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Trail Camera's Spooking Deer

Ran across this YouTube video from Drumming Log Wildlife Management on a study they did regarding deer spotting trail cameras. What was interesting in this was the fact that they used 'dummy' cameras placed at deer eye levels and secondary cameras much higher, above 6 ft., to record the action. They show how deer seem to spot the cameras without any noise, flash, etc. and can get spooked easily. At first I figured the deer were spooking from the scent left behind but they state that they even took precautions of spraying the cameras down. Also most of the time the cameras were up for weeks at a time untouched. The other thing they seemed to recommend, and I can see why, is to use the camera in video mode to capture more than just a split second while the deer is there. I think I will be making changes as to how I set my cameras up in the future. Thought maybe you guys would be interested to see it as well.

[video=youtube;XVQUSR5BdIk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVQUSR5BdIk&feature=plcp"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVQUSR5BdIk&feature=plcp[/video]
 
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jagermeister

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Good stuff, Chuck... Thanks for sharing.

Think about it... If somebody came in your home and hung a small box up on your bedroom wall, would you notice it? Shit yea you would.

I will say this, though. I've ran cameras on video mode quite a bit over the last year or so, and I haven't really noticed many negative responses from the deer. A lot of the deer notice the cam, but not many have spooked IMO. The only exception would be a cam I hung a few weeks ago... The deer spooked from it like crazy, but I attribute it to poor scent control, not camera placement.
 
What surprised me most was the fact that it wasn't even the flash that alerted the deer to the cams. Heck, those cameras were about as small as you get and having them at eye level must be the main cause of them noticing. Still cannot help but think there must have been some sort of scent left behind too, as with your recent experience. I think after watching this I will try to put the cameras up higher just in case. You notice that the dummy camera at eye level got their attention but none looked up to see the one actually recording them. In years past I have a few pics of deer that appeared to be spooking from what I thought was the flash (both IR and white flash). Now that I am thinking back I wouldn't be surprised it was the camera itself causing it or both.
 

jagermeister

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What surprised me most was the fact that it wasn't even the flash that alerted the deer to the cams. Heck, those cameras were about as small as you get and having them at eye level must be the main cause of them noticing. Still cannot help but think there must have been some sort of scent left behind too, as with your recent experience. I think after watching this I will try to put the cameras up higher just in case. You notice that the dummy camera at eye level got their attention but none looked up to see the one actually recording them. In years past I have a few pics of deer that appeared to be spooking from what I thought was the flash (both IR and white flash). Now that I am thinking back I wouldn't be surprised it was the camera itself causing it or both.

Like I said, think about your own personal surroundings... your home, your garage, the inside of your vehicle, your cubicle at work, etc. Even though you don't make a conscious effort to look for things that are out of place, you still notice when something's "not quite right," don't you? I know I do. Deer, or any other animal for that matter, are probably no different in that regard. Flash or no flash, it's still a strange looking box on a tree...
 

cotty16

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Ok, this thread, much like the Lunar Phase one, really got me thinking. Let me rewind to 2010. It was the first year of me really using cameras. I had gotten several pics of at least 3 deer that were mature bucks. I'm talking 140 or better. One I shot, one the neighbor shot (drop tine... fugger), and one was seen right before gun season but never seen again. That same year we had more than a handful of up and comers on camera.
Fast forward to 2011. We ran cameras from June through Feb of 2012. We had two shooters appear on camera, but nothing on a consistent basis where I could say we had one patterned.
Now, in 2012, since June, not one shooter on our property that was producing all of these other bucks. Where did they go? The only hint of a shooter was caught twice and he skirted the area for 2 quick pics nearly a month apart.

I just read a startling quote in the latest Deer and Deer Hunting Magazine that really hit home. Les Davenport wrote, "The simple act of regularly checking trail cameras before, during, and even after deer season has become a huge detriment to would-be trophy seekers. And the wrong camera placed in wrong situations pose an irreversable effect on small parcels."

OUCH! Now, I know it's a Mr. Obvious moment about too much human traffic, but the old saying "curiousity killed the cat" comes to mind. I can't stay away from checking my cameras! And if I'm not checking them, my dad... who is always trying to find an edge, is checking them. Now granted, we are no more than once a week, but still. That's probably way too much.

Another quote from the same article said, "I can't tell you how many hunters made these two comments, 'I stopped using trail cameras altogether this year and had my best season ever' or 'I pulled my trail cameras two weeks before the season and had my best year ever'."

The land I hunt, at least the huntable part, is not very much. It is probably 80 huntable acres. I have 3 cameras there. My big question is, have I cause irreversable affects? The bucks are there... at least they should be. It's prime ground.

