Buck Survey

shotgunner

Ten Pointer
17 bucks that are 2.5 and older on 250 acres is a big number , your on a great place sounds like.
Good but not great. Those numbers are double what we usually see. That's why I know this year would really skew our data if we were keeping a real accurate count. They have been pushed there by land management going on around us. Some of it will equal out but some of it is permanent habitat loss. Going to be an interesting few years to see how things work out.
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
I will never get a good count because Im the only one using cameras on the place I hunt this year.
Impossible to cover close to 1,000 acres with 2 cameras but so far the results are sad....lol
 

Lowg08

Ten Pointer
Spot 1. 6
Spot 2. 3
Spot 3. 1
Spot 4. 0

spot 1. Has had 2 bucks killed this season. Had pictures of one and not the other.
 

timber

Twelve Pointer
I will never get a good count because Im the only one using cameras on the place I hunt this year.
Impossible to cover close to 1,000 acres with 2 cameras but so far the results are sad....lol



Any agricultural land on the 1000 acres
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
Any agricultural land on the 1000 acres
Yes there are 9 fields in various sizes. I couldnt tell you acreage wise but all except 1 are decent size.
If I had to guess Id say at least 200 acres or more is field....probably more
 

25contender

Twelve Pointer
I will never get a good count because Im the only one using cameras on the place I hunt this year.
Impossible to cover close to 1,000 acres with 2 cameras but so far the results are sad....lol
I am running 12 cameras at the moment. We check them every two weeks this time of year. Those 12 camera probably only cover less than one acre. The three bucks we have shot this year have never been on any camera this year.
 
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MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
I am running 12 cameras at the moment. We check them every two weeks this time of year. Those 12 camera probably only cover less than one acre. The three bucks we have ahot this year have never been on any camera this year.

12 cameras covering how many acres? Im assuming thats a typo.....lol
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
10 on one camera using scrapes in one location. Plenty of daylight activity and on a dog club! Just can't get there at the same time.
I tried the old mock scrape this year but I apparently didn't pick the right location because I dont have a pic of a deer using it yet.
 

25contender

Twelve Pointer
12 cameras covering how many acres? Im assuming thats a typo.....lol
They are on the 900 acres. My point is no mater how many you have you are only cover a small small part of a deers world. The collective area they cover where deer pass through is less than a acre. One time we lined 6 cameras in line on a pinch point. Out of all the deer we got on camera only a few deer ever passed by multiple cameras. Cameras help somewhat but in the big scheme of things I have learned not to count on them. Therefore I move around alot when hunting. Very rarely do I sit in one spot more than a few times a season. I do have lots of locons up in past productive areas but they are more for convenience for last minute hunts. The three buck we killed so far this year were from climbing stands.
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
They are on the 900 acres. My point is no mater how many you have you are only cover a small small part of a deers world. The collective area they cover where deer pass through is less than a acre. One time we lined 6 cameras in line on a pinch point. Out of all the deer we got on camera only a few deer ever passed by multiple cameras. Cameras help somewhat but in the big scheme of things I have learned not to count on them. Therefore I move around alot when hunting. Very rarely do I sit in one spot more than a few times a season. I do have lots of locons up in past productive areas but they are more for convenience for last minute hunts. The three buck we killed so far this year were from climbing stands.
I see what your getting at now, thx
 

shotgunner

Ten Pointer
NOW! We had the fewest bucks on camera this week we have had all year. But did have 2 new ones show up. Not sure where all the regulars have gone. I have noticed this time of year, not peak rut, our bucks seem to disappear for a few weeks then show back up again.
 

Firedog

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I tried the old mock scrape this year but I apparently didn't pick the right location because I dont have a pic of a deer using it yet.
we have had much better luck finding a real scrape and keeping a camera on it than we ever have a mock scrape. When you get lucky enough to find that community scrape that is worked regularly that is when you get a real feel for what is out there.
 

25contender

Twelve Pointer
we have had much better luck finding a real scrape and keeping a camera on it than we ever have a mock scrape. When you get lucky enough to find that community scrape that is worked regularly that is when you get a real feel for what is out there.
This and community scrapes. We have a few scrapes that quite a few bucks check on a regular basis. My go-to are trails along swamp edges or pinch points. Most bucks will cruise the edge cutting trails looking for hot does.
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
They are on the 900 acres. My point is no mater how many you have you are only cover a small small part of a deers world. The collective area they cover where deer pass through is less than a acre. One time we lined 6 cameras in line on a pinch point. Out of all the deer we got on camera only a few deer ever passed by multiple cameras. Cameras help somewhat but in the big scheme of things I have learned not to count on them.
Corn will change all of that. 1 baited cam per 50 acres, and you will get 95% of the bucks in the area on camera.

Without corn, I'd say you could use twice as many cameras and still miss half your bucks.
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Property manager and owner just don't allow it. Which is ok with us. I find it easier to kill deer without bait.we do have fields we plant.

Hunting is different, but for cameras, bait is extremely effective. I've got cams over food plots, minerals, and scrapes or crossings at different times of the year, but none of that comes close to capturing the quantity and quality of photos as corn. Minerals and scrapes just don't have consistent drawing power, and food plots are often utilized in a much wider space that doesn't result in high quality photos a majority of the time.

That said, I have gotten many of the bucks that were photographed on baited cameras at least 2-3 times on a non-baited camera somewhere.
 

Packfan

Eight Pointer
I see what your getting at now, thx
If you really want to get your mind blown put a camera on corn. Then go on the predominant downwind side of that pile 20-30 yards and put a camera facing back towards the corn where you have a wide field of view. You will have twice as many bucks that never go to your pile as you do that actually do. Lots of the big boys never even approach the pile. Sure, they do go grab a snack sometimes and you get to see a photo of them, but they cruise by and keep on traveling way more often than they actually stop. Most of those you would never know are there if you are just setup on the corn. It works the same way with does.

This becomes real obvious when you do it with two cell cams. You see it real time. I usually do this at a couple of spots once I tag out and pull some cams from other spots.
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
A few years ago I sat in a spot a friend of mine was bowhunting. He had some big does he couldnt get a shot at and suggested I sit there with my rifle.
I sat there that afternoon and the only deer I seen was a pretty 8ptr about 15" wide(I should have shot him on that farm).
What was wild was it was late in the year and I could see a pretty good ways thru the swamp. That buck walked on a string to the bait pile until he got about 20yds from it then made a wide circle around back of the corn and camera and kept on going.....lol
My friends camera was on the bait pile and he never got a pic of the buck.
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
Picked up my cams for the year today.
End results of that farm for the year is pitiful.
900+ acres and I got like 4 bucks with a rack of 4 or more points on camera.
I dont know whats going on there but hopefully its better next year.
 

perfectroadglide

Ten Pointer
I only had two bucks I was interested in on one farm and only saw them sleeping in my neighbors truck at the processor. Plenty of does of which I took two. Lots of little spikes that will be good in about 4 years. The other farm had about 20 bucks around in July/ Aug. Only a few out of those were shooters, but we never even got pics after August. It's been this way for years. I blame it on all the agriculture around here.
 

UltraSlug

Six Pointer
Our main target buck showed up at 430pm under a feeder about 3 days ago. He was followed by a nice 9pt that will also be a target next year.

I think we could've got em if there was a nice cold snap the last week.. oh well, maybe he's bigger next year. Think he'll be 5 1/2 years by then if he makes it
 
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