What did we ever do without em? How do you know what deer to place on your hit list of you can't see em

This should be good ????

Not all animals you see on stand are able to be shot so you can't just rely on the camera. With a camera you know whats showing up but that's when you aren't there most times. I had 30 stands to hunt last year. All baited with cameras so we knew exactly what the local animals were doing however once in a while an outside animal would show up 1 time or a couple times but that didn't offer us to kill him.

This is only a tool to see when we weren't there. Can you imagine having 30 or 40 cameras out and managing them all.

I shot a 9 pt behind my house 3 years ago that we only saw 3 times. On the 3rd time he died. Only saw him on camera 1 time. Now what did the camera do for this deer. I have an incredible picture of this animal and another wide 8 that I turned down and thought well I should not have turned him down then this one showed back up looking for does and that was it. I didn't know when he would come back. He was not a regular and certainly no pattern to him.

And using cameras is an art as well to use them to be proficient with them because they can be really frustrating at times.

The guys who use them and know them know what i am saying. other guys mock them because they don't know what its really about or involved because they haven't spent the money it takes to buy and use them as a tool that they are meant to be used for.

it can be a real expense also with battery's or getting stolen and going at the right times to get the chips to look over.

On many of the stands the chips got changed when baited or stand got hunted. There were times i could not see to shoot and the animal came in and we got his picture that happened a number of times he showed just before the pick up. other times he was on stand prior to going in on stand in the morning that happened also. that's was frustrating as well. So you can't guarantee an animal off the camera. there are not many guarantees in the bush as many know.

Just some thoughts and experiences.

A trail cam verifies that big bucks are seldom out during shooting light. At least that is the way it works for me. I enjoy seeing them. It keeps me motivated knowing that they do exist. I'm still hoping for a crisp picture of Sasquatch or a black panther. When that happens, I'll share it on here.

I don't have a "hit list" but I enjoy my game cameras alot it's similar to the old anticipation of checking a trapline or a trotline.

About half of my successful hunts have been without the aid of anything but me trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together and finding natural food sources.. My goal is to put meat in the freezer and trail cameras, while showing me the makeup of the deer herd on my property, does not guarantee that every deer I see will be where I get pictures of them. It's still a chess match with changing behaviors as the season progresses, weather, wind direction , etc. Trail cameras sometimes leave me wondering what's wrong and can, at times be a detriment as you make your best guess as to where to be but that, I have found, is still not always helpful as I haven't yet learned to control a deer's behavior. The exception is when we can bait but even then if you mess up the first time it could be game over especially with big bucks. Having said that I have also learned that even when baiting is legal, deer still have a preference for natural foods.

Same thing I do now. Shoot every legal/ethical deer/shot until I run out of tags (we get 6 in VA, and can access 1/day all season management tags after that!) The deer here are small and my kids and grandkids go through alot of jerky!

Running cameras is simply one of the most fun things to do. If you love the outdoors cameras is just another part of that. Having pictures of a deer guarantees nothing. But knowing whats out there sure makes it easy to get out there and hunt...

Knowledge is power

Now days most folks jobs are not 9-5 with set days off,,hell or even 40hr weeks Knowing where your best options or chance at a given animal is priceless when you can count your chances to get out and hunt on one hand in a season

I’m lucky enough I own the land I hunt,I’m the only one that hunts it and I’ve owned the property long enough to know how the animals travel in the basic routine I do my scouting and have my blinds and stands in proper order before season,and even have travel routes planned out depending on wind and weather Having an idea or clue of where my limited hunting time is best spent is a great advantage in my quest to be as ethical and proficient in the sport I enjoy and cherish It’s also a great way to rotate your hunting grounds depending on what animals are in the area I like to let the deer,bear,grouse and everything else enjoy life and grow up,and not burn out a spot or food source

I have hunted for decades without a cameras aid,I’d hunt without them anytime But I consider them a great tool

you guys use your cameras different than the tv celebrities. I was watching a guy on the outdoor channel go to his Iowa lease and they wouldn't hunt until they hung the cameras and found out where to put their treestands. Without those they could have sat all week and not seen a deer. Just seems like a shortcut to me.

I'm sure the TV guy was being paid by the game cam company

My house sits in the southwest corner of a forty acre parcel. It is surrounded by a eight acre hay field. I have a creek that traverses the property separating the eight acre field from a 28 acre hay field and an overgrown six acre orchard.

