disadvantages of using trail cameras

We have a parcel of land just over 300 acres with about 22 stands on the property. It is a mix of agricultural fields (either corn or hay), marsh, redbrush, hardwoods on a hill, hardwoods on flat terrain, a stream runs through the property, and plenty of canary grass. My family has been on this land for 43 years and we have always been successful at taking deer. However, every year I see big bucks on the land and then by gun season, they head off to the neighbors marsh which is huge. I have always contemplated putting out cameras, but never have for a number of reasons. First, the crops usually get harvested (if its corn) the first week of bowhunting which always change the patterns of the deer. Second, I am nervous about pushing deer out of the area if I am always checking the cameras for activity. Mind you, this is a big piece of property and I don't want to be roaming around it all season long just to check cameras. If I can't check them on a regular basis, what is the point of having them then? Those of you that use cameras on large properties...have they been helpful? Do you feel that you are busting deer out of your land if you are checking them? Or, how do you go about checking cameras on a large piece of land without spooking the deer? I would like to see what is moving through, but not at the cost of bumping deer off the property to get pictures. I am very interested in your thoughts. Thanks.

Wow, thanks for all the comments and stories. Before I comment on all that was written, I would just like to say thanks for keeping the thread positive. It is so nice to read actual accounts and opinions without anyone getting upset about how the other one hunts. Kudos to everyone for keeping it civil and interesting. I have been reading this thread with great anticipation and after giving it some thought, I am deciding to hold off on the cameras for now. I also like the idea of being suprised, like someone commented on this thread. I have however, decided to change a few things that I did on my land this year that I think will greatly help in the future. I don't know if I mentioned this, but the goose trail (bike trail that runs from Clyman to Fond du Lac) cuts right through the middle of our hunting property. The deer aren't really spooked by human noise because they hear it constantly during the nice weather months. In winter the trail is used for snowmobiles and ATV's so it gets used all year round. Some mistakes I made this year was moving a stand or two right before the rut, using my ATV too much to get to some of my spots, and getting too close to some of our bedding areas. I have a plan to avoid all of these mistakes this year and I will see if it keeps the bucks around a bit longer. I am a teacher who has summers off so I also plan to have all my lanes cut, stands hung, etc. by the end of July and to leave the land alone during the month of August. One other point to note was that I built a bridge this year to get my ATV across a stream to the other side of our land. I only did this for dragging out purposes and never use the ATV over on that side unless I have a drag out. My uncle is suffering from fibromialgia and he uses it to drag his deer out. Anyways, I noticed that as I pushed some of the canary grass down from the ATV, the deer automatically started using that as a trail. I am going to try to flatten some ground this year in hopes the deer will pick it up as a trail and possibly move themselves right into position under a few of my stands. Happy Hunting Everyone

When I first started hunting I was elated to shoot any deer. Then I progressed and held off on certain bucks. Then I got a camera, and left every season dissappointed. I didn't see or shoot that "one buck". I ditched the camera the last three years and have enjoyed hunting a lot more again. It's all about expectations and mindset. I love to be successful and have meat, but I don't want to feel unsuccessful while sucessfully harvesting my deer.

Awhile back I was talking to a nice young guy I work with about deer hunting.He asked what kind of cameras I was using .When I said I don't use them he was slak jawed.He wanted to know why and I told him I was to cheap and I liked being surprised!I do see where they would be fun though.

I think people (myself too) lose or forget to use common woodsmanship skills with the use of cameras. Cameras malfunction and don't take pics, batteries run out, an animal walks through a sweet spot the camera didn't detect or walks past it during its "re -arming " time and doesn't get on film....etc. Cant just hang a camera and take its findings as what really goes on when we aren't there. Still haven to remember to look for sign....nipped plants, droppings, beds, trails, tracks.....and so on. I think some of that is lost with heavy camera use.

My family has cameras out all over the place. We used to check each one at least once a week. We noticed that more and more the bucks we were seeing didn't go away but became nocturnal. We still wanted to keep checking the cameras so now we only use an atv or the truck to get to the cameras. Human scent and human foot traffic will mess up an area real fast. The deer are used to the sound and scent of vehicles and atvs. There are times we drive right through the field while the deer are out feeding, stop and check the camera, and then leave and the deer just stand and watch. Try doing that on foot and say goodbye to every deer in the field.

I think they are great for taking inventory, but I would not set them up in a bedding area or an area where you plan to hunt. Ideally you would place them in an easy to access area like a field edge. I don't think they are great for patterning a deer close to their bed. You just end up stinking up the bedding area and shooting yourself in the foot when it comes time to hunt it.

I'll go with mistakes: Put them to close to bedding area's Bump deer going in and out Checking them to often Putting them at the wrong height/direction Scenting up the area checking them I will put one in a bedding area and leave it there for months. I will usually go get it out ( I put it in 1st June take out end of Aug) on the worst weather day in Aug that I can. After that they go on runs or trail that I go in on to hunt so I can pull them with ease.

