Trail Cameras & Deer Age

It is time for another blog.  Now that my mineral sites have been well established and deer are coming in, it is time to start putting out the cameras.  Deer have started to put on some antler growth, and now is a great time to get in the woods, put out some cameras, and refresh those mineral sites!

Trail Cameras

I have been putting out cameras and hunting the property for 4 years now, so I know how the deer move, where the food sources are, etc.  I like to put cameras over my mineral sites because I know deer are coming in to them.  From there, I can try and guess which way a big buck might be coming from, so I take a couple of my other cameras and place them on well used trails so I can try and pattern the buck.  Once I locate his path to and from the mineral site, I load up those trails with cameras to really pinpoint when he will be coming along that path.  This will help with my tree stand placement (but that is another topic for another day).

Not only are cameras a great way to pattern a mature whitetail on your property, but it is also a way to take an inventory of your deer herd.  It is difficult to go out and hunt, have a big buck walk underneath your stand, and know if it is the biggest buck on your property or not. 

There is a lot of time between the point you get a picture of a deer, the deer sheds and you find the sheds, and then the deer grows a set of antlers....anything could happen to that deer.  Shed hunting is a great way to take inventory and know if a deer survived the winter, but trail cameras help you know if that deer is still alive and didn't get hit by a car.

I prefer a trail camera that is easy to use and takes great pictures.  A camera that has a video feature is nice, but I am more into pictures than video.  The video takes up more room on a card and drains the batteries compared to pictures.  I use a few of the older Moultrie's (i40 and d40), which are great cameras, but technology has passed these cameras by.  The major problem with these cameras is it takes 6 D batteries to use and I change them about once/month.  It basically costs me $40/month to operate these cameras from June-October.



Primos Truth X Cam



Moultrie M-80


I recently purchased a Moultrie M-80.  This is Moultrie's new, small camera that is all the rage now in the trail camera industry.  Other companies like Bushnell, Reconyx, Primos, and Stealth Cam have also come out with a small camera in recent years.  These cameras are lightweight, easy to handle, and are much easier on batteries.  8 AA batteries (non-lithium) last at least a month longer than the 6 D batteries in the older trail cameras I use, and lithium batteries last several months (if you want to spend the extra money).  The big difference is the other companies have come out with small cameras with a premium price, but the Moultrie M-80 is the prize fighter in the mini line for Moultrie and the M-100 is the premium mini camera.  In the end, the mini camera should only cost me $20 total for the entire trail camera season.


Stealth Cam Unit



Bushnell Trophy Cam

 

Reconyx H600 HyperFire


Trail camera technology has also come a long way in the past 5 years.  Not only have trail cameras gotten smaller and easier to use, they have also gotten cheaper.  Just likecomputers and cell phones, trail camera companies have produced cameras that have tons of features for half of what the cameras used to cost a few years ago.  Wildgame Innovations is a company that makes about 20 different cameras, and promotes the fact that around 8 of these cameras are under $100.  A company like Wildgame Innovations is going to help drive the price of cameras down from all companies.

Deer Age

Trail cameras let you know the antler size of a deer, but also they can help you judge the age of a deer.  Above I talked about knowing if that deer walking underneath your stand is the biggest on the property, but also if he is mature.  Trail camera pictures will let you get acquainted with a deer so you know if he is mature or not.  It is difficult to judge age on hoof when you have seconds to make a decision whether or not to shoot.

Take a look at the picture below.

The deer above was a deer I got a ton of pictures of in 2009.  Unfortunately, I found this deer dead that winter, but this picture can serve a purpose for us.  If you look at the red circles, these areas can help you determine a rough estimate of the deers age.  This deer has a sagging belly and sagging brisket, but does not have a short, stubby face/nose.  This deer is probably 4.5 years old, so I know he is a mature deer.

Let's take a look at another deer.

This is the deer I ended up shooting in 2009.  I know this is the mount and not a live picture, but I want to focus on one thing to look for when looking at trail camera pictures.  If you look at this deer's face/nose, it is short and stubby.  This buck is mature and is for sure 4.5 years old if not older based on this nose alone.  I knew there were bigger deer on the property, but I had a shot at a nice, mature 8 pointer that needed to be culled from the herd.  His genetics had little potential for growing trophy whitetails in southern Iowa, plus this deer was not going to get any bigger.

If you have to judge deer age on hoof 20 feet up, make sure to look at the deer's nose/face and belly.  This will give you a good idea of how old that deer is and if you should pass or take the shot.

This blog should help you put together your hit list of mature deer based on trail camera photos and knowing what to look for when judging age. 

In the next couple weeks, look for my next blog on 3D shooting and the importance of preseason practice and how it will help you in the fall!

Muddyhunter