P@Y said:
If you KNOW big deer will be using your property during the rut do you still run trail cams to try to pinpoint one.
I run cameras from the beginning of August through the end of January. But on the flip side, I'm not trying to "pinpoint" particular bucks. I'm trying to keep a running inventory of bucks using the property.
I really want to take inventory but I think it might be detrimental to actual success.
Yes, you can keep a running inventory, and no, it doesn't have to be detrimental to your actual success. HOWEVER, care must be taken in where you put your cameras and how you check them.
First, let me clearly state, running trail cameras has NEVER helped me kill a particular buck. In the type of terrain/habitat where I do most of my camera work, older bucks aren't predictable enough in their movements for trail-cameras to help pinpoint the right ambush point on the right day. In fact, older bucks I've been photographing that are killed are usually killed somewhere other than where they were being most frequently photographed.
Second, I take great care in where I place cameras. I try to find easily accessible camera locations that do not require long-distance cross-country ventures to check. This usually means finding any type of deer concentrator near a major road or trail.
Lastly, I'm very careful about how I check the cameras. I use a vehicle, usually an ATV, to ride right up to the camera. The worst thing you can do is walk to your camera leaving a scent trail to and from it that deer can pick up on. For whatever reason, deer never seem to learn that the scent of an ATV is dangerous, unlike how they quickly learn human scent trails are very dangerous and should be avoided. When checking cameras, I take all the normal scent precautions I use when hunting, and I also wear a cheap plastic rain-suit. The rain-suit prevents clothing fibers and scent from rubbing off on any brush, briers, or grass I happen to come in contact with. By limiting my contact with ground (riding in instead of walking in), and greatly reducing the chances of my scent rubbing of on brush near the camera (rain-suit), I have no problem getting mature bucks to come back to a particular location over and over again.
