My brother put a trail cam just off the food plot at our cabin in Mid-October. On the 28th we got 5 pictures of this stud....but never got another one of him again. Why? Does he not live on or near our property? Was he crusing for does on October 28th and happened to cruise by here? I have a theory.... Notice that in both, and all the other, pictures hes looking at the camera and standing in the exact same spot. I firmly believe that this buck does live on our property and has frequented our food plot on more than one occasion. I also stongly believe that this mature buck knew the camera was there and avoided this spot the rest of the season. I should also note that the camera was a Moultrie I40. Fast forward to our 10 day hunt on the lease in IL.... We set up another Moultrie I40 over a scrape. In the beginning, there were a ton of pics of different bucks. After checking it every 3 days (on the way in or out of the stand) the number of pictures steadily decreased. One particular instance that sticks out in my mind the most is when a 2.5-3.5 year old 8 pt walked up just short of the camera, looked at it and did a quick trot past it. Why? Because the camera made too much noise. Though using the trail cams is nice, I will definately be more cautious as to when, where and what kind of camera I use. We have 5 Moultrie I40s and I doubt I will use them again for anything other than on bear baits.
I can believe that too Dan although bucks are just about as individual as you and I. I have a friend who bought a Wildlife Eye. They first had a trail cam up with a flash. They got one good picture of a great buck but never again. For a test they set up the Wildlife Eye facing the trail camera. The buck in question would walk toward the trail cam and the veer around it so it didn't take his picture. I'm assuming it was either the flash or the noise as well. HOWEVER, I've got pics of a mature buck posing for the camera. I have a series of him getting closer and closer to it inquisitively.
I agree Dan, the noise and IR flash don't always do well with these mature bucks. My no flash Cudde Is no different and I've had the same experience's you've had. That was a big reason why I tried a Reconyx trail camera this year- no noise and no light what so ever. I've also got to learn to hide my camera's better, they stick out a tad to much. He's sure an awesome buck Dan!!
While I don't know why your above mentioned buck disappeared Dan.. I could possibly help shed some light on the Illinois lease scrape... That scrape was a community scrape (IMO) that sat in a very well used corridor (funnel) that pinched whitetails between the creek (to the south) and wide open land to the north. Any deer traveling across the creek headed east or west to and fro the neighboring properties food sources would find this area the easiest to travel when crossing said creek (near where we parked) As it was.. you northern gents arrived during a time of pre-rut.. ALOT of small bucks runnin' the area looking for receptive does ETC. Which is why you got mostly younger bucks.. except that 1 real bruiser 10'er who was following the doe. By the time you dudes were leaving.. bucks were starting to get "laid" up with more does... a semi lock down really.. and most of those youngins were off trailing older bucks who had estrous does or chasing the stragglers or already bred does. Basically.. they were off the scrapes. Although your pressures would have slightly contributed.. it was more than likely pure timing. They were on the does and off the scrapes. I'm such a party pooper. Word.
Jeff and Rob, I agree with both of you and also believe that each buck is different, just like people. Steve, my experience as well with using cameras. Mike, I also agree with your theory on the number of sightings going down. But, the one thing that really stuck out in my mind was the instance of the buck basically running past the camera, becasue he knew it was there. Johnny and I watched it with our own eyes....I don't know if we filmed it though. I am leaning more and more toward not using trail cams at all past late summer. I have had far more bad experiences with bucks and cams than good ones. Not to mention that most of them have occured since using this particular model. This especially being true on our land in WI where the surrounding pressure is much higher than other places I hunt.
I think that's it in a nutshell too Dan. We all know some deer will accept some level of intrusion more than others and in high pressured areas, any intrusion is unacceptable. Tell me more of this camera with no flash and no noise?
Absolutely.. I believe some would have responded to the pressure.. but I think it was mostly timing. And hey.. you don't have to argue cameras with me. I don't use them at all.. EVER. Although I am going to do a little snooping with 1 this year.:d By the way.. love the brows on that buck from up north. Dannnng!
Mike, from previous conversations we've had, I know how you feel about cameras. I'll still use them, but only in areas I don't plan on hunting at all. No kidding dude! I plan on doing anything I can to kill this buck this fall. It has been years since I have bowhunted the family land in WI. (520 acres) I haven't had the time the last 7 years and we have a number of good bucks running around there. This fall will be a different story as I only plan to hit SK for 1 week and skip Alberta all together. Don't worry, I'll be in IL too! :d
The buck could be a rogue, but, i know their are bucks in my area that i have never got pictures of. Its one of those mysteries.
I just looked and my brother put the camera out two days before this guy showed up. He was on a main runway leading to the food plot. Knowing that, I believe this buck lives there and after his run in with the camera he avoided that area.....old and smart. Why does it have to be Mid-February?
I have never used a trail camera. But..... this is what someone who uses about 12 of them has to say. He told me that they can never get 2 different pictures of the same Mega buck in the same spot. He said that if they move the camera sometimes they will get a second photo. He believed they were somehow aware of the camera. Some of their cameras were no flash. He even wondered if they could sense the electronics. Just thought I'd pass this info on to you.
Dan I use only a few cameras every year but I wonder if checking it every 3 days you might not have started to lay down alittle to much human scent?? Walt
Walt, I thought this may have been the case as well too, but it was on the way in and out of a stand we were hunting. The number of buck sightnings we had from that stand was incredible and never once in 10 days of hunting down there did we get busted. We are extremely cautious with our scent control. You may be correct though.
In regards to the lease, I feel it was a combination of two things. First, deer getting smart to the camera. Let's face it, the I40 is a big black blob on the side of the tree and not hard to miss. Plus it's a noisey camera. Unknown items that smell like humans and make noise deer tend to avoid. Second, I agree with Mike in that the pre-rut was in full swing that last week in October when we had the cold weather. Bucks were pounding the hell out of the scrapes. Once that first week of November rolled in they were on the does and off the scrapes, hence the decline in photo sightings. As for our WI buck, who knows. Maybe one of the good ol' boys up there took him out with a rifle and a spotlight.
We have been running over 7 cameras on our property for several years and some things that stick out in my mind: 1. With the exception of late summer, we NEVER get a 4.5+ old deer on the same camera more than once without the use of bait. 2. Even with does, the first time the camera is an area yields the highest amount of activity. After that, sightings drop off fast! 3. Never, never, never put a camera in an area you plan to hunt. The deer smell the camera, period.. They see the camera, they hear the camera.. I've learned the hard way on this one. 4. The safest place to put the camera is along your normal entry and exit trails. No additional pressure and the deer are expecting to smell human activity in these types of areas. I never stray more than 20 or 30 yds off by normal routes.
I have been pondering over a similar situation all year. Early season we got no buck pics (pre season actually) but then we started getting pictures of these 2 whoppers quite regularly. One was just awesome with a 6-8" dropped brow tine and a double main beam on the right. We got pictures of him regularly for 3 weeks, then nothing the rest of the season. I saw him once from the stand 18 days after our last picture of him. Haven't got a pic of him or seen him since. Where did he go? I have no idea. He was big enough that had he been killed I would have heard of it through the grape vine. All I know is that I have no reason to believe it was the camera that spooked if off or that he was ever spooked at all. He just left. He could have been shot, died and never recovered, but I will never know. In the end cameras and hunting as much as I do have taught me that bucks move a lot and can and sometimes will change their home ranges on a whim (or maybe they get pushed out by a more aggressive buck). Trying to figure them out is like trying to figure out what my wife is thinking... simply impossible
