I don't use trail cams. I rely on the little details of the woods to tell me of the deer I am after.
Not one buck I have ever killed I have seen on trailcam. I've relied solely on an individual bucks sign and my own scouting.. and the lay of the land to point out where to take him.
A perfect example is a 23" wide 4.5 yr. old I took in late November 2006. I started hunting this buck in 2005 after finding his rubs. I never laid eyes on him until the day I shot him in 06'. He was a ghost until that day.
His rubs were first identified by myself in early October of 2005. They were easy to identify.. I knew the buck had a wide rack due to the rubs he left behind. Everytime he rubbed a tree his wide rack would cause smaller sticks and twigs to break as much as 12" from the rub itself. I then used this knowledge to identify every rub he made and then lead me to discover and identify his tracks which layed below his rubs. I had his bedding area pinned very quickly that year... but never saw him as his movements were nearly always at night.... nearly.
The following year in late Novemeber I hunted near some of his extremely fresh sign.. he left 3 brand new rubs in a fencerow that was littered with a preferred food source. I hung my stand in between his "known" bedding area and the fencerow in a saddle I knew the buck would have to be taking between them both.
The second sit in that stand on November 25th, 2006 was the first I ever saw him. Now I see him everyday.
The rubs he left are gone now... he was the buck I was after without any pictures to prove it.. just the details he left behind.
Hope this is what you were looking for.
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