My game cameras right now are a combination of pigs, does, yearlings, and a couple of 3-yr-old 8pts that aren't shooters. Like everyone, I still love just getting out there, but I'm not expecting much out of this season at my place. Haven't gotten a single picture of a buck I'd even consider shooting beyond a spike.

I know the big boys are out there somewhere, but they're big boys for a reason.

How many of the bucks you've harvested have been complete surprises? i.e. No trailcam pics of them, hadn't seen them prior to when you shot them?

For me, the answer is only 2. Popped a really old 8 a few years back tailing a doe that I guess just never hit feeders. No one had a picture of him at all around me. Also shot a big 7pt a few years back that just appeared out of nowhere right in front of me. Very old, mature buck that acted like he knew the area, but I'd never seen him.

I have a couple of great hunts coming up this year at other places, so I'm not at all concerned if nothing shows up. Just curious as to how frequently people are surprised in this day and age of technology.

Our TC pics this year have come out to be a complete flop. Let a lot of deer walk last year that should be good this year. Had a few mature deer last year never get seen, and then there are always the ones that come out of nowhere. Hope its a good season, I don't believe they just all up and left for no reason. The range conditions are out of this world right now and our rut wont kick in for another almost two months.

Good luck

Our first rut already occurred and I still didn't get any surprises. The does actually just stopped hitting my feeders.

My neighbor thinks he saw a decent buck run through after dark, but admitted it could have just been one of the young 8s.

I had feeder in the same spot for years on ranch near fredericksburg that fed year round. I hadn't been there since thansgiving and it was now the middle of december. I was actually doe hunting and kind of dozing of in the stand, when the biggest buck I've ever seen walked out. He was at least 24'' inside and he was just milling around the feeder. I put my 270 up and I just melted down. I was shaking so bad, I tried to compose myself. I finally managed to shoot over his back broadside at 50 yards. He took off for the hills never to be seen again. I think he'd been hanging around that feeder looking for does because there hadn't been any hunting activity around there. I still think about that buck from time to time.

Since I have begun using trail cameras extensively, it has been a double edged sword. I successfully patterned a nice buck last year using my cameras, but have had many other bucks that I'll have photos of for months leading up to hunting season, only to have them disappear or go nocturnal or roam all over the ranch where they can't be patterned. Conversely, during the season I seem to always have a new buck or two show up out of nowhere at some point (thanks rut). My largest buck last year had not been seen all year on any cameras on the ranch and just came walking up the road toward my blind at 9:30 one cloudy morning in December. I went back and found only one night time photo of him earlier that week at that location on camera. I did not find him on any other cameras.

I guess all of mine have been "surprises" since last year was the first year for me to have a TC. I had a few shooters on camera last year that never showed their faces after season started, but the big 8 I shot last year never showed up on cam.

This year isn't looking too promising due to TC pics, but I know there are big bucks around that didn't get shot from last year.

All Ya have to do is put a feeder up! The trophys will all come! Lol

Before trail cams I killed a lot of deer that I saw the first time on the day I killed them. I still saw bucks that I let go for several years that were killed by me or someone else on the lease at a later date. Now days with TC's and feeding year round not many bucks show up first then get TC pics of after that. Last year was the first really good buck that showed up that I took pics of while he was fighting another buck. I got TC pics of him over the next 1.5 days and then he was killed by my cousin(I had already tagged out in a 1 buck AR county).