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Cellular trail cam tactics

philsanchez76

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
May 20, 2019
Messages
1,385
Location
TN
Hi all, curious if any of you are actively using or going to use cell game cams. If yes, what is your tactical plan? I am curious how y'all use them for finding new spots as well as active real time scouting during the season (like actively going after a specific buck, etc). I am a newb deer hunter (last year was my first season and this year will be first out of a saddle). I lucked out and killed 3 deer last year without doing any scouting at all. But man it took me A LOT of sits to get those 3 deer! I am devoting this spring/summer to learning how to scout well and set up for success this fall. I hunt on urban public land that consists of a lot of smaller 100+ acre areas and have acquired 3 Bigfoot cell cams. These things take great pics (see attached example from one of my current spots- this is what is sent to my email- straight of the SD card, the quality is even better). I am using them now to cyber scout new spots for this years season. I basically use google earth to find a spot that looks good, then go boots on the ground looking for trails and other sign. If a spot looks good I pop a camera there to see what the traffic looks like. This is my newb approach; looking for more experienced hunters thoughts on how they'd handle this. Thx.

Phil

SYEW1047.jpg
 
I just got 3 cell cams and will be using them similar to how you are using them. During the season hope to use them to let me know if they are in the area the day I'm hunting and which way they were heading so maybe I could setup in the correct location. My buddy got a few cell cams this week to so we can work together and better pattern the bucks.
 
I completely forgot I posted this. Thx for the reply Smokinya. What cams did you get? I think that's a great strategy to combine forces with your buddy. Are y'all gonna place all of your cam's on one property to really pinpoint what that buck is doing? Or do you have them spread out more to find different bucks?

Right now I have the 3 cams on 3 different WMA's mostly just to locate deer. Then when the season comes, I will do like you will and try to use them to help me predict which locations to hunt when. Hopefully it will work!
 
We both bought the Spypoint Micro Links.........right now 2 of mine will be hung in Kentucky this weekend until opening week and then I will hang them on our 5500 acre hunting club. I have 1 already out at the club and my buddy has his 3 out on the club.
 
Bchunter has a good plan. Is that a road in the pic u posted. My experience with public take it as u want I'm no expert. Is u have to get away from the access and find the thicker areas where the other guys aren't going.. which is alot harder on small parcels. I find a good spot then I look for other hunter sign. Best time to scout is during season and immediately after season.. summer patterns are very different from what there doing in the fall.. at least my area anyway. summer time u will get pics but once they sense the pressure those spots will dry up real quick except for night movement. Onyx app is a great tool mark deer sign trees beds your trails in so u dont have to use tacks itll help u put the puzzle together throughout the season. Good luck this year
 
If I had a cell cam, I’d do the same as @BCHunter


................................................................................All climbing methods, platforms, saddle designs, and/or use of materials possibly mentioned in the post above are not peer reviewed for safety, and should only be used as an example of my own method. Do your own research and testing before becoming confident in any DIY solution to support your life.
-IkemanTx
 
Bchunter has a good plan. Is that a road in the pic u posted. My experience with public take it as u want I'm no expert. Is u have to get away from the access and find the thicker areas where the other guys aren't going.. which is alot harder on small parcels. I find a good spot then I look for other hunter sign. Best time to scout is during season and immediately after season.. summer patterns are very different from what there doing in the fall.. at least my area anyway. summer time u will get pics but once they sense the pressure those spots will dry up real quick except for night movement. Onyx app is a great tool mark deer sign trees beds your trails in so u dont have to use tacks itll help u put the puzzle together throughout the season. Good luck this year

Yes that's a 2 track going through a piece of public. My goal was actually to see how much human movement was going through there as well as deer. The answer was a CRAP TON of human movement. Funny thing is that it didn't seem to hinder deer movement; at least at this point.

I'd love to put BC Hunter's plan into play, but honestly having trouble finding a lot of buck sign on the public. Tons of deer trails going all over, but have yet to really find any rubs. And guessing I would not be able to see scrapes during the summer right? But I will keep at it.
 
It's my 1st year deer hunting, running trail cams and saddle hunting. Whew! I started with 1 Spypoint link Evo and 2 micro links. I wasn't totally happy with em.

