Too Many Does!

As others have said, deer can become educated on trail cameras and can avoid them. What works best for me is using a black flash cellular cameras and really pay attention to how the camera is positioned. I try to place the camera where it is not noticeable, by this I mean if you have to cut a lot of branches to put the camera in an area the deer will notice, if the camera is eye level with the deer they will most likely pick it off immediately. I try to put my cameras up higher or at a distance from a trail that the deer really don't notice it. Also, just look at the camera setup once you position it, if you can easily tell its there, then the deer will also. Try to find a spot where the camera blends in well and is not silhouetted. I will often times cut small branches with leaves or other brush and place behind the camera to break it up. This prevents deer from seeing the camera, as well as trespassers. The cellular cameras help to greatly reduce the pressure from checking the camera, the only time you have to visit is to replace batteries, this can also be avoided with a solar charger kit. The downside to the cellular cameras is they cost a bit more, and you have to pay for the service. This isn't bad if you only run a few cameras, most companies have a grouped data plan for multiple cameras, but if you are running lots and lots of cameras the cost can add up.

Another problem with cell cameras is location and terrain. In my area, unless you're positioning the camera on a ridge-top, you're not going to get enough cell service to transmit pictures. Absolutely zero chance you're going to be able to transmit pictures from a valley.

redblood said:

No such thing as too many does!

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Exactly, that's what the bucks are after ! The place in Giles i used to lease had plenty of does and the adjoining properties tried to get their buck to doe ratio close but come rut time guess who seen most the bucks ?

In trying to manage my small property for deer, my theory is that the does are my future.

BSK said:

Deer, especially the oldest and wariest deer, will absolutely learn to avoid cameras that 1) produce visible light or audible sound when they trigger, and/or 2) see a lot of human traffic around the camera from being checked/cards swapped.

The two things I do to keep mature bucks on camera at a single location all season is 1) only use black-flash cameras, and 2) only set-up and check cameras from the back of an ATV. For some reason, the deer never seem to avoid the location because they smelled where an ATV had driven through the area. An ATV will scare deer away from a camera site as it is driven in, but the deer are usually right back in a few hours. However, walk back to a camera way back in the woods (where people generally don't walk except during deer season), and that often greatly reduces deer traffic at the site.

I've gotten to the point that no matter how good of a camera location I find, if I can't drive an ATV right to the camera, I don't put a camera there.

Of course, another way around the problem of deer learning to avoid cameras is to constantly move your cameras.

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BSK, you are the one who gave me the idea to raise my cameras above eye level so deer wouldn't notice them. I immediately started getting pictures of lots of older bucks and have ever since. I was shocked how much difference it made to elevate a camera from chest high to maybe 6 feet.

Got my cams in today to start my photo census. Hopefully 4 cheap cams will do for now. Any advice would be much appreciated.