I put a trail camera in the orchard at a creek crossing to see what was using it and was shocked at the footage. I had coon, squirrel, rabbit, fox, deer, house cat, dog, coyote, red fox woodchuck, opossum , muskrat, and mink. All in three days time.

The only animals I can think of that I know frequent the property that I didn't get on camera were grey fox and skunk.

This creek crossing is 100yds from my back door.

Makes me smile every time I think about it , especially on those days when I get a little lazy and start to tell myself, " It's not worth going out today".

You never really know what your going to see until you get out there and see it. That's the fun of it for me.

I had the years where hunting was for food and every legal animal was taken. I understand it completely and am fine with it, but I'm good myself today, just waiting in wonder what I might be fortunate enough today to see.

I will take game, don't get me wrong, just when and where and how I feel like it. The pressure has been relieved and replaced with true enjoyment of quiet, mixed with the rustle of some leaves and wonderment of what is coming down the trail. Good Day

I am surprised this has been nice thus far. SO I BETTER KEEP MY THOUGHTS ON THIS TO MYSELF!! HaHaHa... Till it is time to chime in..

I hunted with a guy in the wilderness this summer he thought all cameras should be illegal. Two days later he handed me a two way radio and wanted me to guide in some hunters on a caribou we were watching. Everybody has different views he was rabid dog crazy against cameras....

They actually keep me from filling my buck tag as often as I might without them!

Bowmania

This is my opinion, cameras suck. The day of scouting and actually hunting has been replaced by the guarantee of seeing deer by what a camera says and what a bait draws. The “no time” excuse is just that. We gotta prioritize. Guarantee guys that have no time watch the football games or the stupid bowl, play golf, go to bars, etc. Doesn’t sound like these guys are pressed for time? Hunting should be hunting, no guarantees. To each his own though. I’ll never understand why fellows who “want the challenge” the stykbows bring bait, use cameras, ozonics, etc. to make things easier. It just seems when you’re guaranteed a shot it’s about like a 3D shoot. Imo the animals deserve more than that. I can’t see this cause I don’t think that way. To each his own though but I like it to be me and my skills at reading/analyzing sign that reward me w deer. Not Will Primos or anyone else’s gadgets. All the fellows that wanna twist what I say there’s no need. I’m not judging you or your reasons just expressing a personal opinion

I have one and use from time to time. It's really cool to see pics of all of Gods creatures, but it's never influenced how or what I hunt.

My brother in law has some giant bucks come in close to his house were he hunts.He shows me pics.Never kills one though, and gets frustrated as hell. He has done this for years.I don,t use one ,but it is ok by me if you do.

if you could see below the water where you are fishing would you?

I personally dont have a issue with them. Also I dont have issues with aluminum arrows, metal broadheads,laminated bows and running water.

But thats just me;)

Mine is broken and I haven't replaced it for years. It never did me any good. Got some nice pics of a coyote that was out back.

I have never had or used them... way to cheap, but would really like to. think it would be as fun or more than hunting. I was hopeing some would post pictures on this thread lol.

Mike

You mean fish finder?

; )

My feeling is I would outlaw them and fish finders. I don't like making it easier . If you get a deer because the camera patterned a nice buck I will congratulate the camera for doing its job, not you. As for fish finders I don't want guaranteed catches ,I want lucky surprises and using my knowledge to catch nice fish. Our resources are being depleted by development and the even the oceans are running out of fish. Last thing we need is for every bozo to max out everytime because of the high tech BS. All Ego. We do have supermarkets. Im not that desperate to get so much fish and game. And that's my thoughts.

Never owned one. View them akin to fish finders also. But, if I owned my own chunk of land, I would be a liar if I said I wouldn't put one out. Patterning the deer/animals in an area sure becomes EZ with one.

I'm with Bowguy on this issue--game cameras and fish finders just aren't my cuppa tea. I think the animals are entitled to their privacy when I'm not actually out there pursuing them. And as for the guys who have motion sensors that wake them up at 3 AM so they can poke a gun out their window and shoot a coyote at a carcass they put out...I think that's pretty sick. Just my opinion.

I don’t know what kind of trail cameras and fish finders you Guys are talking about about when you say it does the work for you. My trail cam has yet to shoot a deer for me, I think it may be broken. Don’t get me started on my fish finder, that stupid thing can’t even bait a hook.

I want to know how big what kind and what they are chewing on!

