How often do you check your cameras during the rut?
- Thread starter Bushape
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Mr.Bro
Well-Known Member
Never. I pull my cameras about the last week of October. I know by then whats where and come rut my targets may be miles away but they will return every 6 or 7 days.
Kirk
Well-Known Member
I pulled all my cameras right after the first week of Muzzle loader.
I leave mine out year round, but only check them after season, and in late August, changing batteries and cards then as well. I've had one camera last over a year without checking it before.
All my cameras are behind our house. About once a week, usually try to check them days I am hunting close to them.
BSK
Well-Known Member
On a given property, I swap cards weekly. But I go to extreme measures to ensure I'm not leaving human scent around. If I can't drive right up to a camera on my ATV, a camera doesn't go there. Walking to cameras is a really quick way to shut down activity in the area. And when possible, I place cameras in high human traffic areas, like along roads and trails regularly travelled. ATV travel certainly scares deer at the moment. I have plenty of videos/pictures of deer turning towards the direction I'm coming from a minute before I get there, and they're gone when I get there. But the deer are right back in an hour or two. For the life of me, I can't understand why deer DON'T seem to be spooked long-term by the smell of an ATV driving through, but they don't.
When I used to walk to my cameras, I would regularly see declining use of the camera site over time. However, since switching to my ATV checking, I may not see peak usage of that camera site until after the 8th or 10th time I've visited, and that includes by mature bucks.
When I used to walk to my cameras, I would regularly see declining use of the camera site over time. However, since switching to my ATV checking, I may not see peak usage of that camera site until after the 8th or 10th time I've visited, and that includes by mature bucks.
BSK, I've thought on the ATV thing as well, and my thought is that, at least where there is some nearby roads and traffic , that deer smell the exhaust regularly, and it just doesn't raise their alarm status that high bc they're kinda used to the smell. Just a thought.
BSK
Well-Known Member
MUP,
I don't know why vehicle traffic doesn't scare deer long term, but it doesn't, especially if traffic in that area is common. Kind of like how deer become completely accustomed to a farmer working his fields. They see and smell him there all the time and he never does them any harm. I've even noticed deer do not react to my smell as much around the food plots I work in regularly.
I don't know why vehicle traffic doesn't scare deer long term, but it doesn't, especially if traffic in that area is common. Kind of like how deer become completely accustomed to a farmer working his fields. They see and smell him there all the time and he never does them any harm. I've even noticed deer do not react to my smell as much around the food plots I work in regularly.
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
Along the same lines as ATV and vehicle traffic.....a buddy of mine who guided hunters on private farm land would tell hunters to stay on stand or in the blind until he pulled into the plot to pick them up....he always wanted to bump the deer out of the plot with the farm truck verses hunters climbing down and spooking deer from plot.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
Expanding from this and a little off topic....I don't hunt food plots, except during early season, but I bought a coyote howl call for about $12. I started using this if there were deer in the field and shooting light was gone. I'd hit that thing and the deer left the field immediately and I'm able to get down and leave without a worry in the world. That thing has helped tremendously and naturally...just an FYI
BSK
Well-Known Member
What a great idea. I need to get one of those.
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
Great idea....beats the heck out of sitting there in the dark waiting forever.
AlabamaSwamper
Well-Known Member
Every day if possible
I drive right up to them. Deer used to it and pay no attention to it.
I drive right up to them. Deer used to it and pay no attention to it.
Quit using cameras 10 years ago they will break your heart .
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
When using cameras, as long as you aren't using them with the mindset of "this is going to help me kill that buck", you won't get you're heart broken. A lot of hunters have this view, and that's totally fine, but I can tell you that if I had that view, I'd have my heart broken over ten times a year on bucks I'd like to shoot. But I don't use cameras to help me do anything other than to know what caliber of bucks are in the area, determining what phase of the rut we are in by overlooking scrapes and the daylight activity they are showing me (and use that info year after year). The only exception to this would be in the early season when deer are a little more predictable, but that's it. Just use it to have fun and see what's out there, at the least. They can teach us a lot.....but they can't teach us how to hunt. Best of luck!
Great perspective JCDeerman. I also use the same approach. The cameras help me monitor the deer herd, quality and quantity, health, and likely areas of travel (which direction that are moving most of the time). Once I have that info, I try to use it to determine how, when, and where to hunt during the season and phase. One thing I would add is that I use the cameras to really help me monitor the doe herd. The does are extremely important - maybe more so than the bucks. If I have a solid doe herd on my cameras and all look healthy, then I believe my chances of catching a mature buck during the season increase as does tend to have a tighter home range than bucks and that improves my chances. I actually tend to focus on doe travel areas during the season based on what I learned from the cameras.
I don't worry about what's on my property for the coming season , just like having pics of a buck that I may end up taking during the season. Like browsing the pics to see what's using my area during the summer, but that's never a guarantee that the same bucks will be there come season opener. Learned that a long time ago.
