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. 

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.

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.    

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!

Game cameras have sensors of different sensitivity, so take the time to check your camera’s sensor before placing it out in the field. To do this, simply set it up in your yard and test it by walking past it at various distances to see what works best. Hey, it’s not rocket science.

Many cameras allow the user to adjust the sensor’s sensitivity to light and set timer delays, picture resolution, day-only operation, flash or no flash, picture or video along with many other settings. If you aren’t tech savvy, spending a few minutes reading the manual and testing your camera prior to deployment will help you avoid wasted time in the field.

OK, now that the trail camera can be “roughed-in” to the area you want to monitor, it’s time for me to mention some of the more detailed tips regarding the use of your game camera to hunt those wary white-tailed bucks. When setting up the camera, make sure to clear away any weeds, twigs, or vines that could sway in front of the camera when the winds blows. Another reason to remove any twigs and especially leaves near your camera is to reduce the photos from becoming washed out.

Any object near the flash will reflect the light back into the eye of the camera, leaving you with a bunch of bad to useless photos. If your camera is infrared then flashback is not an issue, but you are still going to want to make sure the camera has a clear line of sight.

Trust me, it feels like a huge waste of time when you check your trail camera and find it’s filled with a whole bunch of photos of the same branch or a huge number of washed out photos. It’s even worse when you can’t tell what kind of bucks are in the photos.

These game camera tips come from experience — and experience comes from bad judgement. So I hope that you will learn from my mistakes, take some great game camera photos, and collect some useful population survey data in the process.

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.

By keeping your camera/s moving, such as to different locations, trails, watering areas, etc, you can get a better idea of which bucks are using which trails — and at what time of day — thus helping to pattern your buck. This data then allows you to identify the area where a specific buck is spending the majority of his time. We’ve all had this happen before: You see a really nice buck prior to the season, but then once hunting season kicks in the buck just seems to have disappeared. At first you think that maybe someone else has lucked out and tagged the big boy, but then camera photos after the season show that he is in fact still there. So what gives?

Bucks may avoid certain areas at times (like when you’re there), but they will not abandon their home range alltogether. So, to gain more knowledge about the habits of the bucks or a specific buck in your area, you will want to set out your cameras in various locations, but of course not just randomly through the woods and hills. Yes, mineral blocks and feeders will allow you to rapidly photograph a large number of deer, and that will give you a better handle of what is available, but you still need to identify a particular area to hunt for your buck.

Once hunting season starts and people enter the woods, the deer know you are there. You may be very careful going into and out of your hunting area, but you are likely not the only hunter in a buck’s home range. With that said, bucks will not behave the same into the hunting season as they have prior to the season, especially in areas with high hunting pressure. What you need to learn is where the buck you are looking for is when he’s not at the feeder. He has to move and he has to eat, but you want to find out how he gets from point A to point B and where to intercept him. 

Be very specific when placing out your cameras. If there are deer trails between areas of good bedding cover and food sources, these are places you definitely want to investigate. Also, patches of woods with thick cover or areas that people/hunters avoid all together should be examined. Deer can pattern you too, you know.

A good place to set up your game camera would be over a deer scrape. Scrapes are like magnets to white-tailed bucks and does – and scrapes will serve to concentrate the activity of deer moving through an area. With a scrape you know exactly where the deer will be, so getting a high quality picture of the deer is not a problem.

In addition, look for funnels when placing your camera out. Funnels can be either natural or man-made. Funnels can include anything from strips of woods, areas where larger wooded areas narrow down, overgrown fence lines, river bottoms, or even roadways through thick cover. Deer can be lazy, too. Of course, it’s usually when you’re not there – but at least you will have the photos!  

Also, don’t overlook water holes and creek crossings. Deer will frequent water holes, especially during hot weather, and deer know where to find reliable water. Once you get away from a stable water supply, deer spread out in the woods and the movement of indiviudal animals become more difficult to predict. Water sources are great places to hunt prior to the rut. Use your camera/s to cover as many trails as possilbe and you will be surprised at what you find.

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!

Tips for Tree Stand Safety:

1. Tie-on or ladder sticks should always be checked to make sure that they are still secured to the tree prior to use. Examine straps to make sure that they have not become damaged or weakened.

2. Closely examine each and every part of your stand for possible and potential problems. Check for rust. If substantial rust exists, then those parts are now weaker than their original unrusted strength.

3. Check all stand parts of for cuts, nicks, or cracks. Make sure all nuts are tight. In addition, make sure crimps on all wires are in good working order.

4. When using nails, it is important to test the nail to be sure that it is still securely in place. Typically, once a nail is in place, the tree grows tightly around it, but remember that nails do provide entry for bacteria and fungus into the tree.

5. Using aluminum nails when hammering into a tree will minimize tree damage and only give up minimum strength, but make sure nails are long and sturdy enough to support the required weight.

6. When installing big nails, bring a portable drill to make pilot holesl. Big nails are hard to drive, so having a pilot hole really helps to get the nail started.

7. Always use a safety lanyard to secure yourself to the tree when hunting, and if possible, while you are climbing. If you don’t currently use a lanyard, now is a good time to look around for one that you are comfortable using. Whether you slip or your stand fails, you will be spared a nasty fall.

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. 

If you were injured and couldn’t notify someone, it could be many hours, maybe even days, before anyone would even suspect something could be wrong. Every time you climb into a tree stand you are taking some risk, but you can minimize that risk. Remember, it only takes a second to kill yourself.

The most common ways people get injured using tree stands is falling asleep, slipping when climbing into or out of a stand, or having tree stand components break. Luckily, there is a simple cure for all of these problems – a safety harness.

However, having a safety harness will not help unless you are diligent about using it. It is not good enough to put the harness on after you have settled into your stand. Climbing into or out of your stand is when you are most likely to be hurt. Ideally you should be tied off and secured as you climb.

Without a doubt, using a safety harness is the single most important step you can take to ensure your safety when using any type of tree stand. Even with a safety harness it is possible that you could be injured in a fall, but the damage will probably not be life threatening. Also, remember to attach the tether up the tree so that it is almost tight when you sit down. This shortens your fall should you or the stand slip.