Single Trail Camera Strategy

[Gwebb]

I got my first trail cam last week and want to use it to scout a place I’ve never deer hunted before, but know it ok already from bird hunting it. If you guys only had one camera, how would you use it to scout and when would you hang it?

 

[KYHunter]

I would try and find an entry/exit trail to a suspected buck bedding area and put it there. Bonus if there is an existing scrape on that trail.

If you’re on private land and if you’re putting out the camera now then I’d put it over a cheap trace mineral block on said trail

 

[philsanchez76]

I would try and find an entry/exit trail to a suspected buck bedding area and put it there. Bonus if there is an existing scrape on that trail.

If you’re on private land and if you’re putting out the camera now then I’d put it over a cheap trace mineral block on said trail

^ couldn’ta said it better myself. As far as timing, I’d hang ASAP. Get as much info as possible.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

I would want to do a general survey of what class of bucks are using the property.
Mock scrape, mineral lick or bait along a field edge.
The mock scrape will get pics of bucks and does year round and it wont use up as many pics as a bait station will. Dominant does in the summer will own the bait pile. Even bucks (in velvet) will back off a grouchy doe.
But with a mock scrape, no deer will dominate, or possess it. They will stop by and check out the licking branch (grapevine or rope also works great) and you'll get a couple pics and the deer move on.
Location of the mock is key.

I get literally tens of thousands of pics per year on my best mock scrape. Most are night pics but I'm not hunting it. It's just for survey purposes.

 

[philsanchez76]

I would want to do a general survey of what class of bucks are using the property.
Mock scrape, mineral lick or bait along a field edge.
The mock scrape will get pics of bucks and does year round and it wont use up as many pics as a bait station will. Dominant does in the summer will own the bait pile. Even bucks (in velvet) will back off a grouchy doe.
But with a mock scrape, no deer will dominate, or possess it. They will stop by and check out the licking branch (grapevine or rope also works great) and you'll get a couple pics and the deer move on.
Location of the mock is key.

I get literally tens of thousands of pics per year on my best mock scrape. Most are night pics but I'm not hunting it. It's just for survey purposes.

This is super interesting. Have you ever found dominant does to own mineral stations too? Or does that just seem to happen to bait piles? Either way I may have to actually try a mock scrape this year.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

This is super interesting. Have you ever found dominant does to own mineral stations too? Or does that just seem to happen to bait piles? Either way I may have to actually try a mock scrape this year.

Yeah, during the spring and summer, the matriarch doe and her fawns will pretty much own wherever they want to. But they usually aren't spending as much time at mineral stations per visit as they do at feeding stations.
I've seen dominate does hog bait for 15-20 minutes at a time. Meanwhile, the camera takes dozens of pics of the same does.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[Gwebb]

This will be on public, so no bait or mineral blocks. I’ll put it up on a scrape or trails to or from ASAP and monitor it every other week or so through the summer and change locations until I find good daytime movement, does that seem like a good plan for only one camera?

 

[Topdog]

This will be on public, so no bait or mineral blocks. I’ll put it up on a scrape or trails to or from ASAP and monitor it every other week or so through the summer and change locations until I find good daytime movement, does that seem like a good plan for only one camera?

So how big is this property approximately, is it working Ag land or straight up forest, do you have a general idea of the potential bedding areas already, is there one dominant food source like with working Ag fields or orchards, oak ridge etc. Are you hunting here regardless of what your pictures show you or is this more of a scouting mission trying to decide if this piece of public is the right one.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

This will be on public, so no bait or mineral blocks. I’ll put it up on a scrape or trails to or from ASAP and monitor it every other week or so through the summer and change locations until I find good daytime movement, does that seem like a good plan for only one camera?

I'd look for some licking branches along field edges for a survey type camera set up. Licking branches get used 12 months a year, although use peaks later.
Plus, with that type of location, you'll be able to check/service the camera with less disturbance than a camera set in cover.

 

[Topdog]

I would want to do a general survey of what class of bucks are using the property.
Mock scrape, mineral lick or bait along a field edge.
The mock scrape will get pics of bucks and does year round and it wont use up as many pics as a bait station will. Dominant does in the summer will own the bait pile. Even bucks (in velvet) will back off a grouchy doe.
But with a mock scrape, no deer will dominate, or possess it. They will stop by and check out the licking branch (grapevine or rope also works great) and you'll get a couple pics and the deer move on.
Location of the mock is key.

