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Deer Reacting to Cell Cams

Snail3496

Snail3496

Active Member
Earlier this week I was lucky enough to attend a private seminar that a very well known whitetail figure did for a local hunt club he has been consulting on properties for recently. Overall most of it was basic info that a lot of us have heard and already know, but when the topic of cameras came up he made it clear how he is certain mature deer are getting wise to cell cameras. He speculates they give off an energy or something that the deer can feel, and even when hung high has examples of deer just knowing something just isn't right.

I've heard this, but brushed it off. Surely there are nuances to it I'd guess. A Reconyx, Reveal, & Moultrie are all very different and surely each give off different "energy" depending on their design and signal. Cuddeback's Cuddelink system is surely different too?

I personally don't think I've noticed it, but could have my head in the sand. Is this a thing? Do any of you have any experiences with it or witnessed this evolution?
 
Snail3496 said:
Earlier this week I was lucky enough to attend a private seminar that a very well known whitetail figure did for a local hunt club he has been consulting on properties for recently. Overall most of it was basic info that a lot of us have heard and already know, but when the topic of cameras came up he made it clear how he is certain mature deer are getting wise to cell cameras. He speculates they give off an energy or something that the deer can feel, and even when hung high has examples of deer just knowing something just isn't right.

I've heard this, but brushed it off. Surely there are nuances to it I'd guess. A Reconyx, Reveal, & Moultrie are all very different and surely each give off different "energy" depending on their design and signal. Cuddeback's Cuddelink system is surely different too?

I personally don't think I've noticed it, but could have my head in the sand. Is this a thing? Do any of you have any experiences with it or witnessed this evolution?
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i think this is a very interesting topic. theres been a thread on here before and I want to say it was covered a bit on the huntr podcast. Idk, i do see lots of cell cam pics of obviously mature deer, often times the same mature deer many times. But, it would not suprise me either. different animals can see better or worse than us, smell better, hear etc. Im sure there may very well be something to them being able to pickup on a signal somehow.

edit: I'll get pics on my reveals of the same bucks over and over and they dont seem to care, so not sure I'd say for sure they pick up on some sort of signal. I've also had pics from a normal non-cell cam of a deer that looks like its bugging out. Perhaps its more of the deer just noticing the cam and that freaking them out and therefore they avoid that general area of the cam and go around etc, or they got a whiff of human scent or the smell of the plastic etc on the cam and since its a cell cam people may think that its a cell signal.
 
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I'm torn on why but some bucks really do seem to notice. But it seems like every buck is different and every camera is different. Putting cuddebacks higher and/or in lock boxes seems to help. Browning cams I haven't had much issue with deer noticing. For two years I had a 180"+ buck that would always spook off a camera and then avoid them, but a 5.5 y/o 170" I killed last year couldn't have cared less, tons of pictures of him over 3 years. I do think some cameras make a small click, give off some sort of detectable light, or energy, or something that certain deer don't like.
 
CottonwoodCanyon said:
I'm torn on why but some bucks really do seem to notice. But it seems like every buck is different and every camera is different. Putting cuddebacks higher and/or in lock boxes seems to help. Browning cams I haven't had much issue with deer noticing. For two years I had a 180"+ buck that would always spook off a camera and then avoid them, but a 5.5 y/o 170" I killed last year couldn't have cared less, tons of pictures of him over 3 years. I do think some cameras make a small click, give off some sort of detectable light, or energy, or something that certain deer don't like.
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I believe it depends on the deer. I’ve had 50 + pics of the biggest bucks on the farm. They do look at the camera at times.

Some hunters claim it scares the bucks away, I don’t believe that. Most farms have cameras on it . I don’t see the buck moving to a camera free farm!

This buck was on camera dozens of times over a period of 3-4 years. He looked at camera many times. He also came out same spot even though a camera was there every year.
IMG_4477.jpeg
IMG_4481.jpeg
 
Hardwood11 said:
I believe it depends on the deer. I’ve had 50 + pics of the biggest bucks on the farm. They do look at the camera at times.

Some hunters claim it scares the bucks away, I don’t believe that. Most farms have cameras on it . I don’t see the buck moving to a camera free farm!

This buck was on camera dozens of times over a period of 3-4 years. He looked at camera many times. He also came out same spot even though a camera was there every year.
View attachment 128062View attachment 128063
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I remember him!
 
