Using cameras post season

[JonNc]

I was wondering how and why others use cameras in the couple months post season. I leave mine out for about a month after the season to hopefully see which bucks made it through the season. Past that, what other info do you guys gain from cameras during this time?

[Jdw]

Inventory and a bit of turkey scouting.

[TripleD]

I will run my cameras throughout the entire year, mainly just for the hobby of it. I like getting trail camera pictures, some won't refer to deer, some will. I will try to hang them on creek crossings, etc just to see critters. As for deer, I will run them to see what bucks made it through the season and position them into swamps that I am scouting or trying to learn more about how the deer are traveling the area. I go to check them in the winter, I will access the swamp from a different way (if possible) just to learn more about that area. Typically running them in areas I am trying to learn more about, I don't take it as seriously as I do during the season.

[Grizzlyadam]

I leave a few of them up all year. I like to see which ones survived post season and also get an idea of when they shed their antlers. A couple of weeks ago I put two cams out over mineral rocks on the two opposite sides of a private piece I hunt. They are about a mile apart. I have one specific buck I'm trying to figure out, I don't think he's bedding on the property I'm hunting so I'm just trying to narrow down which side to focus on.

[live2hunt]

Running them now to see what made it and see when the deer start dropping antlers.

[JonNc]

I leave a few of them up all year. I like to see which ones survived post season and also get an idea of when they shed their antlers. A couple of weeks ago I put two cams out over mineral rocks on the two opposite sides of a private piece I hunt. They are about a mile apart. I have one specific buck I'm trying to figure out, I don't think he's bedding on the property I'm hunting so I'm just trying to narrow down which side to focus on.

When you are trying to figure that specific buck out, are you thinking that the general area he is bedding now will be his core area where he will most likely use as his primary bedding next year? I'm in the same boat, not trying to figure a specific buck out but trying to learn a new property. I'm hoping that my cameras can also help me with figuring out basic patterns of the deer in that area.

[tgreeno]

To see what bucks survived. And I'm still hunting until the end of the month

[Mgaspari]

I use a lot of them, around 30. I travel ALOT for work from December to August so cameras have become an valuable tool. For me it’s not just what survived but finding a “resident” buck that I would shoot. From what I have seen is that if I can get some out right after the gun season (first week of December) I can get a really good idea of a bucks prime core area ie. Where he spends most of his time during day light, especially his preferred travel routes when pressure hits its peak.

[SplitG2]

I leave mine up until I know all of the sheds I wanna find have hit the ground and just to see if any new bucks have arrived. As far as intel goes, I don’t really gain much intel from late season as usually it’s intel I have already acquired from the previous season(s) or the current season. Doesn’t mean intel can’t be gathered, it most certainly can but usually it’s just for sheds and new bucks.

[Grizzlyadam]

I leave a few of them up all year. I like to see which ones survived post season and also get an idea of when they shed their antlers. A couple of weeks ago I put two cams out over mineral rocks on the two opposite sides of a private piece I hunt. They are about a mile apart. I have one specific buck I'm trying to figure out, I don't think he's bedding on the property I'm hunting so I'm just trying to narrow down which side to focus on.

When you are trying to figure that specific buck out, are you thinking that the general area he is bedding now will be his core area where he will most likely use as his primary bedding next year? I'm in the same boat, not trying to figure a specific buck out but trying to learn a new property. I'm hoping that my cameras can also help me with figuring out basic patterns of the deer in that area.

Yeah, I think he sticks pretty tight to his core area year round. I never see him show up on my cams until October. The problem is usually I only get pics of him in the middle of the night and he's coming from one side or the other, it's never consistent. One side is a big ridge, a mile long with lots of open hardwoods and oaks, the other side is a thick swampy area with pine/cedar and a never ending sea of thorns, barberry, and bittersweet vines. The only daytime pics I got of him was in the swampy side for a few days in December 2018. I hunted this past December in that area for him and we never crossed paths. I see his tracks equally on both sides of the property but I'm limited by the property lines from going and finding his core areas. That's one big disadvantage to hunting private property. If I don't know where he's bedding I'm going to have to get lucky catching him passing through, that's not something I really want to waste my time with, but he is an exceptional buck for the area. I'm hoping to at least figure out which side he's spending more time on to up my odds a little bit.

[VaBowKill5]

I use mine to get an inventory for next year. I saw 3 bucks the other night in an area really close to public(I work for a local power company). I went in as close to that area as I could get and put out 4 cameras hoping to get a better look.

[tim]

Inventory, also see which bucks are resident bucks and which ones spend there time away or at certain areas certain times of the year.