Never needed trail cameras. I used to setup my own scent drips during the scrapes.
Want to hunt trophy Bucks then you have to learn the habits of the animal and pattern them vis-a-vis the land you are hunting.
First there is deer hunting. A 2nd, separate sport, is call big buck hunting.
I used to scout quite a bit before the season and during the beginnings of scrape behavior. First you have to establish where and what the deer are feeding on. Once you have found that then you have to figure out where they are bedding. The highways between the two ares are called routes. Simply put you want to identify and setup on travel routes for deer and then ambush them.
I spoke once of scrapes. Scrapes are ground pawings by bucks who also urinate on the pawings and often will lick a low hanging branch by the scrape. I can only describe them as what a 200 lb animal hoofing up a batch of ground and then pissing on them would look like. These scrapes and urinations are done for two reasons by bucks. #1 they are often used by buck to mark the boundaries of their territories. #2 they are a method of communication between bucks letting each other know who's around and who's most dominant in order to avoid confrontations between them.
Its important to remember that scrapes are only useful during early season before the rut heats up. In my opinion the early scrape season is the best time to pattern and ambush big bucks. MOST OF ALL if the deer are not pressured and theres no full moon to foul things up or a big wind.
Once I find and active scrape I will setup ground blinds in two spots along the travel route near the scrape. One blind will be in the S/W part of the trail the other in the N/E. That way I can play whatever wind I get the day I set up my ambush. Its very important to spend as little time near the scrape as you can and to leave little or no scent behind. I wear rubber boots and rubber gloves, I throw some branches together to break up my outline and I'm out of there.
I dont believe in looking for additional scrapes or trying to find the entire perimeter of the bucks range. I dont believe in stirring the woods up anymore then I have to. If I find one hot fresh scrape then I know that big buck is going to come back to it as long as I dont screw it up be leaving scent. You have a short window hunting scrapes cause once the does go into heat the bucks wont care about scrapes at all. Then its all hit or miss and your best off then hunting for does cause thats your best bet of stumbling into a big buck, and thats when hes chasing a doe.
Finding the dominant bucks bed is easy. Just look at a map and find the most inaccessible, swampiest, ugliest, piece of terrain on the farm, or nearby, and thats where your dominant buck will be holed up. Remember, a big old buck is the smartest animal you'll ever meet and hes also old. He might make a mistake chasing a doe but he might also hole up all day ,if the land is pressured, and chase does at night. Most dominant bucks die of old age and /or the gun season. Gun seasons usually are timed around the peak of the rut when the big crowds are out with rifles and slug guns. Your best bet with a bow is the early scrape season pre-rut.
I like using scent drippers and making my own scrapes. Ive had a lot of luck with these products here
http://www.wildlife.com/Products/ScentDispensers/tabid/77/Default.aspxBucks are very inquisitive creatures and when you throw them a curve, a scent of a buck theyv never smelled before, they can go a little crazy and go back to the spot again. The heat of the day activates the dripper which kinda forces the buck to come back during daylight hours.
Forget the cameras. Instead walk the land and learn it intimately, while also learning the habits of the deer in the area. Bedding areas, food plots, travel routes, fresh sign, and eventually, scrapes. When I actively scout I will spend an entire day moving 5 quiet steps, stopping and listening/looking for a minute, then taking 5 more. To get into that big bucks head you have to learn that land like its the back of your hand.
And good luck with the coming season.
