The Deer Camp Reader

The Value of Web-Enabled Cell Phones for Hunters

When it comes to communications equipment, I have come to the conclusion that hunters should look at cell phones the same way we do any other piece of hunting gear. Cell phones have already replaced walkie talkies for many hunters and offer the benefit of silent communications through text messaging.

 Now, with the availability of real time information online that is important to hunters, it has become almost a necessity to carry the most modern web-enabled cell phones. Aside from the obvious advantage of having emergency communications, hunters with web-enabled phones can access real time weather reports, information about sunrise and sunset times, moon phases, and game reports.

 In addition, web-enabled phones allow hunters to access needed information and services from the wildlife management agencies in their state. Increasingly, state wildlife agencies are allowing hunters to buy licenses, register game, and access hunting regulations and season dates online – all of which can be done from a web-enabled phone.

 Being able to do these things online, from deer camp, is a fantastic time saver for hunters like me who sometimes forget things like buying a license in my rush to get out of town. And registering game online is a wonderful alternative to the long drive into town to visit the check station.

 There are many other ways web-enabled cell phones can save you time, money, and help out in emergencies. Here is just one recent example from my own experience.

 On a turkey hunt this year, my cousin badly gashed the first knuckle on his left hand with his hunting knife. It was a deep, bad-looking wound that clearly needed stitches. The trouble was we were in the boonies, at least an hour drive from the nearest emergency room. Worse, neither of us liked the idea of driving all that way and then spending hours of our precious hunting time waiting for a few stitches.

 We tried applying pressure and keeping a snug bandage on it, but the wound wouldn’t stay closed. It was looking like we needed to head to the ER when I thought I remembered hearing somewhere that super glue could be used to close wounds in an emergency. I got out my cell phone and used Google to search for “super gluing lacerations” and found plenty of information about it.

 So we drove into town that night to buy a tube of it and fixed the wound without any problem. We didn’t miss any hunting time and we didn’t spend hours at the ER – not to mention hundreds of my cousin’s hard-earned dollars.

 Needless to say, super glue is now a permanent part of my first aid kit, but my web-enabled cell phone was just as important. Plus, in order to fully benefit from the connections you can make with other real hunters through The Deer Camp Reader, you’re going to need one.

 If you have a web-enabled phone already, great! But if you don’t, or if you are thinking about upgrading, here is a little bit of advice I can give.

 Hardware

You can get online and connect with the social networking sites discussed in this chapter with just about any web-enabled cell phone, but some are better than others. Two that I have personal experience with are the iPhone and the Blackberry.

 I am on the iPhone 3G now and it is an excellent social networking phone with a large color screen, fast connection speed, and a full keyboard that makes it easier to type messages. It also has a great camera that can be used to snap photos and instantly upload them to social networking sites to share with others.

 The Blackberry Curve is another great phone for social networking use and has a similar set of features as the iPhone. It is also available on more cellular networks.

 I don’t have much experience beyond these two brands, so I recommend you do your own research before you buy a new phone. The main thing to remember is to let your sales person know that you want to be able to connect the internet use social networking sites easily.

Those of you with additional advice to offer, please comment!

The Deer Camp Reader: Connecting Real Hunters

The idea for Deer Camp Reader came to me over a period of a few hunting seasons. Each year, I would find myself really excited at the beginning of the season. It was no problem at all for me to sit in my stand or blind for hours on end, glassing the woods and listening intently to distinguish noisy squirrels from the telltale sounds of a deer slipping by. 

When I was younger, I was a very competitive hunter. I worked hard at hunting so that I could (hopefully) get that trophy buck that all my buddies were after as well. I dedicated myself to staying out in my stand all day, trying to stay alert, glassing everything, and limiting my food and water intake so that I could avoid having to use the bathroom.

This worked pretty well, and I did see a lot of deer my buddies didn’t see, but as the season wore on I became pretty miserable. I would find myself fighting off boredom, hunger, and my aching back. It was hard to stay in that stand past 2PM, especially knowing my buddies were back at camp enjoying a meal, a warm fire, and sharing stories.

One way I knew that I could occupy myself would be to bring a book with me into the woods. I avoided doing that for years because all of the “how to” books I’d read as a young hunter said good hunters didn’t do that.

After years of hardcore-style hunting, though, I finally broke down and started taking some reading material into the woods with me. This really helped pass those afternoon hours when the sun warmed up and the wood were quiet. And I rediscovered how much I like reading, too. I had always been a reader growing up, but over the years the demands of my job and raising a family had pushed it off my list of things I had time for.

But there was a problem. I found myself getting too involved in these books not paying enough attention to what was going on around me. Just like those “how to” books warned me would happen, I was jolted out of a particularly great chapter in a Civil War novel one afternoon by the snap of a twig, only to see that I’d missed an opportunity at a great buck!

That was the beginning of the idea for the book I’m writing, as well as the blog and other social networking things I plan to do with it. I thought how great it would be to have a book that was not only entertaining and thought-provoking, but also written specifically for use while hunting. The way to do this, I thought, would be to put reminders in the book that prompted hunters to stop reading for a few minutes every now and then to take in their surroundings.

I’m going to share more later about how I plan to do that, and also my ideas for getting real hunters connected this coming season in a way none of us have ever been before, so stay tuned!

Scott

Get Connected

I am planning to cover a lot in my book, The Deer Camp Reader, and on this blog, and one of the things I am most excited about is the opportunity for us to use technology to turn it into a two-way conversation. My goal is provide some platforms for  real hunters to get connected in real-time, while hunting, using our web-enabled cell phones.

I realize that some of you may hunt in areas where you can’t get a cell phone connection (good for you!), but those places are becoming pretty rare. My idea, for example, is for us to use technology to do things like:

• Let the Deer Camp Reader community know about your successful hunt as-it happens
• Ask questions and get answers and advice from other real hunters on-the-spot
• Keep up with other hunters who are in the field, just like you are, right now
• Share stories and photos that the whole community will find interesting
• Make friends and grow your hunting party virtually

 I am a bit of an authority on this subject because, in my career life, I am a Creative Director for a digital advertising agency. It’s my job to know about new communications technologies and how people use them to interact, share information, and form social networks.

 Some of you will be more familiar with these tools than others, so I am going to approach it at a pretty basic level. As we get closer to the season, I will be posting some detailed instructions here to help novices set up accounts and get connected, so check back here if you need that kind of help.

For those of you who are ready to get connected now, here are the ways to hook up with me today:

• Facebook
• Twitter