Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Wingnutt on September 02, 2008, 08:09:50 PM
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Bow season is coming up and Im trying to get the feel for some new land Ive been given rights to hunt.
I purchased a trail camera but am having a weird issue, by weird I mean I have lots and lots of pictures.. of NOTHING..
I think the high swaying grass is triggering the camera, at night when its dark and the camera is shooting in IR I do not have this problem, only in day time... have tried 2 different cams thus far, same result, Im thinking perhaps im mounting the cam too low, perhaps a higher vantage, looking down would be better, but at any rate, Its annoying to have a full 1gb card with only 3 pics with any animals in them, any ideas?
On a side note Ive seen a few nice deer, but the came has picked up some really nice hogs, which I actually prefer to shoot. Hog hunting with a bow >*
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Here is the best one that I have yet. Recieved the camera for my birthday near the end of the season. Hoping for better deer this year. Found a natural salt lick :aok
(http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x279/dogwood_03/SUNP0028.jpg)
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My father and I use 2 different cameras in two different places. One worked really well, the other had tons of pictures of nothing! The first had a lot of squirrel, chipmunk and birds....things that don't stay put much. When we did a point by point check we found that the second camera had a different default setting for shutter delay/ trip. Turns out the sensor would trip, wake the camera....then 5 seconds later it would take the picture! The good camera had a 1 sec wakeup / trip setting. Check your settings ;)
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well this is the first night for the new camera, so I will see how it does, have it set on 1 min delay, 2 pic burst. found a wallow and baited it today at noon and setup the cam.
Ive had no problems with night shooting, every trigger has been something, be it a armadillo, coyote, hog or the "mystery cat" i caught last night :confused:. its the daytime shooting thats driving m bonkers, grnated its cracking 100 degrees here every single day, so daytime movement is low to non existent, but checking the cam and seeing 300 pics, only to sift through the all and find NOTHING is annoying.
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Try to get 2 or 3 and put them in different places where you hunt. Put them along game trails by your stand, behind you, and try to see where they like to come from.
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Here is the best one that I have yet. Recieved the camera for my birthday near the end of the season. Hoping for better deer this year. Found a natural salt lick :aok
(http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x279/dogwood_03/SUNP0028.jpg)
This pic needs Nilsen LOL
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I don't use the cameras but try to spend at least 6-8 weekends through the spring, summer and fall working on my parents and friends land that we hunt. When we do that we tend to sit in the same places we intend to hunt during the season and just watch what happens around us. When I lived at home I was able to do that every afternoon and some mornings and you get in tune with the wildlife a lot better than trying to plot off of a camera.
YMMV and JMO
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ya may be able to find some useful information here?
http://chasingame.com/
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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.aspx
Bucks 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.
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well Im a loser and work 10 hours a day often 6 days a week so I have to use a camera.
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This pic needs Nilsen LOL
:lol :aok
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Birds may be setting it off during the day.
Slow shutter speeds, passing inside the focal length maybe, do you see streaks in any of the daytime shots?
shamus
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well Im a loser and work 10 hours a day often 6 days a week so I have to use a camera.
Thats great wing nut. Anytime I can be of help.
All I have to do is look down and I can see if deer are using a trail. Good luck with your hunt.
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I have five cameras that have been in the field for 3 years. We made a cool mount on t post so the unit is protected and the solar panal has full sun light.
This year they have been acting up so I hope to get one more season out of my investment.
Their a great tool that really allows to pick and choose before your hunt.
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From what I've learned with my paintball turret, a bit of wind moving a larger branch is more than enough to set it off. Poor tree had all the leaves blasted off of it in under an hour. Try comparing the position of the branches and whatnot in various pictures to see if that's your problem.
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I usually just hunt when I`m hunting.
I leave the video gaming for Aces High.
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I usually just hunt when I`m hunting.
I leave the video gaming for Aces High.
If it's not the Barta way, it's not really hunting anyways.
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If it's not the Barta way, it's not really hunting anyways.
I know a lot of people that don`t like to go fishing. They like to go catching.
A lot don`t like to go hunting. They like to go shooting.
To me it takes all of the fun and sport out of it.
To each his own. <shrug>
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I wouldn't call finding out if there is any game in the area before you blow an entire weekend sitting on your bellybutton watching grass grow "taking the fun and sport out of it"
Using a trail cam to see whats lurking around FAR from makes anything a sure bet.
also the fact that I use a bow makes it quite a bit more important to know as much as possible.
I don't hunt deer, never could get into it really, just like I don't care to use a rifle either. Hunting wild hogs with a bow is the most exciting for me.. and since they are PRIMARILY nocturnal, especially in any area remotely pressured, its hard to get a good idea where you may get a shot at one.
