Interesting observations with cell cams this season

[mainebowhunter]

I am also going to add, I would rather hunt HOT SIGN than GOOD trail cam pics any day of the week.

[mainebowhunter]

I've been looking into them the last year or so but just haven't bought one. One of my friends uses them and shot a nice buck opening week by getting a pic of the buck in the area the morning he shot him. Just a little pricey for me considering i can get 3 cameras for the price of one cell cam.

....and the financial commitment doesn't end there. Then there's the data bill monthly.

Its just a few less cups of coffee at dunkin donuts or no direct tv . And the data is only needed the months your running the cams. I shut them off at the end of the season.

[bowfreak8]

At what point does technology get to be too much and start to take away from the ethical pursuit of an animal? Don't get me wrong I use trail cameras and love them but idk how I feel about being able to get real time photos the moment a buck walks by. I am not saying I won't come around to them but I'm still on the fence.

[mainebowhunter]

These cameras are the future for sure. Thanks for the information.

Yes they are, for better or worse....I predict in just a few years hunters will look in awe at anyone who kills a big buck without the help of cell cameras. Much like today's hunters look in awe at anyone who kills big bucks without the use of conventional cameras. Must be kind of funny to someone like you Stanley who has seen all these transitions.....

I think the next big thing after that will be drones with thermal imaging. So many are against that sort of thing right now....but I remember almost everybody being against cell cams too. The hunter's heart is weak, and maybe greedy.

Regardless interesting observation Maine. They definitely are a powerful tool for research!

They definitely are a powerful research tool. I think for most of us, the research is what is most fascinating. Its why the Penn State GPS studies are so popular because in the end we all want to know "where do those deer go and why?" Even with the trail cams, I always find myself asking "why" what made those bucks use this spot when they do.

A lot of what I am researching is human intrusion and what it affect it has on the deer in lower density, lower pressure areas.

[Jeff25]

I like the idea of cellular cams just not the price tag and data cost.

[JoeRE]

I hear ya Maine, I am getting to the point where I am leaving cameras the whole season in spots I realistically will never hunt in just because I am curious what the deer are doing in there The knowledge does help my hunting indirectly.

[Jeff25]

I do like the new cuddelink though, that it doesn't use data.

[Boogieman1]

Great Intell Maine! I personally have seen technology advance more than I am comfortable with. In previous years I have used drones for aerial photos, I am no longer gonna take part in this scouting method due to the push for more technology. While your uses of these cameras is nothing more than a interesting research source, I feel some will have less than admirable intentions. The push for instant gratification has created a monster. Each and every year there is a product designed to make killing a buck easier, I don't condemn anyone who uses these cameras I actually like hearing the intell they reveal from a hunter with ethics and morals. It's just simply not for me and in the wrong hands they could be viewed as cheating. And if these are already on the shelves there is something even better cooking in the industrial kitchen.

[mainebowhunter]

The last few years, I have really been working towards better understanding deer movement in Sept and October here in the Northeast. Very few get it done on a regular basis with archery gear during that time frame -- besides friends of mine that live on offshore islands with 40dpsm. My goal since 2011 is really to up those odds and see what I find in the journey.

All the more data I can collect and analyze the better.

[Boogieman1]

The last few years, I have really been working towards better understanding deer movement in Sept and October here in the Northeast. Very few get it done on a regular basis with archery gear during that time frame -- besides friends of mine that live on offshore islands with 40dpsm. My goal since 2011 is really to up those odds and see what I find in the journey.

All the more data I can collect and analyze the better.

10/4 I also hope you are kind enough to still share your results with us. Think most of the intelligence you gather will apply to all of us no matter where we hunt across the country.

[csoult]

This is the full first year when my buddy and I have been been able to utilize cell cams with the battery life. Been really fun to see stuff more real time. Great learning tool and heck of a lot of fun. Just want to share a few things I have learned along the way.

1. Velvet shift happens without any pressure. Nothing earth shattering here. However, I thought maybe bucks in velvet tolerated the 2 week cam checks but as soon as they were hard horned, they would not longer tolerate. So far, this appears to be false. This year, between 9.8 and 9.16 most 3.5+ bucks shifted. Bucks that were showing OFTEN in daylight have not been back in 6-8 days. Thats with 0 pressure from me and 0 pressure from anyone (near as I can tell). I have not checked those cams since I put them out August 1st. No more summertime patterns.

