Trail cam strategy

[Apex7]

I put my cameras about 12 feet or a little higher in the tree. I cover rub lines and pinch points. I usually put them out in beginning of July. I check them every 2 or 3 weeks. I use my electric hunting bike to check them so I'm in and out in a hurry and I use Scent-lok clothing so I don't leave a lot of human scent .

 

[Apex7]

I also use Spy High mounting system for my cameras so I don't have to climb the trees to install my cameras.

 

[mschultz373]

I wonder how much “pressure” hanging a cam possibly leaves on a spot. I hung a cell cam in a swamp on a ridge that was 5-8ft higher than the surrounding marsh. Water oaks, live oaks, dense, along a canal that we accessed by canoe. And almost two weeks later, nothing has come by! I guess if I were a deer in the swamp when it’s 95F and sunny all day, I wouldn’t be moving much. But I wonder if when we hung it, we left too much scent and they still don’t wanna come back.

 

[Jammintree]

I wonder how much “pressure” hanging a cam possibly leaves on a spot. I hung a cell cam in a swamp on a ridge that was 5-8ft higher than the surrounding marsh. Water oaks, live oaks, dense, along a canal that we accessed by canoe. And almost two weeks later, nothing has come by! I guess if I were a deer in the swamp when it’s 95F and sunny all day, I wouldn’t be moving much. But I wonder if when we hung it, we left too much scent and they still don’t wanna come back.

The camera itself may also constantly be oozing human smell, depending on how you handled
It and treated it prior to hanging it. They also make noises and have flashing lights every time they take a picture.

 

[mschultz373]

The camera itself may also constantly be oozing human smell, depending on how you handled
It and treated it prior to hanging it. They also make noises and have flashing lights every time they take a picture.

Tell me more about treating? Had not heard of that

 

[Jammintree]

Tell me more about treating? Had not heard of that

Treatment as in : how you care for and handle your cameras when they are not in the field. If a camera
Sits on your desk for a week it’s gonna smell like human for a long time. Once deer learn of it in the woods, they are gonna be aware of it.

 

[cville_bowhunter]

The camera itself may also constantly be oozing human smell, depending on how you handled
It and treated it prior to hanging it. They also make noises and have flashing lights every time they take a picture.

I have had cameras attacked by bears anywhere from a couple hours after putting them out to a couple of weeks––all of which I liberally sprayed down when setting up. I hope that deer aren't able to pick up on them the way bears do.

 

[Jammintree]

I have had cameras attacked by bears anywhere from a couple hours after putting them out to a couple of weeks––all of which I liberally sprayed down when setting up. I hope that deer aren't able to pick up on them the way bears do.

As I understand deer and bear have similarly sensitive noses. A buddy of mine bought a brand new cell cam, trekked it several miles out to drop in a remote location. He got good pics for a couple months… the last pic delivered to his phone was of a black bear devouring the camera. Fortunately he found destroyed cam and it was covered by warranty.

Deer definitely hear the sound of the shutter / flash. Almost every picture sequence I get has one picture of all the deer looking right at the camera. And it’s not uncommon for a deer to go right to the camera to investigate. This alone tips them off. Is that always a negative? - No, probably not. But it also can be, depending on circumstances. For example, I have cams that are in areas where human activity is normal - the deer in those areas seem less affected by the presence of a camera. Cameras
In remote places seem to create far more suspicion and sometimes I feel like deer even avoid them.

I know some hunters go to great lengths to keep their cameras as scent free as possible, particularly those nylon straps.

 

[cville_bowhunter]

As I understand deer and bear have similarly sensitive noses. A buddy of mine bought a brand new cell cam, trekked it several miles out to drop in a remote location. He got good pics for a couple months… the last pic delivered to his phone was of a black bear devouring the camera. Fortunately he found destroyed cam and it was covered by warranty.

