Game Camera Tips for Deer Hunters

Earlier this week I touched on how game cameras and deer management go hand in hand. Not only do digital scouting cameras work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week taking photos of deer on your property, but they also give you a good idea of quality. What could be easier? Here we go.

Camera Placement – I’ve written extensively regarding tips for camera placement, so I won’t go into as much detail here. However, for the beginners out there, the easiest way to photos of white-tail deer is to have something that attracts them. Food, minerals, and water are obvious and good choices. However, although these sites are great for getting deer photos they may not necessarily be the best for collecting deer survey data using your camera.

Game Camera Tips for Deer Hunters

Rechargeable Batteries – This sounds simple, but you can save yourself some heartache and money if you pay attention here. Digital cameras (and make sure you are using digital) are great because they can work around the clock. The problem is that they are motion activated and that requires power.

Each time they are activated and take a photo, the camera uses battery power. This increases with photos taken in the dark. The more photos you take, the more battery power you will need. Invest in rechargeable and be done.

Solar Panels – You have to love the sun! Sure, it’s not all that great when your sweating your butt off setting up feeders and stands in late summer/early fall, but it can take your game camera to the next level. If at all possible, buy a camera that allows you to hook up a solar panel. If you already have a camera, get it converted so that it will work with a solar panel. Then, when you get the chance to check your camera, all you have to do is change out the SD card.

Pattern Bucks with Game Cameras

Time and Date-This a no brainer, but many hunters fail to set the time and date when they place out there cameras. Or when placed out, the user simply fails to set the time. Let me tell you, it is extremely frustrating when you check your photos and the times are wrong. Make sure to set the date and time because it, if nothing else, it will give you the exact time when animals were in the area, regardless of whether they return or not.

Locks – Scouting cameras are not cheap. Even the cheapest cameras aren’t cheap enough to just give away. If you place your camera in an area where someone could steal it or if you even suspect that someone could take it, make sure it is lockable. Option number two is to buy an after-market locking system that works with your camera. It’s very exciting to get a nice photo of a monster buck, but it’s also exciting when you arrive to check your camera and it’s gone. It’s just a different kind of excitement.

More Game Camera Tips for Hunters

Game camera tips to get your buck!

Now that you have decided on the best locations to monitor with your game camera, you will need to know a few tips to help make sure that you get quality deer photos. With that goal in mind, when at all possible point the camera toward the north. Not on will placing the game camera in this position greatly reduce the chance of the camera getting triggered by the sun, but it will reduce back-lighting on your subject and give you much better deer photos.

Likewise, placing the game camera in areas of heavy tree cover will also help prevent the mid-day sun from accidentally triggering the sensor. So, if you want to take better photos in a relatively open area, face the camera north. If you are trying to pattern deer using a game camera in a heavily wooded area, any direction will work.

Next, it’s important that you accurately measure the distance from the trail camera to where you expect deer to travel. If the camera is set back too far, then the sensor might not trigger and the camera will miss the shot. Of course, having a deer cross too closely is equally bad since the camera will only capture part of the deer as it passes by — or totally miss the deer all together! Continue reading “More Game Camera Tips for Hunters”

Trail Camera Tips for Deer Hunting

 White-tailed buck captured on a game camera

The digital game camera really has given hunters one of the best scouting tools available for white-tailed deer and other game, but most users fall short of using their camera to its potential. The game camera can be a great tool for seeing what’s out there, but like any tool, it must be used properly for the user to get the full benefit of using the “hunter that never sleeps.”

First and foremost, a digital game camera will let you see many of the bucks you have available for harvest in the area where you hunt. Most of the bucks you probably would have never seen otherwise. The most common practice employed by game camera users is to set a camera adjacent to their feeder or food plot. Although this usually gets hunters lots of pictures, all it really tells you what deer are present.

You’re probably thinking, “Well, if I know a certain buck is coming to my feeder, then I will just sit there and wait for him.” But, if you really intend for the camera to help you not only get a look at your deer, but also want it to help you bag “your” buck, then you will have to get a bit more creative, so pay attention. Continue reading “Trail Camera Tips for Deer Hunting”

Tips for Tree Stand Safety

Tips for Tree Stand Safety

With all the time we spend deer hunting, it’s a good idea to stay stay safe and avoid injury — so here are a few tree stand safety tips to think about to minimize the chance of injury while using your tree stands while chasing whitetails.

Tree-steps or tie-on ladders are great tools for gaining elevation, but some folks still use large nails as steps since they are less expensive. Climing stands are great for deer hunting because they are light and portable, but have obvious limitations if you don’t hunt areas with a fair number of tall, straight trees.

These following tips are really quite obvious, but please remember them because they could save you from injury or even save your life. And keep enjoying the outdoors! Continue reading “Tips for Tree Stand Safety”

Tree Stand Safety for Deer Hunters

Hunting Deer: Tree Stand Safety

In the South almost all bow hunters are hunting from the tree stands and many of the gun hunters are, too. Hunting from an elevated position gives the hunter several advantages, such as remaining above the white-tailed deer’s field of view, keeping the hunter’s scent above that of a mature white-tailed buck‘s nose, and also increasing our visibility of the woods.

Unfortunately, as the use of tree stands has increased, so have the number of hunters injuring themselves through both proper and improper use. Deer hunting has become one of the safest sports in America, but with some common sense precautions it can become even safer.

Tree stands can be used safely. I have used ladder-type stands, climbing stands, lock-on-stands, as well as built-in stands made of lumber. I will not use a stand if it seems unsafe to me and neither should you. One important reason is simply because hunters are usually alone in the woods and far from both help and any type of medical attention. Continue reading “Tree Stand Safety for Deer Hunters”