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How often pulling cards ? Affects mature deer ?

isu22andy

Active Member
How often do you pull your cards on your tree stands and do you think it affects mature deer if checking too much ?

I go a month at a time now - used to go every week as a new hunter - seems like I'm seeing more and bigger bucks , I'm hunting small timber blocks / draws .

Disclaimer - I started bow hunting seriously the same year as EHD hit Much of Iowa so that may effect my sightings as well .

Anyone ?
 
I put my cameras out last weekend. Due to distance I won't check them until bow season.
 
every couple of weeks for me- southern iowa cameras 1X/ month since its a further drive. once season hits an I really try and get a pattern on a day light buck I will pull a few days before I plan to hunt the spot
 
I generally go every 2 weeks, but my cams are not set up very close to where I'll be hunting this fall. If you can get in and out easily and quietly then I wouldn't be afraid to check more often. This time of year I try to limit my walking to check cams to less than 300 yds. Keeps the sweat down and puts a limit on the area you'll possibly disturb deer activity.
 
Generally check them a week or two after initially putting them out (got mine out July 7) to make sure they are working/aimed correctly. Then I won't check them until I spread winter rye in the beans around Labor Day.
 
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Wife got me a camera for my Birthday few yrs ago. Sweet of her.. I sold it. I don't want to know what passed by my stands all hours of the night, when I cant be out there. I know there are some mature bucks around each rut. I am happy bein surprised!:D
 
Wife got me a camera for my Birthday few yrs ago. Sweet of her.. I sold it. I don't want to know what passed by my stands all hours of the night, when I cant be out there. I know there are some mature bucks around each rut. I am happy bein surprised!:D
So your simple answer is...never??? Just check the weather then? Haha
 
Wife got me a camera for my Birthday few yrs ago. Sweet of her.. I sold it. I don't want to know what passed by my stands all hours of the night, when I cant be out there. I know there are some mature bucks around each rut. I am happy bein surprised!:D
Often times I wish I did this along with buying a hang and hunt set up and no other tree stands ... Never know what I'm missing that way and no metal rusting away in trees ....
 
I put mine on normal travel/farm routes. I check most from my tractor or vehicle. None are in bedding areas or really that close. But- I just use mine for inventory & get an idea of what parts of farm deer r in. Even in areas not in or that close to bedding- im probably a 2-3 week average on checking. That's just me.
 
I got mine out this wk and like others, I'm in the 2 wks to month range when I'll check them. 2 weeks is more when I know I'll be in the area and a month when not.
 
This time of year I will only put them in areas I can drive directly to the camera. With the right attractant, no need to do otherwise.
 
All depends where the camera is for me. I have a camera on the edge of my food plot that gets checked once a week when I'm there checking the plot, and it doesn't effect the deer movement from what I can tell. But I have one in another spot that's on the edge of a small timber that the deer bed in so I wait a few weeks and only check it when the wind is blowing away from the bedding. So it really varies camera to camera, the more they're use to activity in the area the less it'll effect them.
 
I'll be putting some cams out this week as the bucks are starting to get to the point that I can tell who they are or at least guesstimate their size.

Generally I check once a week by UTV. Doesn't seem to spook them far. I probably check more than the ave guy does even during season and it hasn't seemed to affect the mature deer in our area as we've harvested some great bucks. We have a healthy doe population so there's a lot to bring them in during rut.

I've done less atv riding in my timber this summer than ever so it might be interesting to see if I got any mature bucks around. In the past I haven't had many mature in velvet bucks around and the ones I do have disappear once they drop their velvet. We find this common in my area. Neighbors see my summer bucks in rut I see more of theirs. Of the two Booner class bucks we shot the last 2 years neither showed up in velvet but once the rut was on it was like they never left.
 
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