I hunt a little over 300 acres...but its not mine. The owner is in the woods on a regular basis cutting wood and logging (except during deer season.) So as long as I keep my cam's out of bedding areas, which is getting harder with all the logging, I'm not hurting anything by checking them weekly because someone is always poking around in the woods. However on another parcel that is left alone, I'm more careful. Bucks spend the summer there and move into the one mentioned above come October. I checked a camera there at 10am in the rain in August last year. Got a pic of one of the bucks I was after....problem was the pic was taken 10 minutes before I checked the camera. His direction of travel and the fact I could drive to within 100 yds of the cam probably meant I didn't disturb him much. But who knows....? That buck is on the wall now, but to be honest, the cameras had zero to do with me killing him......as with all my deer really. Except for me knowing what my expectations should be for the year, cameras are little more than entertainment for us. When corn takes over the fields and I cant physically watch fields in the summer evenings...that's when my cam's are really helpfull to see who's around.

I too got caught up in the "entertainment" of checking my cameras too regularly the last few years. This year I used them, put them near the edges so they were easy to check without spooking deer and only hunted my stands when the wind was right and I had regular activity on those cameras. My dad and I each harvested 2 nice bucks this year. That was the first year in 10 that this happened on this particular property. Don't base your hunting solely on the intel for your cams though. 2 of the 4 bucks we shot, we never saw on cameras, but we hunted awesome spots when the wind was right. Especially in the late season like this year when the cold and snow get new deer to move into your area. Dad got a great muzzleloader buck we never saw on camera all year.

like mentions, set them up on the outskirts of areas and use them for intel. I wouldn't put one right where my stands were unless they were set and left alone all year to gather intel for the next year. only other option would be to check them only if I were hunting it that day. a good time to check cams is also during rainy days. the rain will wash away your scent fast keeping your spot free of human stench.

Nice post. I would agree on all accounts, and am still guilty of probably checking mine too often.

lovestofishnhunt - The property we hunt is about the same size as yours. We run 7-9 cameras from July until February. They are absolutely helpful. There are some guys that will put a camera out for a few weeks during the rut, but I really think you are selling yourself short by doing that. As for the question if they are helpful or not, absolutely. In 2012 my buddy got the biggest buck off our place, would not have happened without our trail cams. In 2010, we had a buck a couple of us passed that we had on camera. Due to leaving the cameras out until February, we knew he made it through. We had pictures of him right away in velvet in 2011 and all through the season when he was a definite shooter. Problem was, he was completely nocturnal in July and it didn't change much during the fall of 2011. Plenty of pictures, almost all at night. No one saw him while hunting, only a camera let us knew he was there. Again, we knew he made it through because of the pictures. In 2012, he was an absolute giant. We had his home court patterned, but he was still pretty nocturnal. A couple of us set up specifically for him gun season based mainly on the pictures, and it paid off. We have had it work for other deer as well. As for checking the cameras without disturbing the deer, nearly all of our cameras are set on the edges of fields or food plots or on logging roads in the woods. That makes them easy to check while hunting or during the middle of the day without disturbing core habitat. Cameras are a recon tool, and you can recon more deer where they feed or main travel routes. By running multiple cameras, we can identify core areas by seeing where certain deer show up more frequently, It also allows you to ID homebodies vs. wanderers. With a property the size of yours, you likely have some bucks that rarely leave. Not all bucks run wild during the rut, and our cameras has shown us that. With a little bit of restraint, you can grow your homebodies pretty big, because they just don't set off like other bucks. If you run a qdm program, cameras are invaluable in helping id and judge the bucks you have. That way, everyone knows which ones are the shooters and which ones should walk. Having the pictures to help you id certain bucks allows you to better focus in on their patterns while hunting. It also just makes the hunting experience more fun by knowing what is out there. You mention having some bucks that leave for the neighbors around gun season, with a camera you might be amazed to find that many of the bucks stick around but just hide very well during the day and are active only at night. Finally, this time of the year is a great time to get an inventory of what is left for next year. I keep all buck pictures after the gun season and inventory how many are left by # of points. It can really make the next year exciting. We already know that we will have at least 1 5.5 year old to hunt next year. It is a buck that nearly all of us passed at 2.5 years. He has gotten smarter and not many people have had opportunities lately. You'll see how they get smarter with age. The 1.5's and 2.5's are pretty easy to get. The 4.5's and 5.5's, not so much.

I think the biggest disadvantage of using cameras (and I'm guilty of it myself) is checking them to often. You will want to see what is one the property so you check them to often conditioning the deer. If you only check them every other week before season and do it mid-day you should be fine. During the season I only grab my cards when I go in to hunt.

Some trail cams you can check from your computer without going to them.....I think this option is a bit pricey but maybe worth it if your worried about disturbing the area

I like to check them mid day in the off season or on the way out after a hunt.