Jamie from Iowa asks,
Hi Bill, In one of your recent blogs you mentioned using the trail camera strategy that you’ve developed over the past several years to help locate new bucks to hunt this past fall. Can you elaborate on that a little more or maybe even write a blog about it? Is there specific areas you like to locate the corn piles? I’ve noticed in the past that you seem to place a lot of them on field edges. Do you think the mature bucks smell it from a distance which draws them in compared to simply placing the camera along a trail or field edge and hoping they pass by?
Bill responds,
Topic: Where to Place Trail Cameras
Jamie,
I try to place my cameras on the edges, near natural food sources whenever possible. I don’t keep my corn there for very long, just long enough to get a quick inventory and then I move on. The corn only serves to concentrate the deer that are already using that area for the camera rather than drawing the deer to that area. I don’t want to change their patterns or habits, just learn them as quickly as possible.
I always try to select spots for my cameras that I can drive my ATV to. This allows me to get in and out faster and to eliminate ground scent leading to and from the site. I usually wear waist high waders when checking camera also, to eliminate all scent near the camera itself. Look for spots where trails come into feeding areas as prime locations.
I also don’t want to put my cameras too close to bedding areas because I want to keep the deer relaxed and moving naturally, so I my ideal spot is one I can drive to with truck or ATV and not leave any scent on the ground. Get in and get out quickly during the middle of the day.
I spread my cameras around, usually about 200 yards from each other. I am always fascinated by the ranges of the deer. Some of them are on every camera for a quarter mile area while others are only on one or two cameras.
You can learn a lot from what you get on the cameras, and make slight adjustments in location to find where a buck is more daylight active (closer to his core) for example.
I pull the cameras a while before I start hunting and rarely use them during the season. For me, they are just a tool to tell me where specific bucks are probably living and a bit about their daylight activity. I don’t want the cameras be a factor in the actual hunting of the bucks themselves. But that is just me. Some people love to run cameras all fall. Good luck. (3/16/21)
