Keeping it all organized

I know that you could write an entire book on the subject, but how do you put all the pieces together after the scouting is done(yeah right as if it is ever done)? We got some smart dudes(and ladies) here but nobody can possible remember every detail of every spot without some sort of log. Is it as simple as some notes and doodles in a notebook or is there a computer program that you use to put it all together? Do you keep you doe spots separate from you buck spots when organizing the info? How do you organize the spots when you file them? By wind direction while hunting or entrance/exit routes, time of year, food sources, ect. What type of info do you include in your notes about a potential hunting location?

I am sure that I will think of a few more questions, but that should get us started. One final note though, for those of you that do keep detailed logs of you choice spots I would appreciate a detailed description of where you keep this info and times and dates that you are not home, thanks.

I remember everything by land marks like trees and rocks and i keep it all in ma head.

Kodiak - I would look up Mr. Warren Womack. I think he goes by WHW on this site, if you have trouble finding his info I can get it for you. He keeps the most detailed hunt records of anyone I know and he's a great guy and hunter always willing to help anyway he can. Personally, I do like vortex and keep most everything in my head. When I scout an area I might see several promising spots but usually find one that I feel most confident in. For me scouting is more about figuring out what the deer are doing in any given area - where they're feeding, bedding, traveling, etc. I use that to figure out where to make my first move and then let deer activity/sightings dictate movement/strategy from there.

Thank you Apex, I'll look him up.

The reason I am asking about organizing every bit of info you collect is because i am a text book over-thinker and without something to organize my thoughts I end up more frustrated than anything.

I used to do extensive, detailed record keeping of each spot. For each spot I would have gps coordinates, food sources with 100 yds of my tree, prevailing wind history for the hunting months, sighting records by aninal gender, travel direction of animals seen, location of rubs/scrapes within 100 yds of the tree, previous kill data, weather for each hunt as, if any other hunters were encountered, and trail cam photos for each spot as well. This was written in a journal, also topo/areial pics of each stand accompanied this info.

I did that for 3 years, and it kind of burned me out. For the last several years I've simply done my smart scouting to find productive spots. I spend as much time in the woods as possible, because I enjoy being there the most. Any gifts from the Mountain, as I call them, are bonuses. Anymore I just like to keep it as simple as possible. It's just the natural progression in the phases of a hunter's life, I suspect. Hope this helps some.

Just had an Uncle that passed away who left a box containing everything he had from his 1st deer hunts and fishing trips he kept starting all the way back in 1958. I will be turning 50 next year but I will keep and tell my story of everyone until my passing.
That box I shared with my cousins or I should say his 2 daughters and we are compiling it all into a hardbound book. It tells his passion for the outdoors like nothing i have ever read. The knowledge that he had obtained years ago that has just been published in the past 10-15 yrs. he talked about in the 70's already.

I have 2 apps on my iphone. Scout Look Deer Log & ihunt Journal which I will keep notes of my hunts and some pictures. Then after hunting season I will tell my stories in a journal along with detail pics. to go along with them. It may be time consuming but the memories it leaves behind is amazing.

I remember it all in my head. This year I'm going a bit more high tech and got a app for my phone called iHunt journal. Lets you record you position, wind, temp, weather, time, hunter, hunting type, hunting dog, barometric pressure, moon phase, and a short story.

I try to remember in my head as well, but also mark down on a topo print out of the area. You can see patterns of rub lines, trails that way easier and it shows how they really use the terrain to move.

I keep gps coordinates and print out topos and mark the topos themselves. I also keep a hunt journal. I worry most about the wind and have it cataloged on the topos too.

flopdrop wrote:Just had an Uncle that passed away who left a box containing everything he had from his 1st deer hunts and fishing trips he kept starting all the way back in 1958. I will be turning 50 next year but I will keep and tell my story of everyone until my passing.
That box I shared with my cousins or I should say his 2 daughters and we are compiling it all into a hardbound book. It tells his passion for the outdoors like nothing i have ever read. The knowledge that he had obtained years ago that has just been published in the past 10-15 yrs. he talked about in the 70's already.

I have 2 apps on my iphone. Scout Look Deer Log & ihunt Journal which I will keep notes of my hunts and some pictures. Then after hunting season I will tell my stories in a journal along with detail pics. to go along with them. It may be time consuming but the memories it leaves behind is amazing.

Thats pretty awesome and would be very interesting to read. Rich heritage there for sure

I have never really thought about it. In this era we have the overkill of the electronic age. In the Ol'days, we had pen and paper.

Most of what we learn is mentally catalogued in the cranium, which we all have the ability to recall.

If I know that I am going to a specifc area I start to ponder - what did i learn last year? The brainiac starts to recalibrate and when I enter the woods it starts to do the mental thing...oh there was a scrape here, a rub line down that ridge, fresh poop scattered near this akern patch, etc., etc.

It's uncanny the ability we have if we allow our minds to work as they should. Dave would be fond of "Remeber my ways and to keep them Holy".....

So the next time you enter the woods of familiarity, take a small NT and sit for a spell and read a page, you mght just be surprised what goes round-a-bout in that packed noggin' .......

Hope this helps.