No cam hunting

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Closed on a new farm the other day and honestly hadnt messed with it outside of a quick walk or two. Haven’t hunted it or hung any cameras. Buddy and his boy came up this weekend and I said let’s go hunt the new farm and sit in the box stand. That was fun! Saw 6 bucks between Saturday pm and Sunday am, but the best part was they were all brand new to me since I wasn’t running cameras. The unknown was awesome. Took my back to how I grew up hunting. Granted I love looking at deer pics but these hunts were super enjoyable because of the element of surprise. On my other places I feel like I know everything about every buck regularly using since I’ve been spying on them for the last 5 months nonstop. I think I’m going to just try a post season survey and maybe run all of August and that’s it on this farm.

 

[SwampCat]

I hunt a lot on on public land and no cams allowed. The element of surprise adds to the hunt. My standards are lower on that public ground

 

[hillrunner]

Closed on a new farm the other day and honestly hadnt messed with it outside of a quick walk or two. Haven’t hunted it or hung any cameras. Buddy and his boy came up this weekend and I said let’s go hunt the new farm and sit in the box stand. That was fun! Saw 6 bucks between Saturday pm and Sunday am, but the best part was they were all brand new to me since I wasn’t running cameras. The unknown was awesome. Took my back to how I grew up hunting. Granted I love looking at deer pics but these hunts were super enjoyable because of the element of surprise. On my other places I feel like I know everything about every buck regularly using since I’ve been spying on them for the last 5 months nonstop. I think I’m going to just try a post season survey and maybe run all of August and that’s it on this farm.

I'm starting to wonder if we lost something important with the advent of cams without realizing it at first. It was so eye opening and exciting when I got into trail cams 20 years ago, I never considered it could lessen the experience of the hunt someday. The first time i got a buck in a scrape or rub was amazing to me. I still have the photos (actual photos) Now i get pics like that daily. I feel like cell cams have taken removing the wonder from the woods to a whole new level.

I still have cameras but I find myself longing for the days when whitetails were far more mysterious to me.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I'm starting to wonder if we lost something important with the advent of cams without realizing it at first. It was so eye opening and exciting when I got into trail cams 20 years ago, I never considered it could lessen the experience of the hunt someday. The first time i got a buck in a scrape or rub was amazing to me. I still have the photos (actual photos) Now i get pics like that daily. I feel like cell cams have taken removing the wonder from the woods to a whole new level.

I still have cameras but I find myself longing for the days when whitetails were far more mysterious to me.

Amen. I’ve said i was going to do it a hundred times but I can’t quit it…yet. Honestly I’m starting to ween off the cell cam addiction. It’s a babystep. This weekend was a real eye opener. It was as much fun as I’ve had this season, and I killed a 150 with my bow so that’s saying something!

 

[Telemark]

I think this is another case of an unfortunate tendency to make an issue black and white.

Cameras can be a huge help, and they can be no help, and they can be a hindrance. It depends on the circumstances.

 

[SwampCat]

without a doubt, on my place, cameras save countless bucks. We pass a ton of bucks in hopes of seeing the one or two we are after. If we didnt have cameras, the 3 yr old 115” bucks would catch hell. Sometimes we go all year without killing a buck. Pre cameras - that NEVER happened

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Definitely not for everyone. I have very high standards and hunt alone so I’m not worried about making a mistake. I just love looking at deer so it would be the only reason I could never quit.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I can certainly understand both sides of the argument. I like cameras more and more. Simply because I enjoy those glimpses of nature and wildlife I might not ever get to see otherwise. I save photos all the time of interesting animal behavior from all species. I agree with SwampCat as well, I like to know what my upper level of bucks is. I still shoot the buck that I appeals to me not matter the score. I don't get hung up on targeting only 1 buck that I might only have a couple of pictures of. Its neat to document the history of a deer prior to its harvest as well. I can see frustration setting in though when you don't have a buck you deem a shooter and thus you fail to hunt simply because you don't think there is anything worth hunting on your land. I think there have been studies done and personally I have no doubt that there are deer that either by luck or maybe "intelligence" avoid the cameras and they still show up as a surprise when hunting.

 

[hillrunner]

Amen. I’ve said i was going to do it a hundred times but I can’t quit it…yet. Honestly I’m starting to ween off the cell cam addiction. It’s a babystep. This weekend was a real eye opener. It was as much fun as I’ve had this season, and I killed a 150 with my bow so that’s saying something!

I think cell cams have had a negative affect on my enjoyment of hunting much more than regular cameras. Thankfully I only have 4. I stopped buying them pretty quickly when I realized that too much information was killing the fun. I keep mine set to dump pictures at midnight and noon rather than instantly but it's still enough that i have a pretty good idea what's around without ever having to go look for myself.
Without cameras, I would definitely be more likely to kill 4 year olds and even the occasional big 3 yo. I study pictures from current and past years like there's a test in order to figure out ages.

 

[Tree Spud]

I used to put cameras out from June till February. I began to get disappointed when I didn't the bucks I wanted to see when I would check the cams on the weekend. I learned that i was getting frustrated before the season even opened, or frustrated after opening when I did not see what I expected to see. Was sucking some of the joy out of my hunting.

