Pictures of only small bucks

[woodsman87]

Not sure what forum to put it in, but I put it in this one because I thought it had more to do with management than trail cams.
Other than location of my trail camera, I cannot figure out why all I get is small bucks and does. I put them in salt licks during June through August, and food plots/acorns in the fall winter months. Now I have one over a scrape with white oaks and food plots around, along with a fence crossing. Do yall think that it could be a lack of bigger bucks? I got a 1.5-2.5 year old six that is the largest body/antlered deer using it. Been on the fence crossing and scrape for a month and a half.

 

[BSK]

If that is all you get on camera, that may be all you have, for now. But remember that as the rut approaches, bucks expand their ranges dramatically, and some bucks even shift ranges just for the rut. This can bring in a whole slew of new bucks onto your property around the rut, generally starting a couple of weeks before your local peak of breeding.

On my place each year, on average, one-third of all the bucks I will have to hunt during November don't show up on the property until after Halloween.

Last year, the seasonal buck range shifts were so dramatic that I only had 4 yearling bucks using my property during the summer. But by the end of deer season, I had catalog almost 40 unique bucks on the property, including a couple of mature bucks.

 

[drrxnupe]

I agree with BSK. This is my first year doing plots and cam watching. I've had my cams out since March and within the last week, I am just now getting decent bucks to show up. Even now, there's no routine to their movement. They just randomly show up at different times.

 

[bigtex]

I almost never see a mature buck on my place until the rut kicks in. Hang in there, just because your not seeing one now doesn't mean that in a week or so a "cruiser" or chaser won't suddenly appear.

 

[megalomaniac]

it all depends on your camera placement.... if you're doing it right, what you have on cam is all you have. But as the others have said, there's still a chance something older may shift onto the property right before the rut starts.

it's SO frustrating when you don't get any pics of 'shooter' bucks... I was in that boat last year, and I never even got excited about deer season last year. But this year things are back to normal, and I couldn't be more pumped up about the upcoming rut!

 

[G_Man]

Love/hate relationship with this thread haha... One piece of land has nothing but yearling and 2.5 deer on camera, the other land has got some big boys. Why can't my bigger boys stay put AAAAND all Yalls start cruising onto my property

 

[woodsman87]

I understand they move around alot, but it is just frustrating and irritating to be positive about it always then no good bucks. Maybe its my cheaper IR camera that makes a shutter sound? I don't think so, but it could be.

 

[Todd Bell]

I had two cameras on 150 acres from april until now.(salt, corn, buckjam, deer cocaine) different areas. I just now got pictures of bucks period. in the last two weeks ive gotten 6 new bucks. it was a long frustrating summer. bring on the rut!!

 

[deerhunter10]

also remember the camera is only catching a very small area that is in front of it. you most likely have deer on you farm that will never ever be on camera especially if you only have a few cameras. I wouldn't worry about it to much.

 

[BSK]

in the last two weeks ive gotten 6 new bucks. it was a long frustrating summer. bring on the rut!!

In the areas I monitor, the buck range shift/expansion associated with the rut has just begun. New bucks have started showing up in the last week, and on some properties, the number of new bucks on cam has been explosive in the last week.

 

[FLIPPER]

My place is messed up also.
I will have 20-30 different bucks using spring and summer plots and 2-5 does/yearlings. Then after juvenile hunt zero bucks and 10+ does. Only pics of 2.5 year olds and older are at night.
This plot is not hunted at all during archery. And this year it hasn't been hunted at all. The only daylight sightings or pics is a yearling every day and every 4 th day 8-10 does/yearlings. This tract has ran this same course for 5 years now.

 

[BSK]

Bucks learn to go nocturnal once they begin to smell a lot of human activity in the woods. And it only takes about 48 hours of increased traffic to cause this shift.