Are deer spooked by Trail Cams ?

[The_Field_Ager]

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. 

 

So your alternative for me phade to is to take 100 yard pot shots through dense foliage.

 

Let me think about that for a minute.......

 

 

mmmm....nah. No thanks.

[Bow Addict]

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 ....

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That would be a buck.

[phade]

So your alternative for me phade to is to take 100 yard pot shots through dense foliage.

 

Let me think about that for a minute.......

 

 

mmmm....nah. No thanks.

 

LOL. Seriously Papist, I don't know where you come up with this stuff.

 

The alternative is to not shoot yourself in the foot by using proper cam and hunting techniques to give you the best bang for your buck without the added risk of blowing up a pattern. Setting a cam on a trail a buck is using regularly and then checking it, and then setting a stand on/near it, likely results in more mature bucks than not...knowing you were there and risking all the work you just put into it. I'm not talking about being high and mighty hunter here, just basic logic. There is zero need to have to get a pic of a buck on a cam on a trail he may be using to kill him off of a pattern. Work backwards to find him until you can't push it and then go in and hunt with the stand on your back or make a very well prepared effort to get in and out with as little damage as possible. That is what beachpeaz is talking about.

Edited April 27, 2015 by phade

[beachpeaz]

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.

 

It can be on the same trail, just not right in front of your stand.  Put the camera's 100 or 200 yards down the trail in the direction that they most often travel so they hit the cameras AFTER your stand location.

 

I think Phade already said this, but it won't do you any good to have a picture of a buck on a camera that doesn't walk by that spot again because of either the camera or your scent.

 

In fact, last year I didn't even put my cameras up in my main hunting area.  Why?  I KNOW there are some trophy deer every year.  I trust my field skills enough to read sign and understand there travel routes to give myself the best chance at getting one each year.  I will take my best chance at those bucks without even a 1% chance of spooking them (because I have had that issue of deer being spooked). 

 

Cameras have only been around for a decade.  Before that, hunters have shot trophy deer for hundreds of years without them.  To me (and this is just my opinion) the cameras can cause more harm than good sometimes.

 

Thats just me, doesn't mean that works for you.

 

[beachpeaz]

LOL. Seriously Papist, I don't know where you come up with this stuff.

 

The alternative is to not shoot yourself in the foot by using proper cam and hunting techniques to give you the best bang for your buck without the added risk of blowing up a pattern. Setting a cam on a trail a buck is using regularly and then checking it, and then setting a stand on/near it, likely results in more mature bucks than not...knowing you were there and risking all the work you just put into it. I'm not talking about being high and mighty hunter here, just basic logic. There is zero need to have to get a pic of a buck on a cam on a trail he may be using to kill him off of a pattern. Work backwards to find him until you can't push it and then go in and hunt with the stand on your back or make a very well prepared effort to get in and out with as little damage as possible. That is what beachpeaz is talking about.

 

Agreed.  To each their own.  I have acutally move more and more away from trail cameras the past 2 years.  I still use them very selectively, but when i first started using them a few years ago, I was the guy putting them on the trail and then hanging a stand next to it.......and never saw those bucks again.  I've have learned to be much more strategic in using cameras...and in some cases not even putting one up.  Again, just my opinion.

 

[beachpeaz]

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.

 

And I am an avid bow hunter.  I will pick up a bow over a gun any day.  So I am not speaking from a gun hunter mentality here.  I completely understand how close you need to be to the trail.  As I just mentioned though, try putting them down the trail further and you woudl be surprised at the results.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I made the switch over to black flash cams and have used video pretty extensively. Still photos rarely tell the real tale. Sometimes the deer will stand there and eyeball the cam for a few seconds, then they turn and bolt. I have never had an issue with scent after they sit for a few days, and I tend to let them soak for a while before checking them. Once I get an idea of what deer are using the property, I back my cams out and set them on large scrapes and food plots where the human (farming) activity is normal, just to get some nice pics. I try to keep the pressure out of the areas where Ill be hunting. Ive tried using them to pattern deer in my hunting areas, and it always has casued the areas to be pressured and the deer stop using it.

 

When I do set my cams in areas Ill be hunting, I put them up high, and install, check and remove them while Im standing or sitting on an ATV or tractor whenever possible. Seems to disturb the deer less than tromping around on foot.

