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How Would You........

DirtTime

By DirtTime,
in General Hunting

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turkeyfeathers Veteran

turkeyfeathers

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For me, cameras are really just entertainment.  

Me too. They only gave us false hopes our first time using them this past year. So many bucks on cam and never saw any of them again during season. Built no rapport with any of them in person. I rely on dumb luck.


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grampy Veteran

grampy

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29 minutes ago, ....rob said:

Hunt if there were no trail cams, and you had to have boots on the ground as your only way of scouting?

I don't hunt or scout any different now, with cams. Than I did before I had them. I don't need them to kill deer. Why do you seem to dislike them? Maybe you should get a couple and see if it makes a difference with you?

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Adkhunter1590 Newbie

Adkhunter1590

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80% wildlife viewing fun, 15% herd research and management, 5% use to attempt and pin down a buck.

That's my breakdown. I run cameras year round just to catch cool pics and see what's moving around. I do like to keep an eye on my local herd as best as I can so it's nice to have the cams for that. I usually leave cams in the same place year round but I will move a couple sometimes if I catch a good buck and I'm trying to figure out where he's coming from and such. Even if I don't see a big buck in person, it's always fun to see one on a camera so it keeps the excitement alive on those long sits in the tree just thinking that any min that big boy could walk out.

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Doc Proficient

Doc

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I probably just know how to do it, but the trail cams don't do a lot for my hunting. Maybe someday I will learn how to use them in a useful way to pay off while I am on stand, but right now, I get a bigger kick out of getting pictures of all the other kinds of critters than the thousands of deer pictures that I have gotten. And in terms of learning anything about the deer patterns and where that mythical monster buck can be found when I am hunting, I guess I'm too dense to be able to put it all together. Maybe it will all come to me some day, but probably not.

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ManicOutdoorsman92 Newbie

ManicOutdoorsman92

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I probably just know how to do it, but the trail cams don't do a lot for my hunting. Maybe someday I will learn how to use them in a useful way to pay off while I am on stand, but right now, I get a bigger kick out of getting pictures of all the other kinds of critters than the thousands of deer pictures that I have gotten. And in terms of learning anything about the deer patterns and where that mythical monster buck can be found when I am hunting, I guess I'm too dense to be able to put it all together. Maybe it will all come to me some day, but probably not.

No there's really no way to put it all together, between hunting, checking cams, shed hunting, the deers world is very big, and unless very consistent nearby food, things are gonna change year to year, and checking cameras, while addicting, can be your biggest issue pressuring the deer. Cameras help provided you leave them up long enough to get an idea of how the deer move without human pressure, but boots on the ground, time in the stand, and familiarity of your hunting grounds is key, but every bit of info you gain is a piece to the puzzle. I've recently established that a particular buck will rub the same trees on his route year to year, there will be trees in between they hit up but it seems they always seem they have a handful of trees they rub consistantly, so if you know of a good rub line keep tabs on it, get a rough idea of where the buck beds leave some cams up to help refine the info you gained scouting. Also a big mistake was putting my cams in areas that aren't really huntable, sure I'd get good bucks on cams but if I can't feasibly hunt them there it's not much use. Keep your cams on trails near your potential hunting area or stand site

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First-light Veteran

First-light

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I use them just to see whats in the area. I have one stand that sits over a cam. The stand was there first. As to how to hunt without them? Been hunting for almost 40 years. First you would look for the usual sign. Ask people who travel the roads around your land what they have seen. We would also go out in the morning and late afternoon and watch fields to see the deer

coming out. I'll tell you one thing though, hunters were more apt to shoot the first nice buck that came along. No camera proof of that big boy lurking around. 

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NFA-ADK Rookie

NFA-ADK

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Observation and interpretation!   VIP  In all the years hunting this has been my most effective way to interpret what is happening in the woods.   Never used a trail cam but they do look like fun and a great way to observe what is happening in an area. 

Reading sign is an art and has taken  me a long time to learn it and I still have much more to learn.  I like to compare it to be a police officer and being able to pick out every detail you see and then coming up with a game plan to execute a good hunt. 

EX:  One spot in Moose River Plains has a good herd of doe that seem to go from a low area in the morning to higher elevation during the day.  They like the river bottoms and tend to forage in these areas more as they have more food for them.  Following a bucks tracks in the light snow found him running the same game as me to find the doe.  He went from up high to the low spots the doe hang in the morning.  He found them just before last light and they all left the area to go where the doe bed in a low lying area.   Next morning I was able to get back to the area where they meet and saw them come though 15 min after first light.  Missed the buck but the plan was almost flawless if I did not try to bring in other friends for a chance at this buck, now when I am ready in the morning I will not wait when I find a good buck is in the area!   It will not always work out but the more you do it the better at predicting deer you will become!  This is another reason I do not like to use cams, I love tearing the woods apart and trying to figure out what deer are doing and why, for me it adds to my skills as a hunter and make me think more about why how when and where.   Granted this works much easer in the snow than on dry grounds but snow is not always present so doing it on dry ground will only make you a better hunter and snow will seem like cheating! 

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Steve D Proficient

Steve D

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Posted (edited)

Trail cams have no effect on the way I hunt. They are just a informational tool for me to see  what and when things are going on. Occasionally they provide a glimpse or image of something I may have seen had I physically been there.

Sometimes they show something surprising but one of the most useful purposes I have found for them is who is sitting in my tree stand or using the land when I am not.

They are usually out when I am hunting so if I hunt a area with a camera I have to skirt around it as to not take pictures of myself. That is the only way they affect my hunting. Physically scouting is always the best in my opinion.

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Bowshotmuzzleloader Rookie

Bowshotmuzzleloader

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I hunt four different properties all in similar but different areas within 30 miles from each other, I have hunted these religiously for 15 to 20 years and the same thing occurs year after year... Undestanding how the deer move through the property can take time and trial and error but once you figure it out they rarely change their behavior... 

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phade Mentor

phade

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Not much replaces knowledge obtained via experiences whether glassing scouting etc.

That said I have pics or vids of every single buck me and my two hunting partners have killed for the past four years. Plus several other bucks that I've killed dating back as far as 15 years ago.

Trail cams are imperfect. No doubt. But what they are, is a tool that is in the woods 24/7. Something we are unable to do - for most normal people with careers families etc.


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Jmp209 Newbie

Jmp209

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I would hunt the same as I do now and always have. I keep several cameras out for most of the year but like many on here, I pretty much just enjoy the pictures I get for the viewing pleasure. In my personal opinion if you don't have good woodsmanship skills, cameras probably will not improve your hunting abilities.

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Buckmaster7600 Mentor

Buckmaster7600

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I don't use cams during season, I use cams purely for entertainment and security.

I would hunt just like I do now use bow/early Muzz. season to find the spot where I'll kill my buck within a few days of nov15. Not a whole lot to killing a buck just have to be in a spot where they want to be.


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