Scouting with a trail camera makes it much easier to find bucks and learn about their habits. Although trail cameras are commonly used now, hunters have different ideas about the best ways to use them. Some even doubt the usefulness of the information they provide. In this article, we will look at how trail camera scouting can help you to get a trophy buck.
Game cameras can help you to do your homework, so you will be prepared on the opening day of the season. While luck plays an important part, your skills, preparation, and hard work are indispensable. You will need all of them if you’re going to take a trophy buck in the next season.
If you’ve been hunting in a densely forested, hilly area, you may not even be aware of the presence of big bucks. Fields attract animals from all over the area, so that’s a good place to scout for bucks.
Let’s take a closer look at how trail camera scouting can help you to get a trophy buck:
Find out if there are any big bucks in the area
If you set up a few hunting cameras in the area, you may be surprised to see pics of bucks that you never knew about. A good game camera will help you to identify any Trophy bucks in the area.
Most photos of big bucks are taken at night, which is when they tend to be more active and emerge from dense cover. A camera with infrared flash will help you to capture images of deer at night. Red-glow infrared flash or no-glow infrared flash are less likely to startle edgy bucks than white flash.
Study the habits of big bucks
Once you’ve spotted a big buck, you can observe its habits and look for patterns in its behavior. This will help you to determine where you’re likely to find it at different times of the day and night. These insights can improve your chances of taking the trophy buck you’ve always dreamed of.
Trail camera scouting requires patience because the buck you’re keeping track of may disappear for long periods of time. You may think that it has moved to another area or that something has happened to it. However, if you keep searching for it, your patience may be rewarded and it may appear again.
How to be at the right place at the right time
One day, with some luck, you may be in the right place at the right time. The buck you’re looking for may walk up to the place where you’re lying in wait for it. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity can help you to get it.
As every hunter knows, it isn’t easy, but a combination of preparation and luck can help you to have the buck in your sights. Deer camera scouting will improve your chances of success.
Be ready when the buck becomes active in the daytime
A big buck that’s only been active in the night may suddenly change its nocturnal activity pattern and start moving around in the daytime. Your trail cameras will alert you when this happens. You need to be ready for this change and use it to your advantage to get the buck.
Trail cam images can also indicate that the buck you’re tracking has started moving out of dense cover. It may have started visiting adjacent fields to graze. Your game cams will help you to identify the routes the buck takes on its way to the fields.
Use the scouting material to pick the best hunting sites
The scouting material will help you to pick hunting sites where your chances of success are high. You can pick a site based on the movements of the buck that are revealed by your game cams. Before picking a site, consider how easy it is to get it, the time of the day and the wind direction.
Your chances of success will be lower if you don’t use a trail camera to scout for bucks. Without the scouting material, you will not be sure about the presence of any big bucks in the area or about their current behavior patterns.
Pick the right trail camera
While a high megapixel count is given a lot of importance, it’s not the only thing to consider while choosing a trail camera. Think about your needs, priorities, and budget while choosing a camera.
Some of the features to consider are the battery life, type of flash and its range, trigger speed, recovery time, detection zone, customized image modes, cellular connectivity and video capture. Compare unedited images from a few cameras before choosing one of them.
Trail camera scouting will help you to find big bucks and study their behavior. This will improve your chances of being in the right place at the right time to take a trophy buck. Good luck!
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