I get literally tens of thousands of pics per year on my best mock scrape. Most are night pics but I'm not hunting it. It's just for survey purposes.

You have my interest on this one, would you mind giving a more in depth post about when and how exactly you make your mock scrapes, I tend to use my cams sparingly just to survey what may be in the area and just hunt what I think are the hot spots and skip the cameras in tight bedding, I mite try a couple of your mock scrapes this year, thanks!

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Location is key. It needs to be in a logical spot. Im talking about field edges that are near pinch points or other spots that congest deer movement. Drainage headers are a good spot. Fields are often mowed and kept in ag based on the terrain simply because of limitations on machinery. Those spots are often the head of deeper drainages. Those are excellent places for a mock scrape camera set.
Really, it's only a "mock" scrape until deer start using it and then it basically becomes a real scrape.
I've suspended lengths of grape vine for years and it works well. Hang it out several feet from the actual cover edge. You'll need to have an existing tree to hang it from. I'll lash the vine to a tree branch so the bottom of it is 4 or 5 feet or so off the ground. Scrape off the sod and expose dirt and take a leak in it. Yes, human urine works just fine. Smokey's pre orbital lure can be added to the vine but its not a requirement.
Gene Wensel started using heavy manila rope for the licking "branch" and I've tried it too. I actually have both a vine and rope over one scrape as an experiment to see which one the deer prefer. I'd say its 60:40 in favor of the rope.
If you don't have vine or rope, you can use a real branch from a preferred scrape species for your area. Just cut off an oak, pine, beech (or whatever your deer like) and hang it where you need to make the mock.
Another tactic is to "transplant" a natural scrape to another location where you need it to be. Find a real licking branch, cut it off, and transport it to the mock location. I've done that with success. It already has deer odor on it. I've also transplanted scrape dirt too.
For some reason I can't explain, sometimes a particular mock just doesn't get used much.
But if its in the right location, it wont be a mock scrape for long. Once deer start using it, it essentially becomes...a scrape.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Location is key. It needs to be in a logical spot. Im talking about field edges that are near pinch points or other spots that congest deer movement. Drainage headers are a good spot. Fields are often mowed and kept in ag based on the terrain simply because of limitations on machinery. Those spots are often the head of deeper drainages. Those are excellent places for a mock scrape camera set.
Really, it's only a "mock" scrape until deer start using it and then it basically becomes a real scrape.
I've suspended lengths of grape vine for years and it works well. Hang it out several feet from the actual cover edge. You'll need to have an existing tree to hang it from. I'll lash the vine to a tree branch so the bottom of it is 4 or 5 feet or so off the ground. Scrape off the sod and expose dirt and take a leak in it. Yes, human urine works just fine. Smokey's pre orbital lure can be added to the vine but its not a requirement.
Gene Wensel started using heavy manila rope for the licking "branch" and I've tried it too. I actually have both a vine and rope over one scrape as an experiment to see which one the deer prefer. I'd say its 60:40 in favor of the rope.
If you don't have vine or rope, you can use a real branch from a preferred scrape species for your area. Just cut off an oak, pine, beech (or whatever your deer like) and hang it where you need to make the mock.
Another tactic is to "transplant" a natural scrape to another location where you need it to be. Find a real licking branch, cut it off, and transport it to the mock location. I've done that with success. It already has deer odor on it. I've also transplanted scrape dirt too.
For some reason I can't explain, sometimes a particular mock just doesn't get used much.
But if its in the right location, it wont be a mock scrape for long. Once deer start using it, it essentially becomes...a scrape.

And the sooner the better.
Use will peak in pre rut but licking branches get visited all year long by all deer. I have photos of fawns sniffing mock licking branches. They are a social magnet for deer.

 

[Topdog]

Thanks for taking the time to write that up, I’m gonna make a couple soon in proven high traffic areas and see what happens, my cameras have been collecting dust the last couple years it’s time to get them back in action, I started using cameras back when they took film and you had to pay to see 24 pictures of does hogging all the film up LOL.