Does anyone else write down their hunting stories?

Sam,
Is your book available for purchase? To me, it would be interesting to read about your hunts over the years compared to mine....and maybe others.

When we bought our camp we had a journal going on for many years.
Now I just track all game shot per year.

I keep a journal and have also posted many trip reports on this site both successful and unsuccessful. Trip reports also tend be well documented at each stage with photos. One of these days i am gonna have go through and find them all and export them somehow. I know my kids have expressed interest in me doing this.

As far as journal/logs go, I keep a spreadsheet of all wild harvests. Mushrooms, berries, wild game etc. Helps me track when things come on each year, and where. For instance, my wife and I picked just over 4 quarts of wild cranberries Tuesday from 2 different marshes so I put that in there. Last year we barely got one cup. Helps me track how many fish we have in the freezer or how many ducks we harvested etc. Goes back as far as 2015.

I keep a hunting journal as well.

Mostly date, time, weather, location. Who I was with. Any particulars of terrain, etc ( Like a marsh that had higher water than normal). Species taken, and number.

Then depending on day, I'll write a little bit of my thoughts if it strikes me.

I figure I'll be an old man someday, and my fire, and journal might not be a bad way to look back.

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Originally Posted by Pioneerfreq

A few years ago I started writing down some of the more memorable hunting stories. Not really sure why. Maybe it's to share with others or to have happy memories to read when I'm an old fart. Looks like to date there are 30 or so stories and Microsoft Word says there's about 52000 words. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else does this and why.

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In the August 2022 issue of Ontario OUT of DOORS, there is a Gord Ellis column on this very thing. There's also a book review in the Fall 2022 issue (mailing this week and on newsstands Oct. 17) on Bill Keller's recently published Memories of the Outdoors, which is essentially a compendium of outdoor writing.

I think it's natural to want to put special memories down to the page, to preserve it, if not for someone else then for yourself, who one day may not remember them so well. I've kept a journal of sorts since I was a kid; it's a calming practise.

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Originally Posted by MeghanOOD

I think it's natural to want to put special memories down to the page, to preserve it, if not for someone else then for yourself, who one day may not remember them so well. I've kept a journal of sorts since I was a kid; it's a calming practise.

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That's a great point. I do find that while writing stories, I go over in my mind what may have gone right or wrong on a given day. In particular when things do go wrong, I find it helps me think about what I could do differently next time instead of just beating myself up.

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

Been doing it since 1984. About 12 years ago, I self-published a book that was a combination of my hunting journals and collection of photos. It was pricey but turned out really nice and the whole gang bought copies.

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that is amazing ! we need a link to purchase this.

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Originally Posted by Ata83

that is amazing ! we need a link to purchase this.

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Last time that I checked, the printer wanted around $300 per copy (no profit to me). I’m not sure the guys wouldn’t feel comfortable about sharing personal info about themselves with strangers though. LOL, if you book a week at the camp, there’s a copy on the coffee table.

I've been writing a deer hunting journal since 2011.