How long left in

[erussell]

I usually put my cam up on the 1st of the month and collect the card and change batteries and move to another location at the end of the month. Is this to long in one spot or is that about right?

[Lawdwaz]

e, that's one of the biggest decisions I face each year. Sometimes I lay awake at night pondering that exact same question. <<GRIN>>

Are you kidding, do what ever floats your boat. How far are you from the hanging site? If your pretty close, pull the cards once a week. You won't bother the deer. If it is a long haul, let them soak for the month.

I don't know what camera your using that can suck the juice out of a set of batts in a month but most of the newer and still fairly inexpensive cameras have wonderful battery life. My two (Scoutguard & Bushnell) can go for 9-12 months!

Once you find a great location, you can leave that camera there for the long haul to get the real scope of the area.

[phade]

I put them in easy to access areas to keep intrusion minimal. I usually let them soak for three to four weeks at this time of year as I am more interested in inventorying bucks in the area.

Pulling once a week with instrusion into bedding/core areas will most certainly change a mature buck's habits, if that is what you are after.

[mbucks27]

I usually leave mine out for 2-3 weeks and then check them. If nothing good is showing up in that period of time ill move them around a bit to try and locate where the bigger bucks are hanging out. I'm going up tomorrow to check cams and i hope to have some good pics. Have 5 of them out right now. I will def be moving two of them to some local watering holes this weekend with the hot dry weather we have been having.

[fasteddie]

I have 2 cameras set up in Geneseo and anxious to check them out . I expect to be moving them to other areas on the property to see what activity is there . Those are both Moultrie . I have some others that are battery eaters and won't set them up on that property as it is 50 miles away .

[virgil]

I usually leave mine in long enough for them to get stolen. Hoping to buy one of the 'blackout' versions because I think the flash gets too much attention- anyone have a recommendation on a make/model?

[mbucks27]

This one seems to get good reviews and isnt too bad on the price either.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2012-Moultrie-M-80x-blx-Black-No-Glo-Flash-5-0-MP-Infrared-IR-Game-Camera-/221064396041?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D150785608159%26ps%3D54#ht_3132wt_1163

John

[virgil]

thanks mbucks.

[skully]

It depends on where you are putting them. Over a food source one week is plenty this time of year, Over a trail I would leave it for a month............

[erussell]

Thanks guys! Im trying to find mature bucks but I only get doe. I keep moving it into thicker and thicker areas but now all im getting is bear. I guess ill just keep moving it till we get some good rain and I can get my hunting plots in. then Ill just watch them to see whats up.

[phade]

Bears...ugh. I am not jealous.

Do you have any CRP or similar areas? How about corn fields? How about a water hole?

All three are legit options for finding bucks at this time of year. with the heat, a water hole would be a good start. You get a midday hit on a buck and you'll know he's bedded close by...they won't travel far in daytime heat like this. That'll start to give you the info you need.

Edited July 16, 2012 by phade

[erussell]

20 yrs ago if you saw a bear it was a big deal, now they are like rats. I friggen hate em. Been readin up on bear hunting and what to do with one once its been shot. This yr the first one that walks by alone is getting an arrow or slug from the muzzleloader. All I have to hunt if hardwoods, which I beleive is why I am having a hard time finding the bucks They are all in the fields up the road. Though my dad peaked my interest the other day when he said he had a nice buck walk across his back yrd the other day. I pulled my cam down tonight and had about 60 pics of does and fawns. So Im either going to put it at my dads where he has 2 small ponds or down at a local creek where I can hunt and recently cleared a tree for my climber. I really need a 2nd cam !

Edited July 17, 2012 by erussell

[G-Man]

bucks n does have different habitat needs, if you find the doe the buck will eventually be there, bucks now are in bachlor groups and will and do move many miles when they break up, not to interested in buck pics right now. leave them up as long as you like sept i check once a week, summer n fall 1x month or more...i pull mine week before bow so as to leave wood undesturbed as much as i can before i hunt.

[dave6x6]

My method may not be the best but it makes sense to me. This time of year my cameras are set up on the fringes. Thick hedge rows near food or travel highways. They are simply entertainment for me right now so i check them about every 2 weeks. I'll move them if things are slow or like this year, i get the same fawn in 70 pics. Come Sept. i'll move them into some of my better stand locations and they will stay there without checking them until the season starts and i sit in that stand for the first time. During that opening weekend, i'll review the cards and make a plan from there. I don't see a whole lot of reason to check them before the season starts, it's most likely not going to change my first couple sits anyways. Everything gets pulled out at this point and set up far away from good stands. Usually on main entry trail that i have to walk almost every day anyway. I don't really use them to make hunting decisions during the season. To risky to have them stinky, flashin' , shutter thumpin' things near the bucks.

[NFA-ADK]

That is one of my biggest fears Dave is spooking off a nice buck. Seeing some of the bucks run in video and pic's make me second guese setting them up where I hunt. The only thing I can think of to minimize the bad reactions to the camera's is to get them mounted up high so as not to disturb the deer as much. I feel it would make them harder to steel too... I am still debating on using them... The new one's with the IR lights seem to spook them much less yet they are not invisible by any means...

[phade]

I stopped setting cams up where I hunt.

I place cams where I can get pics of bucks right at the edge of darkness or within that 30 minute periods afterwards. Bucks in our area won't move great distances went getting out of their beds for the night, so if I catch one with a hint of daylight in the background...I start digging.

[dave6x6]

That is one of my biggest fears Dave is spooking off a nice buck. Seeing some of the bucks run in video and pic's make me second guese setting them up where I hunt. The only thing I can think of to minimize the bad reactions to the camera's is to get them mounted up high so as not to disturb the deer as much. I feel it would make them harder to steel too... I am still debating on using them... The new one's with the IR lights seem to spook them much less yet they are not invisible by any means...

