Its been a while since I've been really active here. Of course season is drawing close here in PA and I've been busy getting myself and equipment ready. That and most of my summer was consumed with a child inflicted obsession for muskie fishing. I've been running cameras heavily since early August, trying to get a few of the deer I know made it through season last year. Two bucks in particular have had my attention since I had both of them in bow range last year and couldn't seal the deal. I run cameras during late summer, usually with corn in front of them, trying to get these deer in front of the camera. Standard procedure for the most part. I have yet to get a single picture of either of these deer. But these deer are there. About a month ago, while taking a bag of corn into a camera site, I walked up on one of the shooters, not more than 75 yards from the camera. I thought that was perfect, surely he was on the corn at some point. Nope. Nada. A week later, the biggest of the two bucks, same deal. I run corn usually, as its convenient for me to get to where I need it. But I have come to only one conclusion. Corn is not the thing to use this time of year. Deer, bucks especially, are hammering acorns pretty hard in my region, getting as much fat and protein as they can before the rut. I just don't think corn is on the menu. But, I've been cleaned out by the does. I know these two bucks are alive, much larger this year, I've laid eyes on both of them, so I have that going for me. This isn't really a "new kid on the block" situation. These are resident deer. Anyone else notice this sort of thing from year to year?
Yes when the acorns start dropping my feeder activity drop by 70%. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
I suppose that would make sense as to why many folks don't get nice bucks on camera until later in October, yet they still get does and fawns.
I have noticed the same thing, however, if you have access to apples that may draw them to your camera this time of year. It has worked for me Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I used corn apples and an acorn salt block the bucks I get pics of my number shoot once every week I also put mineral out all year round as well Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Sure - happens to me all the time. IMO we put a little too much stock in trail camera data at times. When you think of what a small piece of ground a single camera covers in comparison to a whitetail's range it's not hard to understand how they can avoid the cameras. Especially bucks that are camera shy. It's certainly not uncommon for me to have two cameras within 100 yards of each other - one getting consistent photos of a certain deer and the other getting no photos at all. If I only had a single camera in that spot I would never know that deer exists. Much the same as your scenario I have a buck that I'm still looking for from last year who hasn't shown up on camera yet. Although I believe we had photos of him after he shed his rack this winter he hasn't been seen since. I've not quite given up on him being dead yet. Although another few weeks and a bunch of cameras on scrapes may just diminish what little hope I have left. Only time will tell.
I'll use a great illustration... I own 22+ acres...nothing huge right. For sake of the property being new and cameras being plentiful, I currently have 5 or 6 cams out there (have to check my map labeled with all them). One crazy phenomenon I've seen played out OVER and OVER again on all my various small properties is the ability for bucks to not just be present but to be present a lot and never be pictured on cam. I have a buck I know given frequent times during the day, and week is present on my property A LOT...but he's only ever had his picture taken on 2 cams primarily....with a 3rd getting ONE picture and ONE picture alone. Even more interesting is I have two cams a mere 20 yards apart, one aimed West one East....this buck has been pictured AT ALL times of the day and weeks for the last 3 months on the one aimed East...just 20 yards behind it IN THE SAME CLOVER PLOT, the one lone picture of him over that same time frame. Cams are cool...and a great resource...but they only tell you what they capture and that alone.
I have photos of two separate bucks this year who caught the camera at the last second and froze only partially in the frame of the camera (head or head and neck only on both). Both turned around and went back the way they came within seconds. These cameras were only checked after 6 weeks, then 4 weeks. Human scent was not a factor at the time of the photos. I believe many older bucks (not talking 2 and 3 year olds) have been conditioned to be camera shy due to disturbances and human scent left around camera sites.
I run 18 cameras on approx 250 acres (100 acres of woods). If you lined those cameras up so there detection zones touched each other it would be easy to see that they cover very little area. I agree what has been said about cameras/feeders and mature whitetails. Many go undetected. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oddly enough, I've had the exact opposite experience. Every single buck that I ever see on the river bottom property I mainly hunt, I have several pics of. Since I've been running cameras more the last 3 or 4 years, I never see any random bucks show up on my cameras, even during the rut. It's like they know the property boundaries. It's really strange, because I'll even run cams close to the boundaries and still never pick anything new up. Not to say they aren't there, it's just odd that I see every buck I have pics of and none that I don't.
