|
|
||
|
|
I have always considered myself a traditionalist,
but my next statement will probably make some of my contemporaries
scratch their heads in disbelief. I believe the game cam is the
single most advantageous hunting tool since the portable tree stand...
if used properly. I have collected several over the past few years
& they are the only hunting products I own that never
come out of the woods. I use them year-round & I run them like my
dad runs his trout-lines... religiously. In late Summer & early
Fall I use them to help select optimum stand locations. I hang
them over a trail or creek crossing to see the amount of activity in a
particular area. Once my stand is hung, they continue to assist me.
It's easier to get out of bed or sit in the tree longer if I know
there is a quality buck frequenting the area. Game cams have also
improved my success rate as I know what time of day (or night) deer
are passing through. I will also hang them in oak flats or over
food plots to show me when the deer start & stop using seasonal
food sources. I use this technique all season long. In the Winter
I love using cameras during pre, prime, & post rut. They show me
when my herd is transitioning from pre to prime rut by the increase in
buck photos in the daytime & the increase in yearlings on their
own without mature does. I then move the game cams & my stands
over scrape-lines. I have been pleasantly surprised with some of my
best buck pictures during this highly active time of year. My
cameras also tell me when to stop hunting scrape-lines... an
overlooked tip that eludes most hunting whitetails late in the
season. In the Spring & early Summer they help me find sheds.
It's not uncommon to have several pictures of the same buck on one
roll of film, & when I see a buck with a full rack & the very
next day there's another picture of him with one side missing. It
makes for a more aggressive & passionate shed hunt. I now enter
the woods this time of year with an expectation of success instead of
a hope of stumbling across a shed. There are many more uses for
this wonderful invention, but I will limit my experiences to the
wonderful world of whitetails. I have used them to scout for turkeys,
catch poachers, & even identify a predator that was killing my
neighbors chickens... I don't sell game cams, so like every product I write
about,
I use it, endorse it, & can afford it. I hope
more of you will use this fairly inexpensive & highly effective tool.
|
|
