Anyone here NOT run trail cams? Im kicking around the idea of giving it up and selling my 3. With the cost of batteries and extra time spent in the woods educating deer it don't hardly seem worth it.
Trail cams
- Thread starter cecil30-30
- Start date
BSK
Well-Known Member
I started dabbling with trail-cameras the first year they became commercially available, and have been using them for censusing local deer herds since the technique was first described in the scientific literature. And honestly, as a hunting tool, I think they are virtually worthless. Now I can see using them to find out if Property A has bigger/older bucks than Property B, and using that to make a decision about which property to focus on hunting. But as a "scouting tool" to tell you exactly where/when to hunt? I think they are worthless for that purpose.
Shed Hunter
Well-Known Member
I love them, I've never killed a deer I have pics of though.
pseshooter300
Well-Known Member
I just use them to see what is on the properties i hunt
Master Chief said:
me either. i photograph deer i never kill and kill deer i never photograph
Public land rat
Well-Known Member
i use them. i keep up with what days the deer were moving the best and try to figure out what influenceed them to be more active. also helps me pass does and younger bucks just knowing there is a bigger 1 around. use them for information, not scouting neccesarily. only check them when i go into hunt, not every week. they are kinda entertaining for the pics 2
Pinwheeled
Well-Known Member
I don't want to be disappointed so no; I don't use them. Well, I lied. I do have one in my backyard.
Redfred16
Well-Known Member
I started using them 3 years ago and probably put too much faith into the them.
We ran 10-12 on 180 acres to try and see how many of each sex we had, if they were hitting the spring at certain times of the day, which food plot they were hitting if any and like TV we tried to target specific bucks, which never happened.
In the end it was just fun to check the cameras to see the pictures of turkeys, bears, racoons, coyotes, wolves and deer.
We ran 10-12 on 180 acres to try and see how many of each sex we had, if they were hitting the spring at certain times of the day, which food plot they were hitting if any and like TV we tried to target specific bucks, which never happened.
In the end it was just fun to check the cameras to see the pictures of turkeys, bears, racoons, coyotes, wolves and deer.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Never been able to "pattern" a buck using cameras. But have been able to see which bucks are more likly to have an encounter with by using multiple cameras. Bucks that get pic taken alot just shows me which deer seem to be moving around more. i like getting pics almost as much as killing a buck and gives me an excuse for the wife to get in the woods after season.
BlackBelt
Well-Known Member
Mine let me pattern certain deer that I want to take. I learn their body shape, their habits, and see them enough to notice the changes in their patterns.
Example: i have 2 eight points fighting in front of my cam last night. Ive been planning on harvesting one of them. However, during the fight one deer lost a browtine. So now theres one 8 point and one 7 point.
I wouldnt even know these guys existed without the cams.
Example: i have 2 eight points fighting in front of my cam last night. Ive been planning on harvesting one of them. However, during the fight one deer lost a browtine. So now theres one 8 point and one 7 point.
I wouldnt even know these guys existed without the cams.
CAW
Well-Known Member
I use them. A lot.
I have 3 farms and I have a total of 24 cameras. I have them on food plots, mineral licks, hardwood bottoms, etc. I can tell you almost every buck that uses my property until they break out of their bachelor groups and then new bucks start showing up almost every day.
I have patterned bucks using specific areas and killed them as if they were on a schedule. I have gained a lot of knowledge about each farm that I own. When they use certain areas, what direction they enter and leave from, what they are feeding on, when they start chasing, etc. Pictures simply do not lie.
Now, all that being said. I do think they are a double edge sword sometimes. You have got to have discipline. You can't go running into a camera site and pull a card every other day. The quickest way to mess up an area is to have a camera in there that you just "have to check". You wouldn't go into your favorite hunting area, walk within 5 yards of your tree, look at your stand and then just walk out would you? That's exactly what you are doing when you check your camera. You have to be smart about it and leave them alone as much as possible.
