Say what you want about modern technology, but the tools at your fingertips can be the difference between a punched tag and an empty freezer. Your phone can’t shoot the buck for you, but it’s the best tool available to put you in the right place at the right time.
It wasn’t long ago that we didn’t have this luxury. I remember being in high school, printing off grainy satellite images and cross-referencing them with county plat maps. Those printouts were usually useless once my boots actually hit the dirt. Back then, “real-time” weather meant hoping the guy on the local news channel got it right.
Now I use my phone for everything hunting related. Even when I’m out of the woods, I’m using it to become a more efficient hunter. While nothing replaces time in the timber, utilizing technology is an efficient way to grow as a hunter.
1. Weather and Movement Prediction
My wife jokingly calls me the weatherman because I’m obsessed with the forecast. I can usually recite the temperature, wind direction, and barometric pressure for the next three days from memory.
I study this because it affects how I hunt greatly. Tools like HuntStand or DeerCast have turned this into a science, rolling weather data and movement algorithms into one interface. If you want to see how much this matters, just pay attention to how Mark Drury hunts. He’s got this information dialed to an exact science, just the same way he does with killing record book giants.
2. Trail Camera Inventory
If you’re running a fleet of cameras, the volume of photos can get overwhelming fast. Information is only useful if it’s organized.
Utilizing cellular camera apps takes care of the heavy lifting. Stealth Cam’s Command Pro app, for example, has an intuitive organization system that allows you to use folders, labels, and map data to help you keep your trail camera pictures in order.
If you are a true whitetail nerd, you will want to ensure that no information falls through the cracks.
3. Digital Map Scouting
Every seasoned hunter knows that successful hunts are built on scouting. Whether it’s pre-season, in-season, or post-season, it all starts with e-scouting.
I spend almost every night on the couch hovering over apps like HuntStand, OnX or Deercast, and I honestly believe that it helps me tag deer every fall. It’s the best way for picking hunting areas, establishing property boundaries, revealing property owners, analyzing habitat diversification, and picking out prospective setup locations.
4. Hard Data Analysis
Your phone is a portal to infinite collections of data and information. When I’m planning out-of-state hunts or gearing up for application/preference point season, I stay glued to my phone. I like to start with harvest data.
Most state agency websites offer harvest data by county or unit. I use this to determine where the age structure is best and what the draw odds look like, and this all helps me determine target counties or hunt units.
If someone grabbed my phone at any given time, they’d think I was studying for a statistics final. In reality, I’m just trying to go hunting.
5. Communication and Collaboration
Finally, a phone can be used as what it was traditionally created for, communication and collaboration.
I’ve emailed hunt area managers, called state biologist and game wardens, and have even talked to hotel workers and Airbnb hosts. You never know where you will be able to obtain information from.
Online forums can be useful too, but take them with a grain of salt. Like a bad Yelp review, the guys with the worst luck are usually the loudest. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and talk to the people who live and breathe the dirt you’re planning to hunt.
Final Thoughts
The old-timers might argue that phones take away from the purity of the hunt. There’s some truth there, but it isn’t black and white.
Because of phones and technology this generation of hunters has access to adventure that could only be dreamed about 50 years ago.
Any tool that makes us more ethical and efficient should be welcomed. If this technology helps me notch more tags and experience more adventures, I’m all in.
