"Good night Scott, I'll talk to you in the morning".  I hung up the telephone and hurried into the den to tell my wife the exciting news.  "Guess what", I said, "Scott and I are headed for Wyoming.  He received two permits in the mail today from the Wyoming Game & Fish Department to hunt Shiras moose.  Man, did he get lucky."   "He all but forgot about that special drawing he entered months ago."  "Wyoming?", Rhonda asked, I didn't even know they had moose, or is it meese?".  "You've never mentioned that hunt before.  Where in Wyoming will you hunt?  How do you hunt one?  When are you going?   What plans have you made?  If you're going to spend that kind of money, I want you to catch one."  "Whoa, slow down" I said.  "Don't worry, I know a guy, John, who's from Wyoming.  He said there are lots of them in the Bighorn Mountains.  We'll drive up there, get a map, and talk to a few locals and maybe a game warden.  I'm sure one of us will get one".

I know that conversation sounds ridiculous, but I'm tempted to say too many hunters approach deer and other big game hunting with almost as much of a lack of concern for the outcome of their efforts.  Or, should I say lack of effort.  Wishful thinking is at best unproductive and can get expensive.  Imagine with me for a moment.  Would you take a motor trip for the first time to Alaska from Texas with only a review of a road map?  Of course not, that would be irresponsible and possibly dangerous, weather considering.  You would make elaborate plans, detailing your route, travel time, stay overs, gas and eat stops, and so on.  Then, from your experience of that trip, you could better plan for the next one.  Your ability to plan and prepare would increase with each new trip, but there would always be a few surprises spring up along the way to keep things interesting. Things change. 

I can make the same analogy with hunting; whether close to home in your favorite woods, or across the country.  If your not taking advantage of information offered you every time you scout or go hunting, recording those observations and experiences in a hunter's log & workbook, and then creating new hunt strategies, your throwing away countless opportunities for greater success and enjoyment afield.  For this discussion, I will address success as defined as having accomplished what you set out to do, within ethical and legal boundaries.  Of course, everyone has different goals. 

Another benefit experienced while working towards those goals is the expectation of success.   Wouldn't you agree from past experiences that those hunts you planned for and worked on created excitement and anticipation? Sure!  As we watch our plans and strategies unfold, producing positive results along the way, we could say we are truly enjoying ourselves to a greater degree.  I believe most of us would prefer it that way.  Unfortunately, too many hunters plod through the season, "hunting".  To properly plan and prepare, you need appropriate resources, and the hunter's log & workbook is the perfect tool to accomplish all these things.  With it, you'll be able to turn "afield of dreams" into your dream hunts afield.

 A tremendous amount of information is available in books and magazine articles on any big game animal on this continent, and about how featured hunters utilizing certain techniques are able to accomplish what we usually dream about.  Of course, we all read the "how to" books and success stories of others in the many hunting magazines, not to mention the availability of information on the internet within sites like Bowhunting.Net.  Without question, these articles and stories written about others successes can help if you put them to use, you should.  Also, the sheer volume of information available is staggering.  If only we could retain that information so we could recall it upon demand, and short of creating a library and cataloging every article, we can't, but I will say that as you execute chosen techniques, you can retain the most important information that will make the difference in your success each season, your observations and experiences afield. 

Think about it.  A basic knowledge of the task at hand, coupled with the personal experiences of doing, then recording those experiences & observations and later studying them before each new venture builds confidence and ability.  I like that when I hunt.  Compare this process for hunting with sailing or flying.  Once you learn how to chart a course, navigate and operate the equipment, you're confident about getting where you want to go.  The only thing left to do is decide where, plan for it, and then do it.  The same applies for hunting.  And, the benefits of doing so are the same, whether you're creating strategies for a backcountry elk hunt, or for an afternoon whitetail hunt behind the house.

 Weather.  Sailing, flying or hunting, you better not forget the weather.  Concerning our hunts, it creates new conditions every day, and with these passing days come the changes and various phases of each season.  The hunting log & workbook is the perfect place to record not only the experiences of your hunt, what actions you took and the resulting outcome, but what was the weather like.  As you review your many adventures afield, you'll notice events such as rubs, scrapes, and other rut activities in your particular hunting area happen in the same places during the same time periods of each season.  Outside of a drastic change in habitat or a permanent human presence, the only thing that will advance or delay these activities is the weather.  By recording and studying its effect on game, you'll be better able to find and predict trends for these activities. When we hunt these trends under similar circumstances in proven game rich areas, we create higher odds of success.  I like that too.

Again, I say think about it.  Where do you draw the line considering your enjoyment and increased successes afield.  Is it the few dollars to buy your own hunting log & workbook, that little extra effort to scout, or is it the setting aside a few minutes at the end of the day to record and analyze your hunt.  My hope is neither of the above.

In my next Article #2, If You Make It They Will Come, we'll take 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.

 If you have questions or comments about keeping your hunting records I invite you to email me at zan@huntrecorder.com.

-Zan D. Christensen
Maker of The Hunt Recorder & Notes Book