Our farm where I run my cams receives a lot of pressure. The neighbors hunt hard around us, and while I'm generally the only one bowhunting our 365 acre piece, a small game hunter, wood cutters, and every now and then a 4 wheeler, have all somehow received permission to be out there as well from another owner, and usually during November. All effecting deer and their movement. I used to hang my cams in areas where I was purely trying to pattern deer movement. I wanted to know that X deer were walking down Y trail at Z time. It didn't take me long to realize every camera check was an education for the deer to my presence as much as it was for me about theirs. I then molded my strategy to field edge, or close to an edge, setups. This would allow me to drive an ATV right up to the cam, or close to it and check them. It became more for inventory purposes than anything, but still gave me an idea which areas were hot. However, I still feel like this is too intrusive. I still feel like I'm showing my hand to the deer when I go check them, and especially on days I am hunting. The deer may be used to hearing ATV's, but I have sat in the stand and watch them become increasingly nervous when they hear them drive by. Next year I think I want to tweak this again. Only check the cams when I am in that area of the farm already, either on the way to or from a stand. Also, before the season, only going in during a rain, or right before a rain. These deer see a lot of human pressure via from hunters and recreation use, but to them it's all the same, adding an extra element to that pressure will not make killing them easier. Trail cams are a blast to use, but at times I think they can be our own worst enemy.
I think you are on the right track by seeing what works best for your farm there. I agree with your thoughts and theories but then again I check my cams often and dont worry about scent or anything crazy.
I understand your thought. When I first started putting cams on my farm. I think the first year it was intrusive to the deer. I have only been using them for around 5 years or so. After the first year now it don't seem to bother them at all. Now I leave mine up all year long, so maybe they go use to it.
What i normally do esp. in late season is only check the camera's i hunt around. I want to leave the area human free as possible when possible so the deer will be more relaxed. When rut kicks in i barely check them because deer come from everywhere so i'll just hunt the sign not the cameras. Early season i think checking them alot is ok because deer are more relaxed but seem soon as that rilfe season pressure rolls in they become nocturnal and more nervous. But checking them after a hunt wont hurt you as long as you cover your scent good.
Sounds like other people are causing more trouble than your cams to me. If less traffic is needed and has to be relieved by you cutting back activity then so be it I guess. Personally I'd be trying to impact other usage as much as possible first. Wood can be cut earlier in the fall and a lot of new ATV traffic in November is just awful all the way around.
Haha I agree with everything you said here, and it has been brought up so many times with the other owner.
Im the opposite the more times im in there the better. These KY deer know me by name and scent. But then again I only use a few cameras for deer.
Cam away, I'd say the first year it may bother them a bit but down the road it won't bother them at all.
I'm not as worried about the cameras themselves scaring deer away. I don't buy that heavily pressured mature bucks "get used" to extra human scent laying in an area, or the noise put out when checking multiple cams. I can count on 1 hand the amount of repeated pics I have gotten of a 4.5 year old+ at the same camera site throughout a year. Trust me, I love trail cams as much as anyone. I will still be running 8 of them next year. Just saying, that maybe a little thought and precautions may need to be put into their use. Getting pictures of big bucks is fun, but killing them is a whole lot more fun. Maybe an unpressured herd may not be effected, but the majority of us don't hunt areas like that.
Yeah, mine farm isn't highly pressured in the least. Most of the deer are use to seeing me in the fields, on the four-wheeler and such year round. They'll just stand in the fields and look at me most of the time during the summer.
I agree. I check my cams at least every two weeks and can't really say for sure that I've ran deer off or they became nocturnal because of it. In 2012 I had three bucks, two in the 160's and another 170" that I got in September. I pretty much had videos of them every time I checked the cams starting in June.
I think it all has to do with the frequency and method with which you check them. I've also found that deer just don't seem to notice when I run cameras up high on the tree facing down. I got a ton of daylight photos of bucks in or close to core bedding areas this year consistently doing this. I didn't check more than every two weeks (most often only once every 3-6 weeks). From about 9/15 on I also never checked a cam in the timber or close to bedding unless I was actually hunting it. For the cams I have setup outside of bedding on field edges, etc.......I used my ATV to check them. I feel that the ATV on a field edge impacts deer behavior less than if I were to be on foot.
I have literally hundreds of pictures of bucks during daylight this year the whole way through season and they never notice the camera up high. When I say up high, I'm 6' tall and have to reach up on my toes to get the cards out. I made a bunch of homemade camera mounts using a thumbscrew, wing nut, washers, and two eye hooks. They work great, get the cams up where the deer don't seem to take notice of them, and I can angle them down easily without using the stick behind the camera technique. I also never have issues with grass growing up in front of the lens.
I may be wrong but I think deer adapt to human scent if you start running cams early like May-June and get use to a person checking the cams. Like I said in my other post I check my cams at least twice a week and they still stay around and don't go nocturnal because of it. I do wear knee high rubber boots that I wear only on the farm and nowhere else. Its kinda like they get use to a tractor and other farm equipment and don't pay any attention to it. I've had deer come out in the same field within 50-100yds while I'm bush hogging, plowing or whatever.