There is definitely something to it and I can agree with most of what was said. This one particular buck, I never had on camera over bait last year. I didn't even know he was there until he came into range the first week of our season (never gave me a shot). I pursued this buck until our season closed in February, having one more encounter with him at 25 yards... busted me in a blind. Two days after that ordeal, I got a single pic of him walking in front of the blind.. smh. I'm not totally convinced that mature deer are camera shy. I just don't think they're that smart. My thinking is that these deer are generally loners at this point on their life. They don't like a lot of interaction with other deer and they know other deer will be on the bait so they steer clear. I've gotten pics of mature deer.. standing behind the bait pile while other deer ate and the only reason I got him in the frame was because the other deer triggered the camera.
I can tell you the two bucks I spoke of above were not on bait or mineral piles, they were set at two intersecting trails.
I'm hoping that this is the case with my cameras this year because I'm just not seeing the number of bucks I'm used to seeing. Normally at this point in the season, I'll have seen 5 or 6 different bucks of different sizes and ages on camera. Right now, I have seen a total of 1 buck all year long, and it's a 1.5 y/o 6 pt. I live in an area that has about 10 deer per square mile and we're coming off a record breaking winter of the longest number of consecutive days with 12" or more of snow covering ground and it was from the end of November until mid-April. So we're talking almost 6 months of winter snow coverage and for the majority of that time there was 3'+ on the ground. So here's to hoping they're just side stepping my cameras. This is the buck I'm hoping shows up at some point; he's also the one in my profile pic. He's a 4.5 y/o 7 pointer with horrible genetics, but he's 200+ lbs dressed. But really, at this point, I'm just hoping that a couple more show up on camera as the rut nears.
I have definitely experienced the same thing regarding big mature bucks in the background. Running some cameras in video mode has definitely given me a greater appreciation for the deers awareness of the camera and their uneasiness around them in certain situations. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don't believe that being camera shy has anything to do with age. It's just a product of that deer's personality. I've had bucks that were camera shy since they were very young and carried that same trait for as long as I got pics of them. I've had other deer - mature ones - stand in front of a camera on a trail camera stand in the middle of a food plot for minutes on end turning every which way, smelling the camera, rubbing into it, etc. They couldn't care less about it. I'm of the opinion that not many deer escape the sheer amount of cameras I have in the woods these days, but I'm also not naive enough to believe it doesn't happen at all. The optimist in me likes thinking it's always the Booners that avoid them.
I use to do the same thing in PA with corn when I lived there. Saw a lot of the same you have outlined. We can’t do it in IL so now most cams are on plots or terrain features that make them walk there and I do much better with inventory. I’m also running a LOT more cams per acre now too and as JZ said it’s amazing how cams so close together get pics and others don’t. My primary spot right now is 135 acres and I’ve got 15 cameras on it including cell cams in the more highly used spots.
I run cameras after the deer season into early summer to see what made it through gun season and the winter. All that time you spend checking cams gives mature bucks the opportunity to pattern you and learn areas to avoid because of the activity. All treestand movements and shooting lane work is done by late spring and I don't re-enter my land till the day I hunt it.
This year has been different for me with foresters helping me manage my woods for promotion of wild life (more people traffic this year). My wireless cameras been giving me some grief as well; so not near the buck pictures this year. I am sure nice bucks are on my land from time to time , have to stay positive lol and I just put out some more regular cameras.
I believe that once the velvet is off the mature bucks are definitely loners. In my experience they tend to show up in the most odd places prior to the rut and I think that's why they avoid most cameras. I don't think they are camera shy but just more deliberate when they move and off the primary trails. If I could figure them out like the does and smaller bucks I think it would take away from the hunt. The unpredictability is what I enjoy about chasing the big ones.
Pencil me in as another hunter who gets all pictures of does and fawns all summer and early fall, with the occasional spike or small buck and then starts getting mature bucks only in late October and through the rut. The rut is all I care about anyway so as long as I hold the does, the bucks will come. Last year my buddy killed an old mature wide racked 6 pointer that we had never seen before and we run cameras all over and for most of the year. Not a single picture of him. It could have been his first time on our property dogging a doe and that's just as good for us. Having a target buck is great but I'll take a random first time on the property buck over having bucks all year that disappear during the rut.
