Lower deer harvest thread got me thinking of another reason for lower buck harvest and better bucks overall being harvested in recent years. I think cams play a huge role in this. Not only showing hunters what bucks are out there, but also give hunters data and insight into the true age of a buck before those split second decisions have to be made. I passed a 135" 11 pt this year because i recognized him as a younger age class buck that i had 2 months of pictures of. Even to a selective hunter, that deer would have died due the width and the mass he carried in his rack. It leaves me to believe that the trail and especially cell camera is the best qdm tool we have at our disposal. Thoughts?
Trail cams saving bucks….
- Thread starter redblood
- Start date
I doubt it has anything to do with age, why would I shoot the small 6 that I see daily on camera when I got that one pic of the 150" brute in September… that's the mindset of the majority of the hunting public
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
I agree that the trail camera is a very useful tool for QDM.....there is ZERO doubt on our farm we have several bucks that have lived another year or two because of the history we had using trail cameras.
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I agree. I actually stayed out of the woods because the buck i was being tempted by started moving in daylight by my stands and i wanted to give him another year and I didn't trust myself to not shoot him. I have no doubt I would have seen him this past week.
I have no doubt you would have as well.
100% trail cameras have saved many bucks.
Many times when I see a buck, I've got pictures of him and I recognize him. Several decent 8's and 9's got a pass this year because I had already made up my mind they were not what I was after. One 9 in particular looked great feeding in a plot with the sun beaming off his rack one morning, but I knew he was 115" deer and will hopefully be much bigger next year.
Many times when I see a buck, I've got pictures of him and I recognize him. Several decent 8's and 9's got a pass this year because I had already made up my mind they were not what I was after. One 9 in particular looked great feeding in a plot with the sun beaming off his rack one morning, but I knew he was 115" deer and will hopefully be much bigger next year.
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Yes sir. I had a pipe-dream type of buck that showed up on camera in 2019. He was such a great buck that my friends thought I was pranking them when I shared the pictures.
Anyways, I sat out in the cold rain for 3 days, and passed up several really nice bucks while I waited on this buck that never showed. Then I sat for 3 additional days, passed another decent buck.
I never thought I'd be the guy who fell into this trap, but I sure did. Gosh, what a buck that was... he was a host even in the pictures I got of him after season.
So, yes I agree 100% with what you posted and I'm not typically a trophy hunter.
Anyways, I sat out in the cold rain for 3 days, and passed up several really nice bucks while I waited on this buck that never showed. Then I sat for 3 additional days, passed another decent buck.
I never thought I'd be the guy who fell into this trap, but I sure did. Gosh, what a buck that was... he was a host even in the pictures I got of him after season.
So, yes I agree 100% with what you posted and I'm not typically a trophy hunter.
Trail cam pics give me grief every year. I'm blessed to be in a very target rich enviroment so every year I get a good one early on camera and let really good ones go . This is the first year I was going to take 2 bucks if the right ones appeared, other years only 1. I enjoy the whole process and the actual kill is way down the list for me anymore.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
I normally dont pass a lot of 4.5yos... but with my 1 buck limit on my farms, if I get a high scoring deer on camera, I'm passing everything and just hunting that one deer. I've passed up several 4.5yos hunting one particular buck.
Yes, it was so easy to overestimate a deers age or rack size from a 10 second till you shoot encounter. Cams have solved that issue
Cell cams have cost more deer their lives than they have saved in my neck of the woods. Pretty easy to bait one up to the camera and go shoot it. Happens commonly here.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I've said it many times. The trail-camera is the greatest deer management tool ever invented.
I see how that could happen, but people were baiting long before cameras came out
Yes certainly were but the cell cam tells you exactly when to put your slippers on and crack the back door open
, dont have to be patient. This really does happen all the time here. Everyone has night vision scopes already for hogs and they just get tempted when the buck hits the bait. Everybody knows everybody so when they see John Doe having success with this method, they start doing it too. I know a group of teens that have all taken 150 pluses in the last two years with this method. I could kill a 160 just about most nights on my hog bait if I were inclined to do so.
Lincoln Co Archer
Well-Known Member
Certainly saves a few for me. Especially when it's peak chasing, and one of the top end 2.5-3.5 year olds chases a doe by you at 50mph. To be able to recognize/identify the deer immediately and not let the adrenaline and chaos of the moment take over saves regret later.
They have their place in managing for sure but I do somewhat miss the element of surprise. If my buddy didn't run them on our lease I don't know that I would.
Lincoln Co Archer
Well-Known Member
I agree with missing the element of not knowing! Saying that, I am still amazed at the number of bucks I see that I have never had on camera.
Think cams can go both ways. While I am sure they save some, in other areas where people get no "shooters" on their cameras, their standards lower and they likely kill deer they may not if they knew of the bucks that were avoiding their cameras. Mistaken id of camera bucks happens too, in which a hunter thinks he is shooting his/her "target" deer, only to discover the deer they shot was not that deer.
Yes. You can legally hunt hogs at night over bait. The landowner gets a permit and can name up to 10 people per 1000 acres that can also hunt at night over bait for hogs.
I see how that could happen, but people were baiting long before cameras
Im one that will never ever shoot until i know for absolutely sure. Id rather let one go than should have been shot, than shoot one that should have been passed. But since im pretty much bow only now, that isnt a huge issue
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
For sure! There have been many bucks I've passed due to recognizing them right off the bat. I study them hard. Many of them would have been shot at in that 20 second window opening had I not noticed a certain characteristic in the rack.
Knowing the caliber of deer you have helps you set your personal standard. I passed a very nice 10 pt this year twice. Both times he looked impressive and had I not known what deer he was and never gotten a picture of him, he'd probably be dead. But I already had my mind made up. The last pictures I have of him were very early December. If he makes it to next year, he will be very impressive
Knowing the caliber of deer you have helps you set your personal standard. I passed a very nice 10 pt this year twice. Both times he looked impressive and had I not known what deer he was and never gotten a picture of him, he'd probably be dead. But I already had my mind made up. The last pictures I have of him were very early December. If he makes it to next year, he will be very impressive
