BF, sounds great man, I hope you get on that big boy! Be neat if you get some pix to share of him! BC, nice bud, looks like you have a great trail there, nice daytime photos! Good luck man. I pulled two more cams, my one cam is fugged up, only took 4 pix and shut down.. grrr in a very good spot so I pulled it and need to take another back in there. My other cam that I had HIGH hopes for didnt produce any big buck daytime pix and the nightime pix didnt flash.. my two older bushnells are really causing me problems, so I jerked it out and put a different cam in. I did get a ton of elk pix at that one though during the daylight.
Just finished hanging 3 new stands. Pulled the trail cam card while I was out there already. I finally got a picture of a nice looking buck using the two acre food plot that I put in last year. This food plot is way off the beatn path and is butted up to a great bedding area. Have plenty of younger bucks using this daily. This nice 8 showed up this past week. He isnt the deer I have been glassing in the evenings but he is a nice Michigan buck to get on camera. Come on October!
Pulled another camera today. Nothing but does and fawns. Stand is in a great travel area with some year old rutting activity. Holding out for the possibility that the amount of does now will constitute more bucks come october/november. Most of my sets seem to be later season, with a few early season oppurtunity. Having the unexpected issue of having to work nights through the main scouting season really hurt me this year. I still feel confident I will put some bone on the ground this year. I'm already excited for scouting next year
can not wait for late season believe it or not!!! There are some nice bucks around my area of Western Wisconsin. I hunt suburban bucks normally. I had some decent trail cam pictures in May but those deer have somewhat disappeared. We have had a lot of rain this year making for a great acorn and soybean crop. I am sure there are other brows doing well also. It is very hard for me to pin point where the big bucks will be during this type of year. I have heard and seen some recent trail cam pictures of some great bucks not far (at least within striking distance) from where I hunt. The only problem is most of these deer don't make it to me until late season after the gun season when they escape the drives and head to the bird feeders for an easier meal. We will see what happens in the coming months......last year even though I did not fill my buck tag, I had a great late season so I will not be releasing the string at just anything during this early season. My expectations are 150 or bigger.
These two 5.5 year olds are shaping up nicely. Two bucks I would really love to get a crack at, The 5x5 is pretty nocturnal at my scrape but has showed up right at last light. The big 4x4, he's daylight visits only, which I am happy about and at this Buck Fever Scrape (hes hitting another one too about 1/4 mile away) they are all from 5 am to 11 a.m. weekly visits. I have so many other cameras running that I just havent checked because of the "Lack" of right conditions (wind/rain) to sneak in and check.. I had to check this camera the other day 'cause I needed to get a stand in there. Hopefully my other cams are collecting good patterns, a couple of my cams have been out for more than a month.. I do have rain in the forcast though which I like to time with my intrusions.
Dude, this makes my feeble attempts for the year seem useless, lol. I love that big 4! I've got a few 125" bucks making plenty of daytime appearances right now. Also, had a 6'+ bear show up on camera last week.
Since late May, early June.. I mist Buckfever Forehead gland scent on the licking branch or branches. Squirt a few ounces of Pre Post urine in the scrape anytime I go in to check cameras which isnt much (minimum of 3 weeks between visits), so I have drippers hanging over the scrape too which I refill each time I go in. Rubber boots, Latex gloves every time in. I get cleaned up just like I am hunting the area, use the right wind and preferribly have rain right behind me to get in there get out and then get the rain.. At this scrape alone I have the above two 5.5 year olds hitting it, one 4.5, two more 3.5 year olds, and two 2.5 year olds and one 1.5 year old, finally 2 different momma does with their fawns and a chit load of elk come through a lot! Here are the 4.5 and 3.5 boys using it weekly or at least bi-weekly as well. The first pic is of a 4x5- 3.5 year old whom hangs out with the big 4x4 alot, then the 4.5 year old 4x5 who is always by himself along with the last clean 4x4 thats always alone.. All of these guys hit it in the daylight and at night.
Nice job Shed. Those scrapes are a lot of work, but definitely worth it. I have never started my scrapes that early and will give it a try. You got me excited to get them going now. Great pics too. Thanks.
BC keep after it, sooner or later you will "find" the right area that holds a big boy or two! Took me years to figure it out ... daylight "security" zones is what your looking for! I have a couple big bulls in the area too I am pretty excited for elk season as well. Good luck on that 6 ft bear thats a great bear for our state!
Thank you bud, these really work well for conditioning bucks in my bigwoods. With endless mountains and cover, no agriculture, no baiting etc to congregate deer the BF has literally changed the way I bowhunt whitetails in my home terrain. Conditioning a bucks nose and natural instincts in this fashion is the best tactic I can come up with. Now the key is whether or not I can hunt these fringe bedding areas without spoiling them fast. Time will tell. As far as starting them early, my bucks hit licking branches year around so do my does so the forehead gland scent gets a ton of attention this time of year, the scrape itself will pick up in late Sept early Oct and then blow up in early Nov here.
Excellent buck pics there Troy!! I had a 115 Inch or so buck come and hit the licking branch 10 days or so ago. So far that's the only action I've gotten with the buck fever this year. I didn't actually make a scrape though, just hit up the licking branch with the gland stuff. Come end of September when I get back from elk hunting my cams will go back out and the BF products will start getting heavily used.
thanks troy for the info, I will have to try that stuff soon. hopefully my trail cam will be working better since it wasn't taking night pics. good luck too you!
Awesome pics, those bucks are looking great. You can also see the velvet really drying up, its not going to be too much longer
6 new camera set ups to check this week, before the opener in that zone on the 6th.. Man I hope a whopper shows up on those cams..
Michigan has been REALLY REALLY REALLY hot and dry this year. like an unusual amount. but i have three hunting spots i can go to. 2 in MI and 1 down at a family friends property in Illinois. so i shouldn't have a problem this year anyway. plus with the no restrictions on the feral hogs in Michigan i hope i see one or more!!!!!
