Woods and Trail Camera Discrepancy

[dan]

gO AHEAD AND SCOUT... Just don't go there several times. Get the info you need and get out.

[phade]

I posted this question in one of my threads but it wasn't answered, so I figured I would post a thread about it.

I've recently put a trail camera on a local WMA that I have hunted and scouted extensively. There is a bunch of old buck sign from a monster 10 point that managed to dodge my arrow back in 2012 but since then there have been no recent rubs that have peaked my interest which is surprising because it is a high deer density area. In fact, it looks as if the big bucks have left the area completely; but my trail camera is saying otherwise.



Here is one of the several larger bucks I got on camera, which honestly shocked me. While I have scouted a good portion of the WMA, it is near a private property that feeds and has several food plots. Catch is, this WMA receives very little pressue where as [glow=red]the private property most likely gets hammered due to all the ladder stands I have come across.[/glow]The deer trails have also shown me the same thing.

Now back to my original question.. Why haven't I seen any recent rubs from the past season from this buck, and the others I have on camera?

I'm hoping this isn't the bucks summer range, I haven't scouted the entire WMA so they could be bedding further back because all the trail camera pictures show they have been coming from deeper in the WMA rather than private property.. Or so I hope.

I am assuming you have permission on the private based on all of the ladder stands you encountered, so why not do a real solid walk through once and try to gain as much intel. It won't damage much at this point, and it sounds like you are 50-50 whether there really is a big buck worth your pursuit there. Might as well find what info you can to help you decide where to spend your time/effort with any remaining scouting efforts.

[tim]

The biggest bucks I've hunted seem to leave the least sign as far as rubs go.and these are deer I have plenty of trail cam pics of so I know the are in the area there just not leaving the sign. This is where trail cams become very important.....just my observations

[ Post made via Android ]

[Twenty Up]

No I do not have permission for the adjacent private, I could view said stands from the WMA boundary.

The reason I asked if I should scout now is because I noticed a solid 2 day gap between pictures and when I placed the cameras. The more mature deer didn't join the party until 3-4 days after the camera was placed.

[dan]

The biggest bucks I've hunted seem to leave the least sign as far as rubs go.and these are deer I have plenty of trail cam pics of so I know the are in the area there just not leaving the sign. This is where trail cams become very important.....just my observations

[ Post made via Android ]

They leave sign somewhere if there antlers are polished and have bark in the burrs... I have seen a lot of big bucks not leave sign other than tracks near there bedding area for sure, but have never been able to find a big buck in fall in an area completely void of big rubs if there is any size to the area...

[Twenty Up]

The biggest bucks I've hunted seem to leave the least sign as far as rubs go.and these are deer I have plenty of trail cam pics of so I know the are in the area there just not leaving the sign. This is where trail cams become very important.....just my observations

[ Post made via Android ]

They leave sign somewhere if there antlers are polished and have bark in the burrs... I have seen a lot of big bucks not leave sign other than tracks near there bedding area for sure, but have never been able to find a big buck in fall in an area completely void of big rubs if there is any size to the area...

I agree the big boys over the years know the areas very well and no longer "need" to establish their territories.. Hence the few and far between rubs near the bedding area. That, plus they do not have as much energy when they hit 6.5+ That's what I have come to at least, there may be a better scientific explanation or I could be wrong. Either way peak rubs seem to happen between 2.5 & 4.5-5.5 from what I've noticed.

[BHC]

I think it varies with individuality of bucks. some bucks just frankly leave more sign than others. However deer are not territorial by nature. they are social animals and have an established pecking order throughout the heard. and that's what these signpost rubs and scrapes are, social markings for deer to leave there scent, letting other deer in the area know they are there and there status (breeding, health, etc.). Deer do make aggressive gestures tho basically just letting other deer know that they are in charge and to give them their space (sometimes by rubbing or scraping). I cannot disagree with dan that all bucks leave sign, but I do believe that variations in rut intensity, weather, food availability, and changes in herd dyanamics have an effect on how much sign is left and WHERE it is left. The key word is where. The buck you were after could have had a reason to leave sign there one year however the following year he did not use that specific area as much or maybe he did but left more sign elsewhere. I see this tracking bucks via trai cam on scrapes. certain years there are twice as many scrapes in the woods as others. and it may not be that broad. certain years there are more scrapes in an individual hollow or whatever. why not the next yr. the buck is still there but the sign has changed. I think the key is for you to learn to strategically place those cameras in places thru the season that allow you to figure out the bucks home range, without disturbing your hunting area. This is something that took me a lot of hours and anout 5 yrs worth of camera running to figure out. however now I can get a deer on camera and almost know exactly what his home range is and the fields he could get killed on, etc. the deer I hunt do not typically leave a 500-600 acre are tho.
Then you can use that to start narrowing down on where these deer are 95% of the time by finding the preffered bedding within that area.

[Twenty Up]

Here's a map of the property and my game plan on how I'm going about scouting it this weekend, I'm really looking forward to it regardless of the heat or bugs..

Map Key:
Red: Property Lines
Purple: Neighbors Food Plots
Yellow: Camera Site
Black: Buck Beds & General Bedding Area
Orange: Where I missed the 10 point back in 2012
Olive Green: Rub Lines (Old Rub Lines but to show where previous bucks have used the terrain)
Grey X's: Where I plan on scouting and anticipate bedding areas

Our October Through December with is a prevailing NW wind & Early season wind is predominately an ESE to give y'all an idea.

I will keep everyone posted and include pictures to keep it from getting boring on what I stumble across come this weekend.