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Lack of bucks on trail cam - adjust hunting plans??

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Lack of bucks on trail cam - adjust hunting plans??

Old 09-07-2011, 08:22 AM
  #11  
Typical Buck
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Originally Posted by J Pike
I have been using the aid of trailcams for scouting for 20 + years now.
You need to scout/put other cams in new area's just in case. But dont abandon the area's you currently have confidence in. What I do if I dont have pics of shooters during shooting hours in a paticular area from the 2 weeks prior to the season to the start of it, I wont hunt that particular area during the early season. But I will still check my cam in that area every week or so just in case. ( because area's in the deer woods can get hot or go completely dead in a matter of a couple days) It doesnt matter if I have pics of 10 different shooters in July, August, early Sept etc. because unless I have rubs etc., I wont invest any of my precious hunting time in that spot unless I have proof that a shooter is frequenting the area during shooting hours.
I pretty much use this philosophy during the entire season ( with the exception of the rut) also never base a hunting area etc. based on what you experienced there last year or even last month for that matter!! All 6 of those bucks could be dead or living 5 miles away by now. ( That is called HOPING not HUNTING!!) But also dont give up on the area entirely because if those bucks started showing up in Oct. last year they might show up again this Oct. but there is also just of good of chance that they never show at all.
Trailcams dont lie and hunt 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and do not give off the scent of a meat eater. So if they cant see shooters neither will you (outside the rut) Pike

Seems like a good strategy. It would be easier to employ if I had more than one camera.

Also, for the record, I wasn't suggesting that the same bucks that were on the property last year would be there this year. It just seems to me that if a property is attracting and holding bucks one year based on various factors including cover, food, and hunting pressure, chances are it will be holding a similar number of bucks the next year unless something has changed.
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Old 09-07-2011, 09:27 AM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by Stonewall308
Seems like a good strategy. It would be easier to employ if I had more than one camera.

Also, for the record, I wasn't suggesting that the same bucks that were on the property last year would be there this year. It just seems to me that if a property is attracting and holding bucks one year based on various factors including cover, food, and hunting pressure, chances are it will be holding a similar number of bucks the next year unless something has changed.
If you only have one cam leave it in that area the rest of the year but scout new areas for fresh buck sign (rubs,scrapes, droppings etc.)
Dont take anything for granted when it comes to the deer woods!! Just because their was bucks last year means nothing for this year other than you should invest a good amount of time thru out the season keeping tabs on it.
For example: I have one area that I have hunted since I was 16. I killed a good buck there that year and seen numerous bucks. The following 2 years I seen a few bucks but nothing like the first year. The next year I had bucks every where again and killed another good buck. The same thing happened over the next 3 years, nothing the first 2 years and killed a good buck the third.
I couldnt fiqure out what was going on until I realized that the neighboring farmer planted a huge field bordering the property I hunted in corn every 3rd year ( I was very aware that he planted it but didnt realize the affect it would have on the area the following year) and left it stand each time until after the PA. rifle season. And as soon as the orange army invaded the woods the deer would head for the standing corn and wouldnt move during daylight hours until after the season ended. The standing corn protected the majority of the deer so alot of bucks would make it thru the season. The point im trying to make is any slight change in weather, lack of or too much rain, mast crop, human presence, logging nearby can affect an area and most of the time you wont realize it until its too late and after you invested alot of your precious hunting time hunting a certain area. At my club we are permitted 4 stands at one time, I can move those stands when ever I choose but I must take down the same amount of existing stands prior to hanging stands in new area's. It is very rare if I dont start the season with atleast 2 new stand locations ( some times all 4) out of the 4 stand locations I ended the season with the previous year.
You cant take for granted whether and area is going to be hot from one week to the next week let alone one year to the next. Like I said earlier, doing so is hoping not hunting. Deciding where to hunt based on past experiences is the reason why some of our members kill a buck every 3-5 years and others kill a buck each and every year. Good luck. Pike
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Old 09-07-2011, 08:11 PM
  #13  
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J pike, thanks for your time and knowledge.
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Old 09-08-2011, 06:27 PM
  #14  
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I had pictures of a few nice Bucks on our Farm...then they pretty well disapeared,eventually they will start moving and leaving scrapes and rubs and traveling around looking for the Doe's.Patients and smart scouting is Your best strategy in the long run.
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