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Locating new bucks

meyeri

meyeri

PMA Member
I'm curious as to how long you guys leave cameras in one place this time of year before you adjust them to try to locate mature bucks. I'm hunting new ground so mineral sites aren't established at all.

I know summer patterns are different so patterning deer right now doesn't guarantee anything, but I hate wasting corn and cams on areas that may not have many mature deer.
 
A lot of different factors here, but I would say two, maybe three, weeks this time of year.

They are hitting minerals and forage pretty hard this time of year, so corn probably wont pull them in as much.

BTW - Also try to mix in a bag of cracked corn when you put down your trail cam bait. The cracked corn is more fragrant and will pull in deer from further distances.

Good luck
 
I leave them out- if I have 10 bucks on camera now- a majority of them usually disappear come late Sept early Oct and new ones arrive-
 
Lot's of variables here, so take my answers as FWIW...

We normally have cams out from about June 1st on and for us, the norm is to get 3 or 4 older bucks on cam pretty regularly over the summer months. (I am not counting 1 and 2 year olds, only 3 years and older.) It is common that 1 or 2 of those "summer bucks" quit showing up regularly around Sept 1 each year, but, in their place is another 2 or 3 that we don't see throughout the summer.

AND...almost every year we have pictures of a older buck that we only get on cam once per year. It is almost as though they go on a walkabout and check out their whole range in the middle of the summer...but then go back home and stay there for the most part. This seems to always happen in July from what I can recall.

Soooo, I definitely want cams out during July and August...and then again in late Sept...with the late Sept lineup being a pretty good reflection of what will be seen on the hoof during the hunting season.
 
I run cams from June on also the first 2 weeks no mature bucks on the third week had 2 mature bucks.Also notice when weather is cooler seems they will travel farther & seem to catch a couple more mature bucks on cam.Same thing in September seem to loose the mature bucks for a while don't no if it is due to shedding velvet or what?They usually show back up towards end of September only during dark.I don't seem to have many Mature buck sightings til the rut.I assume this is just the area I am in.I believe they spend most of there time early on to the south of my hunting property.It varies on every piece of land.Some public ground I hunt I see mature bucks early on.
 
Daver said:
Lot's of variables here, so take my answers as FWIW...

We normally have cams out from about June 1st on and for us, the norm is to get 3 or 4 older bucks on cam pretty regularly over the summer months. (I am not counting 1 and 2 year olds, only 3 years and older.) It is common that 1 or 2 of those "summer bucks" quit showing up regularly around Sept 1 each year, but, in their place is another 2 or 3 that we don't see throughout the summer.

AND...almost every year we have pictures of a older buck that we only get on cam once per year. It is almost as though they go on a walkabout and check out their whole range in the middle of the summer...but then go back home and stay there for the most part. This seems to always happen in July from what I can recall.

Soooo, I definitely want cams out during July and August...and then again in late Sept...with the late Sept lineup being a pretty good reflection of what will be seen on the hoof during the hunting season.
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Pretty spot on, on my farm too. We have one giant that shows up in August each year then he is gone. Almost wish he don't show up this year he will be stupid big....The thing I can't get over on our farm is how much the genetics carry over in our younger bucks. Every year we will have 3-6 bucks with tall split brows.
 
Sometimes just moving them a bit can make a huge difference. Lot of times they are there just not in front of the cam. I wouldn't be afraid to move the around some. Deer cane can work great to get the attention, or apples. I have had only a few in a spot then move less than 100 yds and have good luck.
 
Oct-Lull said:
Sometimes just moving them a bit can make a huge difference. Lot of times they are there just not in front of the cam. I wouldn't be afraid to move the around some. Deer cane can work great to get the attention, or apples. I have had only a few in a spot then move less than 100 yds and have good luck.
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Great advice! I have 2 cameras 75 yards apart and not 1 of the bucks is on both cams. Yet I have Other cams where they may be 200 yards apart and I get all the same bucks. I know I saw 37 bucks in 5 days last year and only a hand full went in front of a camera...
 
I have spots I keep a camera in all year...when I get pics of a mature deer in hard horn, I usually use other cameras to the try to find his bedding area...once I find it I back back out until I hunt him.
 
Oct-Lull said:
Sometimes just moving them a bit can make a huge difference. Lot of times they are there just not in front of the cam. I wouldn't be afraid to move the around some.
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That's what I'm thinking about doing, In the past I let them sit in the same place. I only ask because last year on family ground with high hunting pressure around I kept cams out all year even though I didn't get any mature bucks during the summer. Nothing ever showed up over 120 inches on established mineral sites so I wished I would have put the cams to work elsewhere since there weren't any deer with worth hunting regularly on the property.
 
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