Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

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Trout
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Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby Trout » Tue Jul 20, 2021 12:42 am

I've always been of the opinion that the best data you can get out of summer trail cam data is just knowing which deer are in the area. There is a point in the year where I switch from inventory mode to trying to put more analysis into why a deer was moving by a particular camera- going to bedding area x on a west wind, or whatever i can figure out.

So Im curious,, what kind of data do you note from summer pics, and has data from summer pics ever led to a deer on the ground for anyone, and if so, what was it? Thanks


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Re: Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Tue Jul 20, 2021 12:46 am

Iventory, closing in on core areas, scrapes, etc. Not all bucks relocate in the fall. A mature buck typicallly has small core areas and not that many. I also find that over the course of summer a buck will typically visit most of his home range at least a few times. I also use cameras to measure human pressure.
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Re: Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby phade » Tue Jul 20, 2021 12:59 am

- Inventory to compare against what sticks around after shifts.
- Usable intel for those few that don't shift (mostly applicable for the brief window at start of season); I have killed a few bucks in the first 10 days of the season in spots where I was getting images of them in July. This includes the oldest buck I've ever killed in 2012 and last year's bow buck.
- Bed/Food or vice versa knowledge, and the point source attractions like an apple or pear tree; one of my Ohio cams is in an apple grove and deer started eating apples this week based on the cam photos.
- For use next year and the year after; it's amazing what you can string along over a few years with a known buck.
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Re: Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby Trout » Tue Jul 20, 2021 5:45 am

Thanks guys. Appreciate the insight. Your responses got me thinking, I've noticed that where I have summer cameras on places that were good during the rut, I'm only getting doe/fawn pictures. Two spots are a rubline from last year on the downwind side of a thicket which I thought was buck bedding, but which I'm thinking now is actually doe bedding. Same thing on a spot that had a scrape on the downwind side of a different thicket last fall on the downwind side of what I thought was buck bedding, but that I now think might be doe bedding. In both cases I couldn't find a buck bed, only buck sign, and chalked it up to just not being able to locate the bed, but maybe there is no bed there, the buck(s) were just in the area during rut checking on does.

So do you guys see a seasonal pattern shift in your areas with doe bedding? I have been racking my brain on that, and my history tells me they are not shifting seasonally, unless food sources change or pressure blows them out. If thats the case, I'm thinking I could use summer trail cam data to hone in on doe bedding areas, which would be good places to sit during rut- assuming the doe bedding areas weren't ruined by a food source change or pressure between now and then.
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Re: Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Tue Jul 20, 2021 6:07 am

I like summer pics for a couple reasons. One being if I’m curious if a buck survived from last season. Another reason is just seeing what’s on the menu. Lastly, it’s just fun. Kinda like catch and release trapping I guess. If I can get somewhat routine daylight pics of a old buck once velvet is shed then I would I say yes I’m close to his core area and the buck is killable. If I can’t even get a pic in daylight then I don’t see how I could expect to get an arrow in him.
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Re: Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby MichiganMike » Tue Jul 20, 2021 6:44 am

Most of the pics Im getting this time of year are doe/fawns. Once it gets into mid to late sept though, I may get a buck on camera. In one of my areas I hunt- does tend to occupy the same bedding areas and follow a similar travel pattern every year. I can usually count on a good buck (along with some subordinates) to occupy that area once it gets into that late Sept/early Oct. time frame. But I am not surprised if one is in there all year as well. I just never have gotten any summer pics to prove it. But again- Ive only been using cameras for only the last 5-6 years.
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Re: Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby Prairie Sasquatch » Tue Jul 20, 2021 1:07 pm

I don’t see does shift around much as long as food is available which it always is with the amount of corn soybeans and sunflowers where I hunt.

I’ve killed two bucks the first week of September with cameras by putting them in what I believe to be pinch points after I locate a buck in a soybean field. I killed this buck after getting daylight picks on an inside corner of a cornfield. I figured he was bedding in a drown out spot in the middle of a cornfield and heading to a bean field about a half mile away. I caught him on two cameras one in daylight and the other at about 4:00 in the morning about 400 yds apart. Both were about half way from the field and what I thought was bedding. Killed him on the first NW wind which I needed to hunt the inside corner of the cornfield.

