Using Scouting Cameras
The Fun of Scouting Cameras
Have you ever wondered just how big the bucks are that wander your property at night when you’re sound asleep in bed? I did. I wanted to see those monsters, count the tines on their racks. So I decided to buy a scouting camera and I set it up in my yard so that they would finally reveal themselves to me.
I followed all the deer hunting tips in the magazines when I set up my new scouting camera. And after using it for a few years, and getting some really great pictures of the deer that do inhabit my yard at night I still didn’t have any pictures of the trophy bucks I was sure was out there. If my scouting camera had proven nothing else, it had proven that I had a deer management problem and that I would not be doing any real deer hunting on my property until I fixed it.
To fix this problem, analyze the pictures that your scouting camera has taken and determine what the doe to buck ratio is. Then add something to your property that will bring the bucks in.
Scouting cameras allow you to do this twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. If you have the money to spend and are serious about your deer management, here are some deer hunting tips: invest in a digital scouting camera. You won’t have to worry about running to get the film processed and spending money on pictures that do you no good. With the camera as your eyes, you can find out what’s living on your property or hunting site.
Placing the Camera
Knowing where to put your scouting camera is probably one of the most important deer hunting tips you need in order to get the right pictures at the right time. Deciding where you put your camera on your property is about as much fun as scoping out that perfect place to hunt for you trophy buck in the first place.
Of course, you can help yourself out a bit by adding some things to your yard that brings the deer in. If you should happen to set your camera there around what seems to be their favorite ‘gathering spot’, make sure you have the delay setting on your camera adjusted properly. Otherwise, you’ll have the same single or group of deer staring at you picture after picture.
Scope out your property well and see if you find things like trails, scrapes and rubs and food plots, even a good place for a mineral lick. These places will be highly active with deer and you will want to get an idea of just how active. This is another great place for your scouting camera. Make sure you use the date and time feature as well. This might actually help you get a few more hours of sleep.
Deer Hunting Tips to Help you Set up Your Scouting Camera
If you want to make sure your scouting camera works the way you want it to, it’s best to keep in mind these few things when you set it up.
1. Do not place the camera where it will be facing the rising or setting sun.
2. Keep the weeds around the camera’s location clear so that you don’t wind up getting pictures of the swaying weeds and grass.
3. Set your camera up a little more than four feet away and less than thirty feet away. You may have to try a few different spots until you find the right location and distance to take the picture. Plus your flash may not reach much beyond thirty feet.
4. Always check your batteries. The last thing you want is to lose the picture of your trophy buck because your batteries died.
5. Make sure your scouting camera has a locking device on it so no one can walk off with it.
Deer Hunting With Your Scouting Camera
One of the best things I personally like about my new digital scouting camera is the ability to see my pictures right away. When you first start scouting out places to set up for the season, you can easily take pictures of scrapes and rubs and other telltale signs of activity.
If you’re going to use your camera to scope out the deer on your property, you’ll finally have a chance to see that big buck you were hoping for. He’s the reason you’ll get up at the crack of dawn and hit the woods. And the reason you’ll stay up in you tree stand long after boredom has set in.
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