On one of my cams I have set out, I had an 8 show up at 6 AM. Same cam I had a 4 show up to feed at 6 PM. Both days had the same weather and temps, wind, pressure. The 8 came walking from the south and the 4 came walking in from behind the camera from the North. What can I take away from this intel? Does this indicate where they bed? Feed?
What do the times that deer show up on camera indicate? What does it mean when they show up in the morning and what does it mean when they show up at night? Which deer is more huntable?
New at cameras and looking to learn
Trail Camera Times
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Re: Trail Camera Times
Judging by what you have said, if you have deer heading North in the morning, and South in the evening, to me that would mean that the deer are bedding in the North region and feeding in the South region. Granted, there is no way to verify this off a couple of pictures. You either need repeated tendencies from them, or intel from your own scouting to prove/disprove what the pictures indicate.
As far as the time of day you get pictures, it can mean a lot of things. If you have a camera placed very close to bedding, chances are you will have a lot of daytime pictures. If you are hunting heavily pressured land and your camera is by the food, you will most likely have far fewer daytime pictures, possibly none. Regarding a camera placed near food, pictures from 11:00 pm to 3:00 a.m. only tell you that these deer are in the vicinity. A picture of a deer just after dark, means they are bedding nearby and are probably killable if you set up closer to the bedding area.
Trail cameras are an incredibly helpful tool. However they can also hurt you. You don't want to place them in areas where you will be bumping deer, or in places that require leaving scent all over where deer will often be traveling. They can smell you for days after you were there. Try and place them between bedding and food, in locations that are conducive to you keeping intrusion to a minimum. Sure its fun to put your camera in a dynamite area with criss crossing trails, but if you are bumping deer to check it, you are doing more harm than good.
Wherever you set your cameras, set them there for a REASON. Don't just find a random trail and say "This looks like a good spot". Make a hypothesis as to why that trail is there and try to learn from the pictures you get. Is it a trail that leads from bedding to food? Is it a travel corridor that happens to be the path of least resistance? Is it a trail that bucks use to scent check doe bedding during the rut? If you get lots of pictures, figure out why... and vice versa. It's all about learning.
As far as the time of day you get pictures, it can mean a lot of things. If you have a camera placed very close to bedding, chances are you will have a lot of daytime pictures. If you are hunting heavily pressured land and your camera is by the food, you will most likely have far fewer daytime pictures, possibly none. Regarding a camera placed near food, pictures from 11:00 pm to 3:00 a.m. only tell you that these deer are in the vicinity. A picture of a deer just after dark, means they are bedding nearby and are probably killable if you set up closer to the bedding area.
Trail cameras are an incredibly helpful tool. However they can also hurt you. You don't want to place them in areas where you will be bumping deer, or in places that require leaving scent all over where deer will often be traveling. They can smell you for days after you were there. Try and place them between bedding and food, in locations that are conducive to you keeping intrusion to a minimum. Sure its fun to put your camera in a dynamite area with criss crossing trails, but if you are bumping deer to check it, you are doing more harm than good.
Wherever you set your cameras, set them there for a REASON. Don't just find a random trail and say "This looks like a good spot". Make a hypothesis as to why that trail is there and try to learn from the pictures you get. Is it a trail that leads from bedding to food? Is it a travel corridor that happens to be the path of least resistance? Is it a trail that bucks use to scent check doe bedding during the rut? If you get lots of pictures, figure out why... and vice versa. It's all about learning.
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Re: Trail Camera Times
Where is your camera located? Is it on a trail? On a food source or closer to bedding? Sounds like it is on a food source. Either way, sounds like deer traveling between bed and food. You note 8 and 4 deer, keep in mind that the camera is unlikely to catch all deer walking in the area...it may not even catch most of them unless on a corn pile or something. I had one area where I replaced a regular trail camera in which I was only getting a few pics of deer and not on a daily basis with a plot watcher camera and found there were 10 to 15 deer traveling through on a daily basis! It was on a cut and the deer didn't really follow a defined trail going up the hill side. I was blown away by the number of deer the regular trail cam didn't pick up.
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Re: Trail Camera Times
Also would be helpful if you could post a map or Google earth pic of the area and where your cam is...this could help pinpoint what you want to know and perhaps provide some additional ideas.
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Re: Trail Camera Times
All good points guys. Lockdown that makes perfect sense. Coming from the north the 4 pointer must have hit it first thing after leaving his bedding while the 8 probably hit it on his way back to bedding at around 6 am. It is an urban area (bowhunting only) where I think they are pretty well left alone. Where I have my camera is on a trail that winds through a stand of abundant oak trees that is constantly hit by does. These 2 bucks started showing up on the 5th and the 7th so far, so barely a week. I'm thinking I'm pretty close to their bedding because the picture have been during legal shooting time, just barely by 20 minutes or so. Would you try to move the cam further north to know for sure or leave it alone?