I'll dive in.
I'm 99% certain it's WHERE you place the camera.
A trail in thick cover (bedding/ travel corridor) VS a cam in a open foodplot or even the edge of one can be drastic on what you get photos of.
I have almost quit putting cams in tight areas. Many years have taught me not to do so!
 
- They say a small potted plant will die if kept next to a cell phone, due to electromagnetic radiation.

- Entire animal kingdoms evacuate areas days before a tsunami hits the coast. Or know when an earthquake is coming?

They are definitely more in touch with their environments than we give them credit for..
 
Cuddelink user here. Have never used cameras before last year, put them out in the summer Of ‘23.

They can hear the shutter. I know they can because I can.

Some days the deer seem fascinated by the cameras. Wonder if those are quieter days when they can hear it better. I’ll start paying attention.

The deer on my cameras seemed to notice them a lot more when I started putting them on stakes Vs hanging on a tree. This summer when I got tired of the vegetation growing up in front of the cameras I moved several away from the edge of the timber into the plots and the deer definitely noticed them more.

I like the idea of the security boxes. That has to quiet them down.

I went from having very little human pressure from my neighbors to having a lot of pressure. Might pull my cameras soon. I really enjoy seeing what’s happening out there but I really need ol’ tall and wide to be more comfortable on my little piece.
 
westwind said:
Cuddelink user here. Have never used cameras before last year, put them out in the summer Of ‘23.

They can hear the shutter. I know they can because I can.

Some days the deer seem fascinated by the cameras. Wonder if those are quieter days when they can hear it better. I’ll start paying attention.

The deer on my cameras seemed to notice them a lot more when I started putting them on stakes Vs hanging on a tree. This summer when I got tired of the vegetation growing up in front of the cameras I moved several away from the edge of the timber into the plots and the deer definitely noticed them more.

I like the idea of the security boxes. That has to quiet them down.

I went from having very little human pressure from my neighbors to having a lot of pressure. Might pull my cameras soon. I really enjoy seeing what’s happening out there but I really need ol’ tall and wide to be more comfortable on my little piece.
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Cudde user mostly also. Seems they have a louder shutter than most cams I have used before. Very easy to hear. Some other cells cams don't seem to make a noise at all but they must put off something. Also think putting them up higher helps a ton!
Overall, I really think it's deer dependent. Some don't like it, others couldn't care less. And I am talking mature deer.
Kinda like some are roamers, or more social and some stick to a small core area. They all have different personalities.

In KS, some mature deer will eat out of feeders, others avoid them like the plague and wont get near them. Again, depends on the deer.
 
MN Slick said:
I'm 100% certain Spartan Go Cams spook deer in SOME cam locations. I have not noticed an issue with the Reconyx cell cams we now use.
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In this example, the guy I'm referencing uses exclusively Reconyx. Made me wonder if it might vary brand to brand because I've never noticed the issue but only have one Reconyx cell.
 
Bucksnbears said:
I'll dive in.
I'm 99% certain it's WHERE you place the camera.
A trail in thick cover (bedding/ travel corridor) VS a cam in a open foodplot or even the edge of one can be drastic on what you get photos of.
I have almost quit putting cams in tight areas. Many years have taught me not to do so!
Click to expand...
I agree Bucksnbears!

All the mature buck pics I get they stare at the cameras if they are in cover or edge of, maybe not as much if out in the open but they know. I get an idea of what's around but after the 1st pics of a mature buck in mid to late August or in May/early April, they tend to avoid that area until October when their hormones take over and they're focused on does.

First and last pic at this location.
Sprouting.JPG
 
My best luck with cameras is to angle them up high as noted already by IAbowhunter l1983 —second would be a tree near a field edge that is not as close to the deer .

Note … this pic . The distance must not be as easy for the buck to detect it, pics are not close up, but it still works for determining what is around.
IMG_3457.jpeg
 
IowaBowHunter1983 said:
100% zero doubt in my mind. Cuddelink do seem to spook less. Hanging cams 10' in trees helps tremendously
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This! Just because you get some big bucks on camera doesn't mean other mature bucks aren't avoiding them. IMO that's why you hear so often about shooting a nice buck that was never seen on camera. I have them give the camera the stink eye before. I have had less problems with Browning. Haven't tried Cuddelink.
 
This has been a great thread. I love hearing peoples thoughts on stuff like this, some of this has been bouncing around my head for months.

I'm going to add that putting a low glow 10' up would be a great way to catch trespassers. Very few people look up, even when they know they should.
 
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