Looking for some advice on managing deer pics from our game cams. We have a large lease with 20 members and about 30 blinds. We are starting to download our deer pics and want to organize them in a file. Goal is to identify animals to harvest and those to let walk. We have lots of good looking deer, but most are still a year or two from maturity. Want to keep those guys alive and the best way is to put them on a do not kill list.

We have a google account, with a folder for every stand. Pics are stored of the various deer and marked as to which we can harvest.

Does anyone have a better system they use?

Thanks.

We started a private Facebook page for just lease members. Only 4 of us to easier to keep up with, but allows us to communicate on what we see, what's been done at lease, feeder status, and of course, game cam pics.

Check your trail camera manufacture on their website to see what they have. A friend was looking for something similar to you and asked me. I told him to check with his cam site. He used Reconyx cams and said they have a great management system for their cameras on their website. So might be worth checking.

Deerlab

we have 12 members and 9000 acres - run 15-20 cameras. When we check cards we save the best pictures and send them out via email to everyone.

We then have two large boards in our camp house - one is a Do Not Kill board and the other a Kill board. We print 8X10 pictures of the deer and then post them on the boards.

Members will take pics with their phones of the ones on the wall so they can have them with them in the stands to help identify bucks. Has worked well for many years.

I well probably catch hell for this but so be it. What ever happened to the days when a person on a lease could shoot what ever he wanted. He could have say 2 Bucks and a doe. If he wanted to shoot a 4, 6, 8 or a spike he got his Deer. Now you need pictures to know what you can and can't shoot? This is getting unbelievable.

Some leases have rules and manage harvests in the spirit of creating a better long term deer herd and they solicit like-minded hunters. If you're a "it's brown it's down guy", buy your own place, find a like-minded landowner or just go day hunt. There are options out there for all preferences.

I am more like Don K, my interest in shooting older big bucks is no longer a priority. I prefer a younger legal deer for food and for fun but do not horn hunt anymore. I wouldn't have a problem following the lease rules but I can't eat horns and have nothing to brag about, I didn't grow the antler, just pulled the trigger.

Those days are still here for those that want them. You have to look for that lease or buy you own land to set the rules. No one forces you or anyone to use a trail cam or age a deer or tell you what to shoot or where to hunt. It is still their choice. If I am on a lease then I have agreed to the owners or lease group rules. If I don't like the rules I have the choice to go elsewhere to hunt. Why should those that choose to hunt differently be forced to live by your rule only?

there are plenty of leases out their that you can shoot whatever you feel like - no problem with that.

There are others made up of folks who enjoy managing the herd to its fullest potential and are looking for a LF buck of a lifetime.

That is what is great about living in a free country - To each his own

It just depends on what kind of lease you want to be on. That also is the reason there are different brands of cars and trucks. Not everyone wants to drive a Chevrolet. To each their own. If you you don't want to be saddled by these type of rules, don't be on this type of lease.

My lease doesn't typically share pictures. Each hunter has their own stand(s) and feeder(s) and keeps their own pictures. Occasionally someone will share one. I prefer to share the pictures of the deer that I don't want killed. Unfortunately I haven't been there to set up my camera yet so I have no idea what kind of monsters are eating my corn.

I helped you out and set up a camera on your feeder a couple months ago. This is the only pic I had. You're welcome

We started using the BAND app this year and have liked it. It is cross platform, and is kinda like your own private facebook. There is a shared calendar feature so you can put up ranch workdays and what not. You can make multiple albums just like you are doing on google. One of the coolest features I found was the ability to make a poll. I can post a pick of a buck and then everyone can vote on how old they think he is. I think it also has the capability to separate costs for corn and such between members but I have not looked into that yet. As far as a list of shooters/ non shooters. I think a binder with pics or a board with pics at the ranch is the easiest option like stated before. If you needed to make it digital then just make two more albums labeled "Shooters" and "NonShooters"