taking inventory / establishing standards...

[Indianahunter]

cameras cameras and cameras. pictures dont lie, i love scouting /topos/shedding for the lay of the land in winter/spring. but cameras are my favorite. there is room for error in most else. tracks/scrapes/beds/rubs/farmers info/size of poop etc.... all room for error. pictures dont lie if anything they look smaller in pictures. ive always said if at first glance at that viewer i say wow its a shooter in my book. i have been passing more as i get older. i dont set too strict of standars for myself cause if at that moment of truth i wanna shoot , i will .

That is a good and respectable approach to it.

[Stanley]

cameras cameras and cameras. pictures dont lie, i love scouting /topos/shedding for the lay of the land in winter/spring. but cameras are my favorite. there is room for error in most else. tracks/scrapes/beds/rubs/farmers info/size of poop etc.... all room for error. pictures dont lie if anything they look smaller in pictures. ive always said if at first glance at that viewer i say wow its a shooter in my book. i have been passing more as i get older. i dont set too strict of standars for myself cause if at that moment of truth i wanna shoot , i will .

That is a good and respectable approach to it.

Cameras certainly add some excitement to it. Nothing like looking through cards loaded up with pictures.

[kenn1320]

I used to use cameras, then quit, now back to using them. I like to drive at dusk and look/glass for deer. I set a personal Michigan min of 100" back in 2001. Haven't seen/shot one yet, but working on it.

[goldtip5575]

yeah without cameras youd have to rely on shining to take inventory.If your spots are only 20-30 min away youd prob burn 150-200 in gas only going a few times a week for 2 months.

[Beason]

Private-the actual farmer that owns/leases the land, friends that hunt the same property

Public-biologists/maintenance workers i have made connections with through a past job i held

[RaisedByWolves]

It totally depends on where I'm hunting, on one private property, it's cameras and generally 2.5's....on another, its full of deer so i set my stardards different every year, last year i got the 2.5 I wanted...looking to get a 3.5 there this year, don't use cameras down there so i usually never am after a specific deer, just play it as i hunt.....I can think of some public spots where i would be tickled with a 2.5, and others i want a 3.5...this was determined by a little glassing and alot of shining!

[kenn1320]

I see lots of you rely on the farmers and I think in many cases they know a lot. However I will tell you that a friend of mine bow hunts a farm that the farmer and his family/neighbors gun hunt. They shoot lots of bucks, but mainly dinks. Every time he pulls a slob off that farm, the farmer says we didn't even know that deer was around.

[jonsimoneau]

Dan, this is very interesting to me. The last two years...I have held to a set of standards that would be extremely difficult to attain on the properties I am hunting....except for about a week in the rut. This year, I am forced to hunt mostly public land. I have spent a TON of time since June, watching bucks in cropfields near public land.
While I have seen a few better than average bucks...it has only been a few. Because of this, I have decided that I will need to lower my standards this year...at least on the public.
At first it was hard for me to accept this...but now I have gotten over it. I want to be able to hunt and kill the top 10% of bucks in the area. And the size of those bucks is actually irrelevant. As long as they are the best the area has to offer.
This line of thinking is making me excited for the season...just to accept the challenge of trying for the best that is available in the area...rather than trying to meet the standards of someone else.

[Indianahunter]

Dan, this is very interesting to me. The last two years...I have held to a set of standards that would be extremely difficult to attain on the properties I am hunting....except for about a week in the rut. This year, I am forced to hunt mostly public land. I have spent a TON of time since June, watching bucks in cropfields near public land.
While I have seen a few better than average bucks...it has only been a few. Because of this, I have decided that I will need to lower my standards this year...at least on the public.
At first it was hard for me to accept this...but now I have gotten over it. I want to be able to hunt and kill the top 10% of bucks in the area. And the size of those bucks is actually irrelevant. As long as they are the best the area has to offer.
This line of thinking is making me excited for the season...just to accept the challenge of trying for the best that is available in the area...rather than trying to meet the standards of someone else.

Well I am not trying to answer for Dan, but I think that is a great approach. I have a little higher standard but I hunt primarily private properties for the time being. At some point that these properties become unavailable my standards will change with the propery I am hunting as well. Remember it's about the hunt. Good Luck buddy!

[BigHunt]

that depends on were im hunting, on public theres no real guss on what deer is bedded so when the time comes you have to make a descion if you want the deer or not , unless your watching a buck and now specifically were hes bedding. alot of my privet farms the land owners want only certian bucks harvested, for intasnce the owner of proporty puts his own cameras out and lets me know what i can shoot if theres nothing big enough for his standerds then i dont even hunt that farm. another farm the land owner is perty old but knows his deer, i cant shoot nothing smaller than 140, i think thats why i havent shot any thing form his land yet i have passed up a cople possible 140s but didnt want to chance losing my permison. other wise im not picky im young yet, so i have lots of deer to work up to, even though ive shot a cople of big bucks i dont let that get to my head and make those my standerds, ill probly never beat my biggest buck so im happy with what i shoot, but i also dont like shooting anything small 125ish and down

[dan]

I would not want to shoot a 150 early season and find out that there was a world record wandering around the area... And I wouldn't want to hold out for a 150 if the biggest buck in the area is a 130...

[cwoods]

Man I wish we could shine in NC. I don't run trail cams either. I pretty much rely on glassing, past encounters, and the size of rubs in that area. If I feel he is 3.5 Im tryin to send an arrow his way asap. Im still searching for a 120 class and given this majority of this years food sources turned tobacco it may be time to move on to greener pastures.

[BassBoysLLP]

I run trail cameras as my primary source if intel these days. I also do the evening glassing and if possible, the late night supporting. Careful discussion at a local tavern is good too. In the end, the trail cameras put everything together.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Darin]

Since ive been on 2nd shift I rely on trail cameras. When im free on the weekends ill do some careful spotting and glassing but for the most part cams are my go to. I also have been hooked on spotting fields in august to confirm what I have on picture. Also like BassBoysLLP had said about "careful discussion" at the tavern. In my areas I know all the properties around mine, and for the most part - who hunts them. So when I catch a story of a buck that doesn't relate, I make that my job to confirm those stories... or sometimes even debunk them

[dan]

Cameras are a great tool, but good old glassing, shining, and observation stands do a better job. Its very hard to see all the deer with trail cams cause you only see the animals that walk in front of the little target window the camera has... Its really hard in areas where baiting / minerals is not allowed in front of the camera.
Glassing, shining, and observation however you can cover huge areas quickly.