Sasquatch devils advicate. Your bow can’t shoot a deer without you either. It’s not about what an item can do it’s really to me a loss in woodsmanship to an extent. If you were home and the cameras did lots of the scouting for ya how were you really involved? There is a difference between that and being there making decisions. Like I said to each his own and you do what you like. Society is changing and so is a great pastime if you ask me

Wow I’m as guilty as anybody lately,,,but are we over thinking stuff round here or what

I quit using them this year. Although my father in law who doesn't hunt anymore had his out and that's how I knew where to kill the 6 pt that I did kill last week.

To the nay sayers. Buy your own property and you will have different thoughts on using one. Not knowing whether they are out being used or not helps keep people from roaming around trespassing. One main sign at the road reads, No trespassing, cameras in use. Have not had one problem since that was posted.

I’m sorry the last post I found really funny. Cameras in use sign means more trespassers trespassing looking to steal em. God almighty guys must scare easy there, around here you’d never hang onto them advertising their use. I believe they’re higher theft now than treestands. Don’t be offended guys if you wanna use them use them. I personally feel the same way about scalpel blade knives, pre sharpened broadheads, etc. It’s just about the way someone goes about it. Look at all the help posts on every forum that guys wanna know which pre sharpened broadheads, scalpel knife. They say cause “they’re no good at sharpening”. Nonsense, no desire to learn. It doesn’t take a brain surgergeon to sharpen metal just like it doesn’t take some effort to learn your woods. A fellow that hunts near me sets his cameras up. Let’s be honest they prob are predominantly on bait. Ok so he puts his corn out, cameras on em, they get picture all nice w time stamps. He waits til it’s consistant timewise than the fellow goes in to shoot one. He bragged one year he shot 15 button bucks, with his crossbow. That’s horrendous. Let me ask ya though, he’s a deer shooter but is he a hunter? Could he take his grandson or nephew out and show him how to use sign to his advantage or would he show him the cameras and bait. Ok so let’s say the fellow does actually know how to hunt. Is he passing all that down to the kid? I’d bet maybe a little but the kid shows someone and the sport keeps getting watered down as things are forgotten and it’s easier to just throw corn and a camera out. Why do all that walking around? In my state this is pretty much what’s happened. A whole generation grew up like this. If the antis ever outlawed bait/cameras how would guys hunt? Imo they’d bait/ use cameras anyway til they got tickets, than quit hunting cause their success would drop. Don’t mistake what I’m saying, I don’t believe it’d be everyone but for sure a decent percentage. I have friends of mine who love cameras. It’s a favorite summertime activity. Running cameras and getting pics. They say it’s fun. I don’t get how walking to the same exact trees could be fun just for a little card full of pics of deer standing over a pile but I’m not doing it and don’t really care what they do It’s legal so do what you like boys. It’s not gonna keep trespassers away any better than the signs they tear down though. Hope this makes sense. It’s no bash some people are really thin skinned and don’t like differences of opinion. Hope no one here takes anything wrong

Well, this was a fun and Interesting read..!!!

I might as well through in my 2 cents.. Trail Cameras are fun but old fashioned boots on the ground will give you much more info and more of the big picture (pun intended) on what's going on in your neck of the woods.

Relying solely on trail cameras for scouting kinda insulates you from knowing the heartbeat of your hunting grounds. During the season food sources change, buck sign pops up, and hunting pressure can all affect what is going on. Just sneaking to and from trail cams to change cards doesnt really give you the full picture of what is going on in and around your "playground".

I don’t disagree with anyone regarding cameras. They definitely don’t take the place of scouting, but they sure don’t do all of the scouting for you. They provide a picture of what critter (man or animal) walked by a particular spot. You still have to know where to put the cameras, how to place stands, hunt the wind, track, etc. I have cameras out year round to see what is going through my property. This does include only deer, but other animals as well. A couple of my favorite pics were of a flying squirrel and a weasel, both of which are fairly rare around here. I guess my point is that cameras are only a tool that everyone can choose to use or not.

There's cameras and baiting, and there's hunting.

Like Bowguy, I'm a bit surprised at the number of folks on this site who supposedly choose trad equipment for the increased challenge, but then use every bit of technology they can find to make the task easier.

I use cameras, and scout for a place to put them. I have over 20 cameras, so that's a lot of scouting. Those that haven't used cameras really don't know what they are talking about.

Orion x2.

LOL!!I don't have to do heroin to know that it would be bad for me; just like I don't have to try using trail cams to know that I don't want to hunt that way.

