It seems strange to me as I look back. I learned to hunt before we had trail cams. We used to scout very hands on barging into bedding areas to measure beds to see the size of deer in the area, raking up the ground on deer trails to be able to measure tracks to see the age of deer in the area. Used to even measure poop to try to figure out age of deer. Clumped poop was bucks pellets were does. Funny how trail cams have changed all that, people are afraid of going into hunting areas and disturbing the deer. Anyone else ever do it old school way?
hunting in my opinion always starts the old school way.. puttin in the time n boot leather, the cams for me just solidify my hunch..
I haven't ran a single cam this summer and I'm more excited for this season to start than any other in the past few years. The unknown and anticipation of what might be there is fun. It seems like when I watch a particular deer all summer it inevitably leads to disappointment later. At least that's been the case the past few years.
You bet.First finding very used game trails that lead to water holes,trails leading under fences with fresh hair on the fence,fresh horn rubs on trees and the bedding areas these trails lead to.Then getting the wind right and setting up somewhere in between.Game cams are great though,lets me actually see how big the bucks are that I m hunting.
I have always done it old school since 93. Once I find all the correct sign I'm looking for THEN I setup a trail cam to see the size of the buck I'm setting up on. Kinda thought that's how most others do it as well
Trail cams are to confirm or deny my assertations about the area I chose to scout. Quite honestly I dont really feel the need to use a trail camera...just do cuz thats what ^^^^^Joe does...
When I first started hunting I was still young enough that my Dad did all the work because I hunted with him and was new to it all. Then when I was in highschool because of school sports and chasing girls I was more of a casual hunter and only gun hunted with my famly. I would just go find a spot in the woods that looked good and setup there without any idea of what might be in the area. It wasn't until after college that I got serious about bowhunting and started to actually scout in the off season and put more thought into my actions and how they effected the deer and my chances of success.
I guess I am returning to old school this year. The cams I have out this year are on my boat in the backyard! I had much more success at getting on good bucks and killing big bucks prior to putting a sh*tload of cams out every year. This year I will use a cam but it will only be during a week long hunt on public property so gather a little inventory. Otherwise, on the private properties I have access to I do not plan on using any cams. I have already scouted and hung stands based on bedding and food locations. The only times I will be entering the areas I will be hunting going forward this season will be to hunt. I will get pics of the deer after I kill them...
95% of the time my trail cameras are nowhere near where im hunting. I have my cameras in good "camera" locations and my stands in good "hunting" locations.
Like Swamp Stalker I always look for sign and deer trails before I ever hang a camera. Once I find good sign and multiple trails intersecting, I find the best tree in the area to hang a stand. Then, I start a mineral site and hang cameras. My Dad taught me how to look for deer sign years ago and I still use those tactics to this day!
When at all possible I have a proper off season walk about on properties that I am not familiar with that I expect to be hunting. I explore whatever I can to get to know the property and use google earth to see whats in the surrounding area off property. Once I have all the pieces of the puzzle, I can recognize what deer do on a given property and why they do it. From that point I know where I want to set cameras and where I want to place stands. I use cameras as a game management tool to monitor what's coming through and when and to keep a check on herd health/property inventory. I don't really rely on them as a hunting tool. I grew up learning how deer think and the driving forces that define the action/reaction behavior and basing my hunting of them around that. I think I'd be just fine without cameras and going back totally old school but it wouldn't be as much fun. The only way I really do use them as a hunting tool is to get a better idea of what specific deer I want to target as part of property/herd management.
I guess I'm living in the past ..... I still don't own a trail cam . I do go out and observe from a distance so I have an idea as to what's around and once season starts I'll make use of some observation stands till I get one figured out .
I put boot to dirt every spring and look for rubs, used scrapes, sheds, bedding areas, etc.,. I also camp on my hunting property so I am out there on a regular basis and see deer on my short perimeter walks. I typically put my cameras on the mineral sites and since my new addition of a small watering hole I put another one there. Since I only hunt a 9 acre piece of property, I already know where the deer travel. The purpose of the trail cameras are to see what deer are there and for having such a small piece of property, seeing the same deer from last year sticking around my property again this year is a good feeling. Knowing that I am contributing to create a healthier herd and they keep sticking around makes it all worth it.
I have a couple cams. But not to pattern a deer. Just to give myself a little confidence during a long cold sit, that there is a good buck roaming around. Just makes me feel better knowing and not guessing.
