In recent years, the use of digital cameras has become very popular with hunters, and for good reason. They will show you where and when deer are moving.
Mike Johnson, manger at the Clinton House, uses digital cameras a lot to help him get on deer in the early part of the Upstate season and then stay on them the season progresses.
“Where we’re located, we’ll see a distinct change from early season to pre-rut and rut movement in deer activity,” he said. “Using the cameras helps us pick up on that and react quickly,” he said.
Bill Geddings, who lives in Williamsburg County, also uses trail cameras to keep track of deer in the areas he and his friends hunt.
“We use the cameras a lot, and it’s very helpful getting them out during the pre-season and then into the early season,” Geddings said. It’s a big help to not only know that deer are using a bean field, for example, but knowing where they are coming out and leaving the fields is crucial; it often determines stand placement. It saves a ton of physical, in-the-woods scouting, and that helps keep us from having to trek into the woods and potentially leave human scent.
“We don’t check cameras every day either, like some do. Deer can and will pattern that much intrusion. We check them every few days, and what I’m trying to determine is if any big buck are using the area, as well as changes in deer movements from one area to the next. We’ll have cameras that may not be picking up any deer movement for a while, then we’ll start seeing deer there. That tells me the seasonal or food movements are occurring, and we can react to that.
“It’s important to use these cameras as one of many tools to get the job done, but they are not the sole answer,” Geddings said. “But by using them during the summer and into the season, we can keep up with the deer, see what we have to hunt and where they are and hopefully, where they going. The use of trail cameras can be a distinct advantage if not overdone and not checked too frequently.”
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