Repetitive Trail cam pics of bucks

[agross]

Just wondering how many of you that consistently run trail cam get numerous pics of the same buck during the course of one year (sort of like you see on the hunting shows)

2011 i put in a small clover plot on my property in Chenago (1/4 acre) and set up a trail cam starting June 2011. I had dozens of pics of several different doe (clearly distinguishable due to rips and things in the right ear vs the left or no ear issues at all) and one small 1 1/2 spike that was with his mother. Those were the only deer that i got repeat pics of...By gun season i did have 3 different 8 pointers on cam, a big 4 point and 2 fork horns but that was only 1 shot each as they were walking through the plot.

I dont know if the deer walking though the plot is due to its placement of being where there were previous travel routes where 3 logging roads came together (just expanded) or if they found the plot, always cirled around except for 1 time each that walked through and got caught on came. Also interesting none of the buck pics ever showed them eating in plot just walking through...maybe that was because it was new plot???

2012 i expanded the plot with good clover growth and in the newly expanded area i tried some brassicas and oats...we shall see how that goes and grows. Cam is out again since the July 30 and i will not be able to get to it until mid september or early october (killing me) but during the month of July here are the only 2 bucks i got on cam

[Doc]

I have not often gotten repeat buck pictures at one location. In fact I can't remember even one. I don't know if they are less patternable, or whether they are sensitive to sights and sounds of the cameras of what. I have no problem with repeats on doe and fawns even with my one whiteflash camera. They seem to have accepted that flash, and keep coming back.

[Cabin Fever]

For me personally, it really depends. From mid-late summer, I sometimes have to move my cams to a different area, as I see the same bucks (and does with fawns) over and over again! At times, even after moving the cams a few hundred yards, I'll still get some pics of the same bucks! From October through late November, when the bucks are out patrolling and moving around more, it's not uncommon for me to only get pics of a buck 1x, if they are just moving through the area. But, sometimes I get multiple pics of the same bucks then too. For example, the buck in my avatar. I got pics of him in 4 different locations and multiple times. The last time was mid-Feb (still packing his rack), so I know he made it through last season.

BTW, interesting observation about the bucks just walking through your plot! I've found the same to be true with my plots! You would think by putting the plots right in their normal travel route that they would stop to feed, but the deer seem to just use my plots as a crossing as well! I've tried about everything to plant in them, but it just doesn't seem to matter! I've given up! My property is surrounded by corn, soybeans, and an apple orchard. Maybe they don't want to eat anything at my plots and spoil their appetite, as they head to the ag fields and apples!

[33Canuck]

More often then not the reason you are not getting pics of deer more than once is because they are getting spooked by the camera and/or the scent you are leaving when you check it. Cameras are an awesome tool in the bag but if they are not usede correctly tehy will do more harm then good when it comes to bagging a mature deer. You can try a few things, make sure you are as scent free as possible, do not over visit your camera site, hang the camera a bit higher so it is out of their direct line of sight, and try to camo the camera a bit more.

[growalot]

Go to ...Growingdeer.com and you will find an interesting video on cams and who notices and reacts to them..

I personally have not nor do I rarely see a buck on any of my cams earlier than fall through hunting....but that IMO is a good thing at least for me...I say this because I am surrounded buy hunters...most parcels are 50 to 200acres and I know that the bachelor groups are above me 1/4 to 1/2 mile away...and below me 1/4 mile away...How I know this is I'll receive summer pics and reports of the bucks I shoot from neighbors..Oh and my UPS guy is the best! ....he lets me know movement on all the properties around me ...like last years buck...Any how I have lots and lots of doe and fawn...and when those bachelor groups break up I know exactly where they will be heading...I like surprise in my hunting and even disappointment ...to a point...If I see a nice buck I like to make a decision as to whether to shoot or pass not sure if I'll regret it or not or if I do...there is always the chase to see him during gun season or late archery....I'ts what makes hunting a challenge to me....

[G-Man]

i have gotten multiple repeat bucks on cameras, usually smaller bucks, but i have got some good ones up including 12 pics of a droptine i was fortunate to kill over several weeks. i usually can get a good buck at least 2x if i rotate or move the camera 90 to 180 degrees. bucks use different trails than does and they are faint, a good trail or heavy used food plot is usually made by a doe or doe family group. bucks have different nutritional needs/ and cover needs than doe during certain times of year. not seeing bucks in your food plot just means the buck isn't eating there, when bachlor groups break up they tent to wander quite a bit resulting in 1 trail cam pics of them walking thru. I would think that if you have a bachlor group consistantly on camera you probably have the best cover/food in the area. Food plots are only part of the equasion its not if you plant it they will come ....cover/security are another important componant often overlooked especially for bucks

[beachpeaz]

I have the exact opposite problem. I get tons and tons of pictures of the same deer. In fact, I have 4 cameras in the woods (the farthest distance between the 2 is probably 1/2 - 3/4 of a mile) and I have repeat deer on those too...lol. I usually know every deer in my area within the first 3-4 of having my cameras up. After that, I get 3 monhts of the same deer over and over again (which is good I guess because you know they are still around).

[beachpeaz]

More often then not the reason you are not getting pics of deer more than once is because they are getting spooked by the camera and/or the scent you are leaving when you check it. Cameras are an awesome tool in the bag but if they are not usede correctly tehy will do more harm then good when it comes to bagging a mature deer. You can try a few things, make sure you are as scent free as possible, do not over visit your camera site, hang the camera a bit higher so it is out of their direct line of sight, and try to camo the camera a bit more.

I agree 100000%! I made this mistake in the past when i checked my cameras too much. it shifted a couple huge booners just enought to not pass by my stand any more. I am much more careful now with the cams.

