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Quest for the Opportunity & First Trail Camera Check June 20th

Silvio

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 6, 2019
Messages
951
Location
Grand Blanc MI
Well, the season started for me in early January. The scouting continued until spring green up was in full bloom a few weeks ago. I spend a great amount of time scouting and locating every signpost rub and scape and place them on a topo map, as well as marking them Huntstand App. The key to hunting difficult bucks is the pictures you capture on camera during this time period. I typically place my cameras out in mid March as the weather is warmer and battery life can make it thru for spring. That being said, rubs especially are key to helping me figure out a bucks summer and fall range. His Fall Range is where he sets up for dominance, and is most important. He might be a mile away of several miles away thats the reality. How many times have you hunted a buck all season you observed during summer bean field sightings, but unfortunately never laid eyes on him again all during hunting season (unless he's their for a one day visit). Understanding and mapping his travel from season to season can put you in the game.
This week I was really fortunate enough to locate 3 different mature bucks on camera I want to go after this year. The pictures I capture during hunting season is only a fraction of the information I will need to really come up with a game plan, but the reality is, these post season photos puts me in the game of narrowing down his fall area. September Rubs fall into one category for me, they are summer range behavior usually boarder edge rubs. More than likely this is not where he's going to set up shop for the fall. Between September 15th and October 1st everything changes. Where you once saw him openly in that bean field is really a summer feeding habit and social structure. Food sources, like apples and acorns are also part of my mapping strategy. But sign post Rubs are the key. Sign post Rubs are usually near his bedding area, and they usually don't appear until the 3rd week of October. If a sign post rub shows up on an edge of security cover your lucky, but most of us don't want to be scouting during the hunting season for fear of disturbing your area. I get it. When your entering one of your set ups you should be scouting and paying attention for buck sign. This is why mapping them every post season gives you the information of reasonable travel routes based on terrain and especially water. Keep track of the picture dates and times and then go back and check temperatures and wind a day before and after those dates....these factors have given me the edge when otherwise I would have been guessing....yes you can get lucky every now and then but predicting what he's done in the past can give you more opportunities during the entire season.....

I'm going to be updating this Thread during the whole season...so you might want to follow this one...I will also load some photos as the season progresses...
And I'm going to let you guys name these bucks if you want to give them a name

May The Magic of The Whitetail Forever Enrich Your life20190626_220515.jpg
 
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Prepared my first mock overhanging branch and scrap location today. Also got a hole dug for a Ted Miller horizontal rubbing post..going to let things calm down for a couple of weeks and let's see what the camera catches. For some reason my batteries drained from the last post, but I bumped some deer out of here this morning20190706_125758.jpg
 
Well, let's just say location is the key to finding some of these bucks that elude most hunters. Sure you can hunt your food plot or spots that provide easy access and you'll be able to shoot a doe, fawn, or yearling buck. Older bucks just dont show themselves out in the open. This location has security cover, swamp, cattails, and a south ridge of bedding. It's got plenty of kanary grass that the bucks like to be in. I would estimate the size of this location to only be 15 to 18 acres, but it's the only spot out of 1200 acres that hunters dont go to. To much water and extremely thick cover to cross. Every inaccessible location has at least one weakness or entry that will allow you to slip in into position. The time to find these access points is way before spring green up, then find that security that will protect those deer from seeing you. I remember many years ago back tracking a very large buck that I had found one of his sheds. Then two days later found the match a mile and half away in his core hiding spot. This was a huge swamp buck that traveled thru the thickest of tag elders I've ever attempted to go thru, but I learned one important trait about these types of bucks...they love thick security cover, water, and a little piece of dry ground to stretch their legs without ever bumping into a hunter. These spots are the true buck hot spots... when you begin your scouting in the summer your really at a disadvantage because your only seeing what's happening when browse is plentiful...its quite different when crops are off the fields and no leafs on the trees.20190707_215031.jpg
 
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You should probably upload bigger arial pics so we can help you with your strategy. :sunglasses:
Thank you DanO however I'd like to keep this spot to myself...its close to where I live and anyone has
access so I'll keep updating the thread. The photo is true to north south east & west

May The Magic of The Whitetail Forever Enrich Your Life
 
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Update...finally had some time to check my camera after several weeks and bucks are visiting my mock scrape. Going to name my target buck Freight Train...his big body and rack are outstanding. He's traveling with several other bucks...enjoy the photos
Meet FREIGHT TRAIN 20190727_235948.jpg20190728_074433.jpg20190727_235742.jpg
 
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You just got me pumped. Awesome thread


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Man wish we had em that big in VA. I'm a meat guy but that's just magnificent.
Theres not that many older bucks in Michigan...this is probably the best picture and group of pictures I've ever captured with a trail camera. I believe what's happening is... all the education thats reached deer hunters has caught up to the "catch and release" philosophy we experienced in Bass fishing. Deer Management is heading in a positive direction, but it will always be enhanced by deer hunters, not state agency's.
May The Magic of The Whitetail Forever Enrich Your Life
 
Pictures coming...got a chance swap my card tonite...havent checked for a month I think. Anyway plenty of action on the camera since last posting....20190819_092112.jpg20190819_091430.jpg
Look at the size difference..this is what a 5yr old+ looks like
 
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Did a trail cam pull today. I was little disappointed in my deer results but I did have this interesting picture. Not big but always fun to see them anyway.
1566741160289.png
 
That buck is looking right at camera. Yikes


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