If you take that kind of approach care, I'm sure you can get away with a lot. My problem is many camera sites I want to use are along old logging roads that run down ridgelines. The only way to access those sites is to either walk or drive down the ridgeline, which also happens to be the primary deer travel corridor.
Bryan,
Good point...but allow me to elaborate a tad!
Approaching with care is relative. If one is talking about pulling SD cards in an area...say a yard of a residential neighborhood, where deer encounter human scent on a regular basis, with ZERO negative association, walk to that camera barefoot every few hours and leave human hair nearby.
Big Mature bucks or does may become wary if they have had Pryor negative encounters with this type of scent. But these deer will be much more tolerant of human intrusion than deer who have been hunted since birth, and seen other deer killed associated with the scent of man. In other words little if any positive human interaction.
Positive human interaction might be watching humans as they feed in a food plot or fill a feeder or drive a tractor or do something that results in human = positive.
Vs.
MOST Human encounters they have involve some type of FEAR. Like 4 wheeler = human pressure.
Gravel popping = human pressure after a summer of low gravel activity followed by a Fall of high gravel activity.
Don't believe me.
Well believe this. Mature deer are often as smart a a mature German Shepherd.
The degree of "smartness" varies dramatically from dog to dog and deer to deer.
That is why, on a BROAD basis, cell cam =no human intrusion after initial set up = less Fair Chase.
BSK asked
"Just out of curiosity, can you define NON manipulated habitat. Hasn't all habitat in TN been manipulated by Man?"
Big public Hardwoods, hills and Hollers, not hunting over a rich, "least factor" food plot or feeder! In other words you going to the deer, on their turf. Not Bringing the deer to you!
Trust me, I DO BOTH! NOTHING wrong with either.
But one is FAR easier than the other!
