Not checking a trail camera for a year

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SneakyHunter
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby SneakyHunter » Fri Aug 22, 2014 1:24 pm

Very neat! Those are really impressive bucks over a relatively short amount of time.


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rizzo999
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby rizzo999 » Fri Aug 22, 2014 1:49 pm

Awesome job having the patience to conduct and complete this experiment. You really have gotten my mind working tonight for some areas that looks great, but I have not experienced the success I would have expected. You did a good job with the drawing btw! I was able to better understand your complete set-up. I can't wait to hear about the buck you drag out of there this upcoming season! Good luck.

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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby chasemukluk » Sun Aug 24, 2014 10:34 am

So you said you were going to hunt that spot with a NW wind. Is there a way you can get on the other side of that trail? It looks like your scent is going to blow right over where they will be walking. Also, you have to walk over the trail.

If you could get to the east side of the trail, you could probably get away with sitting there every W or NW wind during the rut. It looks like easy access from the east. What about 30 or 40 yards north or south of your funnel?

Awesome spot either way!
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby Crazinamatese » Sun Aug 24, 2014 12:11 pm

Cool. 8-)
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby Bucky » Sun Aug 24, 2014 1:55 pm

That spot looks exactly like what I look for... a creek hillside funnel... killer! The first sit there is gonna be a fun one if you time it right.

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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby muddy » Sun Aug 24, 2014 2:31 pm

Bucky wrote:
BigHunt wrote:
Bucky wrote:Exactly.... 15+ cams running myself. More cams more info... more info... more planning... more options... more success.

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15plus ......I would never be able to afford batteries for all those :shock:


Less than what you spend on a tank of gas shining land you can't hunt ;)

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we have a bingo

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Bigb
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby Bigb » Sun Aug 24, 2014 3:24 pm

chasemukluk wrote:So you said you were going to hunt that spot with a NW wind. Is there a way you can get on the other side of that trail? It looks like your scent is going to blow right over where they will be walking. Also, you have to walk over the trail.

If you could get to the east side of the trail, you could probably get away with sitting there every W or NW wind during the rut. It looks like easy access from the east. What about 30 or 40 yards north or south of your funnel?

Awesome spot either way!


I agree Chase, that would ideal. The problem with this area is that up until about 20 years ago it was all cattle pastures in this general area. I wish there were more trees but its mainly cedars and CRP with a max height of about 20 feet. There are very few trees to hang stands in this side of the trail. Here is the issue I am seeing. While a lot of deer are using this trail, I think they are also circling the bedding area from up hight and trying to wind does bedded. So even if they don't cross the trail where my camera is, I think they are right above the camera as well. I have a couple dozen pictures of deer looking up the hill from the path. If you look at the top picture of my original post you see the think CRP grass. I think they use that a lot without ever evening using the crossing. I want to make sure to have a shot in that.

My scent will be blowing across them with a NW wind, but I will be about 30 or so fee above them so I hopefully will have thermals working with me in the morning/afternoon. I have a feeling it is going to be trail and error!
BassBoysLLP
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:44 pm

Bigb wrote:
chasemukluk wrote:So you said you were going to hunt that spot with a NW wind. Is there a way you can get on the other side of that trail? It looks like your scent is going to blow right over where they will be walking. Also, you have to walk over the trail.

If you could get to the east side of the trail, you could probably get away with sitting there every W or NW wind during the rut. It looks like easy access from the east. What about 30 or 40 yards north or south of your funnel?

Awesome spot either way!


I agree Chase, that would ideal. The problem with this area is that up until about 20 years ago it was all cattle pastures in this general area. I wish there were more trees but its mainly cedars and CRP with a max height of about 20 feet. There are very few trees to hang stands in this side of the trail. Here is the issue I am seeing. While a lot of deer are using this trail, I think they are also circling the bedding area from up hight and trying to wind does bedded. So even if they don't cross the trail where my camera is, I think they are right above the camera as well. I have a couple dozen pictures of deer looking up the hill from the path. If you look at the top picture of my original post you see the think CRP grass. I think they use that a lot without ever evening using the crossing. I want to make sure to have a shot in that.

