How to get bucks on cam

[Dodge Man]

We have purchased a new property that is roughly 100 ac of WRP. It was had Oaks and Cypress trees planted on the whole property 10+ years ago and is really thick. I put up 5 trail cameras on the property a week ago. So far I am only getting fawns and Does. What is the best way to find bucks on a property/ get pictures of bucks?

 

[Dodge Man]

 

[Dodge Man]

The trees and whole area is grown up more then it looks like on map photos.

 

[tree_ghost]

It sounds like you have a lot of primary bedding areas on your piece. It has been my experience that when you have the best cover and food in the spring time, the does will push the bucks out to bear their fawns. So the bucks may not be on you just yet, but that same experience has taught me you should be in the bucks, literally, come rut because of those same does….IMO you could really mess a piece of ground like this up by trying to attract bucks and creating lots of human intrusion in fear of not getting buck pictures. That human pressure boogers the does and then they leave town with ole tall tines in tow….just my .02

 

[Dodge Man]

It sounds like you have a lot of primary bedding areas on your piece. It has been my experience that when you have the best cover and food in the spring time, the does will push the bucks out to bear their fawns. So the bucks may not be on you just yet, but that same experience has taught me you should be in the bucks, literally, come rut because of those same does….IMO you could really mess a piece of ground like this up by trying to attract bucks and creating lots of human intrusion in fear of not getting buck pictures. That human pressure boogers the does and then they leave town with ole tall tines in tow….just my .02

We are not really trying to attract bucks, I guess I had in mind maybe I need to move a few cameras to different type of area that bucks might use more. But I also was thinking like you said that maybe the bucks are not in this area this time of year. There is a large Pine woods to the North and older growth forest south of the property. It is surrounded by beans except for a small 10 ac corn field on one side.

 

[megalomaniac]

The bucks are in the beans all night, but likely bedding on your place. Walk the edges and find the well defined trails leaving your cover and headed to the beans, hang a camera there.

This time of year, the bucks are usually grouped up... so you can have 3 cams with no buck pics, while the 4th gets 7 or 8 bucks on it.... feast or famine.

 

[Dodge Man]

It sounds like you have a lot of primary bedding areas on your piece. It has been my experience that when you have the best cover and food in the spring time, the does will push the bucks out to bear their fawns. So the bucks may not be on you just yet, but that same experience has taught me you should be in the bucks, literally, come rut because of those same does….IMO you could really mess a piece of ground like this up by trying to attract bucks and creating lots of human intrusion in fear of not getting buck pictures. That human pressure boogers the does and then they leave town with ole tall tines in tow….just my .02

We plan on cutting a road to the North end and maybe making a few small food plots. But we can not do much because it is still in the WRP program. We can only mow like 7% or something around that.

 

[Dodge Man]

The bucks are in the beans all night, but likely bedding on your place. Walk the edges and find the well defined trails leaving your cover and headed to the beans, hang a camera there.

This time of year, the bucks are usually grouped up... so you can have 3 cams with no buck pics, while the 4th gets 7 or 8 bucks on it.... feast or famine.

I found some major trails, but I guess not the right one yet. I have not walked the West side at all yet.

 

[megalomaniac]

Yup... thats what you are looking for...

To speed up the process, is it possible to watch the beanfields from a road with your property in the background of the beanfield? If so, just get out there early, glass up the bachelor group, then watch which trail they take out of the beans and onto your property. Or opposite transition in the evening coming off your place and into the beans 30 min before dark. Slip in and hang a camera there.

 

[Dodge Man]

Yup... thats what you are looking for...

To speed up the process, is it possible to watch the beanfields from a road with your property in the background of the beanfield? If so, just get out there early, glass up the bachelor group, then watch which trail they take out of the beans and onto your property. Or opposite transition in the evening coming off your place and into the beans 30 min before dark. Slip in and hang a camera there.

Yes you can see 2 sides of it from roads. I will try to go see what comes out one afternoon.

Was thinking bucks will be shedding and making some rubs in a few weeks. I found a few old rubs froms last year. I probably should go ahead and put a camera up in that area. I imagine some of the same bucks will travel that trail this year.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Plenty of deer in the area for sure. I wouldn't worry too much about what's in the area right now. Totally different herd of bucks come fall. If you just want to see them now, do what @megalomaniac said as far as glassing. Putting cameras over those trails and water.

The best way to get buck pics this time of year is to establish salt licks around March for next year at this time.

 

[Dodge Man]

Plenty of deer in the area for sure. I wouldn't worry too much about what's in the area right now. Totally different herd of bucks come fall. If you just want to see them now, do what @megalomaniac said as far as glassing. Putting cameras over those trails and water.

The best way to get buck pics this time of year is to establish salt licks around March for next year at this time.

It has a established salt lick that was put there by someone in the past few years. We have 2 cameras in that area.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

It has a established salt lick that was put there by someone in the past few years. We have 2 cameras in that area.