Im not like your typical deer "hunter" (the term is kinda ironic) who sets up a feeder weeks or even MONTHS before the season a short 30 yards or so (tough shot for a high powered rifle :rolleyes:) from a spacious comfy deer blind, where he sits on his bellybutton like a fat guy an a buffet and picks which one he wants to plug.
Instead I opt scout out an area (usually an unfamiliar one) on foot and try and find evidence of activity, set up a cam, put out some corn and see if any hogs come by, if not find another place.. I try and do the cam scouting after work, go set it up, come back the next day see if any came around, if not move it.. etc etc, If im luck by friday I have a spot picked that I think has a chance so I set up my elaborate "blind" which consists of tripod chair a few branches and twigs and some camo netting.
I cant help but scoff at anyone would would call into my question my... "hunterishness" for using a trail cam.. the way I do it requires much more skill and energy than alot of other ways of "hunting".
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(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a202/TurkeyHunter65/KIF_0034.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a202/TurkeyHunter65/KIF_0053.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a202/TurkeyHunter65/KIF_0056.jpg)
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Im not like your typical deer "hunter" (the term is kinda ironic) who sets up a feeder weeks or even MONTHS before the season a short 30 yards or so (tough shot for a high powered rifle :rolleyes:) from a spacious comfy deer blind, where he sits on his bellybutton like a fat guy an a buffet and picks which one he wants to plug.
Does that really happen that much in the US? In NZ you'd get laughed outta town for doing that. Even guys that think about using salt licks are abused.
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Does that really happen that much in the US? In NZ you'd get laughed outta town for doing that. Even guys that think about using salt licks are abused.
Eh, I set up the stand from about 200 yards away so I have to work more for it.
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I wouldn't call finding out if there is any game in the area before you blow an entire weekend sitting on your bellybutton watching grass grow "taking the fun and sport out of it"
OK...............but I do. :rofl
To start with, you are not hunting if you are sitting on your bellybutton while trying to find game.
To me the scouting, finding the trails and, waterholes, etc. is just as much, if not more, enjoyable than the hunt itself.
If you just want a hog, Brookshires or Wally World can fix you right up.
You can hunt the meat department.
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OK...............but I do. :rofl
To start with, you are not hunting if you are sitting on your bellybutton while trying to find game.
To me the scouting, finding the trails and, waterholes, etc. is just as much, if not more, enjoyable than the hunt itself.
If you just want a hog, Brookshires or Wally World can fix you right up.
You can hunt the meat department.
O please.. Don't ever come to Texas. Its typical to see in one morning hunt 50+ deer and all kinds of different critters. I am willing to bet we have more of a productive hunting and education about game management.
Getting a glancing look at something that has just busted you and making a fast shot so you can wound a animal doesn't fly at our ranch.
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It's one thing to shoot at a deer you jumped, it's another to still hunt. I do. The vast majority of hunters I've interacted with simply cannot do it. They don't get through the woods quietly, are not aware of their surroundings and don't keep their eyes more than 10 feet in front of their feet. These are the same guys that wil empty their guns at deer 30 yards away. Literally unable to hit the broad side of a barn much less a deer.
I've seen some Texas ranch hunts while you sit in an elevated blind overlooking a food plot or feeder. Hanging out until the herd of deer emerges and the stocked trophy bucks with them. Not my cup of tea but it floats a lot of boats from what is on television.
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O please.. Don't ever come to Texas. Its typical to see in one morning hunt 50+ deer and all kinds of different critters. I am willing to bet we have more of a productive hunting and education about game management.
Than who, what?
You have a reading problem or something?
<--------R.O.T. Lifetime.
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I've seen some Texas ranch hunts while you sit in an elevated blind overlooking a food plot or feeder. Hanging out until the herd of deer emerges and the stocked trophy bucks with them. Not my cup of tea but it floats a lot of boats from what is on television.
Yep. there is a lot of that, especially in the hill country. It`s a shame too.
I would just as soon go out in the pasture and shoot ole Bessie or run down to the friggen zoo and pop one in the pen. Just as sporting.
I refuse to hunt these places for quite some time now since this crap started..........if you wish to call it hunting.
A lot of these places will also furnish a deer to take home as an alibi for Moma.
You know....just in case you make a wrong turn and in up a little further south. :)
I had one leaser take me out to his barn years ago and show me a walk-in freezer he had with numerous field dressed deer hanging.
He said that If I wanted to go party, just pay the lease and come around before returning home and pick one out.
I told him where he could shove his freezer.
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I have enjoyed the camera as it has become something I do with my four boys. They pick a spot that they like and we set the camera up. As we are not allowed to BAIT in BC. The camera has allowed me to enjoy hunting with the boys and the thrill of finding out what is on the camera is almost as exciting as the hunt itself. I do as much scouting as my RL will alow but it helps with the young kids to actually see what is there. I think of it as using a fish finder for fishing. :aok