Pulled my game cam.

[102]

Yep, I do have one. I got it as a gift a few years back. I have used it a time or two with little results. More out of boredom than expecting results.

I never put this out in areas I expect to hunt. Never in my high confidence areas.
But two weeks ago I heard from a squirrel hunting buddy about a creek bottom that I had hunted long ago (with no success). I thought, what the heck, I'll give it a whirl, and walked to the area to see how things looked.

The trail in the area was really being well used. Droppings, tracks, it looked good so I put up a camera.

Yesterday, right before all this rain hit, I pulled the camera. Perfect timing as it is POURING rain now.

The only problem is that after two weeks of hanging on this worn out run, there are ZERO pictures. ZERO!!!

Such is hunting on public land, in mature, open hardwoods.

I will find deer on this land, eventually, before the season ends. And I will get a shot. But it will be a challenge. SOOOO different than so many other places I frequent.

 

[TheLBLman]

I suspect the problem is with your cam rather than the property.

 

[fourwheeler431]

I suspect the problem is with your cam rather than the property.

X2

 

[Nimrod777]

Not even a pic of you?

 

[MUP]

Yep, yesterday eve was a great time to get something done in the woods, letting the rain wash out the scent left behind quickly.

You did turn it on, right? Just sayin'...don't it myself once. :grin:

 

[BSK]

If I were limiting my trail-camera use to just as a hunting aid, I don't think I would use them at all.

But they are the greatest management tool ever invented.

 

[TheLBLman]

If I were limiting my trail-camera use to just as a hunting aid, I don't think I would use them at all.

I'd clarify that to mean in terms of picking a "spot" to hunt.

I believe the main "hunting aid" of trail cams is in letting one know, with certainty, that certain bucks exist. By knowing this, a hunter is "aided" in his fortitude for passing up lesser or younger bucks. And by know there's something really special "out there", most hunters are more eager to hunt longer and harder, greatly aiding their potential for success.

 

[plinker22]

I believe the main "hunting aid" of trail cams is in letting one know, with certainty, that certain bucks exist. By knowing this, a hunter is "aided" in his fortitude for passing up lesser or younger bucks. And by know there's something really special "out there", most hunters are more eager to hunt longer and harder, greatly aiding their potential for success.

Well said Wes, I totally agree.

 

[woodsman87]

I like trail cameras. I have an expensive Moultrie, and a cheap Wildview. I have been using them for 4-5 years. I rarely get any good pictures on mine.
I put them in food plots, scrapes, trails, mineral licks, corn piles, and oak trees.

 

[Winchester]

I use them myself but I too very rarely use them to decide where to hunt!

 

[BSK]

If I were limiting my trail-camera use to just as a hunting aid, I don't think I would use them at all.

I'd clarify that to mean in terms of picking a "spot" to hunt.

I believe the main "hunting aid" of trail cams is in letting one know, with certainty, that certain bucks exist. By knowing this, a hunter is "aided" in his fortitude for passing up lesser or younger bucks. And by know there's something really special "out there", most hunters are more eager to hunt longer and harder, greatly aiding their potential for success.

Considering I hunt the same property every year, and my hunting time is limited, what I see on trail-cam would be meaningless to when or how long I hunt. I honestly don't believe--in my situation--trail-cams would aid my hunting in any way, so why risk using them just for hunting?

 

[BSK]

I like trail cameras.

I LOVE trail-cams! But I don't use them for hunting. I use them for management (inventorying bucks using a property each year, as well as determining buck age structure, adult sex ratio, and fawn recruitment rates).

 

[Vermin93]

I don't get why you guys are saying this. If I pull a trail cam and not a single deer has shown up for the past 2, 3 or even 4 weeks (this has happened to me several times), I'm probably not going to hunt that spot. On the other hand, if I pull a tail cam and I've got routine movement down that trail or at that watering hole or at that food source or over that mineral lick, then I'm probably going to hunt that stand at least once. This kind of very basic analysis may not work well for targeting mature bucks, but if one goal is to put meat in the freezer it can absolutely be a winning strategy and has been for me.

 

[BHC]

I definitely think trail cams has aided in me harvesting a few deer the last few yrs. I have found many high traffic trails using them, and also figured out how deer travel certain areas. It no doubt requires just as much strategy as hunting does, but I definitely believe they help me

 

[BSK]

I don't get why you guys are saying this. If I pull a trail cam and not a single deer has shown up for the past 2, 3 or even 4 weeks (this has happened to me several times), I'm probably not going to hunt that spot. On the other hand, if I pull a tail cam and I've got routine movement down that trail or at that watering hole or at that food source or over that mineral lick, then I'm probably going to hunt that stand at least once. This kind of very basic analysis may not work well for targeting mature bucks, but if one goal is to put meat in the freezer it can absolutely be a winning strategy and has been for me.

If my goal was to just kill deer, I would hunt my food plots. I get a zillion pictures of deer in the plots, even many daylight pictures. But that isn't my goal, so I don't.

 

[102]

I suspect the problem is with your cam rather than the property.

Nope...I had pics of me leaving the day I left, and coming back two weeks later.

 

[102]

If I were limiting my trail-camera use to just as a hunting aid, I don't think I would use them at all.

But they are the greatest management tool ever invented.

I couldn't agree more.

Too many times I've had guys tell me such and such a spot was no good because the trail cam did not show a deer present.

And then I have gone in there, done the leg work, and killed deer.

I will keep my eye on this area, as I believe it will have traveling deer at the RIGHT time...like rut.