How Many Of You?

Don't put out game cameras? I still put a few out early while their in velvet just to get an idea, but over the years the cameras have taken some of the fun out of it for me. I've had years where I didn't see a buck the size I wanted on cameras and didn't hunt as much as I would have if I didn't think I knew. There's always some new bucks cruising after the rut but very rarely any shooters.

I'll still use them,, but sparingly.

I like to use cameras because they help me identify bucks faster. I usually have a target buck or two and the more I see pics, the easier it is to recognize the target bucks when they show. Example: last year I had two target bucks, another hunter on the lease shot the #1 buck on the list so I set my sights on #2. I had never seen the buck on the hoof. The day he showed, I knew instantly he was the buck I was looking for. The bucks that cruise through still provide the "mystery of it all".

Cameras go up in early summer and stay until season is over. Feeder runs year round.

I am addicted to game cams, unfortunately. I put them up all over to just see what is walking around out there. I say unfortunately because the darn things always break, malfunction, etc. - usually just when I want them the most.

I agree the cameras take the fun out of it for me.. like you, we run them in the off season but for survey purposes.. I still have them running but don't check as often.

I use on some places but others I don't. The place out in Ozona I had cameras up the first year, but only getting out there every 2-3 months to fill feeders, just didn't work well except during season. I will usually go out the first week of season to fill feeders again and sit multiple stands for 4-5 days to get my best gut check and see what the herd looks like, maybe stick a few cameras out then and go back early Dec. for another week, then again around Christmas.

I agree cameras take the surprise element out of it for the most part, but they are almost an absolute must if you're trying to manage deer with many people hunting a piece of property. Sharing pictures and even printing them out to put a camp educates everyone even if people disagree to an extent on certain deer ages.

Going through 5K-10K pictures each time I go to the lease is time consuming, but it's something I enjoy.

Sorting pictures year after year into separate categories and seeing the same deer and their progressions every year is exciting to me. Helps my OCD as well

We keep the cams out. I enjoy seeing the pictures. Also find it interesting to have the information they provide. Last year we had a heck of a mature 9pt we were hunting. He was on camera at the blind I sat 2 time the same morning, one he was there about 20 minutes before I got in the stand and the other he was there when I was in the stand before sun up. A lot closer than I would have ever known without them.

I like going through game cam pics almost as much as actually hunting. (almost) But it is a double edged sword. When there aren't any pictures of shooters coming to a feeder it can dampen the actual hunt at that feeder. It can also take some of the excitement out of a hunt if I feel I've already seen the best deer the area has to offer (even though I always see deer in person that aren't in pictures).

agree with the op, even though I run 3 year round, 2 watch property lines as well.

I guess the difference for me is I live on the ranch and the 2 friends that deer hunt with me have for many years. They have proven to trust their judgement on mature deer.

I dont use them. Takes the suprize away. Didnt start deer huntin with them and wont die using them. The deer I hunt dont get individual names either other than I saw ol mossy nutts, or signs of one. Tried the cam thing and had way more troubles than it was worth to me. My close friend sets them up everywhere and gets big buck pics year after year and never sees them while in the stand. Sad to see a friend and die hard bow hunter loose sleep over something he never kills. Im old school baby.

I built one years ago before commercial units were available when "home brew" cameras were the only choice. I soon recognized it was a lot more fun and exciting to hunt blindly without any prior knowledge other than natural sign, as to what you might see.

Was interesting. Last year my brother shot the biggest buck we had ever taken on our place. We had never seen the deer before. He shot it and pulled the camera chip that hadn't been checked since our last trip about 3 weeks prior. My dad and I filled the feeder and the buck he shot was the first deer to hit the filled feeder and was there every day for 3 weeks solid till my brother shot him. Without the camera we would have just assumed he was only there one time.

I see both sides, I really like going through all the pics. I like to see how much a deer changes in a year( the ones who have specific traits I recognize).

I run cameras all year. I love seeing video of the interacting. I have gotten a couple really cool view and Picts over the year. It actually builds excite my for me and gives me a reason to run out there Every couple of weeks.

I run them year round, just to see what's out there. I have found that the biggest bucks rarely show up on camera. And, I love hunting pigs.

I love going through game cam pics. It helps give me an idea of what we have on our property (or hanging around the general vicinity), and it helps me to identify deer year over year. There were two bucks last year that we'd hoped to see--one because he's ginormous, and the other because he's old with a messed up leg (and subsequently messed up rack)--that we didn't. Thanks to the game cams, I know they're both still hanging around--and that ginormous one is even more ginormous this year. I also like checking on the does and fawns, too. Plus, sometimes I'll just see really cool or funny things, because wildlife can be weird.