I bought 2 Bushnell Impulses but they didn't even get signal in my backyard. I took those back to BassPro today and left with 4 more link micros. More is better, right?

If I'm going to jump to pay $300+ per cam, I'd prefer Exodus. I cannot get these in time this season though.

My #1 complaint is not being able to upload frimware remotely. My cams are a 4hr drive away and in very steep terrain with bears hanging around.
 
That a lot firsts man! Congrats on starting the journey! I like those Exodus cams too but pretty pricey. I've nothing but great luck with Bigfoot over the past year. Not sure if I can do remote firmware updates on them though. But shouldn't have to do it very often right? Are you gonna use your camera's to inform you of when are where to hunt? That's what my goal is; in the off season I was just using them to pattern deer in general.
 
That a lot firsts man! Congrats on starting the journey! I like those Exodus cams too but pretty pricey. I've nothing but great luck with Bigfoot over the past year. Not sure if I can do remote firmware updates on them though. But shouldn't have to do it very often right? Are you gonna use your camera's to inform you of when are where to hunt? That's what my goal is; in the off season I was just using them to pattern deer in general.

I've been listening to podcast like crazy. I believe it was Don Higgins that mentioned the annual cam data is best for patterning. His best point was, you want to get ahead of the deer and be there waiting on em. The pattern can change throughout the season so my cams haven't really been up long enough.

I'm trying to take inventory mostly. I have permission to hunt my buddy's property which backs up to National Forest in CA gold country, Zone D-5. In my zone the Blacktail are resident and the Mulleys move in from higher elevations once the snow falls. My buddy has photos of a nice sized winter Mulley on his property around Dec 6. Unfortunately, a month after season closes.

So far I have more photos of bears than deer. There is a doe and yearling I see regularly. I think there was a fawn that the bears may have gotten. At least, I haven't seen the fawn in week or so.

I found an old rub right next to a new rub but I still have no images of the buck. I'll be venturing deeper into the forest and deploying 4 more cams this weekend. I'll be bringing the .45 and bear spray of course.

I prefer to see a glimpse of a buck before trying to sneak past those bears in the dark.
 
I’m wanting to pick up a cell cam to deploy on a piece that’s only accessible by a 1 mile paddle up rover in my kayak. Should be the easiest way to monitor without putting to much pressure on the parcel. I was going to try and hang mine over a mock scrape and dripper…


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I’m wanting to pick up a cell cam to deploy on a piece that’s only accessible by a 1 mile paddle up rover in my kayak. Should be the easiest way to monitor without putting to much pressure on the parcel. I was going to try and hang mine over a mock scrape and dripper…


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Yeah, I really want to deploy my Hobie PA on a hunt. Love the idea of float back to the launch with a trophy on the back. :) Maybe next season.

I worry setting up a mock scrape will kill the activity I already have. I'm torn on this concept.
 
I have four Moultrie cameras with modems. I use them with corn to try to find out whats in the area. I put one on a heavily used trail and haven't got any pictures except a coyote.

I just picked up a Spypoint Micro link. Haven't put it out yet, maybe tomorrow.
 
My Link Micros seem to be transmitting whenever they capture an image. I deployed a few today that don't seem to be connecting. I'm guessing they don't have enough bars. My buddy was acting like a sissy and rushing me while deploying them. Seriously not gonna have a bear sighting with all the noise he was making.
 
I've been running trail cameras since way back in the "D" battery era....lol. Currently I'm running 6 of different makes. I use whatever lasts.

I know you mention cellular cams and I know they have their spot, but I like checking my cameras. Boots on the ground means I can identify what the camera may be missing and adjust it accordingly. Big bucks are notorious for skirting a camera.

Right now sign is scarce unless you can see tracks. Forget the sign. Look at natural travel patterns.
 
Zero sign but the area just has that look to it. Got a partial pic of this one as he skirted. Moved the camera 30 yards and have him two days in a row. We may try to kill this one this week as this weather front approaches.

Pic is actually 5 am.
ea5d5c94d1e58b10c47c29b4005af8be.jpg


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