Deer definitely hear the sound of the shutter / flash. Almost every picture sequence I get has one picture of all the deer looking right at the camera. And it’s not uncommon for a deer to go right to the camera to investigate. This alone tips them off. Is that always a negative? - No, probably not. But it also can be, depending on circumstances. For example, I have cams that are in areas where human activity is normal - the deer in those areas seem less affected by the presence of a camera. Cameras
In remote places seem to create far more suspicion and sometimes I feel like deer even avoid them.

I know some hunters go to great lengths to keep their cameras as scent free as possible, particularly those nylon straps.

I think trail cams would make awesome bait for bear hunting...or maybe trail cam flavored corn?

 

[Jammintree]

Tell me more about treating? Had not heard of that

 

[Jammintree]

I think trail cams would make awesome bait for bear hunting...or maybe trail cam flavored corn?

all you need to do is suspend your cam over a pan of bacon as it cooks.

 

[mschultz373]

Damn, I’ll keep that in mind and treat my cams.

 

[Arrowsquirrel]

I really think if you run a descent amount of cameras on any property for a number of years the start to just except them. It's almost like even the mature bucks have grown up with them and just kinda tune them out. They still look at them but don't flip out. I agree it's deer that aren't at easily accessible places or haven't been around them for a while that tend to spook more.

 

[mschultz373]

Is any scent product suitable for treating the cams?

 

[Jammintree]

When I get a new one I give it a good bath in ozone. Once they’re outside I basically just keep them outdoors permanently.

 

[Apex7]

Back in 2006 I had a Camtracker 35 millimeter trail camera and had a picture of a buck looking directly in the the camera. His nose was almost touching the camera. About a week later I harvest that buck with a bow. He didn't seem to mind the camera. He's the one on the left.

 

[mschultz373]

So question: there are three public land parcels near me that I hunt. I have three cameras to put out, so would it make sense to put one camera on each parcel, at the best spot, or maybe put all three on the parcel I’m least confident on? What do you guys typically do?

 

[woodsdog2]

So question: there are three public land parcels near me that I hunt. I have three cameras to put out, so would it make sense to put one camera on each parcel, at the best spot, or maybe put all three on the parcel I’m least confident on? What do you guys typically do?

What is/are your goals….? Is it for hunting this season or just learning each parcel well over time? Is it shoot any deer or to take a buck? Are you trying to just determine buck inventory on each? Of course trail cams are just one piece of the scouting puzzle. Do you have any history or prior scouting knowledge with any of these spots? Anytime you scout any property and learn it and understand movement, it will pay dividends for you long into the future so I’m assuming you have already scouted these three parcels and you want to try and identify the buck quality on each? Also on public, the propensity for theft is always a real concern. So taking into account some real time scouting both electroniclly and real on the ground scouting, I would put one on each in the best spot and let them soak. Try to augment this with observation sits or long distance glassing if possible. I’ve learned over the years that my strategies with the use of trail cams have to be focused on long term observation and goals not a quick “flash in the pan” type of scouting. Basically you can’t depend on the camera to tell you how to hunt it, the camera simply helps you identify deer and buck quality on each and you’re confirming your prior scouting with the camera.

 

[woodsdog2]

So question: there are three public land parcels near me that I hunt. I have three cameras to put out, so would it make sense to put one camera on each parcel, at the best spot, or maybe put all three on the parcel I’m least confident on? What do you guys typically do?

I would also add to this that if you’re using cell cams, and employing real time information to ascertain buck quality, you can somewhat kill two birds with one stone with cell cams by identifying both buck quality and size and then to begin to identify their specific movements. That’s the advantage of cell cams if you have the ability to be near these public spots to adjust accordingly.

 

[mschultz373]

Goal is to be more productive on the parcels. I’ve hunted two of three and scouted - and intend to scout more - on all. But I’ve not been successful on them yet, last year being my first year on them. My goal would be to determine how and when deer are using a specific area and build confidence in my scouting.

one is a logging upland pine parcel with some hardwoods; another is a mostly flooded cypress tupelo swamp; and last is a marsh. I have the highest confidence on the swamp; the marsh is probably the hardest to reckon only because the deer densities appear so low and access is often so difficult.

I don’t know if that’s helpful or makes sense. Thanks for all the input though.