The big "unfair advantage"

[Doc]

Ok, I haven't had my camera in use for too many days, but I am still trying to find out the big technological advantage that hunters using trail cams are supposed to have..... :

So far, all I have learned is that there are a lot of deer that use a particular trail sometimes. I've got two pictures of a 6 point. One at 9:19 pm and another at 3:22 in the morning. That's nice. he uses the trail no where near any time that anyone can hunt. Certainly there is no pattern either. He just goes there whenever the urge moves him ...... not real useful info....

So other than knowing that a buck lives somewhere nearby(which is nice but hardly anything that provides a lock on his demise), what is the big advantage? The does are also using the trail at night. Big deal ..... I have seen them, real/time in other places without the camera. So those people that beat up on us for using cameras and getting some kind of unfair advantage are going to have to explain to me just what that advantage is ..... ha-ha. I must be doing something wrong.

By the way, it has occurred to me that it is entirely possible that I am doing something wrong or using the camera in an ineffective way. What exactly do you people learn from your cameras other that what some of the deer on your hunting area look like. I still find it fascinating to be able to see what kinds of critters are moseying around when I can't be there, and it looks like a pretty neat photography activity, but maybe I'm not getting the maximum benefit out of my camera. Anybody got any thoughts on how best to use these cameras as a hunting tool? I only have the one camera and an awful lot of where I actually hunt is on state land where I wouldn't dare to leave it.

Doc

[33Canuck]

Your not doing anything wrong.  In NY its much much harder even on great ground to pattern deer since we have such widespread terrain.  Unlike out west where the ground is thousands of acres of crops with small woodlots which the deer are forced to use as cover making them easy to pattern or pinpoint, we are almost the opposite in NY for the most part nad of course there are exceptions.  Deer in NY don't necessarily have to have the exact same travel pattern day to day which makes it harder to pinpoint them.  More than anything the cams should be used as a good tool to guage the size/age class of deer on your property.  Your never going to get every deer and probably not even 30% of the deer (at least mature ones) on a property on a camera unless you are running tons of them which could work adversly if you are not sensible about it.  I would recommend if you are not getting new deer, lots of deer, or good buck pics move the cam around a bit.  Remember it's not always in fact it seldom is the most used trail that the mature bucks will travel so try some new locations.  Another trick is to toss some scent in front of the cam.  I don't get action during the season with scents while hunting but I have had great success with scent on front of hte cams.  Just don't get hung up on times deer travel, you got the pics when they were there but that doesn't mean they were 50 yards away during the daylight hours.

[steve863]

I don't consider it an unfair advantage, I just don't know why I would want to have photos of deer that I may never see during the hunting season?  Most hunters hunt smaller and smaller parcels of land these days and just because a deer posed for your trailcamera at one point doesn't exactly mean that he will be there when you are there waiting with your weapon.  He may just as easily be on the next property where someone else will probably shoot at him.  If I were keen on having deer or any other animals photographed with a camera I would go out into the woods as I would when I hunt and take pictures of them myself.  You can get way better pictures, plus it feels like you are actually hunting.  Yeah, it takes more time and energy to do it that way, but I for one would be way more interested in seeing such photos over those taken by some automatic camera strapped to a tree. 

[Cabin Fever]

They help fuel my fire on those days when I'm feeling wore down and frustrated with not seeing anything. The cams show me what's out there and helps keep me motivated. I supppose it helps guys be more selective also, if they choose to be, knowing the class of deer that are out there.

I've been using trailcams for ~10 years now and have NEVER once been able to use them to pattern a deer.

I run my cams just about 365 days/yr. I switch my focus to other critters, but I love the cams. It's a year round hobby.

[Doewhacker]

I don't think there are much of an andvantge other than knowing what is in the area. I don't own one but I would have liked to had one in the yard to know which deer was eating my flowers over the winter. Then I could positively ID the rat that did it!

Maybe the ones that let you know at home whats there would be unfair, in theory one could lie on the couch and wait for a deer to stumble through and then run out and shoot it. But I don't know if that would work either.

