earn interest, or knowledge.  When you review and study your recorder to formulate new hunting plans and strategies, your making withdrawals.  Thus, before each hunting excursion, you cash in on this knowledge to help you decide how best to hunt.  Therefore, the more you put into your account, the greater the return.  In other words, increased hunting skills and ability, successes and enjoyment afield.  One other thing, this "account" never runs dry no matter how many withdrawals you make, for every withdrawal used creates a new deposit!

The following points highlight the greatest benefits of maintaining a recorder for all your big game hunting.  Each offers a unique benefit that will create permanent and positive effects in how you approach your hunting and implement new strategies.  Let's begin close to home.

LOCAL DEER & ELK HERDS
1.  It's essential to use your recorder every time you hunt your favorite and most familiar areas.  I know we get comfortable with our knowledge based on past experiences, but you'll miss untold opportunities if you don't build a library of valuable information, otherwise forgotten to poor memories. You won't outsmart that wary old buck or bull in your own backyard if you don't remember when he gets on the move each season.  Think about it, how many bedding areas, travel zones & funnels, feeding and rutting areas do you need to keep up with?  Don't forget, the answer list grows with changes in the weather and the various phases of the hunting season.  How did the animals use these areas?  What kind of animals used these areas?  When did they use them?  What about the weather and its effects during seasons past?  This is technical information that is easily forgotten from one season to the next.  Do you remember each of the areas where your animals like to feed preceding a cold front?  Do you remember where they hole up during the approach and passage of those storms so you can still hunt into the wind and shoot one in its bed?  Under what conditions have you gotten the greatest response to calling or rattling, and where?   Because deer (and other big game) are creatures of habit, patterns and trends exist whether or not we recognize them.  Why are they using certain areas during different times of the season?  What draws them there and not someplace else?   In addition to jogging your memory, the recorder will make a huge difference in your ability to figure out answers to these questions and more, allowing you to plan and create strategies every time you venture out.

2.  For all the reasons listed above and then some, the same holds true for keeping records when you begin to hunt any new lease, ranch, farm or forest close to home.  Just because the habitat, terrain and climate are similar or identical to your familiar haunts, doesn't mean you neglect the particulars to your new area.  Think about all the new information you'll learn about with each trip out.  Remembering this newfound information is overwhelming.  You certainly don't want to trust your memory for storing your many observations concerning trails; food sources, bedding areas, scrapes and rubs.   Imagine what you could do with all this knowledge gained and stored, ready for use next season.  You jump-start your ability to figure out productive areas. 

SELF GUIDED ADVENTURES 
I wouldn't dream of venturing into unexplored environs without bringing along a recorder especially for that hunt.  The many new sights and foreign experiences simply overload our brain and cripple our memory.  Why risk the opportunity to be prepared for the next trip in the future.  Again, your recorded experiences, observations and newfound knowledge about these exotic areas and your quarry dramatically increases your chance for success each trip out.

GUIDED TRIPS INTO NEW TERRITORIES
Want some mighty cheap memory insurance?  Then pack along a species dedicated recorder on each guided trip you take.  You can then record everything you learn from your guide about the game animal you're hunting along with how, when, where and why he does certain things to create your success.  You'll be surprised how cooperative they are if you simply explain your interest in their knowledge and ask questions. 

In each of the hunting situations above, don't forget to include information available from those people who you meet that are familiar with the area and/or animals your hunting.  Ask questions and jot down their answers along with their names and phone numbers for future reference.  I promise you'll be glad you did.  Additionally, use the recorder in conjunction with your map to plot all information (trails, beds, preferred food sources & areas, scrapes, rubs, funnels and core rutting zones) that deals with the animals movements and the places they frequent for reasons concerning feeding and rutting. Studying these map layouts will stimulate creative plans and strategies that you can implement for a new season, or to use right away during each phase change of the season, and for planning for another adventuresome trip into the remote back country.   You're way ahead of the game when you do. 

YOUNG HUNTERS INSTRUCTION MANUAL 
Want to squeeze every ounce out of your hunting adventures?  Then use your recorders from past seasons for instruction to help build young hunters abilities.  In reviewing your unique hunting experiences, you'll not only teach him/her the basics and then some, you'll also get to share some wonderful moments afield from yesteryear.  This is a wonderful way to build relationships and really enjoy life.  Also, don't forget to give your new hunter his/her own recorder to use.  This will give them the tools needed to create the successful habits of observation, planning and strategy.  These lessons learned early on build confidence and will propel them into the exciting world of hunting.  Small investments like this pay huge returns, both personally and for our heritage. 

In closing, keep in mind something I learned long ago about luck and those who "get lucky" on a regular basis.  Luck is when Preparation and Opportunity meet.  Take full advantage of every hunting opportunity, whether it's a morning jaunt for whitetails out back or a ten day excursion across the country for elk. 

Look around you with the expectation to learn something new, record it, think about it and use it in your favor.  You'll get lucky too, I promise.  Consider that experiences remembered create knowledge, that knowledge builds confidence, and confidence begets success.

Enjoy the season and great hunting!

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. 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