Game cam guys....(all year long guys)
 

For the guys who leave your cameras up all year long.....

What do you glean from your post-season and spring photos that helps you learn more about your herd?

How often do you check your camas? Do you think you risk pressuring your herd by doing this?

Do you put cameras in areas you hunt?

Right now....I only put mine out in mid-summer for "inventory" purposes. What further can I learn if I left mine up all year long?

RE: Game cam guys....(all year long guys)
 

I leave mine up year round. I do put them in areas that I hunt and probably do risk pressuring some deer with some scent that I might leave. I check every week or so if I can. I leave them up year round simply because I enjoy getting new pictures all of the time.

RE: Game cam guys....(all year long guys)
 

I keep mine out pretty much all year long and its always in the area I hunt. I usually check it once a week and I have no fear about pressuring the deer. They are use to humans and don't really worry about humans at all unless its hunting season.

As far as to what I can gather from it.. first it helps to get an inventory on how many deer are left and more important is how hard the winter was on them (last years fawns are a good indicator on if the deer had an easy winter or not). I move the camera around alot to hopefully find a good yarding area incase I plan on late season hunting, and getting out in the woods through the winter in to the spring really lets you get a better view of deer trails.

RE: Game cam guys....(all year long guys)
 

Can you explain this one to me?

RE: Game cam guys....(all year long guys)
 

I don't use a camera at all.. so my assistance in this matter is less than warranted.

However, to answer your last question.. what you would learn if you left your camera up all year is the very importance of "preferred food sources" and when and possibly how deer are using them. Once you do learn what a preferred food source is and where it is located you can start to find details behind certain animals.. and eventually may be able to correctly guess one deer's home range.. which in turn may lead to greater understanding of a specific animal's bedding habits throughout his/her home range and that relationship to a "preferred food source".

Whitetail need food.. water.. and cover to survive and will only travel as far as it needs to attain each. (except during the rut of course).

If one did use a trailcam all year on good food sources I believe much could be learned about an individual whitetail, his home range, and his bedding distances near a preferred food source. Provided the hunter had common sense.

That's just my opinion...

RE: Game cam guys....(all year long guys)
 

Its really hard to explain, but I will try my best. It seems that when hunting season is out and I am just out scouting or riding my quad through my properties, the deer are not worried at all about he. I can walk past them at very close ranges without them ever acting nervous. They will usually lift their heads and watch as I walk past then continue what they were doing. Put me in camo with a bow in hand and the deer wouldn't let me get within 100 yards. It is almost like they are able to distinguish when a human is a threat to them and when that same human isn't.

As to why this is, I am not 100% sure, but I believer several things come in to play. First, like I said, these deer are interacting with humans on a daily basis. They are surrounded by a maximum security prison and the local county jail/police station on one side and the other has an airport. I also believe how the interactions unfold has something to do with it. If I act casual and don't make it a point to stop and stare at them, they don't get nervous. I remember Rob making a comment about while guiding he could take his hunters right in to the stands on 4 wheelers and the deer wouldn't spook as long as the motor was running because they didn't perceive it as a threat, but as soon as the ATV was shut off, the deer would go on high alert!

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RE: Game cam guys....(all year long guys)
 

I've just always been of the mindset that a deer doesn't know or care WHY someone is int heir house. They just know he's there. I don't think they can discern whether someone is walking ..........scouting.......checking a game cam......filling a mineral site or feeder.....etc....

All they know is.....they have an intruder. for that reason alone....I don't leave my cameras up or go into my hunting areas unless I'm hunting.

Also....I don't know what (but I'm willing to learn) knowing what they're eating in the off-season does to aid me. I've said it before.....the deer "summer" and "winter' in different spots, here.....according to their food source at any given time. Now I know our winters don't lend to deer yarding.....but they do feed and bed in somewhat different areas, depending on ag crops available and mast crops being in or not.

So....I don't see the benefit of knowing where the deer I'm hunting are during periods in which I can't hunt them.

RE: Game cam guys....(all year long guys)
 

Then you are looking at the little picture.. not truly understanding a deer's behavior. Understanding a deers total preferance towards food.. water.. and cover is huge. A preferred food source does not have to be Ag Jeff.. often times it is not. It's a lone apple tree.. 2 white oaks together on a small ridge.. a bean field for one week in september.. a small group of honeysuckle near a water source.. etc etc etc. And a whitetail may only use this available food source for a few days or 1 or 2 weeks before heading to another. This is invaluable information.. isn't it?

Looking at the smaller picture is like hunter 1 looking at a aerial of his land only.. and trying to figure out how deer use it. Looking at the big picture is the other guy (hunter 2) looking at the same aerial.. but panning out and looking at the area surrounding his property too.. to better understand how the deer are moving through and why.

You can be either hunter 1 or 2.. but I swear to you that you'll get better results being hunter 2.