I'm most aligned with what Orion and (most) of what Bowguy says. It is important to me to develop and improve woodmanship skills.

While I am indifferent as to whether or not people choose to use game cameras, just don't pretend to be a rugged, neo-mountain man with super hunting skills when you are driving a high lift 4x4, wearing a flat brim ball cap, and carrying a $400 'technical' backpack to haul all your gear to your stand where you text back and forth with your bro's until a deer hits your baitpile.

Seeing them on camera and seeing them on stand are two different things. I've gotten pix at one stand of everything from deer to bears to moose. Seldom see anything other than squirrels when I sit there.

I found the camera better to show spots *not* to hunt, for instance a place where all deer activity is after midnight.

Put it to you this way bowguy. Before the camera and sign my travel trailer was broken into, since then and cameras in place, not one problem. Whether it works or not I tend to think it keeps the honest crook honest. A thug is going to do it anyway. Again, no trespassers on the camera. And again, buy your own property, have a financial investment in something and you will use other tactics to keep what you own secure the best you can.

Orion: Explain how do cameras make hunting easier.

And to think I drive a pick up truck to go hunting, heaven forbid what next.

Jon: I suppose it's a matter of degree. One camera on the back 40 for wildlife viewing, is one thing, but multiple cameras definitely turn the odds in the hunter's favor. I don't know if the piece is still posted on the main Stickbow site, but in it a fella offers a primer on using trail cameras. He has more than 40 cameras which he places on roughly 400 acres of land. With that many cameras it's pretty easy to identify about every animal on the property, as well as where and when specific animals move. Enables precise positioning of stands to intercept the moving critters. Or where to look for them if you want to still hunt them.

They're not as effective on the public land big woods I hunt because the critters aren't as restricted by terrain, small woodlots or man-made structures. They roam more broadly and don't follow the same patterns daily.

That being said, it's also legal to bait in most of the north where I hunt. I don't bait, but know several who do. In these situations, the bait congregates the deer and does train them to a daily routine movement pattern. The cameras tell when the deer come to the bait and the routes they take. And, contrary to popular belief, big bucks don't always come in after dark. Again, the cameras tell the hunter when and where the animals will be.

A coupled off these folks also have cameras that send real time pictures to their phones or computers. One also has them rigged so he sees the real time pix on the display screen in his truck.

One guy described to me how he killed his buck a couple of years ago using cameras that supplied real time pictures. He already had that buck( and a few others) patterned through previous camera use, i.e., when the buck visited a certain bait, pinch point or stand location, he generally moved in the same direction past other cameras/ baits/stand sites, etc. So, when this guy saw the deer come in to bait site A, he drove to stand X two cameras away and was waiting for the buck when it got there. Yep, he killed it. Now he was shooting a compound, but some stickbow shooters make just as heavy use of the technology.

The next step is aerial, moveable cameras, i.e., drones. Some DNRs are getting ahead of the curve on this one and outlawing them, but not all. Where it's "legal," it's just a matter of time before folks will be using them, too.

The world has changed a lot in the past 50 years. Technology now influences just about everything we do. We all have to decide how much is too much for us personally. When it comes to hunting, before adopting any new technology or practice, I try to evaluate it in terms of fair chase. Does it tip the odds more in favor of the hunter or the animal? If it tips it more toward the hunter, I tend to not use it. We already have the deck stacked in our favor.

And here we are a bunch of macho mountain men hammering away on the keyboard linked to the internet and all the secret info that comes along with it... Trail cameras are fun, like everything else in life the potential for abuse is always present.

Orion, I agree with most of what you wrote. Almost everything can be abused but I don't think all that use A camera is cheating or looking for an easy way to hunt. I have one at my cabin so I can see what is going on when I am gone. I do use them when bear hunting. In Michigan, hunting bear is a lottery draw and I get a tag about every 8 years and the season is very short. I want to get the best use of my time when hunting bear and want to hunt a bait that is getting hit.

I think we should make them illegal, along with glass laminated bows, aluminum arrows, metal riser bows, store bought feathers, treestands, rubber boots, ect.

All these things brought about making things a little easier in some form or fashion for hunters.

Amazing in our culture how quick we are to want to outlaw something unless it's something we approve of.

Weren't there something like 12 cameras in use when the wensels shot that famous buck some years back? It's just a tool.

And just because you have a pic of a certain animal in a certain spot doesn't mean that particular animal will show up right at that spot. You guys are smarter than that. I think. Some of these posts are down right juvenile. Don't like em? Don't use them. And quit showing your collective ignorance.