Gotcha. I love seeing summer bucks, but if I don't see many, no sweat off my back. Now, come fall and I'm not getting them, that's when the mind games come into effect.

 

[BSK]

Dodge Man,

I agree with both tree_ghost and Megalomaniac. First, it is very possible few bucks use the property NOW. During the fawn rearing season, does and their fawns are dominant over bucks, and can force bucks out of the area. This is most common when one property/area is very desirable habitat (food and cover-wise) while surrounding areas are not. In essence, when neighboring properties are a patchwork of "good" and "bad" habitat. But Megalomaniac is also correct that bucks should still be in bachelor groups at this time, so it would not be uncommon for many cameras to catch no bucks, but then one camera catching ALL of the bucks in the area.

But definitely don't get freaked out if you aren't finding many bucks on camera right now. Some bucks shift their seasonal ranges dramatically from summer to fall, and a property almost devoid of bucks in summer can be crawling with bucks in fall. This shift will begin right around antler velvet shedding time.

 

[UpperTully]

Congrats on the new property! I'm very very familiar with that area. That is a unique location as most of the deer in that area will be honed in on your property and the parcels to the south. I have great success hunting that type of habitat and has become one of my favorites to hunt. In my experience, I usually don't see bucks in new growth timber during the hot summer months, it's mostly always does and fawns. That's not to say there isn't a bachelor group in there and you just haven't found them. Sometimes they're like finding a needle in a haystack down in those bottoms. Either way, I wouldn't fret it the least bit. Come deer season, you'll start seeing them.

I'd start glassing the edges at sunset. Even glassing the parcels to the south.

I'd be building me a couple skid blinds for the back side too!

 

[huvrman]

Salt.

 

[rem270]

During the fawn rearing season, does and their fawns are dominant over bucks, and can force bucks out of the area. This is most common when one property/area is very desirable habitat (food and cover-wise)

I have never heard that before until now but definitely explains the pattern I have seen all my life on my property. We have an abundance of does and fawns this year, just like every other year and as I've said before I don't get many buck pics this time of year. Just the occasional bachelor group to roll through at the salt licks. Luckily for me I have most of the woods and tall CRP (in the summer months) so that explains why I get a lot of the does and fawns every year. I always just assumed the bucks were in the crop fields that surround me and didn't utilize my place much because of that.

What I have noticed on my new property is I have mainly just seen one doe and fawn all summer. I have gotten a few pics where another doe would make her way into the lick but it seems that mama doe is always running it off. At least that's what it's looked like in the pics. I did have a group of 3 bucks come in one night but haven't seen them since.

But your theory/facts puts a lot of it into perspective for me.

 

[BSK]

What I have noticed on my new property is I have mainly just seen one doe and fawn all summer. I have gotten a few pics where another doe would make her way into the lick but it seems that mama doe is always running it off. At least that's what it's looked like in the pics. I did have a group of 3 bucks come in one night but haven't seen them since.

Just before fawning season, doe social groups break up and each doe establishes a fawning territory. The size of an individual doe's fawning territory varies by study with total deer density being a major driving force. Once established, a doe will attack any other deer that enters their territory, and will also attack dogs, people, anything. Does can be VERY aggressive at this time. These territories are chosen by social dominance. The most dominant doe will choose the best territory and then choice of area moves down the dominance ladder. The lowest does on the social ladder may not be able to find a suitable territory within the social group's normal range, hence they will leave the area completely and disperse until each of them finds an unclaimed location. This is why so many does are hit by cars in late May and early June. It is low-on-the-social-ladder does dispersing out of their normal range to find a fawning territory, often crossing areas they are unfamiliar with. Most of these dispersed does will return back to their social group in late summer, with fawn in tow, but not all do.

This is how female dispersal occurs, and the way female genetics spread outwards from a given location. Low-on-the-social-ladder does disperse to find a fawning territory, and instead of returning to a situation where they are low on the social ladder, the stay where they are and create their own new social group from their female offspring.

This is also how Natural Selection in females works. To be dominant, a doe must be large in body, healthy, and mean! Does that have these traits genetically get to choose the best fawning territories, which have the best combination of food and cover. These better fawning territories produce higher fawn survival. So the biggest, healthiest, meanest does have more surviving fawns that carry the genetics for being large, healthy and mean. Survival of the Fittest.

 

[TheLBLman]

In addition to above . . .

Dodge Man, You need to unleash the Kraken aka The Bush Hog!
Lots of mowed strips in that jungle & it will be more attractive habitat for deer, and provide more "trails" for capturing pics.

 

[Dodge Man]

In addition to above . . .

Dodge Man, You need to unleash the Kraken aka The Bush Hog!
Lots of mowed strips in that jungle & it will be more attractive habitat for deer, and provide more "trails" for capturing pics.

Its CRP or WRP i am not exactly sure at the moment. There is a limit on how much we can mow, cut, till or plant. It sounds like it is a higher number then we originally thought. But we are still finalizing the paperwork and finding out all the rules.