Trailcam pics

[Mtyhunter]

My best spot i call the killing zone is the same every year. 1 resident doe group, 3-4. other doe groups show up here and there. Had cams out for 2 months now, 5 of them in this one area, and finally got my first buck pic 2 days ago.

 

[BenA]

Respectfully disagree. We have well over a month of gun season. There’s no difference in ml and rifle. We have an extremely long bow/xbow season. Early season brings in tons of people to hunt velvet where 99.9% of bucks are shot over bait. I think the reality is bait is the most attractive feature any property can offer and with enough time spent hunting over it, an any buck can eventually be killed.

Compared to having a gun season from the middle of October until the middle of January non-stop, that is short. Oh, and throw in being able to shoot them while chasing them with dogs for part of that. Deer are flat out scared to death of bait piles or daylight. My mom texted me to say she saw A (ONE) doe this morning. They are scared of their shadows in some places.

 

[SwampCat]

We kill most of our big big bucks in food plots post rut. Of the dozen or so bucks we have killed worthy of mounting, we have killed one early Oct over a bait pile, two first week of Nov on acorns, three during rut mid to late Nov around wheat/clover food plots but not feeding in them, and another half dozen post rut in Dec feeding in food plots.

The grand daughters do shoot a small buck or two and a couple does over bait - but we dont see big deer doing that - or they would shoot them.

Below are just some of the mature bucks that are regulars on my property. I live here and I am out everyday on my land - bush hogging, spraying, planting, hunting, just riding around drinking a beer - I have not seen one of these deer this year or any of the other mature bucks

That was not the case 15 years ago. We would see every big deer we had on camera - during the day. The deer I am hunting this year, I have never got a picture of it in daylight in two years. Maybe KY deer are just dummer

 

[Bowsnbucks]

View attachment 83810

We have hunted this deer pretty hard this year, starting with the velvet season early sept. When we were not there, he would show up just at that time you would think MAYBE you had enough light to shoot - maybe. When you hunt him, he shows up an hour later.

He did the exact same thing last year.

Isn't that always the case, pretty much everywhere, Swamper?? Here, we set up in a tree stand at point A - buck comes out at point B for several days. Move tree stand to point B - buck now comes out at point A.

Nice buck pics, though. At least you have some big boys to focus on. Good luck to you & family.

 

[SwampCat]

Truth be known, I think everyone understands everywhere is different. I have not killed a hog in the daytime on or near my own property in 5 years. I can go to my duck lease 30 miles away and there is a 50/50 chance I shoot one at high noon. A lot of factors go in to making a deer act like they do and just because my deer act like they do does not mean anyone else’s deer act like mine do and vice versa. I watch hunting shows filmed in the midwest and see video of mature bucks walking through open hardwood. We typically dont see that here. Our deer are slinking around in thickets and tight along the edge of cover. I can put out feed in the corner of an 8 acre food plot and never get a picture of a buck older than two - and move over 200 yards in a pocket in a thicket and have five mature bucks using it. They all might be deer, but they dont all act the same way

 

[Native Hunter]

Grey foxes eating persimmons:

 

[Telemark]

My observation from hunting deer in various parts of the country: baiting can be the easy button, or it can be an exercise in futility depending on the area deer herd. And, there are various levels of effectiveness between the two depending on population size, habitat, and pressure type and frequency.

That has been my experience.

Deer in Ohio tend to hit a bait pile, as long as it's corn, soybeans, acorns, fruit, or something else they are used to. I've even had them eat up a pile of cotton seed that was heavily mixed with cracked corn and Acorn Rage. They devoured an expensive apple bait block, but completely ignored a cheap one left in the same vicinity. They also ignored a pile of rice-based bait that was supposedly flavored with chestnuts.

The deer where we hunt in Ontario won't touch a bait pile in the summer no matter what you put out. Later in fall and winter they will eat apples, alfalfa, and acorns, but they're not desperate for it. They ignore corn, which ends up only attracting raccoons and bears. I've stopped putting out bait there entirely because it's more hassle than help.

 

[Mtyhunter]

Been hunting mainly prairie deer now for about 10 years, and man, it's tough. Smartest whitetails I've ever hunted. Skittish as hell most of the time, and if you bust them out, I've personally seen them cover 1/2 mile in no time flat. They get the hell out of dodge, moving to the next hill on the horizon.
Good luck getting them under a tree w/ stand in it. Good luck getting a mature buck pic on a feeder. It seems to be all about the terrain with these deer. They'll disappear in the smallest of depressions in the field.
Oklahoma has almost every type of habitat there is, and I've hunted them all. Prairie deer are twice as difficult to hunt compared to all the other habitats I've been on.
I thought I would like it better due to being able to hunt more long range, and it gave me an excuse to buy a new rifle and scope for the longer distances. Found out it bores the hell out of me watching a half mile all around me.