Is Spring a good time for Trail Cameras?
 

Seems like I'm always burnt out by the end of the season and wind up pulling all my cameras out of the woods. I'm wondering if thats the plan for most of us or if this is a good time to monitor spring antler development, fawn drops etc or can I just catch up in late summer when I put the cams back out?

I just put mine out again about 2 weeks ago, and they will be out there non stop until hunting season. I dont usually put mine out this early, but last year when I put them out in July, I found out that I was missing a lot of nice buck pictures. Plus its nice to see what there is for new fawns this year.

I like to keep mine out all year to watch the movements of all animals, but i always pull mine during Deer and Turkey Season tho since i had 2 stands stolen 2 years ago during Deer.

Last year i had my cameras out all through deer season, turkey season, the whole spring and summer, and to the following deer season. There was alot of batteries used within that time. :D But it was all worth it. Most people like seeing the bucks and all but I also enjoy seeing fawns, baby turkeys, and even does. You never really know what your gonna get.

I am like the others. I leave mine out more or less all off-season. Get all sorts of stuff + a good heads up on some decent bucks. Got shots of raccoons munching on lumps of "mixing salt" - 100% NaCl, does on their hind legs duke-ing it out, baby bobcats, turkeys a go-go, a few massive racked hoss bucks that we never saw again !!!, coyotes .... one great shot of a bobcat leaping after a turkey that had jumped up to escape. If I had gotten all of both animals in the frame, that would have been super!

Nope, terrible time of year...
































Better just leave the cams at home. No need to capture any of the spring time life in the wilderness.

Usually between August and March I will have one out a lot, but especially if I put a sack or two of corn out with it I get so many pictures I don't have time to go over them all. It is common to get 1500 + pictures in a couple of weeks.....

Your missing a lot of nice Spring time pictures by pulling your camera's early...like most have mentioned (and shown You) ;) You can miss a lot of cool pictures and its neat to see how fast and big a Bucks antlers will grow over the early months of developement!I also like seeing the young Fawns and how they interact with their Doe Moms and all the other wildlife that are around where You hunt that you didn't even know were there moving around! :)

Siman08/OH - WHat model camera you using there? Great pics! Thanks!

Obviously how long you leave your cameras out depends a lot on how much time you can affored to spend moving/checking them but there are several reasons why I feel they should be out year round for deer:

1) Find survivors after the hunting season. Sometimes the big boys won't show their face again til january/february after being pressured all season.

2) By May a mature buck will already be identifiable. If you start your search for mature bucks in May, you can check a lot of different areas by moving your cameras around every 2 weeks. I like to use mineral licks or supplemental feeding during the summer when they're in bachelor groups. There's a good chance those mature bucks you found in May will still be there in october/november.

Here is a buck in mid-may, and the same buck in november. Yearlings will only have about an inch of growth in mid may.