Running trail cameras is fun, but you have to have a strategy. Do it right and they most certainly can be a very effective scouting tool. Do it wrong, and your hunting will probably suffer.
I have 3 farms and I have a total of 24 cameras. I have them on food plots, mineral licks, hardwood bottoms, etc. I can tell you almost every buck that uses my property until they break out of their bachelor groups and then new bucks start showing up almost every day.
I have patterned bucks using specific areas and killed them as if they were on a schedule. I have gained a lot of knowledge about each farm that I own. When they use certain areas, what direction they enter and leave from, what they are feeding on, when they start chasing, etc. Pictures simply do not lie.
Now, all that being said. I do think they are a double edge sword sometimes. You have got to have discipline. You can't go running into a camera site and pull a card every other day. The quickest way to mess up an area is to have a camera in there that you just "have to check". You wouldn't go into your favorite hunting area, walk within 5 yards of your tree, look at your stand and then just walk out would you? That's exactly what you are doing when you check your camera. You have to be smart about it and leave them alone as much as possible.
Running trail cameras is fun, but you have to have a strategy. Do it right and they most certainly can be a very effective scouting tool. Do it wrong, and your hunting will probably suffer.
BSK
Well-Known Member
CAW said:
And that's probably the difference. In farm country, or anywhere with considerable open ground that deer must avoid during daylight to survive, deer (and older bucks) are more patternable. In Midwestern farm country, deer and even mature bucks are shockingly patternable.
But in big woods enviroments, deer are not very patternable, as they don't have patterns of movement.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Public land rat said:
And that is where they can be such a useful tool--for information. How many bucks are using the property at different times of the year? When do "new" bucks suddenly appear on the property? What age/size bucks are using the property?
Knowing you do have some good bucks using the property can give hunters the confidence to pass young bucks. It's one thing to hope old mossyhorns is around, but another to know old mossyhorns is around.
BirdDog123
Well-Known Member
The best way to use trail cams is as a general survey. My advice would be to put the cam in the woods and let it stay until the batteries go dead. The biggest problem guys run into when using trail cams is checking them every weekend and the deer patterns you instead of the opposite.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Master Chief said:
It's taken years to learn how to do it, but on all the properties I camera-monitor, 97% of all harvested bucks were previously photographed.
In fact, that's another use for trail-cameras (for those trying to kill only older-class bucks), to have a pre-determined "hit list" of bucks that meet your harvest criteria. That makes identifying a "shooter" buck an instantaneous endeavor. At a glance, you will know which buck he is and whether he is on your target list--no time lost trying to judge the buck's age/size.
BSK
Well-Known Member
BirdDog123 said:
The one problem with that is deer learning to avoid visible flash cameras. In addition, a good survey during the hunting season may require shifting camera locations from food sources to trails to scrapes and back to food sources across the full spectrum of the breeding season.
htnseymour
Well-Known Member
This is my first year using them and I haven't seen the hype. I leave them for a month and then go check them, but BSK is right, no distinctive pattern, but it is a good way to see some critters you wouldn't normally see running around, i.e. big coons and a poacher.
CAW
Well-Known Member
BSK said:
I'd have to disagree with you there BSK. First of all, none of my "farms" are actually working farms, that's just what I call them. 2 of my "farms" are actually 95% wooded properties, with the other 5% being food plots. One is 268 acres and the other is 116 acres. The third property is 180 acres and about 60% of it is wooded. What I have experienced is that in the early season, my deer, including mature bucks, are certainly patternable. I have killed bucks returning to mineral sites and particular food sources many times. They may not come back to a particular area every single day, but eventually they will show back up. And I have seen instances where they come to a particular site every single day. Now, as the rut approaches and the pre rut starts to really heat up, there is no pattern whatsoever. They are all over the place and new bucks start to show up. When that happens, the "pattern" is out the window.
DaveB
Well-Known Member
What I picked up from my one cam is the deer always entered and left the plot area from the same direction. Also, we have a LOT of deer with a black tail. Kinda different.
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