Does a cell phone simply serve as a distraction when sitting on a deer stand? Or, is there some actual usefulness to having one in hand while in the woods? Below are my thoughts on why I think hunters should use a cell phone when deer hunting. The following list is in no particular order.
1. Great Safety Device In The Deer Woods
Cell phones serve as a great safety measure when hunting. In case of a fall, allergic reaction, or some other unforeseen event, you can call for help. Or, if you don’t find your way back home when expected, your family can use the “find my iphone” feature to check to see where you are.
Also, the odds of getting lost in the woods are greatly diminished with a gps-enabled mobile device in hand. This can be especially helpful when tracking wounded deer at night.
Keep a charging pack with you for safety reasons. That way you aren’t left with a dead phone battery during an emergency.
2. You Won’t Miss Major Sporting Events
You can’t kill a deer sitting at home on your couch watching a football game. Well, that’s not entirely true, because I know people who have done just that. Nevertheless, most of us don’t live where we can hunt from our living room window. So, if it takes streaming a live sporting event on your phone, to get you out into the woods, how could that be a bad thing?
Smart phones are great for checking sports scores while on the deer stand. I’m glued to mine during college football Saturdays.
3. Cutting Edge Picture Taking Device
When your turn at a trophy buck comes around, you don’t want to be without a camera to get high quality photos in the field. I used to be religious about keeping a digital camera with charged batteries on hand. Those days are over. Now, I just carry my iPhone.
4. Mobile Phones Double As Video Cameras
While mobile phones are not a full substitute for a true HD Video camera, they can take close up game footage just fine. I use mine to record deer in the food plots that I’m hunting. It’s fun to share short video clips with your hunting buddies while on the stand. I also enjoy capturing the final approach of a downed buck.
5. Hunter To Hunter Communication
Oh man, I remember the days when you had to use some sort of CB radio or handheld radio to communicate with your hunting buddies. That was such an inferior method of communication as compared to text messaging from a mobile phone. These days, you’re able to communicate in great detail with not so much as a whisper.
6. They Pass The Time During Dead Periods
Some days on the deer stand are just not very good. However, you never know when something good will pop out. Having a means to entertain yourself on those excruciatingly slow days usually equates to more hours in the stand. More hours in the stand could mean more chances at a buck, especially during the rut.
7. Passes The Time Before First Shooting Light
It’s important to get to your stand early so that you allow the woods to settle down from your walk in. With an early arrival, scent will have a chance to dissipate, and getting there earlier means less of a chance of spooking deer. For my early arrival days, I use my phone to entertain myself while I wait for daylight.
8. Serves As A Hunting Motivational Tool
Some days in the stand I feel hopeless that I’ll even see a deer. In the past when that happened, I might just thrown in the towel and climb down. Now days, with my phone, I have the option to browse forums or use texts to check in with fellow hunters about deer activity. There have been many times in which this positive feedback kept me in the stand just a little longer, until I actually saw deer movement.
9. It’s A Flashlight!
In the mornings I rarely carry a flashlight anymore. If I need a bit of light when I’m fumbling around in the deer stand I just use my cell phone.
10. Weather Awareness In The Woods
The ability to check the weather while in the deer woods can save you from potential weather issues. One time I left the woods and headed home just ahead of a significant ice storm striking the area. I was able to safely time my last minute departure because I had a smart phone with me.
11. Allows You To Work From A Deer Stand
Look, I know that nobody wants to work from a deer stand. The reality is, I know folks who would not have been able to go hunting if not for the ability to keep in touch with emails.
Sometimes critical events are unfolding at work that you may not necessarily have to be present for. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t on call in case there are issues. Sometimes a phone frees you from being tied to the house for work.
12. Nobody Wears A Watch Anymore
Unless it’s an Apple Watch, most people I know don’t use one anymore. That’s yet another use of a mobile phone when hunting.
13. Check Cellular Trail Camera Pics In Real Time
One of my favorite uses of a phone while hunting is that it can show me what I’m missing at the other deer stand. I have a cellular trail camera and get real time game photos sent straight to my mobile device.
14. Smart Phones Are Great Scouting Tools
I’m addicted to using phone mapping apps for deer scouting. It saves so much time when hunting new areas. While it’s not an apples to apples replacement of a full handheld gps, it’s pretty darn good. Mapping apps, like onX Hunt, add both a helpful and enjoyable layer to deer hunting.
15. Note Taking And Research
With time on a deer stand comes lots of time for thought. I’m always taking advantage of this free time by “jotting” down notes, so that I don’t forget things I want to recall later. There are also times when random questions pop into my head. Because I have a smart phone, I’m able to Google for answers right there in the stand.
3 Negatives To Using A Cell Phone While Hunting
There are a few glaring downsides and challenges that come with using a mobile device when deer hunting.
1. You Are Dependent On Good Cellular Coverage
Not everywhere that you hunt is going to have great cell coverage. Certainly that’s very true in many remote hunting areas. Without good coverage, a cell phone is downgraded to not much more than a picture taking device with some games on it. You should keep that in mind if you ever decide to buy some hunting land.
2. You Might Occasionally Miss Deer Movement
There is no doubt that using a phone is eventually going to cause you to miss seeing some deer. It happens to me every year. At some point, you’ll look up and see nothing but a white tail disappearing into the brush. I’m personally OK with this trade off, but you may not be.
3. Unexpected Sounds Spook Deer
Whether you accidentally leave the ringer on, the vibrate on, or you get an Amber Alert, it will eventually happen. A phone may sound off when you least expect it, and spook deer.
Conclusion
So, what do you think? Do mobile phones diminish deer hunting? I emphatically say no. I think they bring much more to the table than they take away. If anything, having my phone keeps me in the deer stand for more hours than I’d otherwise stay. Sounds like a good thing to me.
You know what else goes well with deer hunting? Coffee! Why not check out my other article about having coffee in a deer stand?
Augustus Clay