Cameras are so fun to run, but I think maybe they are killing my chances. Part of me wants to shit can them and just hunt spots I know should be good. Going in blind would give me some hope. Right now, on that property, I have no desire to hunt it because NOTHING has showed up but small bucks.
 

buckstar25

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Not quite sure what they were/are studying? Deer react to anything in the woods, whether we put it there or not. Watch a deer come through an area that has a freshly blown down tree. You'll see a similar reaction. They do notice everything, but I don't see the reactions as negative.

I agree with Cotty our cams are out 365 days a year mostly in the same spot. I have hundreds of pictures of 150" 10 looking straight up at my cam tht was 15' up the tree. But he was in the same spot night after night, looking up at the camera.
 

jagermeister

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Not quite sure what they were/are studying? Deer react to anything in the woods, whether we put it there or not. Watch a deer come through an area that has a freshly blown down tree. You'll see a similar reaction. They do notice everything, but I don't see the reactions as negative.

I agree with Cotty our cams are out 365 days a year mostly in the same spot. I have hundreds of pictures of 150" 10 looking straight up at my cam tht was 15' up the tree. But he was in the same spot night after night, looking up at the camera.

Excellent point.
 

hickslawns

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Interesting concept. How about this thought. Do you guys think the deer grow accustomed to them if they have "grown up" around them? It seems every year I am getting more pictures and better pictures. I realize I have learned a lot since 2009 when I started using them, but I can't help but wonder if these 2-4yr old deer have simply grown up seeing cameras and realize they are not a threat?
 
Very good points guys! Along with what Cotty was saying, last year I was unable to get down at all to set up and check our trail cameras. We were going into deer season totally blinded without one trail camera picture. My buddy and I both shot our best bucks ever last season. Now if I stopped there it would seem that maybe there was some sort of correlation. However, the years we did run cameras we often did see the big boys but could just not get them close enough to seal the deal. And those years when we got pics of those same bucks we usually only got a few encounters with them on camera.

I don't think bucks totally move off of properties because of trail cameras but I do believe the more you are in and out of an area the more the deer are alerted to that activity. The more they are alerted the more they begin to avoid. I think seeing the video of what deer do when going by a trail cam is more informative than the simple pics we all are used to. Might help explain why you/we were getting pics of a great buck, he looks at the camera in the last pic and then you never get another one of him again. Hard to say.
 

Gordo

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Interesting thread.

I really wonder if the big boys on certain properties skirt my cameras. I know for a fact last year one did. Wonder if that fuggar is doing the same thing this year?

Makes me wonder
 
That's why I decided to share this, to get us thinking a little. As I watched it for the first time I couldn't help but think of situations where I had pics of deer that seemed to have been spooked by the cameras. Then I thought of threads like Jesse's The Good, The Bad and the Ugly where he mentions Captain Jack not being a fan of the cameras this year. Just some food for thought I guess. Like I said, I am planning to hang my cameras a bit higher pointing down from now on if I can anyways. At least it couldn't hurt, that and make sure I am more scent conscious when hanging and checking the cams.
 

matty636

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i actually watched this first hand took a bucket of salt out today put my cam on top to make a easy carry went to put the cam up and was thinkin of this video so i put it bout 6'-7' welll the the cam bieng in the bucket had salt on it had a lil 8 point come in sniff around and ending up lickin the the tree i placed the cam till he got so far up he found the cam and bolted
 
i actually watched this first hand took a bucket of salt out today put my cam on top to make a easy carry went to put the cam up and was thinkin of this video so i put it bout 6'-7' welll the the cam bieng in the bucket had salt on it had a lil 8 point come in sniff around and ending up lickin the the tree i placed the cam till he got so far up he found the cam and bolted

Very interesting!!!
 

Outdoorsfellar

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That's an interesting video, but I don't know what to make of it. I've been using my Scout Guard 550's in video mode all these years & I don't get negative reactions like these guys show. What I do though, is use plastic foliage velcro'ed to all my cams. I also never use scent control when checking the cams. As in the video, I believe the deer are noticing something that's not natural. At one spot out behind the house, I have two cams watching my favorite trail ... one is my ltl Acorn mms & behind it is a 550. One time recently though, I had a doe skirt around the Acorn because she saw the black locking mechanism on the side of the tree that stood out since the plastic foliage on it had fell off. Other than that, bucks & does walk by all the time without any reaction. I have in the past placed my cams 6 feet up angled down a bit & always had good luck that way too. There have been times where I'll have a video of the little bastards attempting to eat the foliage...lol. In the end, not all deer react the same.
 

bowhunter1023

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What I would like to know is how a deer like Captain Jack can pose for the camera thousands of times over the past two seasons, then become completely camera shy as a 4.5 year old. That to me is the $1,000 question!
 

cotty16

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What I would like to know is how a deer like Captain Jack can pose for the camera thousands of times over the past two seasons, then become completely camera shy as a 4.5 year old. That to me is the $1,000 question!

Smart ol bugger.

Did I win?

It truly is perplexing. The more I learn about these dang deer the dumber I get. Sometimes I think I out think myself.