Heichelbeck, the cam is on a food source/trail. I have attached a picture to help out like you said. Where I have the camera is just south of that funnel between the big field and the houses near the middle of the first photo. To the north I included the topo. It seems there is all kinds of ridges and points which would make good bedding for these bucks. There is an old abandoned golf course to the south and it looks like that is where most of the does I get come from. Could be a good food source down there, but I haven't checked it. The old water hazards would seem to make a good watering hole but so wouldn't the streams throughout the property. I am only getting 2 bucks on came, not 8 or 4, just an 8 pointer and a 4 pointer. Sorry for the confusion. I think I'm in a good natural pinchpoint if they want to go north from source but would like to hear how you guys think they use the layout. I'm gonna go scout it out either tonight and actively hunt at the same time or wait til the next rainy day.
My guess would be bucks are bedding north on the ridges and points and does are bedding in the old overgrown golf course. Could be money come the Rut
Heichelbeck, the cam is on a food source/trail. I have attached a picture to help out like you said. Where I have the camera is just south of that funnel between the big field and the houses near the middle of the first photo. To the north I included the topo. It seems there is all kinds of ridges and points which would make good bedding for these bucks. There is an old abandoned golf course to the south and it looks like that is where most of the does I get come from. Could be a good food source down there, but I haven't checked it. The old water hazards would seem to make a good watering hole but so wouldn't the streams throughout the property. I am only getting 2 bucks on came, not 8 or 4, just an 8 pointer and a 4 pointer. Sorry for the confusion. I think I'm in a good natural pinchpoint if they want to go north from source but would like to hear how you guys think they use the layout. I'm gonna go scout it out either tonight and actively hunt at the same time or wait til the next rainy day.
My guess would be bucks are bedding north on the ridges and points and does are bedding in the old overgrown golf course. Could be money come the Rut
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Re: Trail Camera Times
chadwick9 wrote:All good points guys. Lockdown that makes perfect sense. Coming from the north the 4 pointer must have hit it first thing after leaving his bedding while the 8 probably hit it on his way back to bedding at around 6 am. It is an urban area (bowhunting only) where I think they are pretty well left alone. Where I have my camera is on a trail that winds through a stand of abundant oak trees that is constantly hit by does. These 2 bucks started showing up on the 5th and the 7th so far, so barely a week. I'm thinking I'm pretty close to their bedding because the picture have been during legal shooting time, just barely by 20 minutes or so. Would you try to move the cam further north to know for sure or leave it alone?
My question to you is what are you trying to gain by moving your camera? If one (or more) of these deer are something that you want to shoot, I would take the information you have learned and go after 'em. It seems like you are reasonably close to their bedding, so knowing that, rather than move your camera closer and risk boogering deer that are moving during daylight, I would strike while the iron is hot and hunt now. Hunt closer to their bedding if you want, but don't mess around with your camera unless you really feel its necessary. Seeing things first person teach you far more than a trail camera will.
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Re: Trail Camera Times
Looks like Mheichelbech and Lockdown have you on the right track. IMO when guys start moving cams around trying to get some perfect pattern on deer that is when things start to fall apart, they disturb the area too much. Resist that urge. Cams are most effective when you keep them in low impact areas and tie what you have on them to a good knowledge of the area from scouting.
Looks like you got the intel you need, the bedding those bucks were headed to and from likely works out well for that wind. By the way the way a lot of outdoor writers describe using cams it give the illusion you can get a great pattern on a buck. It doesn't work that way, usually you get just a little bit of intel to base a hunch on. The only way you know what a wild deer is doing all the time is put a radio collar on it.
Looks like you got the intel you need, the bedding those bucks were headed to and from likely works out well for that wind. By the way the way a lot of outdoor writers describe using cams it give the illusion you can get a great pattern on a buck. It doesn't work that way, usually you get just a little bit of intel to base a hunch on. The only way you know what a wild deer is doing all the time is put a radio collar on it.
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Re: Trail Camera Times
Also, with an 8 and 4 showing up, that suggests to me there is something in that area that attracts bucks and there is likely a bigger or bigger ones in the area but maybe they are avoiding your camera or just not on that pattern. You say it isn't disturbed much so that is certainly helpful. If the 8 is what you want, hunt now, or hunt an observation stand and see what else your can is not getting. Looks like a great spot! My experience is if there are small bucks then there are likely bigger bucks around. Some areas are appealing for reasons we have yet to find out.
Also, keep this to yourself! Anybody from that neighborhood finds out you will have company right quick!
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Also, keep this to yourself! Anybody from that neighborhood finds out you will have company right quick!
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"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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Re: Trail Camera Times
JoeRE wrote:Looks like Mheichelbech and Lockdown have you on the right track. IMO when guys start moving cams around trying to get some perfect pattern on deer that is when things start to fall apart, they disturb the area too much. Resist that urge. Cams are most effective when you keep them in low impact areas and tie what you have on them to a good knowledge of the area from scouting.
Looks like you got the intel you need, the bedding those bucks were headed to and from likely works out well for that wind. By the way the way a lot of outdoor writers describe using cams it give the illusion you can get a great pattern on a buck. It doesn't work that way, usually you get just a little bit of intel to base a hunch on. The only way you know what a wild deer is doing all the time is put a radio collar on it.
100% agree with this.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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