With the introduction of onX Hunt’s new Trail Camera Integration feature, we figured we’d catch up with some of the best hunters and most experienced trail camera users we know to pick their brains on the best ways to use these powerful tools. Give it a read, then combine the knowledge of these folks with the powerful capabilities of Trail Cam Integration to scout and hunt your way to your best whitetail season yet.
Question:
How have you used trail cameras to pattern and target a specific deer?
Mike Hunsucker of Heartland Bowhunter
“Trail cameras have absolutely changed the way that we hunt. The evolution from film to digital and now digital to cellular has been crazy! Trail cameras were once used simply to see what deer were on a property during a certain time of year and to know what deer you might have a chance at during the season. Now, we use them as tools to learn as much information about a deer and his patterns as possible while minimally disturbing or not disturbing an area at all.”
Shawn Luchtel of Heartland Bowhunter
“Trail Cameras have become the best tool to keep track of specific bucks year after year. Between patterning movements as well as age of deer, trail cameras have helped us tremendously in dialing in on mature whitetails. We use them year round to monitor deer activity while heavily relying on the information they give us during the fall. They often dictate when and where we hunt.”
Kyle Heuermann of Team Radical
“Now that I have a couple kiddos, my time is extremely valuable to me when I’m in the deer woods. I simply don’t have the time anymore to check trail cameras and go through thousands of photos weekly. Cell cameras have changed the game when it comes to keeping the pressure to a minimum on your spots. I like to put my cameras in easy, accessible locations. Every buck is different in my experience. Sometimes their core area is relatively small and other times it consists of miles. Knowing when a buck was there is less important to me just knowing he was there at all. Anytime I get a picture of a specific buck, I’m not zoning in on that spot but on where I think he’s headed. Once you’ve got a picture of a buck, in my mind, you’re already a step behind him. The goal is to ALWAYS get in front of him.”
Question:
In one sentence, what’s the perfect trail camera location?
Rusty Johnson of United Outdoors
“In my opinion, the perfect camera location for mountainous public land would be where an interior edge intersects with a primary scrape near a known bedding area or food source. In the midwest, I like using ditch crossings that are in thick cover with an existing scrape or make a mock scrape.”
Kyle Heuerman of Team Radical
“The perfect camera location is at a social scrape in a pinched down area of timber between two fields or open terrain that a buck wants to utilize to stay out of eyesight and where that scrape will draw him in to get those money-shot pictures.”
Question:
How often do you move a typical camera?
Mike Hunsucker of Heartland Bowhunter
“Just the sheer fact of having to physically check cameras in the field always led me to moving cameras more often, but anymore with cellular cameras I don’t find myself moving them much. Typically I start out with cameras on food sources and bait during the summer months taking inventory and then move them to more natural travel corridors near food plots and destination fields for the first month or so of the season. After that, I move some to scrape sites, which are one of the best places to get buck pictures during the pre-rut and rut. Finally, we typically shift those cameras back to food sources for the late season.”
Shawn Luchtel of Heartland Bowhunter
“Moving a trail camera depends on the time of year. During the summer months, I don’t tend to move them much as my main goal is to just gather summer inventory. As the season approaches, I will move cameras to areas where I hope to pattern a buck prior to the season. Once the season rolls around, I will begin to move them to scrapes and food sources.
“When the rut is approaching, my trail cameras will be moved to scrapes and travel corridors. As the rut begins, I might move them if I am hunting in an area, but at that time I hope to have them in tight to bedding areas because that is where the bulk of the movement tends to be. I am still relying on them but not as heavily on exactly where to hunt but more so I know what bucks are in the area.
“Once late season begins, I will have moved them a final time to food sources as that’s where my final focus has shifted for the ending of the season. Moving trail cameras tends to go in phases of the fall for me. There are many factors that go into it, and every year is different than the last which makes it exciting.”
Warren Holder of Raised Hunting
“Boy, this is a tough question to try and narrow down to one answer! During the summer, I rarely move cameras. I typically set them on a food source such as beans or corn. Here in Iowa, we can utilize mineral/food blocks outside of the season. I commonly find a location that shows sign such as corn beat down or worn trails. I then place a camera slightly off this area with a food block to gather inventory.
During the season is a different story. I put the majority of my cameras on scrapes. If I put a camera on a scrape and it gets very little activity over the course of a week or so, I will move that camera. However, I am also considering environmental factors that may influence behavior. Has it been extremely hot, for example, or is the location surrounded by standing corn? In the event that other factors could be at play, I try to make myself remain patient and give it some more time. If I had to choose a number when going into a new area, I’d say I will typically end up moving the camera at least 3 times from the original location before I am happy with the pics I am getting.”
Question:
What’s your favorite location? On bedding? On food? At some transitional point in between?
Warren Holder of Raised Hunting
“Hands down, my favorite location for a trail camera is on a big scrape inside or close to a bedding area. Getting pictures of a big buck is fun, however getting daytime photos of a big buck just adds another level of excitement. Daylight photos inside or close to a bedding area also provides me with prime information to hopefully provide me with an opportunity.”
Jeff Althoff of Love the Grind
“Our favorite location depends on the season, which we can simplify and break down three ways:
- Velvet: We like to put cameras on edges of soybean plots, clover/alfalfa plots, and water. On properties where there is standing corn inside corners (between corn and the timber) are great spots to get bucks traveling.
- Pre-Rut/Rut: We move all of our cameras to mock scrapes and water. Those might be on a ridge in the timber or on field edges. Typically, these are the easiest places to kill deer, not just capture them on camera.
- Late Season: Food, food, and food. Nothing shocking here, but it’s great to find out what deer made it through and when their sheds drop.
“We keep our cameras out of bedding. Not because we wouldn’t get pics, but because we try to place our cameras where we can go in and kill if we get good intel.”
Question:
What’s the role of video settings in your setup? Do you use video strategically to see travel direction, purely for the aesthetic, or other reasons?
Mike Hunsucker of Heartland Bowhunter
“Though time consuming to check, having trail cameras on video mode can help you learn a lot about an area and the deer movement. Being able to see what direction deer come from and go to, what deer are in the background feeding in a plot, and simply what happens “in between” the photos can be a huge advantage.
“It can also help you learn about a particular deer’s overall demeanor, such as whether he is aggressive or submissive or a loner or a herder. Beyond the data advantage of video trail cameras, there just is something about seeing an animal interact up close without having a clue you’re watching. It doesn’t get much better than watching a big mature buck thrash a scrape a couple yards away!”
Warren Holder of Raised Hunting
“I love video mode! For one, they are just fun. However, as far as what I want from my videos, I am looking for a few things. The most important thing to me is direction of travel, especially on daylight movement. Anything I can gather that allows me to log info on deer or more specifically one particular deer is vital. If I can determine a food source or travel pattern he is utilizing, it helps me create a plan of attack.
“I have also found that I capture more of what is there with video mode. For instance, with a buck chasing a hot doe, if the doe runs by and triggers the camera, it may take the photo without catching the buck or the buck photo may be blurry. On video mode, it’s easy to avoid this issue.”
Phillip Culpepper of Hunt Club TV
“My favorite time to utilize the video as far as intel is on food plots or field entrances. Seeing the way deer enter and exit a field can pay off in a big way. Obviously, you can get incredible content with the video setting but I love to be able to study what’s going on in the background sometimes more so than what’s right in front of the camera.”