I check my cameras usually ever 2 weeks. I only get my big bucks pictures at night and only a few times a month. How do I hunt deer like these and or pattern them accurately
If the pictures are just after legal light set up further down the trail the are coming down and you should see them in day light but if it is in the middle of the night all you can really do is keep an eye out and see if they start to move more as temperatures drop. and when the rut is on i would put money on they will be moving during the day. All of this are just what i have learned from hunting and people are gunna tell you different things so take some of every thing put it to use and let us know how it goes! Best of luck!
If I know their direction of travel, I'd move the cams closer to their beds. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Bucks range increases the closer to the rut it gets. Does will stay put during rut cause it's the only time they really "want" to be found. Does are easier to pattern so I like the catch a bear with honey method as Sota mentioned. Trying to offensively hunt a mature buck is risky biz.
If you don't know which way the bucks are coming from, move the camera in one direction. If not there, try another. It may not happen this year because I wouldn't go searching too far into their bedroom this close to the season but I would at least try and figure out their direction of travel to get an idea of their travel. As has been said, the rut changes everything but if you shoot them before....... who cares about the rut?!?!
Don't sweat it yet. It's real warm and hot out and the deer aren't really up and moving a lot during the day, especially the Bucks. Just keep the cameras rolling and adjust accordingly. It will pan out. Just be patient. Don't do anything crazy and creep in on deeding areas and drive them out.
Reece., Ask yourself why you put your camera there, or did you randomly place it? If you put it there for a logical reason, do that again in another place. If you're still getting pics you may find you really don't need a camera. What you really want might just be a pic . With that said , I don't use a cam and I don't " pattern" deer, I've learned a lot about deer would be how I would describe it. Good luck.
Monitor cameras as we approaching opening weekend and see what their movement/patterns does. Move closer to their bedding area, and don't bump or pressure these deer hard until the rut! If you don't have a legit opportunity at them early season, save your chips until the rut and go all in.
It is early yet and there is food everywhere and the bucks aren't yet interested in breeding! I would leave them alone until mid September when they begin shedding velvet. Things will begin changing and heck they might move out of the area altogether. Early rut is when I would start locating does and hunt accordingly . Good luck
If you don't know where they are coming and going from, try using video instead of still photos a little while. I can give a better idea of their movement. If you have the cameras, once you know which direction or path they use, move a camera back up their path to fill in more information.