Blasphemy I tell you...

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Been feeling weird about deer season lately. Don’t get me wrong I’m fired up! But I’m in an odd place mentally and it all revolves around cameras. I have been running 6 cameras on 250 acres every day for the last year and half. Three of them are cell cameras which provide instant feedback. I have two deer that I would probably consider shooters that are between 140 and 150. Both really nice deer in my eyes.
The issue lies in the fact I’ve been watching these deer since June, I see them almost daily if not every other day. They are pets, they have names!

But...I’m just not excited like I use to be. Naively admittedly, I use to approach each hunt with this idea that anything could happen, any deer that walked out was the first I’d have seen it usually. I was excited and nervous and hopeful. Those days are gone like the flip phone. Every buck that walks by is one I have seen. Hell I can recognize half the does! Obviously a random shooter can and will walk through at some point in October/November but by in large I know my herd very well.

I am toying with the idea of pulling cameras after deer season this year and approaching the following season with that wanderlust I have seen to have lost. I don’t want any stupid names for my deer, I want to be shocked when a 145” walks out and have the range of emotions I use to have....but I probably won’t do it because I’m addicted though!

Anyone ever done this or toyed with it?


Edit: I would keep a couple cells cams running for security purposes but not actually in places a deer is likely to show itself.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Doing it this year actually. Still not excited about the season. 2 uncles that hunt the properties will shoot anything over 100" and there was a bunch of bucks in the general area shot last year that were older bucks so not really even looking forward to it. Drought has my turnip plots non existent.

 

[Mortenson]

Nice thread. I, too, have become attached to a few deer since trail cams have been used. That all ends when I squeeze the trigger. Maybe try not naming them? I don't give them names, but rather just call them how they look. The wide 8, the crooked 10, the new 12. I still run them for security reasons and mainly because I don't want to screw up and shoot a 125 when I thought he was a 150. For the most part, I only want to shoot a buck that I will shoulder mount. That's where the cams come in handy. Help age and rough judge them. Right or wrong, is what it is, for me at this phase of my hunting. Also, the cams can bite you. Last year I severely underestimated a buck's rack and purposely didn't hunt him.

 

[SwampCat]

I run cell cams and live on my place. One time in the last 15 years have we killed a deer we did not have on camera. Many, many times have we not killed deer we had on camera and wanted to kill. Just because they are on camera does not mean they are on the wall.

 

[Bill]

My deer use the yard and driveway for picnicking and such when I’m not there.

Can’t take my security system down.

 

[crowskee]

LOL from past experience just because you get lots of pictures of a buck does not mean he is almost a pet. If he is 150 inches and avoided death this long, then he is pretty smart. What pisses me off is getting pictures of a nice buck like that for a couple years and never lay eyes on him in the field.

 

[hillrunner]

If I kept my cameras out year round, I believe I would get burned out. I pull them around February every year and wait til September to put them back out. For me, cams are dang near as fun as hunting. I can only kill them once but I can get all kinds of cool shots from my cameras.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

LOL from past experience just because you get lots of pictures of a buck does not mean he is almost a pet. If he is 150 inches and avoided death this long, then he is pretty smart. What pisses me off is getting pictures of a nice buck like that for a couple years and never lay eyes on him in the field.

Story of my life. I use cameras to take inventory of what is around and not as a scouting tool though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I run cell cams and live on my place. One time in the last 15 years have we killed a deer we did not have on camera. Many, many times have we not killed deer we had on camera and wanted to kill. Just because they are on camera does not mean they are on the wall.

No, without a doubt. I don’t count any of these deer dead. Though one of “my” good deer just showed up again right now, just like last night and the night before, in a spot I could go kill him tomorrow probably and the season is in where I’m at.
It’s not the kill, it’s the excitement. If/when I see one of these deer I’m not filled with that same “oh shit” moment I would be had I never seen him. And trust me, I love cameras. My first one was the original camtracker circa 1999. I just miss the days of walking to the stand and legitimately having no clue what was gonna come out.
Like I said highly unlikely I do it cause I enjoy the connection with my land while im a way.

 

[Bill]

No, without a doubt. I don’t count any of these deer dead. Though one of “my” good deer just showed up again right now, just like last night and the night before, in a spot I could go kill him tomorrow probably and the season is in where I’m at.
It’s not the kill, it’s the excitement. If/when I see one of these deer I’m not filled with that same “oh shit” moment I would be had I never seen him. And trust me, I love cameras. My first one was the original camtracker circa 1999. I just miss the days of walking to the stand and legitimately having no clue what was gonna come out.
Like I said highly unlikely I do it cause I enjoy the connection with my land while im a way. View attachment 31513

If the wind is right tomorrow you better get in that stand. I love sticking one in a September summer pattern. Because once they start sniffing around “who knows where they’ll fall”

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

If the wind is right tomorrow you better get in that stand. I love sticking one in a September summer pattern. Because once they start sniffing around “who knows where they’ll fall”

I talk big, he's 5.5 hours away but hypothetically....

 

[Bill]

I talk big, he's 5.5 hours away but hypothetically....

leave now. Or better yet sleep in, head out, stop for lunch get on stand at 5:00 and be done by 7:00. (Wind And temperature being the only iffy part of it.)

well ok there is that work thing and the wife and family.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Pick up an out of state tag.
Change of scenery is always a blast.

 

[Bill]

Pick up an out of state tag.
Change of scenery is always a blast.

i used To love hunting Wyoming. No intel, no outfitter just go and learn on the the fly.
My hunting buddy bought a farm in MO. I helped him set it up.

After that we hit Wyoming once more and had a blast. then but I bought in MO also.