 

Just what works for me.

[NYBuckHunter27]

x2 here for checking cameras with a four wheeler or tractor, at first i thought it may be intrusive but yeah the logic is that deer should be aware of these motorized vehicles throughout the year plus i see it as the four wheeler scaring the deer not the human directly, if they run off its usually until they feel safe and than they will sit and watch typically. but i commonly leave the four wheeler running if i do need to get off and check the camera, at least this covers any noise i may make.

Edited April 27, 2015 by NYBuckHunter27

[phade]

I set a cam the weekend before last and have zero intention of touching it until me or Moog are walking by it to hunt a stand down past it come October or November. Once the card is pulled, I'll use it to figure out how the deer are using that corridor for future seasons and maybe a little intel for this season. For some people that'd be blasphemy...not being able to check cards. Who cares. I want the info to use.

 

My cams give me 50% intel for this season and 50% intel for next season. 

 

An acquaintance of mine has run a trail cam on the same tree at a pinch point bucks take as the rut kicks into gear. It's been up three years now, and he only checks once per year. He can't hunt that spot often due to work/locale, but let me tell you, the pics/info he captures is nothing short of eye opening. If only he had bandwidth to take advantage of it.

 

We have two spots that cams have proven set dates to hunt by just letting the cams go get the intel needed long-term. I started using cams around 2000 or so. I've made more mistakes with cams than probably everyone else on this board combined. That said, cams are a great tool when used properly (or as close to as possible). Knowing that they are just "one" trick in your bag rather than the whole bag, is a big difference maker.

 

Plus its also fun to be at work and getting shots like this texted to you...

Edited April 27, 2015 by phade

[virgil]

Awesome picture.  Looks like your blind is in the right place.

[Doc]

You know there is so much of this discussion that waves some big red flags when it comes to semi-butchering an area to clear shooting lanes. It also makes me look long and hard at simply throwing up some pop-up ground blinds and expecting deer not to pay attention .... even if they are expertly brushed in. Think about a deer spotting a little square box mounted to a tree, and then think about some brand new monstrosity set up in their living room that we expect them to ignore.

 

Imagine a treestand that sticks out from a bare tree with these climbing sticks buckled to the tree. And we are expecting them to simply ignore all our forest renovations? Yes it may work fine with younger deer, but those that have made it through a few years by simply being wimps, may just be a bit more twitchy when it comes to some of our constructions. These reactions to that simple little harmless box stuck on a tree should be telling us something. And by the way, many of those "bolting" bucks got the hell out of there before they even approached the box to smell it. It appeared to be just a response to a visual stimulus without the scent and sound senses. They simply saw it and scrammed.

 

Yeah, a lot of these videos are telling us a lot more than simply the right and wrong ways to use a trail-cam. There's other lessons to be learned there too.

 

Just something to think about.

[NFA-ADK]

Great points!  Mature deer react different to cams then younger deer.  Not every deer will have a bad reaction but if I spook one mature buck the money spent was fruitless for me.  Doubt most cam users are out to capture a mature doe on camera. 

 

Great tool if used properly but it can be an issue if not and you are after specific game that's a little more seasoned.

[G-Man]

I think cams are great to see what's in the area, but should.be places.in an open feeding area and then moved to trails to and from bedding when you see where they enter and leave areas, I do not put on a stand location 99% of the time unless I'm looking for a trespasser using it.you can good information from time stamps on a trail.and if your getting night pics you know you need your stand further back in the trail to intercept during daylight, I love people showing me.pic at night in the food plot and their stand right in the pic, you would probably get the deer if you moved back up the trail 100 yards. If I spook a mature buck with a cam in a food plot chances are he's still.going to use the trails in the woods by it to scent check for doe and to enter in a different location.

[kam]

My cam is on the edge of our yard. I do not hunt there, I just like watching what comes in during the night. I think it's amazing how alive the night is.

[Doc]

My cam is on the edge of our yard. I do not hunt there, I just like watching what comes in during the night. I think it's amazing how alive the night is.

Yeah, most of my trail cam usage has absolutely nothing to do with hunting. I just like to see critters being critters when they think no one is looking. It's interesting. Sure I get a lot of deer pictures, but I get a whole lot more excited seeing that fox carrying a rabbit, or that coon wading around in the creek, or that heron tat just landed. That's all fun stuff.