Trail cammeras and food plots??? What happend to the good ol days?
02-23-2011, 08:39 AM
#11
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 76
I really would like to see how some of ya'll would approach hunting in the thick woods of the southeast. On the hunting shows and videos it seems it is too easy to sit on a mountain side or a big ag field and spot deer/elk a mile away, make up your mind if it is big enough to walk over and take a 400 yard pot shot at it. Most of the places I hunt you are lucky to see a deer at 100 yards, and that is usually in a big food plot, a powerline, or down a woods road. Not only do plots help bring deer out of the thickets before dark so you might get a shot, but cereal grains planted offer about a 30% protein food value for the deer.
Well what you see on hunting shows is falce, most are filmed on ranches where it is a pice of cake and no hunting pressure. Where I hunt on public land it is a different story. Also i wouldent know about spotting and stalking and taking long shots it is not my preferd method. I enjoy bow hunting and when I hunt with a rifle or gun all of the animals I have shot have been 100 yards or less, mostly less. I can understand food plots are good for the deer herd. I have hunted free range white tail so I understand what you are saying about the thickets they love and weighting till dusk for them to come out. Have you hunted elk or mulies on public land? For some info on my methods in hunting elk visit www.publiclandforthepoorman.com and thank you for your time and views.
02-24-2011, 01:23 PM
#12
Typical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tuscaloosa AL
Posts: 609
yea your right about thick! Probably 80% of the bucks we get on camera are never seen hunting. LOL! Also lots uf us hunters in the southeast plant fields for the deer and like me, still mainly hunt in the woods. Couldnt imagine seeing for hundreds of yards, bet that is fun though!
02-25-2011, 05:45 AM
#13
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,320
yea your right about thick! Probably 80% of the bucks we get on camera are never seen hunting. LOL! Also lots uf us hunters in the southeast plant fields for the deer and like me, still mainly hunt in the woods. Couldnt imagine seeing for hundreds of yards, bet that is fun though!
How about tens of miles. I hunt the eastern plains of CO and we can literally see for up to 35 miles on a clear day. When we deer hunt we can see deer way off in the distance and we see alot of them. The trick is to get close enough. Obviously if we can see them they can see us. A deer standing in the middle of a section of winter wheat is no easy beast to sneak up on I can assure you. It is pretty exciting because we can see them but its also a whole lot of walking, crawling and sneaking around. Good binos are a must have.
24000 acres and no trees and little cover.................
Last edited by skb2706; 02-25-2011 at 05:50 AM.
02-25-2011, 01:57 PM
#14
Typical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tuscaloosa AL
Posts: 609
Wow! that is wide open!!! haha. You can see as far as I drive to one of my leases. LOL!
My longest kill was probably 120 yds, and that was a poke for me. It's crazy how much of a different style hunting we do for the same animal.
My longest kill was probably 120 yds, and that was a poke for me. It's crazy how much of a different style hunting we do for the same animal.
02-26-2011, 07:08 AM
#16
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Southeast Missouri
Posts: 2,178
Personally I like my Food Plots and Trail Camera's,sure the Food Plots help in drawing Deer in close especially for the Youths we take out Hunting during their Special Seasons and it helps the Deer to survive thru the hard months.You don't see as much Farming in our area and there is plenty of big Hardwoods where we still go out and do our Scouting for the Big Bucks.Trail Camera's help in pattering the Deer but when the Rut is on You never know where or when they may travel,chase Doe's or possibly even a different Buck will travel many miles and Acres looking for Doe's to breed?
The trail camera's help us out to not shoot younger Bucks and to see whats out there that we would like to harvest and not make a mistake on shooting a younger buck that could be bigger and better in the years to come.I like modern technology and still Scout and Hunt Old School.
The trail camera's help us out to not shoot younger Bucks and to see whats out there that we would like to harvest and not make a mistake on shooting a younger buck that could be bigger and better in the years to come.I like modern technology and still Scout and Hunt Old School.
Last edited by GTOHunter; 02-26-2011 at 07:11 AM.
03-16-2011, 11:17 AM
#17
Spike
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 15
I disagree cameras are a smart advantage! Even with cameras there is still that suprise, because you may not get every deer on camera. I think its smart and senseable to use a cameras and food plots! I dont really see how its cheating.. you still have to be out there and put the hours in.. I do not stand for fenced in properties however. Food plots help your herd to be healthy. Passing up the young ones till thier older is smart, but if you really want giants you grow thier racks with important minerals and aproprite age. CAMERAS ARE APART OF THE HUNT NOW!!!
03-16-2011, 12:19 PM
#18
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Indiana
Posts: 3,372
I have been using cameras for over twenty years and I can tell you from experience that cameras cannot be used to pattern a particular deer. They can be used on a limited basis for inventory purposes but beyond that, not really much else as it relates to the actual hunt. Patterns change too much through out the year for it to be an effective tool for patterning a certain animal. Cruising bucks come and go during the rut, so a buck that you saw on camera may be miles away during the rut. And bucks that you never saw all year, may come into your area checking out the ladys during the breeding season. So I think if you happen to kill a buck that you got previously on camera, it is just a bonus. I will admit that when I first started with trailcams I was trying to get pics of big bucks, and I still enjoy seeing them. But it has now morphed into a separate hobby for me. I am now more interested in getting good or unusual pictures. Lately I have been getting pics of various animals, not deer, that I didn't even know existed on the property I hunt. It's just like Christmas everytime I check my cams, you never know what you are going to get. Have trailcams changed the way I hunt? In a word, yes. Because it does help me to identify the different doe groups and to know where they like to enter and exit crop fields. I know that during the rut, the bucks are probably going to be frequenting these areas. Also, If I have been getting a particular buck on camera on a consistant basis, it might cause me to hold out for him. As far as food plots go, even though I don't have any, I really don't see the difference in a food plot and a corn field. What it comes down to for me is if it's legal in your area and you are enjoying yourself, as I do with my many trailcams, I say go for it!
Blessings.....Pastorjim
Blessings.....Pastorjim