JeepKuntry
Well-Known Member
Normally put cameras out early/mid July. Check them the weekend before bow season opens. Then I generally check as I pull them throughout bow season. If sign is present, they stay up. If a spot dies off, then I pull em until after season closes. In the next 2 weeks I will be out placing the 7 I have over areas I marked and should have hunted. I can still see what may be in those areas and decide on what to do next fall.
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
We start running cameras early summer and leave them up until most bucks have shed....then cameras come down for cleaning or any adjustments....I check the cameras every 3 to 4 weeks and love running them while it's raining or wind blowing or at minimum during mid-day hours....and I do drive the truck into the property to run cameras....but in some ways I guess my experience has been different than others.... yes some bucks disappear or shift ranges in the fall....but many times we have pics of bucks in velvet....during the rut....and post season....and occasionally we do kill a mature buck that "just shows up" (or that we just never got a picture of) ....but the majority of mature bucks we've taken over the years we have multiple pictures of...and some we have pictures of over a two or three year period....and of course we've had mature bucks just disappear.
What's interesting is when a particular buck shows up on multiple cameras multiple times....verses another buck that only shows up on one individual camera occasionally..... always assumed this could indicate each bucks home range.....to me cameras are a useful tool for the hunter and land manager and I enjoy the process.....they extend the season for me and add to the experience.
Sorry....got little off topic.
What's interesting is when a particular buck shows up on multiple cameras multiple times....verses another buck that only shows up on one individual camera occasionally..... always assumed this could indicate each bucks home range.....to me cameras are a useful tool for the hunter and land manager and I enjoy the process.....they extend the season for me and add to the experience.
Sorry....got little off topic.
DeerCamp
Well-Known Member
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Similar situation.
Our house is on the front 1/3 of our farm, north of all of our hunting stands except one. It's a long, narrow property. All of the vents in our house vent to the outside, bathrooms and kitchen. With a prevailing north-ish wind in the fall, I have to assume we bombard the woods with out scent year round.
Consequently none of us have ever been scent busted by deer we can see. I can't say we've never done so... But deer come from all direction on this property, often 30-40 yards downwind and they never seem to mind.
Guess they just get conditioned
BSK
Well-Known Member
SO glad you brought that up DeerCamp! Now I won't feel so foolish discussing one of my truly crazy pet theories.
Before the crazy theory, some facts: due to the number of olfactory sensors deer have per square inch in their nasal passages, and the total square inches of nasal passage surface, deer most likely have a sense of smell better than a Bloodhound's. A Bloodhound can identify individual people by their unique smell and even track a single person through a crowd of people. Because of the higher number of olfactory sensors, deer almost certainly have this physical ability as well. So deer can almost certainly identify individual people by their unique smell. The only other question needing an answer is, do they care? Do they smell a person and realize that's person "X", or do they just think "Human!" and run?
The answer to that question is critical to my crazy theory, which is, I'm becoming convinced a person can condition deer in a local area to his/her smell to the point deer do not react as negatively as they would with other people. Notice I said, "as negatively." I think hunted deer will never be completely comfortable around humans, even ones they smell regularly. But deer do have amazing "spatial awareness," in that the can learn that human activity in location X is not a threat, but human activity in area Y is. So why couldn't they become conditioned to the smell of a particular person who is in the woods regularly all year round, and 99% of the time causes them no harm?
Exactly. I have hunted my places sp long I know tbe deer so I dont even put up a camera except to catch poachers any more this is what is on my place
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T. J. Mercer
Well-Known Member
I've long maintained that the herd's sensitivity to pressure is directly proportionate to the overall layout of the land. There are some big urban and suburban deer out there. If they were as sensitive to pressure as everyone believes, they'd of long since left the area.
Contrarily, the deer in areas that see little to no human pressure year round will react to it.
I've known fellas who bring a thermos of coffee and smoke a cig from the stand who don't struggle seeing deer. In some places, you can get away with that. In others, you can't.
I do believe, though, that mature bucks are either hypersensitive or overly cautious and are therefore more easily pressured.
But to answer the question at hand, I typically swap cards everytime I'm out. I try to minimize skin contact, but it happens. And the deer will lick and sniff the cameras ... but they don't leave the area.
I enjoy experimenting with attractants, seeing if I can affect traffic or pathing (which I've been able to do). As others have stated, I like to see the caliber of deer in the area, times of feeding/movement, and the impact weather and other factors have.
Lots of folks have theories.
I like testing them!
Contrarily, the deer in areas that see little to no human pressure year round will react to it.
I've known fellas who bring a thermos of coffee and smoke a cig from the stand who don't struggle seeing deer. In some places, you can get away with that. In others, you can't.
I do believe, though, that mature bucks are either hypersensitive or overly cautious and are therefore more easily pressured.
But to answer the question at hand, I typically swap cards everytime I'm out. I try to minimize skin contact, but it happens. And the deer will lick and sniff the cameras ... but they don't leave the area.
I enjoy experimenting with attractants, seeing if I can affect traffic or pathing (which I've been able to do). As others have stated, I like to see the caliber of deer in the area, times of feeding/movement, and the impact weather and other factors have.
Lots of folks have theories.
I like testing them!