[burmjohn]

We use it just to see whats out there.  Its a blast to load that card up and see what it captured.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I dont find it to ba any advantage other than to get an idea of whats hanging around. Its fun to check the pics and see what I got.

[fasteddie]

I enjoy seeing the pics of what has been around and passed through the area . I had a camera up on a friend's area but others that could hunt the area messed up the area . I had gotten a few pics of does and one of a buck that I never showed them . Two of the guys parked the ATV right in front of the camera . It was a waste to hang the camera on that property .

[Doc]

I dont find it to be any advantage other than to get an idea of whats hanging around. Its fun to check the pics and see what I got.

It is kind of fun just to see what's out there under the cover of darkness. It's kind of like throwing a line out in a river and seeing what you can catch or running a trapline. I am expecting to eventually get a better look at some of those coyotes I've been hearing. I've got to admit that I look forward to going out and seeing what I've "caught". It is just plain ol' fun.

As far as patterning using a camera, if it all looks like random movement now, imagine what it will look like when the rut begins to have some real influence. Things are going to get real crazy, and I expect to see some deer that have never even been in the area before.

But I have seen the accusation of trail cams supplying some kind of mysterious unfair technological advantage and began to think maybe I was missing something or simply under-using the capabilities of the cameras. ......Apparently not. That's good, because I would rather use it for just a fun activity of snooping on unsuspecting critters that think they are fooling somebody by only moving in the dark.....lol. There has to be a few surprises out there.

Doc

[burmjohn]

As of early october, the cam starting showing deer I haven't seen.... So they are already moving around.

[Fairgame]

When you have alot of does around it pulls in bucks from other surrounding areas that you havent seen before.  You could have the trail camera out all of september and as soon as the pre rut starts you will have new bucks in the area. 

I like my trail cameras cause of the excitement sometimes before the hunt. Just to see the possibilities of one can have in the area when the season starts.  I sometimes put them out in may and keep them out till the end of muzzleloader.  It doesnt give an advantage but it does bring excitement.

[erussell]

I think it would be more advantageous to  put up more than 2 cameras. I don't think you would get a very good Idea of deer movement with one camera unless you moved it around a lot.  I have only had one camera and it was a 35 mm one that I never even got to work, but would like to get a few in the future since I don't get to get out and scout as much as I use to.  In Fasteddies case he learned that it was a waste of time to even hunt where his camera was, wish I had had that kind of input on a few occasions before the season. I think alot of people just put the cameras on food sources which can give you useful info but its only a 1/4 of the info you need to be successful. What trail are they using, where are they staging before they enter the food source? This is more useful info than what time they are entering the food source IMO. Plus camera photos only tell part of the story. Where are the rub lines, where are the scrapes, where are the does? If you can put the photos the rub lines and the does together I think you will be more successful. And if you want to really know what the deer are doing don't use bait. Bait doesn't give you an accurate picture of deer movement because it moves them from there regularly scheduled program, and when you remove the bait prior to deer season they go back to there regular movement and will give you the impression they are gone from the area, which might be what they have done since there is no more food there they have moved on to the real food sources. So you have just wasted alot of time and will be really frustrated during the season when all these big bucks you were seeing on camera suddenly disappear and your neighbor shoots them on his food plots.

[burmjohn]

We have two camera's, they are maybe 100 yards apart, and there are different deer on them.  A camera's range is so small, its like putting a treestand on 100 acres, your only seeing 1 very small part of your area.  None the less, its fun, and can help to see what is in the area. 

[cbx46]

i like it bc once those guys start running youll see them and others during the day and a trail they use at night only, in the early fall is a better bet to be one theyll use during the day late fall then one they never walk on.  more so if its one from a bed to a doe feeding area.

[Cabin Fever]

They're helpful and a confidence booster when you're not seeing movement and you start to question your stand location or choice. Then you check your cams and see that all the activity has been at night. At least you know that they are moving in the area, but only at night. Stick it out and sooner or later, you'll catch one in their feet during the day.