This may be a dumb question but I am going to ask anyway. I just started using cams nov of 2014. I put out 8 cams of decent quality (some stealth cam, wildgame, primos,). I know that 4 mature bucks made it through the season because I photos of them from nov-feb. Since then I only have one of the bucks on camera every once and a while. We have 150 acres. I am I crazy to think the big guys have learned where the cams are and avoid them? I really cannot afford multiple "no glow" cams. Any suggestions? Did three mature bucks leave the property? I intentionally left 50 acres of the farm untouched, I never go in or out of that area because I found HUGE sheds in a bed this feb and I don't want to spook that guy out of there. Thanks in advance from a trail cam newb over here.
Keep in mind that most bucks have different ranges in the fall than they do in the spring in summer. The same deer you are getting on camera in the fall last year, many not show up again until the next fall. Sames goes for deer you are seeing in the spring and summer. Many of these deer will disappear in the fall, not to be seen again until the next spring. I have dozens of examples of this on my property over the years and have only really killed one buck that I had from early velvet to full rut. He was the dominant buck, so I guess he kept his territory once they started sorting out superiority for the rut. Now, I think they do notice them at times, and wouldn't be surprised if old does and mature bucks tend to avoid them once they have located them.
Like sky walker said, the deer could also be wintering on your property and the deer density in very high that time of year resulting in more pictures of bucks. Then when it warms up they head back out where food is. I don't know if the herd up in Kentucky like that do here in Minnesota when the winters get hard.
Thanks guys! Those are things I didn't take into account. We didn't plant our beans until 3 weeks ago so they are just now 6-8 inches high. We do have 4 major mineral sights and 6 different clover/brassica food plots in various spots. Guess they were just hungry for other things this time of the year. I have yet to shoot I a buck in my 4 years of bow hunting and I am getting antsy wanting to put one on the wall finally. The first 2 years I just wanted to be successful in putting any deer down, now I feel confident and want a mature buck. I have been putting in major time hanging stands and buying supplies for the upcoming season. Even pick up two extra jobs to pay for it all. Hopefully I see the pay off. I cannot stress how much I appreciate receiving your feedback on questions I post. I have no one else in the family that bow hunts so this site is beyond a godsend.
I have a lot of video of mature bucks catching the red ir glow Turing or bobbing the heads and walking or running back the way they came most never get seen by the same cam again. Since changing to black flash cams it rarely happens anymore but I am sure if a buck gets close and picks up my scent he is out of there anyway. Deer tolerate human scent around mineral sites and bait sites well but not very well on trails so during hunting season I put cams on ares I don't hunt much or not at all. I have good luck putting cams on field areas I can drive right up to and change out the card like using your mailbox.
My experience has been that all deer notice the red flash if you have the cam in video mode. Some react to it more than others. I would also have to assume the same would be true for the newer LED cameras. I don't think most deer have a negative reaction to white or IR flash when the camera is in the still mode. It's just too fast for the deer to know what it is. Now having said all that, I will also say that not ALL deer react the same way. They have different personalities and some are more wary than others. I have always preferred white-flash cams over every other kind, but that's just me. Blessings..........Pastorjim
I hang all of mine off the ground about 10 feet and all but one are black flash. Some scent from checking them is about all I worry about now.
A single set of climbing stick works really well for this, I use a ez cam mount works so well Cams sure don't walk off when there set high.
Thanks for all the info guys. After reading this I will be investing in the black flash models. Anybody every used the black flash coverts? Seem like the best deal.
I have a Covert black flash cam and the night pics from it are no worse than any other black flash cam. I really have never seen any black flash cams that take very good night pics. But if all you want to do is get inventory, they will definitely do the job for you. Blessings. .........Pastorjim
If they are getting their pictures taken since they are fawns they don't care. I hunt all public high pressure land. I get the same OLD bucks on camera over and over again. I have one on camera this spring/summer that I know for a fact due to pictures is no younger than 6 right now and I think he is closer to 7. I can always tell when I land a camera in an area that other people don't/haven't had cameras in because ALL the deer seem to not like them for a few weeks. Then they get use to it. But in the spots I have them every year I get pictures of them looking at the camera but they don't care if its there.
here do this put your cam on the tree as you normally do then set a cam 10 feet up high in video mode pointed at you cam on the ground then see how the deer react to cams.
Certainly each deer has it's own personality. Some deer bolt, some deer ignore them, and some deer get curious and check them out. One thing I think is for sure though, they almost all notice them. That's white flash, IR, or black flash. I'm not really sold on the fact that they react any better to the black flash than they do to the IR, or white flash.
This!!!^^^^^^ They really do have their own personalities, some are "spooky" from the time their born and others are just stupid reckless their entire lives. Without a doubt, bucks can get very sensitive to alien activity (us not extra-terrestrials, lol). I firmy believe it depends on how much activity they are exposed to throughout their lives.
I'm not sure if they "avoid them" per say, but they definitely know it's something new and they notice them. Every deer I've got pics of this year has looked straight at my cams in the alert position. "Live to hunt, Hunt to Live"
Like stated above, all are different. The deer I killed this past season got his picture taken only a handful of times but always stayed in the area. He would literally walk the backside of the tree that the camera was on once he found them. I've watched several 4.5+ yr old deer learn to just walk the outskirt of the camera on the backside of the tree its on. Some literally don't care about the camera and some keep their distance from them. Doesn't mean they aren't there to hunt though.... cant always trust your camera to tell you when they're there!
I typically only see 1 decent buck on my camera on a regular basis but come fall once the mock scrapes are setup and the rut gets going I get new bigger bucks showing up. As others said, bucks will change/expand their home range during the fall. Do you put out minerals or anything? You may want to setup a mineral site in a central location where deer travel and see if that helps you get a better inventory.
I have 4 mineral sites set up on the 150 acres. 7 1/2-1 acre food plots and 30 acres of soybeans. All the mineral sites are in the food plots, maybe I should move one into the timber. I left around 40 acres of the farm untouched, I plan to go in there during pre-rut/ rut depending on rub lines.
