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Are deer spooked by Trail Cams ?

fasteddie
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deerpassion Newbie

deerpassion

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Haha, curious girl... She wants to make out... We all have those pics from time to time but when it comes to bucks there have been numerous studies looking at ground level vs elevated n a large percentage of the ground level cams spooked bucks to never see them again by that cam throughout the season compared to elevated cams ....

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Doc Experienced

Doc

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So, might it help a bit if you were to spray down the camera with some product like Scent-a-way or something? From the video, it looks like it is the scent that is the last straw for them, and what causes them to bolt.

 

I like the idea of mounting the cameras up a little higher. Don't let them get their noses on it. It would also get the camera out of their direct line of sight.

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nyslowhand Enthusiast

nyslowhand

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It's no so much the trail cam itself as it has more to do with the plastic housings. They probably go thru 2 processes to mold & inprint the camo effect. Each process has inherent chemicals & odors related to it. Injection molded parts will continue to exude an odor for some time because the raw materials used are basically oil based utilizing chemistry principles. The parts are by no means produced in a clean-room environment. Probably handled by numerous employees at various locations. Washing or spraying with any scent-free products might temporairly mask the odors. Believe the height placement has as much to due to the dissicipation of these odors as the visual recognition by the deer. Want a more prcatical analogy? Do you spend as much time & effort removing odors from a new cam as you do a new pair of rubber hunting boots? I don't, but still hope for the best from my cam shots!

 

Don't be a fool like the self-proclaimed expert on the YouTube video and place a cam in or directly along the side of a travel route, naturally the deer will notice its' presence. Night time photos & vids will get a deer's attention mostly due to the cam's recording indicator light. I've had deer change their travel pattern thru a pinch point after a cam was put in place, but only by ~15-20yrds.

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G-Man Veteran

G-Man

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I always put cams very low or much higher than most people, a flash up high seems like lightning to them and low maybe looks like an exploding lighting bug or something.. either way they don't seem to mind them unless flashes are In their face

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thphm Newbie

thphm

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I mounted one cam way off of but facing a well used trail around 4' off of the ground for the whole hunting season last year, many pictures of does and bucks not one even looked in the direction of the cam , day or night and no sent sprays.

In fact I had a few shots of a fawn and it's mom look at the cam and bed down right along he side that tree for quite some time that day. They might be deer tat are use to the cams. on the property and there odor.Another spot I had a cam. set up 4' off of the ground and had many shots of bucks bedded down for quite some time on a number of days , some as close as 4' away from the cam.. I mount all of my cams. facing away from the sun. That might have something to do wit it.

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NFA-ADK Rookie

NFA-ADK

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My only advice would be to place it high as possible and descent as much as possible including your hands and boots.  Will all deer run from a cam at eye level, no but they seem to be less weary when it is above them.  Many get use to the cams when the 8-20+ properties they go through might have 10-30 cams but a higher placed cam has the scent above them and avoids the direct eye contact and general awareness of something out of place. 

 

No big deal if your just trying to photo some game but it can be if it spooks them or makes them aware of something "different" in the area.  Same concept as hunting from the tree stand vs the ground. 

 

Why not put it up a little higher, what disadvantage would it be?  None that I know.  JMO

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fasteddie Grand Master

fasteddie

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NFA --- I hear you . I put cameras 10' in trees on a friend's property in Walworth and have to carry a ladder to do it . I keep the ladder cabled to a tree in the woods .

In Geneseo the property is much larger and I don't carry a ladder with me . I have had the camera in the same place for 2 - 3 years and the deer are used to it . They

return for more pics . I figure that if something works , don't fix it . I have had other cameras on this property and had the same deer return multiple times . I may be hard headed but like I said , if it works , don't fix it .

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phade Mentor

phade

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This cam is 8 feet off the ground on a slight slope.

 

 

Same buck nearly a month later. He still notices it. Did he get used to it? Maybe not as bad of a reaction right? He never showed up again.

 

 

This is a cam at a scrape. He never showed on the property again.

 

People love to make generalizations that paint with a wide brush. The truth is deer are like any other animal, including humans. They each have their own disposition. Thinking that all deer are not afraid of trail cams if they constantly encounter them is short-sighted at best. I play to the lowest common denominator and use trail cams as if every deer were like the ones above. Some are not, but some are.

 

 

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beachpeaz Rookie

beachpeaz

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The answer is absolutely yes if they are not used to them.  If you manage a large plot of land and have 100 cameras all over like you see on a TV show, and the deer are used to getting their picture taken day and night everywhere they go, I am sure they start to get used to it.....eventually.

 

However, for us amateurs, who throw up just a couple, do so only in the fall, and then check them once and a while, you will 100% without a doubt effect the deer movement.  You leave scent no matter what you do.  if nothing else, just the scent of you being there and the scent from you on the camera will make the deer weary.

 

I tend to put my cameras in areas I know I can get pictures of the bucks, but not near any of my tree stands.  Even if a deer shifts its pattern by 100 yards to avoid a camera, that can be detrimental to hunting.  Use cameras as a generic inventory of what the property holds, use your brain and the sign to narrow down where they are and where they move to effectively hunt them.

 

Be smart about them and they can be used to your advantage.  Be careless and the only thing you will ever have hanging on your wall are pictures.

Edited by beachpeaz
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NYBuckHunter27 Newbie

NYBuckHunter27

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This cam is 8 feet off the ground on a slight slope.

 

 

Same buck nearly a month later. He still notices it. Did he get used to it? Maybe not as bad of a reaction right? He never showed up again.

 

 

This is a cam at a scrape. He never showed on the property again.

 

People love to make generalizations that paint with a wide brush. The truth is deer are like any other animal, including humans. They each have their own disposition. Thinking that all deer are not afraid of trail cams if they constantly encounter them is short-sighted at best. I play to the lowest common denominator and use trail cams as if every deer were like the ones above. Some are not, but some are.

 

Don't cameras typically make noise while recording video? not too mention your camera looks to be very close to the active scrape which makes for awesome videos but camera noise and scent have to be an issue.

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phade Mentor

phade

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Don't cameras typically make noise while recording video? not too mention your camera looks to be very close to the active scrape which makes for awesome videos but camera noise and scent have to be an issue.

 

No. Cam noise occurs when filters are moved. Cam was out 5 months before this video and was not checked during that time.

 

The issue is trail cams can and do impact deer, especially mature bucks, when their disposition is such.

 

 

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The_Field_Ager Newbie

The_Field_Ager

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I tend to put my cameras in areas I know I can get pictures of the bucks, but not near any of my tree stands. 

 

 

Problem here for bow hunters. I need to put my stand 30 yards or closer to the deer trails. This means finding them with cameras to ensure the frequency of travel is worth the effort to get a stand in to this relatively tight corridor of activity. In our woods the deer use and stick to pretty tight corridors. Not much spreading out seems to occur in terms of movement patterns.

 

Finding a travel route with a cam or 2, and then putting a stand 100 yards off makes little sense.

Edited by Papist
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phade Mentor

phade

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Problem here for bow hunters. I need to put my stand 30 yards or closer to the deer trails. This means finding them with cameras to ensure the frequency of travel is worth the effort to get a stand in to this relatively tight corridor of activity. In our woods the deer use and stick to pretty tight corridors. Not much spreading out seems to occur in terms of movement patterns.

 

Finding a travel route with a cam or 2, and then putting a stand 100 yards off makes little sense.

 

How so? 

 

What makes little sense to me is setting a cam on a trail that likely is being used by a buck in a pattern and then having to check it and "go through the effort" of getting a stand in there. 

 

 

Edited by phade
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