Using social media to become a better hunter

Social media can help establish trends in the outdoors

Is it possible to use social media to become a better sportsman? I know you may not believe me, but hear me out, and then see what you think.

Useful data

One of the keys to using social media to become a better sportsman is the ability to sort good information from the bad. We all can agree that not all information on the social media platforms is good. But I’m here to debate that some of it can be used to your advantage.

Cherry picking information can lead to much more success. Sportsmen love to show off their harvests with friends and groups on social media. And we use that information to our advantage. We all tire of the questions from other sportsmen of where and how.

We often don’t want to answer questions that may give away our favorite locations. So let’s talk about the data that we can get from social media without coming right out and asking the sportsman where and what they used.

Cyclical patterns

Nature follows patterns much like the seasons. Each and every year, patterns emerge that can make you a more successful hunter. Much can be gained from local groups on social media where hunters and anglers post pics to show off their trophy. After decades in the outdoors, these patterns become clearer.

Let’s start in the spring with gobbling activity of the wild turkey. I often speak with my son on our drives back from hunting about the lack of posts on social media. The lack of success photos often tells me that activity of a given species has not peaked yet, and that the best days are yet to come.

If other sportsmen start posting a lot of success photos but we are still having little action, I then start to rethink my areas and/or tactics. Without ever asking a question, I believe I am able to predict if the peak times for this year have passed or are yet to come.

Social media can help anglers as well as hunters

Straight from spring gobbling, fishermen can look online to see when their favorite species of fish move into certain areas without ever having to ask a question. Are a lot of anglers posting large harvests of crappies? Just paying attention to these patterns can tell you when to break out the equipment.

Coyote hunters can use this tactic many times throughout the year, as we can key on cut fields that provide a hot period of action, or like right now in the summer once the young pups have left the dens and are beginning to hunt. When I see coyotes on the smaller side being harvested in great numbers, I can assume my feeding areas will be loaded with young, naive coyotes that are easy to harvest.

A sure sign to get out in the deer woods is rutting activity that includes bucks chasing does. An uptick of vehicle-big buck collisions is a clear signal on social media that the big daddy bucks are cruising looking for a date.

Watching for these signs online can maximize when you can get into the field for the best action, which brings the best results.

Maximizing the best times

Young hunters starting out have time. Time afield can make you more successful. Seasoned hunters know the signs of when to get out there. These sportsmen have seen the patterns over the years. And they key in on these patterns to maximize their time in the field.

Specific information for certain sportsmen is an indicator of when it is time to go afield. Watching for these indicators can be useful. And social media is the main place that sportsmen can get easy access to the information that will let them know when that time has arrived.

Sorting through all the bad information online can be worthwhile if you know the signs to look for, and you act accordingly. The best thing about this information is that it is free. Stay in the information loop and use it to your advantage this season.

Click here to get more hunting tips from Gene “The Mailman” Wisnewski.