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Hoe Long Do You Keep Photos?

Just wondering how long you guys hang on to your trail camera photos. I'm thinking of deleting a bunch of mine. I'll keep the good buck photos, but I figure does, small bucks and fawns could go. I've got over 5000 on my computer and add more all the time. Some date back as far as 2008.
 
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hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
I used to keep them all. Now I delete all but the good bucks or funny pictures. I keep some which I feel are just pretty pictures as well, such as a turkey in the fall leaves with the sun coming up behind it. If you don't you will end up with tens of thousands of pictures of does or coons.
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Usually only keep pics of bucks that I want to watch grow, and mature deer I'm after. Everything else gets deleted. I will keep pics up to 4 years before deleting.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Do you have crops nearby? If so, then yes it might help some. As you know there are no guarantees, but it might help point you in the direction where your odds are increased.

I have been keeping the doe pics from my property on 65. I want to go back in to the the times they were frequenting the area and match it up against the Moon overhead/underfoot to see if there is a correlation.
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Thanks for your input. I'm wondering if pictures from 3-5 years ago can help to determine the travel patterns of deer this season. Or do you think to many things may change from year to year to alter deer movement?

To an extent yes.... something as simple as a blow down can alter patterns but some cameras will show you where bucks are bedding during different parts of the year. Rut pics are at random as expected, unless you have a homebody that travels a small area. I think cameras help pattern deer early season and late season. During the mid season or rut they simply tell us what areas are hot and which are not.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I have all the good pictures I have ever got dating back to 2004. I usually just keep relevant ones anyways, so I don't have a ton to keep track of. My pictures are pretty well organized and I have a huge external hard drive, so I keep what tickles my fancy and will forever...
 

Droptine

Junior Member
81
0
Medina, OH
I usually only keep pictures of good bucks for 3-4 years everything else gets deleted. I did get some bobcat pics this year that I will prolly just keep in a file for a while.
 

DJK Frank 16

Senior Member
Supporting Member
9,358
133
Hardin County
I didn't start running cams until late 2007, I have everything that I've felt were good pictures since then. I keep them on an external drive as well. I store those in my "outdoor" pictures file that I feel will be cool for my kids and grandkids to look through years from now. Hopefully the conversation doesn't go "Wow remember when there were deer in Ohio"? :)
 

Spencie

Senior Member
5,051
145
Constitution Ohio
I put my pics on a CD at the end of season so I can go back and check any years pics.

I keep a few pics from each buck and all good pics of bigger bucks.