Scouting Question

[8uck5nort]

Is there any value to getting trail cams out now? Deer season is over and will not start backup until September. Will the deer I get pictures of in Jan/Feb still be a valid scouting source for Sept, Oct and beyond?
 
When is a good time to really focus on patterning?

[DeanoZ]

Here are my thoughts and what I have and will continue to do.  If your season (assuming both bow and firearms) have just ended I still think its worth it to put the cameras out and start doing your post mortum on the season.  The reason is because the deer are still a bit skiddish from the pressure of the season...now, where this will help the most is in mid nov to late season (decemeber/january) in determing the movement habits of the deer when their being pressured, so you can adjust your tactics durign that time frame next year.  I also believe that while deer change tactics when being pressured, you will still find some deer in the usual spots and funnels thye are forced to travel through and can expect similar activity during the beginning to middle of the season.  I ended my season last week..perhaps prematurely as I have since caught a few nice bucks still roaming (and scraping!) near some of the very stands I was hunting.  I also managed to connect the dots and found a few other spots for next year while scouting out the escape routes deer took.  Besides its fun and even though the season is over I'm still seeing deer and having a blast!

[69Viking]

I believe in most places the rut continues even after the season is over so having cameras out will be a good thing.  I'm going to do my best to keep the cameras out until the March time from when it really starts to warm up and they change their habits.  I'll have them out ealier this year too, September instead of October so I'm ready for the bow season in October.  Plus you never know what you'll pick up on camera in the woods.  Besides the cost of the batteries it takes minimal effort to leave the cameras out a little longer and you might get some interesting pictures. 

[HoneyHole]

Normally I leave mine out year round, but I have a thief in the area. [:(]

[reeper0697]

I leave mine out in hopes to see what bucks have made it through the season as well as to see when bucks have dropped their antlers. This lets me know when its time to start looking for sheds! (even though I have yet to find one[:(])

[Demoderby4]

I don't see any downfall of leaving a camera(s) out all year, unless you have a problem with theifs then leaving it out all the time might be problematic, but as long as that isn't a problem and you have enough money to keep buying the batteries i see no reason not to keep it out all year round, never know what ya might catch out there!!

[8uck5nort]

All good points.
 
I have not had anything stolen in the woods, car was broken into while hunting during the 07 season, but no one has stolen blinds or stands, so I will get my cam back out and then check it once in a while.
 
I had a real nice buck on cam back in August 08 that I had my sights on, but he never showed during deer season. I hope he made it to give me another opportunity. It would be great to get a pic or two of him to get me pumped for Bow in '09.
 
I probably should get another cam to cover more area.
 
Thanks for the feedback.
 
 

[HoneyHole]

ORIGINAL: 8uck5nort

I had a real nice buck on cam back in August 08 that I had my sights on, but he never showed during deer season. I hope he made it to give me another opportunity. It would be great to get a pic or two of him to get me pumped for Bow in '09.

8uck5nort- I had the same thing happen. I had this guy on my cam just before bow season but never saw him again. He must have been passing through.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l231/ ... GC0031.jpg

[8uck5nort]

I think the one I got pics of is a resident buck, but not sure. My Uncle and cousin farm the ground around and they say that he, possibly, is was seen a week ago and is still running through were I got a pic.
 
I also got one good pic and think I got the same deer again (in August 08) approximately one week later where I just caught part of the rack.
 
 

[8uck5nort]

ORIGINAL: HoneyHole

ORIGINAL: 8uck5nort

I had a real nice buck on cam back in August 08 that I had my sights on, but he never showed during deer season. I hope he made it to give me another opportunity. It would be great to get a pic or two of him to get me pumped for Bow in '09.

8uck5nort- I had the same thing happen. I had this guy on my cam just before bow season but never saw him again. He must have been passing through.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l231/bergcrane2/MDGC0031.jpg

 
OBTW, very nice deer. I would have put him on my wish list no problem.