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Let Trail Cameras (Help) Tell You When and Where to Deer Hunt

Let Trail Cameras (Help) Tell You When and Where to Deer Hunt

Trail cameras aren’t everything, but they certainly help hunters … a lot.

One of the greatest technological advancements in modern history is the trail camera. For many hunters, it’s become a vital asset in the scouting process. Alongside scouting in the field, and glassing from afar, this is a very important tool at our disposal. Where legal, hunters are wise to use them, if they so choose.

I’ve used them since the mid 2000s, and modern cameras have only increased in quality and scouting value. The advancements of technologies are beyond impressive and continue to offer never-before-seen benefits. That’s worth a lot.

So, let them help make the decision when and when not to hunt. But let me be clear — let them help tell you when and where to hunt. Trail cameras on their own are great, but it’s important to remember other means of scouting, too.

Those who only run trail cameras, and use these as their sole means of scouting, know how deer use the property, and cameras cover all the main points, especially high-traffic areas. But it’s also good to position cameras along mid-range, medium-use areas, and trails, too. When you do this, there’s a higher chance that deer are being captured, rather than passing through to the left, right, or rear of cameras. Understand that it takes a lot of trail cameras to do this, though, especially for large and oddly shaped properties.

It’s important to note that trail cameras alone are sometimes enough to get the job done, but sometimes, they aren’t, especially if you previously had a deer on camera, and it suddenly changed its patterns or behaviors and disappears. You can reposition cams to pick that deer back up, but if you have the time to invest in other methods, there are other ways to accomplish this.

Spend some time conducting boots-on-the-ground scouting. This is the first stage of learning a property. Secondly, where possible, glass key areas from afar. During the season, hunt from observation ground blind or stand locations. Then, deploy trail cameras if you haven’t already. Or, if trail camera deployment was your first step, move them to better spots.

Remember, the best scouting plans always involve a complete understanding of a property, the locations of bedding areas, food sources, water sources, staging areas, and trail networks. Charting these things on a map can help you visualize what deer are doing on a property. Then, it’s possible to choose trail camera locations much more efficiently.

Trail cameras are great, and they should help tell you when and where to hunt. Trail cameras aren’t for everyone, but those who avoid cams are missing out on a valuable scouting tool.

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