I now have less cams and mostly use them to confirm travel so i can confirm a stand location. Fun to see when you have a big one or 2, but less cams, gadgets, calls, etc. is leading enjoying the hunt more.

 

[Mortenson]

I don't do cell cams. Don't like them. Still considering using one for a remote fence that borders the wild west corner of our farm, strictly for surveillance and to prosecute poachers. I guess I don't see how live surveillance allows for the fair chase of game. I understand circumstances dictate many don't (can't) use it live.

I use normal trail cams to ID bucks. Absolutely don't want to whack a big 3.5, and it saved our biggest 3.5 this year on one of my two bowhunts. As much as I like mystery, I dislike taking a good one before his time even more. That's my justification. And to check survival through the seasons. In rural yet cwd IL country, the deer don't get a damn break. I feel justified in at least checking to see who's out there.

Finally, I chalk this up to the evolution of an individual hunter. Some got their thrills from trail cams 20 yrs ago, while youths may be having those same emotions today.

 

[Mortenson]

And congrats on the new closing! Let's hear a detail.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

And congrats on the new closing! Let's hear a details

Oh thanks! I detailed it a bit on my property tour thread. It’s just shy of 200 acres .5 mile from my main place. Unfortunately doesn’t border it but my buddy and good neighbor is sandwiched between both of the properties so I have high hopes. Best part about it is an 8 acre field right in the middle completely secluded that has historically been in fescue. When I get my ducks in a row it will be alfalfa and hold a pile of deer!

 

[TreeDaddy]

Definitely not for everyone. I have very high standards and hunt alone so I’m not worried about making a mistake. I just love looking at deer so it would be the only reason I could never quit.

never gets old

bill

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I bowhunt some pretty massive northern big woods...no mast, no ag, browse and cover everywhere. It's a fairly flat mixed hardwoods/spruce plateau with no real travel corridors or predictable lines of movements. Trail cams absolutely make my hunting experience more enjoyable than it would be without them. For example, this year the deer pop. around here was extremely low. I saw A SINGLE deer during the 6 week bow season and a 2 week shotgun season. One deer. However, my trail cams kept revealing daylight pics of bucks on their feet around my stands....so I kept hunting. Without those pics I probably would have given up after the first 3 or 4 weeks of seeing nothing. But they gave me hope and I remained optimistic despite weeks and weeks of cold and lonely nights in the stand. LOL.

 

[Hawkeye]

I have been using cell cams in sensitive areas for 4-5 years. Over the past year, I changed them to areas where trespassers would be vulnerable.

These are areas where I still get some deer pics. But knowing I will get real time photos of a trespasser eases my mind. Also keep an old broken cell cam up in plain sight in these areas.

I do run regular cams a little out on the edges, but don't really go crazy with it like I used to.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Cameras can absolutely ruin or spike hunting enthusiasm. I only had one buck on camera at my place that I’d have shot this year and only twice. After my neighbor shot him there has been little incentive to hunt. I still have plenty of elk in the freezer so have minimal reason to shoot a doe.

On the flip side there have been times in northern mn where the sits have been awful actionless but pics of a nice buck in daylight keeps hope alive!

 

[Brian662]

Cameras saved that 145-150" 10 pointer I passed on twice while waiting for the big one that I eventually shot during gun season.

Without cameras, I would have shot the 10 pointer and been happy as can be, so I guess I've been on both sides of the camera roller coaster this year. Knowing there was a high likelihood of tag soup and being fine with that plays a big part.

On a side note, think of how many properties have sold and at inflated values because of trail camera images on the listing, or maybe a lack thereof.

 

[westonwhitetail]

Cameras saved that 145-150" 10 pointer I passed on twice while waiting for the big one that I eventually shot during gun season.

Without cameras, I would have shot the 10 pointer and been happy as can be, so I guess I've been on both sides of the camera roller coaster this year. Knowing there was a high likelihood of tag soup and being fine with that plays a big part.

On a side note, think of how many properties have sold and at inflated values because of trail camera images on the listing, or maybe a lack thereof.

The value of a 100 camera to get pictures of a couple good bucks before you sell has to have an incredible return on investment!

I still love my cameras, but I know early in my bowhunting career I passed numerous "good" bucks waiting for the 1-2 giants I had on camera. I think it hurt my experience because I really should have been taking a couple of those good bucks over the years to learn how to seal the deal if you know what I mean. Now things have changed. Its great to get the giants on cam to get excited and have something to dream about in the stand, but I have young kids and don't have all the time in the world to hunt and wait for those big ones. So lately the cameras don't affect my hunting as much and I have learned to take what makes me happy and puts some venison in the freezer.

 

[Turkish]

Cameras have been interesting to use but I feel like they’ve taken some of the magic out of hunting. Pre-cameras, a nice buck was truly a ghost and an encounter was truly unique. Most likely no one had ever laid eyes on that deer. Now, with feeders and cameras, no buck is new, special, unknown.