Planning our next trip we sat at the table and decided it’s a young mans game. I wouldn’t ever give up what we did in Colorado or Wyoming.

But a hot shower and a crockpot meal is good for an old guy.

go west young man. And settle in the mid west when you can’t.

 

[SwampCat]

I run cameras every day of the year on my place. I live on my place. It is all about perspective. Out of fifty deer, there are only one or two we would kill on my land. Right next door is public land that allows no game cams. I hunt there often. I kill a doe over there with a bow and get just as much out of it as killing a 125" deer on my own land. You just have to adjust your expectations. I float the river and a 14" bass is almost a wall hanger. Some of the lakes I fish, a 14" bass isn't legal. Just depends on where I am. I caught an 800 lb black marlin a few years ago off the coast of Panama. On the flight back home, I was already planning where I was going to fish for bluegill the next day.

 

[35-acre]

Any chance you're interested in changing up your hunting implement then? That might change up the "slam dunk" theory and put a little bit of excitement back in the hunt? As an example going to a longbow? It may change your effective range and add a new twist because you can't hold it back like a compound. If you're not, then maybe all is not lost ;)

How about hunting shows? Still watching them? You might want to back off those. Even 1 or 2 occasionally gives you that "if I spend 30 minutes in the field..." mindset.

I was feeling this way last year, maybe even the year before. I don't have the same situation. I have a TON of state land on 2 sides. So I'm not in the position of being able to inventorying all of my deer. But like you mentioned, I just didn't have that "desire". Fast-forward after having lost a doe that I decided to lay before I retrieved it to bears/coyote and then missed a decent buck and I think I'm back to the old days.

I've switched up to watching youtube hunting shows (Jeff Doyle) where he uses a completely different hunting style than me. So I still get to watch hunting but the internet guys are truly hunting so sometimes they miss or don't get anything and you watch for enjoyment. Not just a good camera shot of the animal at the end of the show.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I am toying with the idea of pulling cameras after deer season this year and approaching the following season with that wanderlust I have seen to have lost. I don’t want any stupid names for my deer, I want to be shocked when a 145” walks out and have the range of emotions I use to have....but I probably won’t do it because I’m addicted though!

Anyone ever done this or toyed with it?

Do it! I think sometimes hunters, through all of the entrapments of technology and gadgets and practices, can remove themselves so much from the hunt, that hunting becomes not unsimilar to walking out back and putting a hole through the head of the family cow as he eats from the corn trough.

You said in your post you probably won't do it because you're addicted. To what? The daily pics showing up on your phone? Coming up with cute pet names for your bucks? The kill? The feeling of success?

35 acres idea of switching it up is good. I like your idea of pulling cams next year too. I can see how heading out into the woods each time you hunt knowing all of the deer by size and name and quantity would be dull. Heading out on opening day with little knowledge of what's on your land might just restore some of the excitement and wanderlust you're seeking to renew.

 

[roymunson]

I may get there some day, but I'm not there yet. We killed a 5 year old that we'd monitored with cameras last year. We'd seen him mature for 3 seasons. Only laid eyes on his twice I think before he was killed. I have a buck I hunted last year that I saw once. He's 6 this year and is the one I want to kill. I wouldn't know much about him if it weren't for cams.

I get the sentiment, and may do that some day, but for now, I still get that rise out of seeing a deer on the hoof that I've only ever seen on camera before.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Do it! I think sometimes hunters, through all of the entrapments of technology and gadgets and practices, can remove themselves so much from the hunt, that hunting becomes not unsimilar to walking out back and putting a hole through the head of the family cow as he eats from the corn trough.

You said in your post you probably won't do it because you're addicted. To what? The daily pics showing up on your phone? Coming up with cute pet names for your bucks? The kill? The feeling of success?

35 acres idea of switching it up is good. I like your idea of pulling cams next year too. I can see how heading out into the woods each time you hunt knowing all of the deer by size and name and quantity would be dull. Heading out on opening day with little knowledge of what's on your land might just restore some of the excitement and wanderlust you're seeking to renew.

I guess addicted is probably a weird word, I think it’s more the feeling of being connected to my farm that I love so much but is 5 1/2 hours away. It almost makes me feel like I am there when those cameras start going off every evening.
Another thing that I feel like I have sacrificed with the reliance on these cameras is an understanding of how to hunt. Back in the day i use to pour over aerial and topographic maps trying to get a feel for how deer would actually use the landscape. I would scout several weekends before and after the season. Now it’s “well he’s been showing up here every evening so I guess I will sit here”. Kinda makes me feel like less of a hunter.
I’m under no illusion it is for everyone, just like I won’t hunt out or a blind or sit over bait. I have my preferences and I’m leaning toward weaning myself off of cameras. One caveat, I think post season survey could be useful.

 

[bigbendmarine]

Howaboutthemdawgs, VERY much understand where you're coming from... BUT...

First, will say that as my place goes regular camera hits in spring and summer do NOT equate to daily hits in fall. The bucks, especially mature ones, have a 6th sense for when season's over and they're safe, and I regularly see and follow bachelor groups from the time they drop horns until rut is approaching. But let the temps start dropping a bit, folks start shooting at doves and sighting in rifles for deer season and my mature bucks get REAL smart, REAL quick. I generally do harvest one or two bucks I'm familiar with / have followed, but still have really pay attention to wind, hunt cold fronts to see them with any daylight at all, and then sometimes make all day sits for them to slip up

And also would share that each year I usually have at least one or two unknown / surprise warriors show up on the scene during rut that I've NEVER seen before.

Not trying to talk you out of camera use, but instead only saying I don't think camera captures outside of season automatically make for easy harvests once season arrives.