Help with appropriate trail cam use

[bigbob]

recently there was a thread about one way a trail cam was used to effectively monitor a waterhole. I understand puttin cams near bedding, busting deer, leavin scent, checkin them too frequently etc can make them more harmful than good. What are some other effective ways/setups to use the cams effectively?

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[rudy78]

I use my cameras on food sources, field edges, mineral sites(where can) or scrapes. None of these being by stands I plan on hunting hard. I use my cameras to monitor the type of bucks inky area more then trying to figure out which stand to hunt. I want my cams in areas where they are fine with smelling human scent & not thinking it is a hunter. Some guys use cams differently but most of my hunting is done a long distance from home so I can't monitor my cams enough to have them help me pinpoint a buck. I can use them to see when & where a buck is coming so I can use that info to help me figure out which bed that buck my be using based on my knowledge of the land.
Where I see guys having cams hurt them is when they are trying to pattern bucks with them so they put them near beds or in travel corridors & leave scent in those places so the buck knows he's being hunted before they even hunt him. I also only checkup cams when I'm walking past them on my way to or from a stand or by vehicle at night.

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[Stanley]

I'll hit on a number of things about trail cameras, some of which you already know and some of which you may not have thought of. I very seldom use a trail camera to find bucks to hunt (current year especially). The pictures often tell me a story that could help me out next year or the next year.

I set trail cameras up on areas I'm almost convinced will produce buck pictures, not setting the camera up to see if bucks are present. To get pictures of bucks on camera you need to set the camera up where bucks are living. This sounds simple but I don't think most understand the concept. I set cameras up in bedding areas, trails from food to bed, thick heavy cover, parallel trails. very seldom on the food source (doesn't hurt to experiment though). When cameras are set up in these areas you can not check them very often (this is a most important tip).

Another good spot to set up a camera is a well used corridor (I do this a lot). Example; heavy timber with a corn field adjacent to it (see pictures below). I always try to set the camera up where the deer are entering the corridor from the timber to the corn (great spot to set up a stand also). Might be a hole in a fence or where a tree has fallen on the fence and broken it down. Pictures below illustrate this type set up

Also keep in mind not only can cameras tell you where bucks are, but almost as important, they can tell you where bucks are not.

One tip everyone has heard set your cameras up facing North if at all possible. The first picture is a perfect example, no further explanation needed. I like to keep mine in the shade of the timber canopy. This is illustrated in the pictures of the bucks entering the timber from the corridor. Camera is facing North no chance of the sun hitting the camera in this set up.

Last thing I will talk about is camera checking intervals. If you can wait 1 month do it, if you can wait 2 months do it, if you can wait 3 months do it. The longer you let the camera roll uninterrupted the better buck pictures you will get. Most camera set ups will not allow checking regularly with out botching the spot.

Conclusion:
I really haven't covered much on how to use cameras to kill a good buck. I personally think this is a tough thing to do. I use cameras almost as a separate hobby from hunting. They can give you an edge if used properly, I find most hunters are looking for a crystal ball from their cameras. I'm just looking to mostly having fun using them. Inventorying the bucks that live in your core area is good to know also.


[glow=red]This picture illustrates why not to set your camera up (west in this picture) where the sun can hit it.[/glow]



[glow=red]These deer are following the corridor:[/glow]



[glow=red]These bucks are entering/leaving the corridor through a low spot in the fence in the timber line:[/glow]





[glow=red]More pictures of bucks traveling in a corn timber corridor.[/glow]




Tip:
As you can see bucks definitely use these corridors to travel in. With the information a trail camera provides you could plan on a hunt the next time the crops are the same. Next year or the year after.

[bigbob]

Stanley those are some good tips. I agree that it would be very difficult to use cameras to pattern and kill a specific buck. One place you mentioned was parallel trails. By that do you mean the trails just inside the cover that goes around most, or all of the field? I've read some, watched some, about them and am confused as to what function and when these trails serve? I believe it was the contradiction between farm country bucks and Dan that I am confused about. Thanks.

[Stanley]

I did a thread on parallel trails awhile back.I'llfind it later. Not at my computer.you could do a search.

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[Bigb]

The last few years we have put our cameras mainly on food plots and have gotten a decent amount of pics of deer and over the course of a few months we would get a few good bucks on camera. This year I bought two new Bushnells and put them on what I believed were funnels. Both cameras now have a lot more pics on them than food cameras and we have seen a lot more bucks as well. I'll be getting two more cameras next year and travel corridors and funnels are where they are going.

I also started putting my cameras about 6 feet in the air which I think makes deer notice them less more. I don't have as many pics of deer looking at the camera which I think spooks them a lot less.

[Rubline]

"I also started putting my cameras about 6 feet in the air"

Hi bigbob, lots of good advice quoted above, I too place
cameras up higher using a 5 gallon pale to step on. Also try to "angle"
the camera on the trail instead of placing it facing the side
of the trail. You'll get much better photos this way. I think
the parallel trails Stanley is talking about are buck trails that
are back in the cover 15-20 yards from the field edge. These
"parallel" the edge of the field and cross the trails leading to
the field. They are not very obvious and don't look like much,
but are used mainly by bucks. Another tip I can give is cut any
small branches or grass that may trigger the camera on a windy day
and this also allows the camera to focus on the deer for a good
clear in focus shot.

[Stanley]

Stanley those are some good tips. I agree that it would be very difficult to use cameras to pattern and kill a specific buck. One place you mentioned was parallel trails. By that do you mean the trails just inside the cover that goes around most, or all of the field? I've read some, watched some, about them and am confused as to what function and when these trails serve? I believe it was the contradiction between farm country bucks and Dan that I am confused about. Thanks.

This thread does a pretty good job of explaining and showing how parallel buck trails work.


viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15803&hilit=parallel+trails

[Stanley]

"I also started putting my cameras about 6 feet in the air"

Hi bigbob, lots of good advice quoted above, I too place
cameras up higher using a 5 gallon pale to step on. Also try to "angle"
the camera on the trail instead of placing it facing the side
of the trail. You'll get much better photos this way. I think
the parallel trails Stanley is talking about are buck trails that
are back in the cover 15-20 yards from the field edge. These
"parallel" the edge of the field and cross the trails leading to
the field. They are not very obvious and don't look like much,
but are used mainly by bucks. Another tip I can give is cut any
small branches or grass that may trigger the camera on a windy day
and this also allows the camera to focus on the deer for a good
clear in focus shot.

Great point.