now what?

[tap.emtp]

New covert black is in and I'm anxious to get it out. So how do you guys use cams after season. Place over bait? Would just looked to see what survived in my area. Thanks Ted

 

[Shed Hunter]

Bait is obviously going to tremendously increase the amount of pictures, but travel routes will also work. Bucks are so worn down from the rut and food is limited causing post season to be a great time to get them on camera


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[tap.emtp]

Thanks MC

 

[TheLBLman]

. . . . food is limited causing post season to be a great time to get them on camera

It is the best of times; it is the worst of times.

Right now, and this is unusual compared to most years, where I'm doing most my hunting, widespread deer food supplies are quite abundant. "A" food source "spot" is currently not much an attractant. Neither is salt or a mineral lick.

Late winter, deer simply do not move around as much (to conserve energy, stay warm). This can make it harder to get their pics. Then there is the issue of their "re-grouping", where you can have large numbers of scattered doe families combine, maybe have a bunch of females and young bucks concentrated on a very small portion of a big area. The older bucks form bachelor groups, and you'll likely either get pics of several 2 1/2 or older bucks, or no bucks at all.

Sometimes just moving a cam a short distance can result in lots of deer pics vs. none at all.

But things will change.
With spring green-up, it can get harder to get ANY deer pics, since food sources typically become more abundant. The bucks will shed their antlers, often making identifying any particular one difficult or impossible.

Sometime about April/May, the deer will start craving salt and minerals. From then until the bucks' antlers stop growing, I typically have my best luck getting buck pics over salt/mineral licks, which you should start establishing now (or replenishing). For the money, it's hard to beat going to your County Co-Op and purchasing a bag of red trace mineral salt, plus a bag of All-Purpose Cattle Mineral Supplement. Take a bucket and mix them about equally, and you should be able to establish (or replenish) 4 to 8 mineral licks for just a few dollars.

I also like using Saltman's "Trophy Rocks", particularly in places where I prefer the lick to be less noticeable to humans, and particularly if I have a good stump location to place it on. In/on a stump, I like the trophy rocks better than my cheap mix, although either works fine. Over time with much use, deer are going to establish a deep hole with a well-used lick, so keep this in mind as to where you place them.

However, as more hunters are using trail cams, there seems to be more creating more mineral licks, and this may be diluting the number of deer using any particular lick as regularly. When establishing a new lick, consider pouring a little molasses down the side of the closest tree, then around your new lick. That "sweet" smell can sometimes help draw deer over to your lick spot, and get more deer using it quicker.

 

[tap.emtp]

Thanks Wes. I've been making my own salt mix and had great results, so really looking forward to placing my cam over one. I guess I'm just anxious to get my new cam out and giving it a try. So after season I thought I would set up around my salt licks with corn and try to get a few pics and learn how to use cam before spring.

 

[weatherby man]

I have never gotten a buck over (in my judgment) 3 years of age regardless where I spread it or what it is I spread. Tons of does and 2year and under bucks and rarely a 3 year old. I have tried the most remote places on the farm and some easy ones. Doesn't seem to mater for me.

 

[Shed Hunter]

I have never gotten a buck over (in my judgment) 3 years of age regardless where I spread it or what it is I spread. Tons of does and 2year and under bucks and rarely a 3 year old. I have tried the most remote places on the farm and some easy ones. Doesn't seem to mater for me.

They see all of that red glow in their younger years and never come back :poke: :D

 

[BSK]

I have never gotten a buck over (in my judgment) 3 years of age regardless where I spread it or what it is I spread. Tons of does and 2year and under bucks and rarely a 3 year old. I have tried the most remote places on the farm and some easy ones. Doesn't seem to mater for me.

Just out of curiosity weatherby man, have you tried establishing salt licks early in the spring and refreshing them throughout the summer? I ask because I've seen localized situations where older bucks will not use food-based bait. I don't know why this occurs, but I've seen it several times. In fact, in one such situation, I ran two baited censuses on the property at the same time; one using corn and the other using salt. Just out of interest, I purposefully placed some food and salt sites close together, and some far apart. In that dual censuses, I got few bucks older than 2 years old at the corn bait. And the only ones I did get were at the corn bait sites closest to salt sites, and the pictures were of 3+ year-old bucks just walking by the corn to get to the salt. Yet at the salt sites, I got several 4+ year-old bucks.

Of course, all that said, I've also seen situations where deer of any sex/age are not interested in salt, and running a photo-census at salt licks would be fruitless. Most often, I see this situation occur in areas with sandier soils. I suspect the salt leaches through sandier soils too quickly, hence the site is not as attractive to deer. In addition, deer in some areas may not need much salt in their diet.

Lastly, there is the very real possibility there are no bucks older than 3 in your area.