Progressive Hunting Season Stats

Miforester

Miforester

Well-known member
One year for Christmas when I was a teenager I received a hunting log and being a typical teenager I didn't always record my hunts like I do today. I have kept stats for of and on for the better par 30 years. Major gap was when my family was young and I was coaching my son in travel hockey and baseball, my hunting was pretty much none existent, hence the gap from 2003 to 2015. My last trip out west to hunt was 2003 in Iowa. I was invited to go to SD for the first time in 2012 in that trip I had seen more birds then the when my dad and I hunted in Iowa from 1986 to 2003, we hunted SW Iowa so we were not in the prime Iowa area but we had access had built relationships with farmers and that was part of the joy of trip, time with my dad is a given. My log book was filled and i had not found a replacement. I took my son and dad to SD winter of 2012, it was a great trip but several days we started hunting well below zero, saw plenty of birds but we only killed like 6 or so. My last time in the pheasant field with my son and dad was in 2014 back to our old stomping grounds of Iowa first hunt with my lab and last hunt with Kaci my Britt at the time. Again didn't kill many birds but memories to last a life time. I did have a log book for that year but have misplaced it.

Since then I have kept pretty good records of my hunting season with my current pack of Bella (Britt 2014), Ellie(Lab 2013) and River(Setter 2016), I have attached my bird stats that reflect the seasons I have detailed information. The last two years I have been tracking mileage that I walk and have included birds per mile for the hunters. I Hunting generally Michigan, Nebraska and South Dakota with at least one trip out west a year, when the stars align it is two trips. In 2017 we did the Kansas trip and numbers were not what we expected, 2018 and 2019 I hunted both Nebraska and South Dakota. I was able to make 2 trips to SD, the second with my son. Until 2021 all my hunting was done on CREP, WPA, GPA and ditches, in 2021 I befriend a couple farmers so my second trip was a mix of public and private. Oh Goosemaster, I don't have to pay to hunt the private ;), butI do bring them homemade and Michigan made products. I either am hunting solo or with my son. My Michigan numbers don't reflect any of my guiding, other than my personal hunting time has decreased, which started in 2018.

I know my stats are a very small snapshot compared to those of you who live out there or make several trips but I thought I would share them with like minded people. I like the number for trends to see how years compare more specifically for Michigan but interesting to see if there are differences in my western numbers. I'm a creature of habit and generally hunt the same public area annually, one because they typically are productive, but also cause I first visisted many of them with my son for the first time. We have names like the "Limiter" cause we go here if we need a couple to finish out our limit, "Bird Piler" cause in the parking area were 20+ breastless roosters and "The Chase" a nice ditch where my Lab and Setter chased a winged rooster for 5 minutes in an area less than 200 sq ft. I had a Billy Buckner moment when I had my hands on the ground and the rooster went right between my legs...fortunately we got our prize unlike Buckner :ROFLMAO: . I do have records of those I have hunted with like KSBrittman and DakotaZeb, granted these are only a few days but fun to record the memories we made hunting together. So below are my numbers very detailed stats since 2015 and nostalgia before that. Hope you all have a good weekend.

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The last 3 seasons I counted my harvest roosters. The first year I counted, I also recorded the date and where they were shot. Now I just drop a tail feather in a jar for each harvested bird as I clean them. How you track flushes, just the ones the dog flushes, just the ones within shooting range or any birds you see flush regardless of the distance? Hens part of those numbers? What I want to see is a picture of the inside of your garage/shop.
 
remy3424 said:
The last 3 seasons I counted my harvest roosters. The first year I counted, I also recorded the date and where they were shot. Now I just drop a tail feather in a jar for each harvested bird as I clean them. How you track flushes, just the ones the dog flushes, just the ones within shooting range or any birds you see flush regardless of the distance? Hens part of those numbers? What I want to see is a picture of the inside of your garage/shop.
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In Michigan the points/flushes are first contact, if i think they are follow ups I don't count them. I provide woodcock wings to the USFW for their stats and have to send in log of county and date killed. I try to keep the better grouse tails. Out west it is birds that are either pointed or birds the dogs are tracking that flush within shooting range and it does include hens. I do keep longest tail feather if still attached after the retrieve, but have started to supply local fly tiers with tails in exchange for flies as I'm an avid fly-fishermen as well.
 
I should do this. I used to track all my grouse woodcock flushes. But have slacked the last two years….Your kill rate on grouse of better than 1 per 6 flushes this year is quite good.
 
@Miforester - Very good way of recording memories.
I too, started keeping a log a few years ago a year or two after my oldest son started hunting with me. We have yet to keep the spreadsheet but I keep abbreviated notes of who we hunted with, location, and birds harvested. Sometimes misses and flushes (grouse) get recorded too.
I also keep a separate log in the notebook of dog training birds and birds harvested while guiding. We also take a lot of photos.
I need to get a bigger book so I can write it more legibly so my sons can interpret it someday.

I also used to hunt SW IA (Messina/ Creston) with my father back in those days. I envy that you got three generations together for a hunting road trip. My father’s health isn’t good enough except for an afternoon game farm hunt 2-3x a year.
 
@Winchester I would gladly share my spreadsheet with you, I made my own field journal then transfer to the spreadsheet. I also use my phone to track my hunts in the fields to record my actual time in the field and distance walked. I used to track hunter performance but that just became to much of a challenge.

I'd make that offer to anyone who would be interested the spreadsheet. I'm no tech guy but it works for me. All the individual hunts are automatically summarized for a season total as long as the formulas dont get messed up. Just shoot me a message with you email, if interested.

