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Post by dblungem on Nov 23, 2016 21:48:09 GMT -6
For all you trail camera experts, I have a few questions for ya..hoping you can help me. If there is one area that I need to be better at it's setting cameras. I got away from them for a couple years, but back putting them out now. It seems like I'm not getting the quality pics others are and I know I'm missing some deer.
Do you have a favorite or preferred way to position your cameras? Do you angle your cameras down a bit? How close to a trail / pinch / crossing do you usually set your cameras? Do you set them at an angle to the target or broadside? How high on the tree are you setting them?
any other tips and tricks you would like to share would be really appreciated! Thanks guys.
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Post by kspseshooter on Nov 23, 2016 22:00:24 GMT -6
I am no expert. I mainly use cameras in natural travel areas in good cover over mineral sites, or at creek crossings. I do not use them to pattern deer, mainly just to take inventory of what is there. In my experience if your mineral site is in decent cover you will have mature bucks visit in more often in the daylight. I set cams 4-6' high depending on the area. Slightly angled down. Around 20' from the target spot. Of course this varies with tree availability. I do not check them very often do to locations. (Yes that's tough to do sometimes)
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Post by brushdog on Nov 24, 2016 11:27:34 GMT -6
Im in for this too! Thanks dblungem. If there is one thing i would love to get better at would be placing trail cams. I got out of it for a while too and started again a few years back. Seem to always see better bucks on the hunt than i get on trail cameras in the same areas, except for the occasional passer by pic of a mature buck. I see guys on here with multiple pics of the same bucks throughout the year. I would like to be in that game too someday
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Post by missouribowtech on Nov 25, 2016 15:06:09 GMT -6
For all you trail camera experts, I have a few questions for ya..hoping you can help me. If there is one area that I need to be better at it's setting cameras. I got away from them for a couple years, but back putting them out now. It seems like I'm not getting the quality pics others are and I know I'm missing some deer. Do you have a favorite or preferred way to position your cameras? Do you angle your cameras down a bit? How close to a trail / pinch / crossing do you usually set your cameras? Do you set them at an angle to the target or broadside? How high on the tree are you setting them? any other tips and tricks you would like to share would be really appreciated! Thanks guys. I run a lot of these, if I had some points of emphasis they would be: Face them either north or south to avoid over exposure from the sun. I hang them right around waist to belly button height, I'm 6' tall for reference. Usually I'll hold them against selected tree with my lower abdomen to strap them. I generally have mine over mineral sites and set them about 15-20ft off the site. Try to target areas on the edge where you can intrude as little as possible, this isn't an option in all situations obviously Always spray cams down when you check them I usually run about 1 cam per 40-50 acres and just try to cover obvious travel points surrounding each farm. Hope that helps if I think of more I'll add
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Post by APAsuphan on Nov 25, 2016 22:20:05 GMT -6
Main thing is you have to have something in front of it to bring them in. In the off season I put all my cams in front sugar beet crush mineral blocks. A lot of times they will still check these sites after the blocks are gone during the season as I'm sure there is a lot of scent left from the does that constantly check it. I also will make mock scrapes at these same sites and spray deer dander on the licking branches above them. Once it gets to about October I get most of my pics on mock scrapes in locations that I can check on my way to the stand. Sometimes you just get lucky and find a location that routinely produces great pics. I leave the cameras on those special spots all year.
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Post by benkharr on Jul 13, 2017 9:38:06 GMT -6
Do you hunt early season mornings or do you use that time to check cams? I feel like my mornings would be better spent checking cams Oct 1st - 21st. While only hunting evenings.
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Post by benkharr on Jul 13, 2017 9:45:06 GMT -6
Main thing is you have to have something in front of it to bring them in. In the off season I put all my cams in front sugar beet crush mineral blocks. A lot of times they will still check these sites after the blocks are gone during the season as I'm sure there is a lot of scent left from the does that constantly check it. I also will make mock scrapes at these same sites and spray deer dander on the licking branches above them. Once it gets to about October I get most of my pics on mock scrapes in locations that I can check on my way to the stand. Sometimes you just get lucky and find a location that routinely produces great pics. I leave the cameras on those special spots all year. In regards to mock scrapes and travel corridors...Do you ever get bucks on morning patterns Oct 1-21st? I am wondering how effective we can be catching bucks heading back to bed in the mornings. I have only had cams on food sources during this early season period and I have often felt like the bucks are in their bed before daylight, but I have never ran cams to see otherwise. I am no expert. I mainly use cameras in natural travel areas in good cover over mineral sites, or at creek crossings. I do not use them to pattern deer, mainly just to take inventory of what is there. In my experience if your mineral site is in decent cover you will have mature bucks visit in more often in the daylight. I set cams 4-6' high depending on the area. Slightly angled down. Around 20' from the target spot. Of course this varies with tree availability. I do not check them very often do to locations. (Yes that's tough to do sometimes)
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Post by APAsuphan on Jul 13, 2017 11:46:35 GMT -6
Main thing is you have to have something in front of it to bring them in. In the off season I put all my cams in front sugar beet crush mineral blocks. A lot of times they will still check these sites after the blocks are gone during the season as I'm sure there is a lot of scent left from the does that constantly check it. I also will make mock scrapes at these same sites and spray deer dander on the licking branches above them. Once it gets to about October I get most of my pics on mock scrapes in locations that I can check on my way to the stand. Sometimes you just get lucky and find a location that routinely produces great pics. I leave the cameras on those special spots all year. In regards to mock scrapes and travel corridors...Do you ever get bucks on morning patterns Oct 1-21st? I am wondering how effective we can be catching bucks heading back to bed in the mornings. I have only had cams on food sources during this early season period and I have often felt like the bucks are in their bed before daylight, but I have never ran cams to see otherwise. I am no expert. I mainly use cameras in natural travel areas in good cover over mineral sites, or at creek crossings. I do not use them to pattern deer, mainly just to take inventory of what is there. In my experience if your mineral site is in decent cover you will have mature bucks visit in more often in the daylight. I set cams 4-6' high depending on the area. Slightly angled down. Around 20' from the target spot. Of course this varies with tree availability. I do not check them very often do to locations. (Yes that's tough to do sometimes) I very rarely hunt mornings in that time frame. Pretty much all the mock scrape pics in that time frame will be at night or in the evening. I think a lot of times you are doing more damage than good hunting the morning. Most of the time a buck will already be back to bed before the sun comes up. There are occasions though, like a major cold front, that will keep them on their feet longer. A nice cold high pressure day is a good time to slip in for a morning hunt. That's how Mark Drury killed his biggest buck ever last year during that time frame. You have to know where the buck is bedding though to have any chance. A lot of times I will just go to my worst spots and try for a doe. Helps scratch the itch and doesn't burn out my best spots before it gets good.
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Post by benkharr on Jul 13, 2017 12:15:57 GMT -6
I agree with you. This is normally what I do and I don't go to any of my good morning sets until late October.
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Post by boggs41076 on Jul 18, 2017 20:41:46 GMT -6
I typically have a camera within 250 yards of where I think a couple of bucks bed here. I got a lot of pictures of them coming from the bedding area typically 30 minutes to an hour after dark through October last season. Then returning on the same routes an hour to 2 hours before day light. As it got later in the season toward first of november I saw a few bucks of the morning as early as 15-30 minutes after light .
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