My scent will be blowing across them with a NW wind, but I will be about 30 or so fee above them so I hopefully will have thermals working with me in the morning/afternoon. I have a feeling it is going to be trail and error!


Timing will be everything. That first sit could be epic!
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby Riverdeer » Mon Aug 25, 2014 5:14 am

How did ur batteries not run out of juice?

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Bigb
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby Bigb » Mon Aug 25, 2014 8:09 am

Riverdeer wrote:How did ur batteries not run out of juice?

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Lithium Batteries. I use a some lithiums and regular batteries and have good results (never mix in the same camera). What I learned from last year is that the cameras with Lithium will work better in the extreme temps (below 0). Regular batteries seem to drain much faster once the temps get below -5 or so. Lithiums didn't seem too effected. I did have cameras stop taking pictures when the temp went below -5 but I have no problem with that, were still talking about electronics in extreme temperatures.

Personally, when I put camera out in June or so, most I just put fresh regular batteries in and then when I pull them in January/February I just replace the batteries. You can get those 48 packs of Energizers at Costco for $15 so it makes sense to just replace them every year. For spots I don't check too often (like the one in this post) I will use Lithiums. For instance, I used fresh lithiums when I put this camera out last year and after 10 months of running it was still on three bars so I left the batteries in. When I check this camera next weekend I'll have a fresh set of batteries to put in if I suspect they are getting low.
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby JoeRE » Mon Aug 25, 2014 10:36 am

Lots of interesting information, thanks for posting this! One thing I would add is keep in mind what will change year to year. You said there were standing beans near there through the winter. To me that is a huge part of the puzzle. With the cold weather we had starting last November, that was a perfect food source and undoubtedly drew a pile of deer to the area, bucks after all the does and bucks after the food directly as well once the rut wound down. My guess would be the number of bucks you got on cam was unusually high as a result of this but it still sounds like a prime spot.
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PK_
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby PK_ » Mon Aug 25, 2014 10:41 am

Did you see how many NW days were in that time period to give yourself an idea of % of those days a buck came through?

That is really awesome, I also remember you first posting about this spot.

I have a couple cams out right now that will be out for the rest of the season and a couple more to throw up shortly. What you talk about here is my exact thinking on how I will mainly use my trail cams.

Great post, some real dandies there.
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Bigb
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby Bigb » Mon Aug 25, 2014 10:43 am

Completely Agree JoeRE! I'm sure with this being corn the upcoming year it may change. The thing is the farmer left all his crops in until April so we had food all over the place. Fields above and below this spot all had beans in then and corn about 500 yards away that was standing as well. The farmer here is notorious for leaving his crops in all winter or at least until late November. It gets frustrating because we can't plan accordingly. The good thing though is we always have him leave a few acres of crops in strategic places to help us when he finally does cut them or at least help the deer through the winter. I do believe that this helped the deer sightings here this year but this area has always been a traditional doe bedding area so I'm hoping that its just the norm for the rut.
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby Bigb » Mon Aug 25, 2014 10:48 am

PalmettoKid wrote:Did you see how many NW days were in that time period to give yourself an idea of % of those days a buck came through?

That is really awesome, I also remember you first posting about this spot.

I have a couple cams out right now that will be out for the rest of the season and a couple more to throw up shortly. What you talk about here is my exact thinking on how I will mainly use my trail cams.

Great post, some real dandies there.


I actually have the wind rose for the nearest airport printed out. The most common wind for the area in November is South then closely followed by North and Northwest. We have some other great stands for East or Northeast winds that we haven't sat in two years because we never have the right wind.

That's one of the things I've learned. Once I had the wind rose for October/November I picked out more spots for the predominant wind. I used to say "Here is my spot for a S wind, here is it for a NW, here is it for a SE" but then I realized I was getting so many Northish and Southish winds that I need more spots for these winds and only a couple for the less occurring winds. Now my stands for N and NW as well as S and SW are much more numerous than for the winds that don't occur much.
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Re: Not checking a trail camera for a year

Unread postby dkoy85 » Tue Aug 26, 2014 5:04 am

Wow! Awesome information- Thanks for sharing!!


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