[wheelieman]

The real big bucks seem to skirt my cams as soon as they realize they are up, But the doe,fawns and smaller bucks seem to enjoy their pic being taken, Until this year the big 8pnt a 10 and another real nice 8 ive got multiple pics of all of them, The nice 8 and the big 8 are always late at night and in the same place, Then 10 is all day long on 4 or 5 different cams in the woodlot of about 120 acres

[agross]

I know full well about bucks (not always big) and their shyness towards a camera. In fact the larger of the two deer i posted was actually right in front of the camera (i got 3 shots of just his tines upclose) and he was moving around as if to see what was making noise. He then chose to take another route and thats when i got him further away from the came heading out on a different logging road.

Last year i had a pick of a big four point walking with head straight out about 15 feet from cam and after his first pic the 2nd and 3rd shots were of his flag running out of the plot.

I tried to remedy the situation by moving the cam to the far corner of the plot where the deer dont seem to enter or exit and it is kind of bare ground with nothing growing but it is still pointing in the direction of the trails that lead in an out just farther away. Hopefully that works.

As far as checkig my cams, they are over 200 miles from home so the only time i get to check is maybe 1x per month or so.

[nyantler]

I have never gotten into the trail cam thing... mainly because I rarely hunt the same place twice... but I do love seeing the great stuff that many of you have captured on film. Even cooler when you capture a buck live on cam that you harvest later.

Edited August 10, 2012 by nyantler

[erussell]

Does anyone know of any silent cams? I have a stealth and have stood next to it while my daughter is walking around in front of it day and night and I have not been able to hear any discernible noise even with my ear right against it. But I get a ton of pics with deer walking in and staring right at it no matter how far off the trail or camoflauged it is. I guess if someone put one in my living room I would notice it right off to. But I have a ton of pics of deer with there head down feeding right in front of it then the next 4 or 5 are them staring at the cam or coming closer to investigate, so it has to be making somekind of noise I cannot hear.

Edited August 10, 2012 by erussell

[wooly]

Does anyone know of any silent cams? I have a stealth and have stood next to it while my daughter is walking around in front of it day and night and I have not been able to hear any discernible noise even with my ear right against it. But I get a ton of pics with deer walking in and staring right at it no matter how far off the trail or camoflauged it is. I guess if someone put one in my living room I would notice it right off to. But I have a ton of pics of deer with there head down feeding right in front of it then the next 4 or 5 are them staring at the cam or coming closer to investigate, so it has to be making somekind of noise I cannot hear.

I'm pretty sure that most IR cams are gonna make a distinct "click". It doesn't happen all the time, but when the cam switches from taking no flash daylight pics to night time IR...or vice versa, the filter either drops down or raises in front of the lens alerting game.The first trigger when the cam is switching between daytime/nightime modes is when you'll get a sound out of them. It shouldn't make any noise besides that, but like you say, that initial shot is what tips them off.

[G-Man]

they might be silent to you and me but all cams seem to make some kind of sound maybe not a click but an electronic hum as ir bulbs warm or flash warms up as well. plus a lot use reflective materials over the lens or ir flash, don't believe it take a pic of it witha flash the moon n stars must reflect off it as well. the only time i don't get deer looking at a cam is if it is set above their sight line..maybe they think the flash is lightning... idk

[phade]

At night, the IR fires before the pic is taken. They see the glow, look at the cam, and the pic is taken.

The filter can also clunk.

Next thing, they realize it, sniff the cam, and get a big whiff of stanky human.

[covert]

I've gotten repeat pictures of bucks a lot. Sometimes I have gotten them seemingly tripping it on purpose over and over. One thing I did do was to take a piece of electrical tape and cover the little red LED that blinks when it is triggered because I did get some pics/vids where it looked like the blink spooked them. Now they will stand right there sometimes for up to 10 minutes (for the ones hung on apple trees) and eat and never even seem to notice the camera.

[Buckstopshere]

I have bucks licking my cameras. They are IR (not flash.) You can see the inside of the buck's mouth. The bucks know we are there days after we walk through their woods...we often don't give older bucks enough credit for their intelligence. These vid clips were shot July 24th, 2012. It's a bachelor group of bucks.

Buck licking camera inside mouth .AVI

Buck licking camera .AVI

[Doc]

It's not just bucks that have it all figured out. They all know when we have been there. How they interpret what is going on and how nervous they get about all this camera nonsense going on in there livingroom is what matters.

Take a look at this deer checking out where I broke some branches off the dead tree to get a clear view of the trail. You might think of this when you are breaking off some obstructions at the last moment in your shooting lanes too.

It didn't take this old lady long to find the camera ..... lol.

On the other hand, I have a whole summer's worth of pictures of several fawns and does that I took with a white-flash Cuddeback where they don't seem to be the least bit concerned about the sudden blinding flash going off constantly.

My guess is that the older, more cautious deer will look at our intrusions with a bit more skepticism, and perhaps re-route their movements to avoid these kinds of disturbances. But I'll bet there are exceptions to that too.

[wheelieman]

ive got this guy a hundred times and every time he walks by he walks up and sticks his face in the cam.

[Doc]

I'm not sure it is always the clicking sound that gets their attention. I am thinking it is more having to do with scent and perhaps sight of the camera. Here's the reason I say that. Pictures like the one above show the deer looking directly at the camera. That would have to be some pretty darn fast reaction time. To me, it looks like the camera has already gotten the deer's attention long before the camera does anything.

[RobC]

I put a cam out a few hundred yards behind my house just for fun and for two days I had two 6 points on cam almost every hour on it during the day.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n62/robc157/PICT00262.mp4

[wheelieman]

oh thats the last shot in a series of 6 photos lol, over a 10 min, period, its just the others are blury so i didnt post