Tips & Tactics

Keys to Pre-season Trail Cam Recon

Keys to Pre-season Trail Cam Recon

By Jack Baker

God created a variety of food sources that sustain wildlife throughout the year. To take advantage and intercept deer with your trail cameras, you’ll need to figure out the growing schedule in your area.

Here in Georgia, I begin setting out my trail cams the last week of June. This is because wild cherries are starting to drop.

Bucks LOVE wild cherries, so this is the perfect time for me get early pictures of their racks in velvet. This is also when I determine which bucks will go on my hit list.

Throughout the summer and fall, other food sources produce at different times, so I set up my cameras accordingly. I relocate my cameras depending on what food source is maturing, and what the deer are coming to.

Around the Fourth of July is a good time for me to set up over blackberries, wild plums and pears. By then, my bucks will have grown about 80 percent of their racks, and I can develop a much better idea of antler development among individuals.

Apples and pears begin dropping around late August and September in my area, so I move my cameras there.

By fall, when bucks disperse from bachelor groups and their antlers have hardened, persimmons are falling. They’ll keep several bucks in the area from October through early November. This is a telltale sign of which ones are sticking around.

Keys to Pre-season Trail Cam ReconWhite oaks drop earlier than other oaks, and I can get some really valuable recon then.

Incidentally, I set my cams up high 6 to 8 feet off the ground, using the 30-second video setting. This is my favorite setup for capturing buck images.

Early knowledge of a buck’s presence teaches you where to set up your ambush when the season arrives. Hopefully, this tip will help you will hone in on a trophy or two.

— Editor’s Note by Tim H. Martin

Jack’s tip is rock solid on getting a jump on the competition — and that’s exactly what it is — competition.

The sooner you pattern the buck of your choice, the better your odds of taking it before a predator, automobile, or another hunter beats you to it. Knowing your food source schedule is key for trail cam placement.

Keep a simple journal to remind yourself when and where food sources are producing throughout the summer and fall.

Over time, tracking which food locations are pulling in the best photos, along with the dates, will help you predict buck appearances for future trail cam success.

Start a trail cam journal this year and thank yourself next year.

— Photos Courtesy of Jack Baker

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