Isn’t the easiest way to kill a trophy buck to know when and where he’s going to be the next day? There wouldn’t be any mature bucks left if it was that easy. Still, bucks can be patterned during the early season when they are in bachelor groups and on a routine, daily schedule, and it’s a perfect time to utilize trail cameras to help.
Modern trail cameras give hunters an edge in identifying the whereabouts of a group of bachelor bucks and developing a pattern for early season hunting.
T.J. Hallman, plantation manager of the Territories at the Saluda River Preserve in Chappells said trail cameras are critical for patterning early season bachelor groups.
“Being informed is essential. You have to know where the bucks bed, where they are watering to a point, and early season food sources,” he said. “Cameras are our biggest asset when it comes to capturing those bachelor groups, because they move and feed together.”
From mineral sites and feeding stations to routine travel corridors, Hallman will place cameras in a variety of places to capture bachelor groups’ travel and activities. Hardwood drainage corridors are favorite spots to set up a camera.
“I try to focus on these areas towards the end of our camera survey to pick out those hit-list bucks, their patterns and what wind direction works for the entrance to a stand,” he said. “It is so important to find those bachelor groups on camera, stick to their pattern, and hunt them hard for the first two weeks of the September season.”
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