Are Trail Cams making you guys hunt less too?

[Gobbler Chaser]

I'm not ready to harvest a doe and I'm waiting for that big unsuspecting early season buck. Problem is my cams are showing me the same fork horns, a Lil 4pt and a spiker with a bunch of does. Not much to get me enthusiastic about getting up in the morning. Years ago I before cameras told you the story of what's going on out there I would have been been out waiting for that big buck never knowing he's not there. When the rut starts to heat up and bucks start to travel for does then yea I'll be out there regardless of what cams are showing. Cams are great but definitely have changed the way I hunt

[GreeneHunter]

Cams haven't changed the way I hunt but possibly enhanced the hunt itself ! Its nice to see what potentially is out there !

[mowin]

I see your point, but that big guy could walk by anytime. 

[SpacemanSpiff]

Trail cams are just another level of fun for me. They never dictate where or when i hunt. I just like to see the wildlife. Now the Wind, that tells me where im setting up that day. 

Edited October 3, 2021 by SpacemanSpiff

[airedale]

Zero influence on me because I do not use them, I have an area that I hunt and it is what it is, I like being surprised as to what I find using successful hunting techniques I have learned over my lifetime.

Al

[Gobbler Chaser]

2 minutes ago, airedale said:

Zero influence on me because I do not use them, I have an area that I hunt and it is what it is, I like being surprised as to what I find using successful hunting techniques I have learned over my lifetime.

Al

I thought about ditching them for a season.

[Gobbler Chaser]

I do enjoy heading out to pull my cards. Nothing like getting in and checking out what's up out there. Had a huge Martin a week ago

[Larry]

I’s fun to see what’s out there. But I only kill what I see on cam about 20% of the time. A-lot of the time I kill a buck that's I don’t even see on cam. It’s has not changed the amount of time I put in the woods but maybe where I hunt on the land and at what time I hunt.

I have two rules of hunting 1 have fun 2 I won’t shoot a deer on the last day that I wouldn’t shoot on the first day.

I also don’t make a hit list or name the deer other than 10pt 8pt and so on.

[rob-c]

46 minutes ago, SpacemanSpiff said:

Trail cams are just another level of fun for me. They never dictate where or when i hunt. I just like to see the wildlife. Now the Wind, that tells me where im setting up that day. 

^^ this ^^ 

[grampy]

38 minutes ago, Gobbler Chaser said:

I'm not ready to harvest a doe and I'm waiting for that big unsuspecting early season buck. Problem is my cams are showing me the same fork horns, a Lil 4pt and a spiker with a bunch of does. Not much to get me enthusiastic about getting up in the morning. Years ago I before cameras told you the story of what's going on out there I would have been been out waiting for that big buck never knowing he's not there. When the rut starts to heat up and bucks start to travel for does then yea I'll be out there regardless of what cams are showing. Cams are great but definitely have changed the way I hunt

As long as I know, that a target buck is on the property, that's all the incentive I need. Just because he doesn't show up on one of my cameras, doesn't mean I won't see him, if I do my part on stand selection. I have seen bucks walk within ten yards of a camera and not have his picture taken. Because he walked behind it!

I think the bigger thing to being excited to hit the woods, is having a perfect wind for the spot you decide to hunt. If you've done your homework, you'll be expecting a buck to show up there. Even if he hasn't shown recently on a trail cam.

Any time I get a nice buck on camera, I try to piece together where was he coming from? Where is he likely heading? And then come up with a plan to try to intercept him, in the best spot in between.

I very, very rarely hunt a spot where there is a camera nearby.

[Nomad]

Nope . I enjoy looking at the cards of my two ,to see what’s on them that’s it . One isn’t even near a stand . I’ll probably pull them next hunt ,I’d rather not walk around after sitting just to swap cards . Most likely I’ll,put them on entrances for security duty though .

I almost get uncomfortable when guys base their sits on recent , almost real time info from their cell cameras . 

[Water Rat]

I’d rather set up my trail cameras for furbearers. I usually have a good idea where the deer are during hunting season. That doesn’t guarantee me anything though. Lol

[Jeremy K]

To answer your question ,no . The 6 month old baby we have is . I hunted a spot friday im not sure i have ever seen afternoon activity . I went anyway because its sort of close and it was still counts as hunting. 

