by Scott Bestul

Every fall I try to learn something from one season to take into the next year. Of course many of the best lessons come from some deer behavior I’ve actually witnessed. But this year trail cams provided the take-away.

Normally, I’m pretty lax about keeping my trail cams out in the woods during hunting seasons. But for some reason this fall, I managed to keep a couple out there, and they revealed something I found fascinating; the best time to see a great buck in my area was much later in the rut than I thought. In most years, it’s been my belief that early November was the prime time for seeing good day-time buck movement here. Well I hunted that time frame pretty rigorously and I was quite disappointed.

Then in early December my hunting buddy Dave and I pulled a couple trail cameras. Dave called me a couple of days later and said “You need to look at these cards and see some of the daylight photos I was getting.” So I did, and Dave was right; nearly every buck he “shot” that week appeared during legal shooting light, and his photos included some very nice deer. So, taking a cue from my buddy, I checked my cards. Though I didn’t have as many photos as Dave, I had two pictures of the buck above. Obviously in full daylight and, even more interesting, during the same week!

The timing of all this activity was particularly fascinating. Minnesota has two 9-day shotgun seasons, and all this activity took place during the five days separating these split seasons. Archery season continues through the firearms hunt, but for many bowhunters it’s tempting to not go at it too hard until the gun seasons close. Those photos prove that attitude is a big mistake!

So next fall I’m making a “note to self” that will have two items. First, keep the darn trail cameras out! And second, I’m going to keep hunting just as hard, regardless of the supposed pressure exerted by gun hunting. I’ve said (and written) it before, but the rut is going to occur whether there are hunters in the woods or not. The only way to take advantage of that activity is to be out there and working a game plan!

Comments (7)

from DSMbirddog wrote 21 weeks 1 day ago

Scott, that's a nice deer. I think it is interesting because those two shotgun seasons provide some pretty intense hunting pressure and he is still out there searching for does.

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from Whackdaddy wrote 21 weeks 1 day ago

Everyone loves to salivate over velvet bucks and bachelor groups, but the information you can gather from trail cams during season is priceless. A lot of times, I choose my stand based on what my camera cards are telling me to that very day. Obviously key to this is having your cams in areas you can access without boogering your potential hunt. Try taking it to the next level next season and use them like ghost hunters – it can pay off big.

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from Kevin wrote 21 weeks 1 day ago

I live in NW Minnesota and mainly bowhunt. This year I bowhunted hard before, during, and after the rut, and I saw way more daylight buck movement and bucks chasing does right before and right after rifle season. Granted the weather was unseasonably warm during rifle season and movement was probably all nocturnal. Either way I believe the pre-rut and post-rut are more dependable times to hunt bucks anyway as the rut throws all normal patterns to the wayside.

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from hoytshooter wrote 21 weeks 1 day ago

trail cameras are great
my father shot a 10 pointer the week before thanksgiving and 4 of us looked for that deer the entire next day with no luck. we just got a pic of that deer on dec. 17th with a healed up arrow wound. amazing photos he looks very healthy that raised all of our spirits because we know now that he has made it

until next year

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from steve182 wrote 21 weeks 22 hours ago

I have yet to kill a buck that i have previouslly got on the cam but it'll be neat when i do. Right now a cam on a late season food source is gathering photos of a deer i hope to shoot next week when winter bow opens.

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from Motor517 wrote 20 weeks 6 days ago

I wrote a review for another magazine and had trail cams set up on 5 whitetail properties. Like Scott, I noticed really big bucks showing up in late November about a month after the start of the main rut. I also found that 3 of the 5 cameras I was testing spooked big bucks - likely because of flashing led lights. These big bucks are big for a reason, so if they detect anything out of the ordinary they'll avoid that spot.

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from Hank111 wrote 20 weeks 6 days ago

Noise from the cameras alot of times is what is spooking them, more than the flash. The black flash is by far better than the red flash in the IR cameras. Myself, I still like the cuddeback normal flash pics at night the best. Some bucks dont like the flash, but most ignore it and it is silent when taking pics. I still run several reconyx IR cameras when I dont want to risk spooking a deer, but the bl&wh night pics dont compare to the colored cudde pics.

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from DSMbirddog wrote 21 weeks 1 day ago

Scott, that's a nice deer. I think it is interesting because those two shotgun seasons provide some pretty intense hunting pressure and he is still out there searching for does.

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from Whackdaddy wrote 21 weeks 1 day ago

Everyone loves to salivate over velvet bucks and bachelor groups, but the information you can gather from trail cams during season is priceless. A lot of times, I choose my stand based on what my camera cards are telling me to that very day. Obviously key to this is having your cams in areas you can access without boogering your potential hunt. Try taking it to the next level next season and use them like ghost hunters – it can pay off big.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Kevin wrote 21 weeks 1 day ago

I live in NW Minnesota and mainly bowhunt. This year I bowhunted hard before, during, and after the rut, and I saw way more daylight buck movement and bucks chasing does right before and right after rifle season. Granted the weather was unseasonably warm during rifle season and movement was probably all nocturnal. Either way I believe the pre-rut and post-rut are more dependable times to hunt bucks anyway as the rut throws all normal patterns to the wayside.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from hoytshooter wrote 21 weeks 1 day ago

trail cameras are great
my father shot a 10 pointer the week before thanksgiving and 4 of us looked for that deer the entire next day with no luck. we just got a pic of that deer on dec. 17th with a healed up arrow wound. amazing photos he looks very healthy that raised all of our spirits because we know now that he has made it

until next year

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from steve182 wrote 21 weeks 22 hours ago

I have yet to kill a buck that i have previouslly got on the cam but it'll be neat when i do. Right now a cam on a late season food source is gathering photos of a deer i hope to shoot next week when winter bow opens.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Motor517 wrote 20 weeks 6 days ago

I wrote a review for another magazine and had trail cams set up on 5 whitetail properties. Like Scott, I noticed really big bucks showing up in late November about a month after the start of the main rut. I also found that 3 of the 5 cameras I was testing spooked big bucks - likely because of flashing led lights. These big bucks are big for a reason, so if they detect anything out of the ordinary they'll avoid that spot.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Hank111 wrote 20 weeks 6 days ago

Noise from the cameras alot of times is what is spooking them, more than the flash. The black flash is by far better than the red flash in the IR cameras. Myself, I still like the cuddeback normal flash pics at night the best. Some bucks dont like the flash, but most ignore it and it is silent when taking pics. I still run several reconyx IR cameras when I dont want to risk spooking a deer, but the bl&wh night pics dont compare to the colored cudde pics.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.