Check out our blog page here to read our tips throughout the season! --> crowriverlegends | fulfill the hunt And check out our Facebook page here --> http://bit.ly/CrowRiverLegends You might have been as excited as I was in early August for getting out into the woods and hanging trail cameras. After letting them sit for a week or so, you pulled your SD cards and you find out that time & time again you only have a few doe, a spike buck, some raccoon, and an occasional coyote- and almost all of your pictures seem to be at night time. What the heck?! After all of the mineral, salt blocks, game feed, and maybe even food plot planting (if you have an early blooming variety) you are still getting blanked. You may have a nice buck coming through, but he has only shown up at night. Well, even though opening day here in Minnesota is only 3 days away- I’m telling you not to get discouraged. Here’s a tip: bucks are just beginning to find their late summer/early fall ranges. Some may move very little, but I have found over the years that most bucks are traveling longer distances in early September. Most bucks’ velvet is just beginning to fall off, the temperatures are slowly starting to drop at night, and now they are going to want to pack on the calories to help stay warm at night. The bucks have been in bachelor groups for most of the summer, and let’s face it; the party can only go on for so long. As soon as the testosterone levels start to rise (which is now from growing their antlers and starting to shed their velvet) they are going to separate and slowly find new territory. When hanging a trail camera, I typically search for oak trees as much as possible, but in all reality find any food source, or at least the trail to/from the food source if your property doesn’t hold one. Right now the oak trees’ acorns are dropping like crazy, and the protein packed snacks are not only enjoyed by squirrels, but those monster bucks are more often seen chomping acorns than anything else around here this time of year. Finding the food will help you convert success to not only getting bucks in shooting light hours on your trail camera, but might increase your odds at some bigger bucks as well. Now you just have to implement this system. As if it were that easy, you are thinking. I am sometimes getting new bucks on trail camera, almost weekly even before the rut, as they’re cruising the woods to stay hidden and find any easy water or food near their safe haven. I have a very strong belief in giving deer an area on a property that is left alone and becomes their safe haven. Stay tuned in future weeks for the article on that topic. Once you get those daytime photos of a buck you would like to add to your hit list, the chase is on. You saw the big tines on your computer screen and your heart gets pumping. Patterning this buck to make sure he wasn’t at your property for just a pit stop is going to give you the information you’re looking for. If I get more than one picture of a buck, I typically like to add another camera nearby in the area to better determine his habits. Now is the time to key in on those bottlenecks, field edges, or nearby food plots/sources. Stay persistent and your hard work will pay off.
Why at night? Because they are vampire deer. You will have to kill them with wooden arrows smeared with garlic.
Thanks for all the replies everyone! If you aren't getting daytime photos by using mineral or natural food source as acorns, al the article stated keep in mind the deer are just unsung their new ranges. Some can be home bodies, but don't be surprised if you start getting some new bucks in the next couple weeks. If you are near corn that's a huge plus as it will be starting to turn here in Minnesota in the next few weeks and you can bet your bottom dollar the deer will be hitting those fields hard. Happy hunting this weekend!
What about putting a camera by water when it is hot out? Would that be a good place to get daytime pics?
Yes Monster Raxx, water can be a good target to get those sunrise/sunset photos as the deer are cruising to/from their eating & bedding grounds. Not everyone's hunting property holds water, so that won't always be an option. Do you have any recommendations for Monster Raxx mineral that you have got pics of big bucks over?
