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Opening day worries

mitch_foster15

Junior Member
26
0
Geauga
well as deer season approaches i find myself without a promising place to hunt. about the beginning of june to the end of july i had VERY heavy deer activity on my mineral site, three at least 3.5 year old deer, and many other young bucks(15 total). the activity died shortly by the beginning of august so i moved my camera to try and find a new place to hunt. after moving the camera once a week i had nothing. each week no pictures but moving bushes..

fast forward to last weekend, my dads friend at work gave him a bag of acorn rage. he asked me to put it out in front of a camera. So, seeing as i had no new spot i planned on hunting opening day i put out the rage at my mineral site(sept 15 thursday) along with the camera.

i just checked my camera today and i have 100 pictures of 2 of the 3 shooters, and one new shooter.. and another 5-10 different young bucks. they were on the acorn rage and the mineral starting friday morning the 16th. all day pictures. by saturday morning not a single picture and none the entire week until today (sept 22) im losing my mind....

the only positive this tells me is that the bucks must be traveling close to my mineral site because they were able to smell it and wipe it out in a day. other than that, unfortunately my hopes are down for that spot
 

rsmith

Member
1,835
52
Don't check your cams regularly or it will drive you crazy! Just put some corn out and stay out of the area unless you are hunting it. The more you intrude the less they show up. Don't let the camera get you discouraged either, I have had been in the stand and had 8 deer in my plot but the camera only captured 3 of them cause the rest were wondering around it or staying in the tree line. Moral is your eyes see more than a camera will so get out there!

 

Riverdude

The Happy Hunting Grounds Beyond
Supporting Member
10,254
115
Ashtabula, Ohio
Like the others have said, hang tuff. Camera's are awesome and a great aid but they do not always tell the entire story of what is happening out there. Best of Luck.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
The camera is only capturing a very small part of your hunting area. I'd take a bag out in the morning with you and sit all day. Put eyes on what's going on.
 

nis1

Junior Member
203
52
I'd recommend staying out of the woods more between checking your cam....it can be as simple as a branch brushing against your arm on your way in for the big boy to get a hint!


 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
You got it. It is a love/hate relationship. I had some shooters lined up in early August. I am pumped knowing they are in the area. I knew in early August two things would happen before season. 1) Velvet sheds and their disposition changes. 2) Generally the beans are yellow and they move to the corn. I didn't expect to see them in the beans right now. It was good enough for me knowing they are in the area. One other thing I have noticed, and seen others comment similar observations: When the velvet peels it seems like sometimes they go missing for awhile. They can be on cam daily in velvet. Post velvet they are gone. Just part of the chess match. Good luck Sir.
 

mitch_foster15

Junior Member
26
0
Geauga
unfortunately 98 percent of the property is oak free. everything is there but oaks. as far as my camera goes it is consistent in taking pictures everyday, but the pictures turn out to be nothing but moving leaves and twigs in the wind. unfortunately that camera cant be adjusted for sensitivity.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Also understand that when bucks shed, they get what I call the "post shed blues" and they tend to disappear for a while. My cams always go dry for a few weeks in September/October. It's a predictable as the moon phase.
 

Jake_C

Junior Member
Like nis1 mentioned, I'd go a little longer between card pulls. I had this same problem. I couldn't stay out of there and it was detrimental to the whole process. I started running a cam in the little patch of woods behind my place to feed the addiction and that helped me to stay out of the good spots 3-5 weeks at a time. This year I decided not to run any cams after having ~5 stolen off of public land last year. Don't let it drive you nuts and good luck this season!
 

reo

Junior Member
484
68
N.E. Ohio
Just because they stopped needing the minerals does not mean they left. They are still there as they were on the rage within days.
Just hunt.
 

mitch_foster15

Junior Member
26
0
Geauga
Went out today with my dad, we both saw black, gray, and fox squirrels and he saw a turkey. No deer but il be back there in the am for my last hunt this weekend before i head back to school for the week. Good luck to all of you!