I own the property I hunt and have hunted one particular area for the last 4 or 5 seasons,saw two different real good bucks the last two seasons but could get no clear shot. I have two good trails within about 25-30 yards of my stand. This year we have a bumper crop of acorns, but I thought I'd put a camera up just to see what was in the area. First time ever I've used one. I dumped about two five gallon buckets of corn out but did not think anything would come in due to the acorn crop.Been checking the camera and got pictures of several does and fawns,a few small bucks and got quite a few of this guy.Got a lot of shots of him during nighttime and daylight hours.

What Swampwalker said. I got videos of a big buck last fall, in two spots half a mile apart. He was killed during gun season about a mile up and across the road. It would have taken a lot more cameras (and trespass permission) to pattern that guy!

It was just plain cool to see him there. Got me up early a few extra mornings ;-)

The Wensels wouldnt use trail camera's

Quite au contraire, mon ami. Gene Wensel wrote an excellent article in the PBS magazine several years ago on techniques for best using them. My favorite thing - point them north so the sun doesn't flare in the lens.

Trailcams are fun. Scouting for them and setting them up is fun. Retrieving cards is fun. Looking at pics is fun.

Can't say I've ever shot a deer because of a trailcam or a picture, but I have NOT shot deer because of trailcam pics.

I really enjoy using trail cams to see what is out there. I have used them the last couple of years. It gets me out in the woods all summer to check them. I have yet to ever see any of the Bucks that I captured on camera while hunting or let alone harvest one. It fun to just see what is out there.

Are there any with great clarity? I'd like to put one by my peanut ring to get pics of blue Jay's and squirrels. Any recommendations

Babysaph, how do you know that?

I like trail cams, but pull mine out end of August.

I just like seeing whats out there....seeing the occasional whopper buck on film gets the blood pumping.

I hang stands based on foot scouting...the camera tells me what is there. Foot scouting tells me what they are doing.

.

Just wouldn't think they would use that kind of technology.,they have always done it the hard way. I've been toying with getting me one of those drones.,my buddy has one and he uses it to tell where the deer are.,

Around here if you tried to find deer with a drone you'd wind up in the trees in about 3 seconds. Might work ok in aggie country.

Hey Rick, hear it's still raining in Texas, stay dry. Maybe you've found a new way for Moultrie to market their cameras?

I think they can be fun, but you have to know really how to use them smartly...... they have allowed a lot of nice bucks, to pattern the hunters, who come in and out, checking the cards,,, ha ha

My cameras,two, have come to me by way of chance. My mission in placing them is to maybe capture some nice deer photos. Sort of like the time I had my sons and wife in the car on a drive home in the dark. I had a huge spot light, the kind that plug into the cigarette lighter. I was on a sparsely housed road and would occasionally hit the trigger and shoot a beam into the roadside woods. Well, at one upcoming break in a stonewall, where a dirt road had been, I slowed and hit the trigger. An audible wow came from everyone in the car, as a magnificent buck with a towering rack stood broadside in the beam.

I wish I had a picture of that. And therefore, I put cameras in the woods.

Just like anything else you can name,they can be misused. Think of the internet--maybe it should be outlawed too.

Time, what does watching a ball game or any of the other named excuses have to do with any thing when it is a 8 hour drive to your hunting grounds. You can only go on the weekend and preferably when you can take an extra day off. You leave late at night after work and get home late Sunday night to get up and go to work Monday morning.

I have 1 camera and hunt a 10,000 acre ranch. It takes plenty of boot leather scouting where to put camera. Some good looking spots turn out to be barren except at night. Then it is move it and wait until next weekend and another 16 hour round trip. I like to have a couple of spots that seem to be worth while to sit at when I take a weeks vacation. The week will also be used between sits scouting for a place to sit and maybe another spot for the camera. Not much different than two sets of eyes telling each other what they saw.

I love to see the pictures a lot of you guys take of deer and bear off your back porch or out the bedroom window. You are very lucky but we don't all have those opportunities.

Circumstances are very different for folks scattered all over this country. I hope every one here has a great season. >>>>-----> ken

Had to bring this one back up after reading today's paper. Thief caught on camera stealing hunting equipment. They have a photo of the guy off a trail camera. Now they are trying to ID the guy and arrest him.

I tried my buddies drone., that's the ticket it flies over the trees and you can see where the deer are.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here