One thing I’ve seen a lot is that deer cut the corner which gives you some space to hide without them being on top of you in the cover.
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Re: Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby tim » Tue Jul 20, 2021 5:58 pm

-summer I want inventory . But when one shows that I wanna kill them I backtrack as many years as I can and start putting the pieces together to see what he does most and where he does it and on what wind /time/temp/season etc….. some of the things they do have to do with crop rotation. But like I always say I firmly believe no matter when you get a buck on cam the fact he’s on there you are in the game. It might only be rut or he might be calling your place home but he’s not on that cam by accident. Sure deer disperse but the idea that they are gone and won’t return to me is nonsense (the only time they don’t return IMO is when they get killed) they might not return as much as you want but they will return you just have to figure them out.
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Re: Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby Deerkins » Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:00 am

I’ve done much better putting cameras out in place, before a target buck arrives into an area. Cell cams especially, have changed the game, because you’re able to get real time information without putting pressure on the herd. I’ve learned that deer patterns change a lot more often than people think and you generally have a short window to act, once they’re established on a pattern.

During the summer it’s a good idea to take inventory, by moving cameras around relatively frequently. During the summer/early season they live in a very small area and you’ll get better results moving cameras to them, then waiting for them to come to you. During inventory process I’m not as concerned about leaving scent or having account.
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Re: Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby Deerkins » Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:32 am

I’ve done much better putting cameras out in place, before a target buck arrives into an area. Cell cams especially, have changed the game, because you’re able to get real time information without putting pressure on the herd. I’ve learned that deer patterns change a lot more often than people think and you generally have a short window to act, once they’re established on a pattern.

During the summer it’s a good idea to move cameras around relatively frequently. During the summer/early season they live in a very small area and you’ll get better results moving cameras to them, then waiting for them to come to you. During inventory process I’m not as concerned about leaving scent.

I think a lot of hunters go wrong , by chasing pics while they’re in summer mode, when it’s quite likely a buck will change his pattern, while staying in a general hunting area.
As soon as I locate a good buck in summer with one picture, I’m thinking about the surrounding areas and where he’ll likely be in Oct/early Nov.

In The last 5 years , I’ve been able to take three book bucks, during early bow season following that basic outline.
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Re: Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby OldFarmBuck » Sun Jul 25, 2021 6:18 am

This time of year I’m working on inventory to see what I have to work with on any particular property I plan on hunting. I have killed several bucks from info I gleaned from the summer. Most people think a bucks core or home range is bigger than it actually is. Yeah a buck may cruise away from his core 2-3 miles in any random direction. I chalk those up to just as what they are lookabouts. I killed a buck last year that was traveling during the summer 5-6 miles away from where I killed him. I was getting him on cam as well during the summer but I would go 5-10 days with no images of him. Then he would show up. Yet when late September hit he was staying consistently within a 50 acre area. It stayed that way till the rut hit and he started walking at night. Any daytime images I had of him then were in a very small area less than 7 acres of very thick stuff. So, during the summer take a Macro approach and then head to the micro end as the summer winds down.

One thing I really try to do in summer is define what a particular bucks linear or elongated range is. If you have established a history with a buck you can identify how his linear range lies and knowing this can dramatically change how you hunt him.
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Re: Getting the Most Out of Summer Trail Cam Data

Unread postby Twenty Up » Mon Jul 26, 2021 3:53 am

Hang and wait. Work smarter not harder.

Cell camera in sensitive areas, traditional cameras off roads and easy to access areas, low impact areas.

On my private farms where I’m limited to sub 100 acres, I utilize my doe family groups. Cell cameras on scrapes and trails between the family groups tell me when and where to apply pressure.

Somehow last season, the good Lord blessed me with 2 beautiful bucks and the largest doe I’ve harvested to date. 8 total hunts for 3 mature deer. My most successful deer season with minimal effort, thanks to trail cameras and 2 jobs, plus school.

Takeaway here is, don’t always chase the deer.

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