2. August was a month full of mostly daylight pics. Very little evening pics. September the pics are progressively getting darker. Much more movement is happening at night. Again, near as I can tell, pressure is not a factor. ALL deer seem to be moving more at night. Food sources are changing, cover is changing.

3. These cams are great for guys who WANT data but are not data guys. To sit down and go through 1000's of trail cam photos, I lose interest kind of fast. But with real time photos, I get the data daily which is a little easier for me to digest. I can mark photos and manage them daily rather than monthly.

4. I can run cell cams in tight spots close to bedding and run regular cams outside on edges. Gives me a better picture of what is happening on a property as a whole.

5. The data is near to real time as you can get. I am watching what happens NOW as opposed to 2 weeks or a year ago. For instance, my #1 target buck showed in one area during daylight and at midnight the same week. And last night, bucks were all over that area at midnight. First time all season, this buck has done something 2x in a row, even though it was at 11pm at night. Tells me the bed I hunted him at last night, 300yds from where I saw him at 11 was probably not far enough away. Monday, I will dive back in and hunt / check regular cams that have been sitting on ground scrapes since July 31.

Anyways...just thought I would share.

Great info! Thanks for sharing!

[Dewey]

Good observations. I haven't even had mine out yet this year. Worked great last year for getting pics out of state and cutting down on driving time checking cams. Nothing like getting instant pics from 100's of miles away. Around home I am pretty limited where I would feel comfortable running such an expensive cam. Gotta be very remote where I know nobody else goes. I might set it up on a buck bed just for observation and learning. I would never hunt a buck based of instant notification that he's bedding there. I think that is where some guys will cross the line and misuse them. Some guys are always looking for a shortcut.

[mainebowhunter]

Good observations. I haven't even had mine out yet this year. Worked great last year for getting pics out of state and cutting down on driving time checking cams. Nothing like getting instant pics from 100's of miles away. Around home I am pretty limited where I would feel comfortable running such an expensive cam. Gotta be very remote where I know nobody else goes. I might set it up on a buck bed just for observation and learning. I would never hunt a buck based of instant notification that he's bedding there. I think that is where some guys will cross the line and misuse them. Some guys are always looking for a shortcut.

I think that would be tougher than I think to make that work. Because with all of the bed cams out there...bucks just don't seem to use the beds all that often that you can pick up on a camera. I plan on using them on ground scrapes this year as the season progresses, I will be moving them around as I hunt. Really, its more of a confirmation of what I found last year...is the same thing going to hold true for this year.

For instance. 2016, a ground scrape in a new piece of timber, showed awesome daylight movement 3rd week of October. This season, a well placed cell cam will tell me if that pattern will repeat. I all ready have a regular cam on before its really even showing much signs of use. Things are different this year with very few acorns. Will it or will it not show the same use. With so many variables, I am casting as wide of a net as I can. This year, throw beechnuts in the mix, never seen them produce before. Now I will be scouting and watching them.

The next thing I am looking for this week is the cold front that is approaching for Thursday. Will be interesting to see what kind of movement we see as a whole. Supposed to nearly a 30 degree drop in temp for opening day of statewide archery.

Another interesting sidenote. The #1 deer I was hunting showed Sept 8 at 10:30 am. I hunted him opening day for 10.5 hrs. That buck showed back up 9.16 at 23:00 and 9.19 at 5:17pm, 9.22 at 23:50, 9.23 at 21:51, 9.24 at 1:02. So this buck has been back to this spot 5x since I sat there opening day, but only 1x in daylight. So tonight, I am pushing back to some ground scrapes that I got him on sept of 2016. I have hunted him all over this property in different sets.

[phade]

We are shifting our cell cams from summer locations to scrapes, travel corridors, and doe bedding.

If you are after one buck, then maybe setting it on a bed is worthwhile. But, for many applications, the real value in that cell cam is capturing data on many bucks and "trends" - IE daylight buck activity at scrapes or a path leading to/from a doe bedding area.

I have run cell cams for many years now...I think I am on year 6 of using them. My life gets busier and busier. Cell cams have provided me with some quality intel (and my observation post would be pages long, lol), but even moreso, they keep me connected when work and home life limit free time.

[cameron]

Good info man, keep us up to date!