I know there are alot of savy camera guys here and alot of info out there but they make me a bit nervous as well. Fella i hunt with is even more nervous so i keep my cams away from his prime spots. Everything i've read says that IR's spook less, and i do believe that, but some models have a really distinctive shutter thump. Have you ever noticed how many big buck photos have them looking straight at the camera. Now maybe they are not spooked to the point of busting out, but they certainly seem to know it's there. As far as setting cameras up high, i'm not a big fan of that. To me, the scent you leave from checking and chging cards will educate a big buck faster then anything else so i don't want to be climbing around and spending any more effort at my cam site then is absolutely needed. You hunt state land though. Theft is a real possibility, so might be worth it in some cases.

[phade]

I know there are alot of savy camera guys here and alot of info out there but they make me a bit nervous as well. Fella i hunt with is even more nervous so i keep my cams away from his prime spots. Everything i've read says that IR's spook less, and i do believe that, but some models have a really distinctive shutter thump. Have you ever noticed how many big buck photos have them looking straight at the camera. Now maybe they are not spooked to the point of busting out, but they certainly seem to know it's there. As far as setting cameras up high, i'm not a big fan of that. To me, the scent you leave from checking and chging cards will educate a big buck faster then anything else so i don't want to be climbing around and spending any more effort at my cam site then is absolutely needed. You hunt state land though. Theft is a real possibility, so might be worth it in some cases.

The thump issue can be problematic - most cameras have that issue ONLY when transitioning to IR and back...so once per morning and once per day. Once that filter moves, no more noise. Those that thump all the time or worthless imo.

The reason most deer look at the cams with IR taking pics is because IR often illuminates prior to the pic being taken slightly - they see the red glow before the actual pic is taken.

I have a video of a mature buck where you can see this happen really well as sometimes video has a short IR delay...working a scrape and as the video illuminates you can see his initial reaction/recognition to it...waits for a few seconds and then boogers out of there.

Setting a cam high is much better in my opinion and can be done pretty quickly. You are already disturbing the area, so make the best of that disturbance. Last year, I set a Spypoint cam up at one spot on two soaks....one at eye level and the other about 12 feet up over a trail. Each ran for about 5 weeks. The eye level soak had deer looking at the cam about 40% of the time (about 300 pics each soak). The higher cam...2 pics....that's right...2 pics out of 302 deer images. The IR fires outside of their line of sight when higher up...works similar to hunters in a stand. And that Spypoint is handled with latex gloves.

And outside of a scrape or a very rare easy access spot - I do not place cams in prime areas. I use cams to give me info, placing them where you hunt is counter-productive for the majority of hunters. Those with low-pressure high quality ground are the only real exception.

Edited July 18, 2012 by phade

[WNY Bowhunter]

I check mine twice a week (in the mornings so my scent has 9-10 hours to burn off before the deer start to come out to feed). I like to check my cams frequently because I don't want them to hang in one spot for several weeks if the spot is unproductive. All of my cameras are set up along fields so I can catch the deer feeding in the evenings and at night. I don't step foot into the woods or disturb thier bedding areas at all while making my rounds. The deer are not bothered at all by this...

[phade]

I check mine twice a week (in the mornings so my scent has 9-10 hours to burn off before the deer start to come out to feed). I like to check my cams frequently because I don't want them to hang in one spot for several weeks if the spot is unproductive. All of my cameras are set up along fields so I can catch the deer feeding in the evenings and at night. I don't step foot into the woods or disturb thier bedding areas at all while making my rounds. The deer are not bothered at all by this...

Agreed...big difference between hanging a cam on a field edge and stepping into a bucks bedroom twice a week.

[NFA-ADK]

If I get them and set them up they would be in the woods from the beggining of bow season untile I was able to get back for rifle season, about 5 weeks. I have a few area's that are populated with doe yet the bucks seem to be at higher elevation untile the rut starts. The fact that thier are so few deer makes it hard to find good places to set them up. I have a few choke points I like but I am not sure I want to disturb those area's with a cam. I might see if the boys at camp want to chip in on a few, if they are willing I will set up 4-8 in various area's after doing some self testing down here to verify they work good. I do not get to scout as much as I would like and this would be a big help in locating doe which I like to hang around during rifle season peak rut time as they are easyer to find than a lone buck.

[erussell]

I think it would be a real pain to hike in to the ADK to look for your cams I took my cam and hung it up by the creek, got some nice trails coming down to the water so hope to get some pics of bucks. I saw a bachelor group of bucks in a field up the road about a mile from where I hung the cam and all three were 3.5 or 4.5 yr old deer. Biggest racks ive seen in yrs and the bodies to match. They let me watch them for about 5 min from the road before they scampered back into the woods. And this was at 1:00pm. Dont know why they were out in the middle of the afternoon but I appreciate it.

Edited July 20, 2012 by erussell

[erussell]

Moved trail cam and let sit for 3 weeks. Got 4 pics of a small deers butt. Very frustrating.

[beachpeaz]

I agree with what everyone has said. i let mine sit for 3-4 weeks just due to scent in the area. last year I was too eager and checked them weekly and each time I checked them I had fewer and fewer pics. Also, yeah, what are you using that you change your batteries that much? I have the new Bushnell cameras and they are awesome. I have the same batteries in it from last year and they are still full!! Cant believe how long they last.

[Paula]

i moved mine and i went from 6 picture to 141 pictures. i have camera and now a blind just inside the woods near 2 paths and water in between corn and cabbage