[stubborn1VT]

I watched a 4 pointer walk through my plots and into a 25 yard wide strip of grass/clover yesterday.  I have a very reliable camera on that spot.  When I walked out to check the camera mid-day there was one pic taken at that time and no deer in the frame.  

Goes to show you how much cameras miss.  They are good entertainment and CAN give you useful information, but they aren't a flawless way to monitor your hunting spots.

With that said, I am guilty of waiting for bucks to show on my cameras before I hunt an area.  

[Robhuntandfish]

The only way cams might change the way I hunt is if a nice buck or even a lot of does are showing up in a specific spot in the daylight. But they def dont make me hunt less.  If anything they make me hunt more. If I am not seeing anything but still getting cam pics it gets me back out there and fired up again. 

[Moho81]

I’m looking at 2 camera cards right now. Won’t change my hunting one bit. It’s just cool to see what’s out there.

I doubt we get 10% of the bucks taken on camera every year. My 2018 buck was never seen on the property before camera or real life but my 2020 was but he was also all over the 500 acres we have so it was not like you could try and pattern him. Just right place at right time


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[Daveboone]

I treat my trail cams as entertainment, to see what is in the woods. It does give me a very good idea of what is out there, but without permanent food draws (crops, etc) to attract the deer during hunting season, the deer are very erratic showing up. I hunt just as much as ever, and certainly see plenty of deer...bucks and does, that jsut never show on my cameras, especially late season when the snow is moving them down off the hill to the lowlands.

[blackradio]

I use them as more of a hobby. I put 1 cam out on state land 2 months ago and only checked it once. I hunted this same state land the past 2 days but haven't checked it as it's 1 mile in. If I am walking 1 mile in to check the cam, I am hunting that area regardless of whats on the camera.

[WNYTRPR]

Good question,I just got more into cams the last 3 years .still only have a few .It’s just cool to see what’s out there .I’ve been fortunate to kill some nice bucks that I’ve had on cam since I started .Each of the bucks though ,I’ve only had on cam once ,never had them patterned at all .

Skill is important ,but luck goes along way too .Knowing a property well,and its travel routes help a bit too .

[Gobbler Chaser]

I know my property well and have cams set up on two stands that overlook my food plots. What I'm seeing on my cams and seeing in my fields at night gives me a pretty good picture of what's around. Things that change that are the rut or other hunters pushing deer which happens on opening day of rifle. It's early in the season and things change

[GreeneHunter]

This is a Trail Cam I have in my Backyard , if that's not enough to motivate me to go hunting nothing will !

[G-Man]

I like the cameras better than hunting itself so many bucks die of old age. Hunters never see them..  I hunt whenever it strikes me to. I have big bucks on so many different cameras it doenst matter where I go.

  I won't get cell cameras as I feel they provide an unfair advantage  but that's my own opinion and ethics

[Steve D]

12 hours ago, Gobbler Chaser said:

Cams are great but definitely have changed the way I hunt

Cams will never change the way I hunt. When I hunt and the way I hunt is mostly affected by the weather especially temperatures. These warm temperatures will keep me out of the game unless they are still here during the "prime times".

 I use cams as a tool. If you can't get one in the proper location they won't show you squat. Finding the right location to put one is the challenge for me. I pick my locations based on sign. If I am interpreting the sign correctly I will get the pictures. If not I need to reevaluate the location. 

 The wildlife is there...I just need to do my part and get the camera(s) in the right location(s) to capture them when they are on the move.

[Just Lucky]

I stopped using cams for deer, and only use to monitor land for trespassing.  That said, the location of my one camera is catching good deer movement this year.

It has effected my hunting. Based on photos i would be wasting time hunting in that spot in the am.

[BowmanMike]

I stopped using cameras just for the fact that it was a hassle to set them up and check them. 

I did enjoy seeing what was around,but generally the big bucks would only show once if that. Think about it,there is a lot more the camera doesn't see than what I actually does.

I did not have enough cameras or inclination to use them to pattern a deer,so they never helped me harvest one. That is because of my skill and motivation to use them. In the right hands they can be very helpful.

I dont miss using them at all though.