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Final camera check before opener?

NEOhunter

Junior Member
If you plan on hunting on the opening day when do you usually check your camera before this? I want to check it but not sure of the time frame to check it. Don't want to go too close to the day and ruin my chances but want to see if any of them have been on a pattern leading up to the first hunting day. Any advice is welcomed.
I have been spacing my camera checks about every 2 weeks now since late July. I went in to check last Thursday and the batteries were dead :smiley_depressive: I was so mad, I waited two weeks to get 1 picture and it died.
 

Carpn

*Supporting Member*
2,234
87
Wooster
I'd check em a day of two before ya hunt . Deer are changing patterns so much right now I'd want the most recent data available
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I usually do it the weekend before. At this point, all cam checks should be done in clean, smoked clothes with rubber boots and gloves.
 

yotehunter

Member
1,527
36
spencerville oh
I'm just getting mine back out. I pulled them in august and I am wanting too move them just haven't had a chance so tomarrow is the day. I won't pull them till I walk out from the stand the first morning. I know its a little late but I like running them through the first month of season to find the bucks back after they break up. Does anybody else run them through season or just using them for inventory?
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
My final cam check was done last weekend and cams moved accordingly. It's not only good to know where they are, but where they aren't. Draw on the knowledge you've gained from summer checks and food sources. Make an educated decision where to hunt opening morning and hunt that area. Check that cam after the hunt. If it's a flop move to stand / cam site number two and repeat the process. Hunt the stand, check the cam after the hunt. The only reason to go to a spot now is to get in stealthy as possible and hunt it, check the cam on the way out. Resists the urge to go check the others. If you want to check them, hunt them first. It's all about the element of surprise. If you go in to check a cam then come back later to hunt it the gig may already be up and you'll be hunting a "was there" instead of an "is there". Checking cams before hunting, even days before, is a recipe for always being one step behind.

Years ago I snuck in a spot one evening and hung a mobile set. I hunted it that evening and again the next morning. A doe came out of the woods and made a line for the stand across the field. A local buck named the Tall 8 was right behind her. She came right under the stand. He stopped 45 yards out and wouldn't come an inch closer. He never looked up at me or knew I was there. But he knew I had been there recently. To this day I am convince I hung that stand that evening and he came through sometime that night. He knew I had been there and as a result wouldn't come an inch closer. If you go in to check a cam, get great pics and decide to hunt it later he may already know you've been there and you'll be wasting your time.
 

Strother23

Member
1,405
0
Columbus, OH
I agree with checking the cams on the way out from hunting. You might be able to kills does by checking cams often but the shooter bucks are smarter and more cautious and know better.
 

Dustinb80

#FACKCANCER
Supporting Member
18,172
187
S.W. Ohio
I think our (my BIL Moonlab and I) final check is going to be this tomorrow or Thursday. Going to add some corn to the feeder as well. Question is, do I leave the blind flaps open at this point, or leave it buttoned up until opening morning?
 

Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
I think our (my BIL Moonlab and I) final check is going to be this tomorrow or Thursday. Going to add some corn to the feeder as well. Question is, do I leave the blind flaps open at this point, or leave it buttoned up until opening morning?

I'd open the flaps up so the deer aren't spooked on opening morning if they see something different.
 
On the cameras if you have been checking them every 2 weeks then you should be good to check them just before you hunt. Maybe like the others have said, take a little extra care with your scent and if you are a smoker-upper go ahead and do that as well before heading out. If we make it down for opening weekend I plan on checking cams the first afternoon. I have a couple that needed batteries the last time out so I figure I'll have a few dead by then.
 

NEOhunter

Junior Member
I think I'm learning towards smoking up and going in stealthy tomorrow or thursday. That will still give the area about 10 days before the opener. Right now i'm not sure I can make it out that saturday, it might be sunday. I only have one stand and that's where the camera is so that's why I want to check if they're still coming around on any pattern. If not then I will hunt on a different spot from the ground. I've actually shot both deer from the ground so I'm comfortable doing so if need be, based on weather, wind, and camera pull.
I don't want to over hunt my stand since it's my best spot on my one property but if they're hanging around I'll hunt it.
 

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
My opinion is this.... .if u can't sneak in to check a cam without being undetected then your not gonna be able to sneak in to hunt. IFA a double edged sword. I need the best MRI I can get to decide what stand or property I'm gonna hunt. A lot can change in a week. Especially this time of year. I'm not gonna hunt a property based on what I think might be there. I need to know or I'm not wasting my time or stands going in
 

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
I have a pretty good idea where most of the deer bed.....I avoid those areas and avoid hanging cams in close proximity. If I know where they are going and I know where they are coming from..... its then a game of chess. But I don't blast right in and get as close as possible rt away. I start probably mid way and stay a safe distance away, until I decide I need to be closer. So none of my cams are rt up tight to where I believe the deer to be bedding. Now they are deer....and they can come and go freely, so there is no guarantees
 

NEOhunter

Junior Member
So I smoked up this evening before going in to do my final check. I took my time getting back to my camera. I am a little discouraged I only had 41 pictures of the past week. I had a small 6 point on camera for 20 pictures and the other 20 were 3 different does, all during the day. I had one picture of a smaller 8 point at night. I was discouraged cause the big ones weren't there. I had let my camera sit for 2 weeks with a dead battery, prior to this past week, so don't know what happened during that point which is bothering me. I know they could still be just somewhere else right now and hopefully come back.

I am leaning towards staying out of this spot till the end of October cause I do believe it's good. It's covered with acorns, and right but several acres of corn, with a creek a out 100 yards away. I think with the information gained I will try to hunt farther away and leave this spot alone, hoping to intercept them on their way to the corn field.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Does that sound like a good plan to you guys and gals that have more experience then me?

On paper it sounds good. Not knowing your area, it is hard to say. One thing I have learned: Mature deer learn how to avoid a camera. Sometimes you rotate it 90 or 180 degrees on the tree and there they are on camera again. They never left the area. They simply learned how to avoid triggering it. Cameras are a blessing and a curse. Throw out most recent info because it doesn't sound like you got good info from what I read. On opening day, do what your gut tells you. Try not to get overly aggressive if you truly feel it will be better later on. BUT. . . if your gut says you need to be there (or not be there) then listen to your gut.