We used to hunt in the Anita and surrounding areas.
 
I started a journal in 2006 when I got Jane our shorthair. I find a decent sized hard bound notebook for every year. I record the weather, what gun I’m using, what dogs I take, where I hunt, who I hunt with, the mileage from my Astro for myself and the dogs, anything interesting and finally my bag for the day including number of shots, misses and lost birds. I also record good and bad things my dogs did during the hunt. The last few years I put the data in a spreadsheet so I can total it up.
For example, this year I hunted 37 days, walked over 200 miles, and shot 18 roosters and 2 quail. I hunted two days in Colorado and shot 5 roosters there, hunted two days in Iowa and shot two roosters and 1 quail there. My total for Nebraska was 33 days,11 roosters and 2 quail. It was a bad year here!
Last fall I sat down and read some of the early journals and it was interesting some of the things that I documented that I had completely forgotten. Probably wouldn’t be interesting to anyone else but I really wish I had started earlier.
 
Miforester said:
@Winchester I would gladly share my spreadsheet with you, I made my own field journal then transfer to the spreadsheet. I also use my phone to track my hunts in the fields to record my actual time in the field and distance walked. I used to track hunter performance but that just became to much of a challenge.

I'd make that offer to anyone who would be interested the spreadsheet. I'm no tech guy but it works for me. All the individual hunts are automatically summarized for a season total as long as the formulas dont get messed up. Just shoot me a message with you email, if interested.

We used to hunt in the Anita and surrounding areas.
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Thanks, we could create an excel spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet is fun for tracking year to year stats but the journal is good for tracking memories.
 
I kept a journal in 1986. Last year I lived in S.Dak. for the entire season. I had a pair of good Weims 6 and 7 years old. Both had pointed,retrieved 100's of pheasants. I hunted almost everyday of that season. Most days with a buddy and his phenomenal short-hair and occasionally his dad and his above average shorthair. I had all kinds of little stories in that journal. I remember I shot the last 50+ birds without a miss. Wish I had that journal now.1987 I moved to Texas only to return home to S.Dak in 2012



I started a journal beginning of last season but was often too busy/tired to keep it current. I probably hunted 60 days this year. All in S.Dak. and many were only 1 hour or slightly longer. I never hit 10 birds in a row without missing this year.
 
Weimdogman said:
I kept a journal in 1986. Last year I lived in S.Dak. for the entire season. I had a pair of good Weims 6 and 7 years old. Both had pointed,retrieved 100's of pheasants. I hunted almost everyday of that season. Most days with a buddy and his phenomenal short-hair and occasionally his dad and his above average shorthair. I had all kinds of little stories in that journal. I remember I shot the last 50+ birds without a miss. Wish I had that journal now.1987 I moved to Texas only to return home to S.Dak in 2012



I started a journal beginning of last season but was often too busy/tired to keep it current. I probably hunted 60 days this year. All in S.Dak. and many were only 1 hour or slightly longer. I never hit 10 birds in a row without missing this year.
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Nothing like being on top of your game!
 
I would say that when I retire I will keep detailed stats for something to keep me busy, but I have a '67 Chevelle waiting for a restoration/LS conversion, that will keep my attension for the first few years. I am assuming I make it to retirement, but that sure isn't a given these days.
I used to think in retirement I would get more days hunting, but I now realize I have trouble dealing with the birds I shoot on the weekends and holidays (maybe 25 days). I just can't find people that will eat them and I kind of get my fill by the end of the year. 60 days in the field.... I just couldn't eat them twice a day (or more) all season to stay in-front of the limit.
 
Weimdogman said:
I started a journal beginning of last season but was often too busy/tired to keep it current.
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I often just jot down notes of the info from my Astro and the pertinent details of what happened that day on a piece of paper. Then when I have more time and I can sit down and journal the complete hunt. If I didn't do that, I would never get anything in my journal, especially if I get home late, have birds to clean, am tired and maybe have somewhere to go with the wife that evening.
 
Looks like there was a lot of woodcock around from 2015 - 2018 in Michigan and quail have been non-existent the last 2 years.
 
birddude said:
Thats why i don't read mine anymore. It depresses me.
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In 2019 and 2020 my time hunting in Michigan was severely limited for many factors, I only had 11 and 10 hours in the field respectively. We had poor weather (rain and heat), I took a promotion and these are just the start of my excuses.....Unfortunately, I take for granted the resources I have around me and think there is always tomorrow. My quail numbers are hit or miss depending on if I get to NE to hunt them and 2019 was the last time. Its a good reminder to me to get my arse out in the field to run the dogs.
 
remy3424 said:
I used to think in retirement I would get more days hunting, but I now realize I have trouble dealing with the birds I shoot on the weekends and holidays (maybe 25 days). I just can't find people that will eat them and I kind of get my fill by the end of the year. 60 days in the field.... I just couldn't eat them twice a day (or more) all season to stay in-front of the limit.
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Did you ever think about reaching out to potential youth hunters and/ or military personnel?
You would still be getting out hunting and working your dogs but might have a renewed inspiration by mentoring others.
I would think a local hunter safety instructor could introduce you to some potential youth candidates.
 
Good advice for when I have more time on my hands. Oh, I am plenty inspired, I couldn't get out much more now. With the 20 some days I can hunt, I struggle keeping my possession limit in check. Maybe once retired, eating them will be somewhat easier as cooking them as I like to eat them is about a 45 minute deal and I don't like taking that much time on my lunches during the week. Don't get me wrong, I assume I will be hunting in my retirement, if my health allows, but it likely won't be much more than now. ...unless I turn into a mentoring master as suggested.
 
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