No cameras out for me.....just go, sit, and see what shows up.....

I normally use them from Aug-Feb. But this year I started in late June. I have used them since 1992 and they work well for knowing the number of bucks you have. That allows you with some incidental counts to set a fairly accurate deer density, which allows you to set management numbers. I have learned through the years that not every deer will step in front of a camera and if they do not every deer will get its picture taken. I watched a buck for over an hour one morning. Never seen him on TC or alive in person before that day. He jumped into the feed pen and ate corn with several other deer for 20+ minutes. I took over 40 pics of him in the feed pen and outside of it that morning. When I checked the TC after the hunt that morning I did not get one single pic of that buck and I watched him eating corn inside the pen. I set a TC up in front of my house on a water trough and put corn in between the trough and TC. It was a film camera set on a 5 minute delay to tell you how long ago it was. I watched 7 different bucks eating corn in front of it for 30 minutes. I was video the bucks and to see how or if they reacted to the TC and flash closer to dark. I had the film developed and did not get all 7 bucks on film that day, only 4 of the 7. Just because you have one out does not mean it will take a pic of every buck on the place. I have had new bucks walk in while I am hunting and never get close to the camera. First time I would see the buck and guessing it was the first time on the place. While they might take some of the anticipation out of hunting, the fact that new deer are showing up will add to it just the same. I still get a lot of bucks today on the TC I never see in person. I even see a few in person I never get on TC.

All year long. Two on every feeder, one on each tank, one on the food plot. But I like to study the photos and growth and compare last years horns to this year, not just try to rely on my memory. And to see if any new bucks have arrived on my place. I had three new spikes show up last week for the first time. I don't have a clue what that means.

I don't use them. Never have and likely never will. I do have a home security camera system (6 cams) and then a few trail cams strategically placed around my 1 acre lot, but that's for a different sort of hunting.

I find cameras are only good to invite friends and family up. Every time I invite someone up I always get the reply any good bucks on camera? I hunt alone a lot.

Use mine mostly from July to April and do enjoy looking at the deer and turkey. There are times when I see a deer on camera but he might show up again. Then there are the one or more that show up but have never been on camera. It does disappoint when the cameras have little activity. You have to be there, just never know what will show up.

I use them 24/7 365. I'm addicted to them

Our cameras are out most of the year. We watch feeders once we start throwing corn. Once the season is over we tend to move the cameras to game trails to see what else is moving around. Always fun to see what gets caught on "film."

I put one out about a month ago. We are on a new place and had only seen a couple of deer while out setting stands etc. We were a little apprehensive as to what might be on the place until I pulled the SD card on Sunday... I have not gotten a good nights rest since!

No cameras for me. I want to be surprised.

We are blessed to have many bucks running around. I've seen many one time that I've never seen before and never seen again. I guess it would be different hunting thousands of acres as opposed to hundreds, but we share deer with places around us and the bucks move a bunch during the rut. Here today, gone tomorrow.

I got some cameras last year, but they were set on a couple of trails since we don't use feeders. I did not get them out this year as I've been too busy. Maybe sometime in the future I can afford cellular cams and just leave them out year-round.

I don't use them personally....takes the fun out of hunting.


but I will use them to do census work or to see what is out there for non-hunting related purposes

I'm with you Stompy, the guys on our lease put them out and like to see what's, where. I don't care, if I see something I want to shoot I will

I ran game cams in the 90's and actually had more fun with them than hunting. I guess I still do un cams in a way. My two nephews run cams on my place and send me any "interesting" pics they get.

Nailed it

I don't use them. I like to be surprised.


My son puts them out everywhere.

I use a camera

But I don't rely on it. Mostly use it for pigs to see when they're coming to the feeder..

Between the axis and hogs I gotta keep track year round.

I use them and like them but at the same time they can be a pain, three of the four I pulled down a week and a half ago because I couldn't get the software updated at the lease, and then seeing a handful of bucks early in the year and then them disappearing in Sept. and not seeing anything in bow season. It makes for an uneasy anticipation for opening weekend. Without them there would just be great anticipation. But I still prefer them over not having them.

With out game cameras I would never have caught a pict of this hottie.
That is one heck of a work horse though.

Middle aged, but the weight is quite substantial on the hoof