Do you hunt during early season if no shooter bucks on camera or spotted?

Answer depends on your target. If you want venison, hunt anyways. If you want a mature buck, and its not on your camera in a regular pattern, then you need to go elsewhere or wait.

Where I am the mature bucks start moving mid-October when we get that first day in the 40s.

 

Hunt no matter what. It's better than working or doing chores!

 

This. Very good post.

I too hunt to fill the freezer.

 

I'd rather be out in the stand and see nothing than sitting on the couch watching tv and wondering whats walking by my stand

 

Normally I would hunt anyway as my time hunting is limited. But given the season and what I drew it could be all the above. I've changed properties switching from mulies to whitetail and vice versa. I've sat any way because I felt like being out weather I saw something or note. This year I was able to pick up a left over doe license and drew a either sex plains archery tag which lets me shoot a mulie of white tail buck or doe.

 

Great subject, explains my situation this year! Mid july the two bucks (3 1/2 - 4 1/2 yr olds)i was following dissapeared once they hit the 100" mark with plenty left to grow. The past few years this wasn't the case with the 3 1/2 year olds. I created sanctuaries for the deer in the off season and i KNOW the bucks are in there but with the acorns hitting the ground already they aren't moving through my buffet of a field i created. I am only hunting 20 yards inside the woodline, and there is a very hot scrape the does (and myself) use almost daily, once the rut gets closer i know the bucks will come out to it because they used it up until July. So i will be baggin a doe early on opening week, then only selectively hunting till the rut. It sucks not having pictures of them or seeing them, it's killing my motivation, and build up for this season.

 

On private, I'll hunt does early season if I am not picking up any shooter buck activity, which I'm usually not.

I will also hunt some public in early season because you never know and I can always take a doe.

 

Does need shooting too!


I don't hunt just for a buck

 

Absolutely I am hunting!! You can't kill them sitting on your couch!!

 

Just go hunt. I had 30 years of hunting in before a game camera was invented. I still shot bucks.

Also the year I shot the biggest buck of my life I had 7 cameras out. I had 1000+ pictures and 19 for sure different bucks on camera. Guess what.....The first time I saw him was the time he was shot. Days later I did find 5 pics of him.

 

It would never happen to me. Just saying.

 

Even if I have great shooters on camera I don't hunt early. We don't open until October 1st and most of the deer I want to kill are only showing themselves at last light. I don't want to risk blowing them out with minimal chance at getting a good shot. Its usually the third week of October before I get very serious.

This year may be a little different. My boys are both away at college and I am going to take one of my friends son. We will get out earlier to wear out the does, but I wont be hunting where I will be messing up the good bucks.

 

I selected "Other"

Explanation:

Combine #1 and #3
I'd prefer to take does first and get management and meat needs done and done. That leaves the remainder of season for me to play with chasing antlers and being picky with what I take to fill my buck tags.
Just because there are no "shooters" on camera means squat...the ways bucks get out and travel you're about as well off getting lucky as being good. Put yourself in a good position by being in the stand when the odd freak decides to travel out of his home range or the edge of it where he may just have avoided the cams. My neighbor last year had never seen the OMG deer nor had him on camera, he jumped the fence chasing a doe and boom, he was on the ground.

I'll add that I don't hunt early anyway unless we have unseasonably cool weather...I hate hunting hot weather...HATE IT.

 

Even if I don't have a good buck on camera doesn't mean I stop scouting for a decent buck. If I find a good set of tracks I'll hunt that and be surprised at what shows up. People rely too much on cameras to dictate what they do and yes I was once one of those people and still am to a point but I enjoy being in the woods and would rather be there then at home watching netflix

 

I am moving if I am in that situation. A guy can sit on the bank and wait for the fish to come by. OR he can jump in the boat and go to where the fish are at.

If I haven't seen bucks on camera or by scouting constantly through the tail end of the summer months I am headed somewhere else until later in the season.

Big bucks don't move around much in the late summer months. Their core area is very small as they are going to hold up where they have everything they need and there isn't any pressure. Their behavior is very predictable. Chances are if you see a buck at a specific time you will see him there the next day in that same area. It can be like clock work.

At the same time they won't hold that pattern very long into October. Get it done and get i t done quick if you know where they are at!

 

I was out hunting one day and saw seven different bucks walk by. From 15 to 50 yards. A few were nice bucks. Not a single one walked in front of the trailcam.

Don't assume your camera even begins to catch every deer that will pass through your spot.

 

I would go hunting any way, I know what your saying about if there are no bucks showing up why hunt. Many times I have seen bucks run by my camera and the camera would never take a pic. I have also watched bucks before from the stand skirt around the camera because they knew it was there (at that point I move the camera). Another thought is how many times a year do you get a couple pics of a mature buck one day then never see him on camera ever?

 

I run cams most of the year. The only thing I have found a cam does is to tell you what is travelling the area-- and most importantly when. In no way does bucks on cams drive my hunting plans --

UNLESS it is a pattern I notice during the hunting season. Then its on like Donkey Chong!

I spend way to much time and money to not put myself in a position every chance I get to be hanging on a tree or sitting in a blind wishing!

But hey that's what I love to do.. so let the heat , rain, snow or ice beat me up.. I'm gonna be out there as much as I can.

 

I just enjoy hunting. Early season I will take a few does and hope for a nice buck to walk by. My main property has 13,000 does and young bucks that are always there and then when the rut kicks in things start getting more interesting.

 

I would be in a stand even if I didnt get any pics of a deer