Do Cell Cameras Spook Mature Bucks?

[two70]

Of late I've seen a couple YouTube videos asserting that cell cams spook mature bucks and that the hosts had little to no photos of mature bucks when using cell cams. Has anyone else noticed this?

I run the Cuddelinks system so my cell cams are placed in easy to access areas with the feeder cams daisy changed outward to the better locations. Even with less than ideal placement I still get mature buck photos every year on the actual cell cams, though I don't typically get a lot of repeat visits from those mature bucks. To whatever extent cell cams do spook them, I wonder if it is a regional or local thing based on hunting pressure? Or possibly a placement issue? I've had my cell cam in essentially the same location since I first got it. It is not all that difficult to spot if you're looking for it but it isn't in the direct line sight from the direction of travel and most bucks tend to focus on the mock scrape that it overlooks.

 

[ws6duramax]

I feel that they do spook them, but I think all cameras do, especially at night. I think a mature deer and predators can sense any type of flash and also hear the camera when it takes a picture. Rarely do I get day after day pictures of mature bucks, unless it's over a mineral. On the flip side of that, I can watch them at night in the same bean field with my thermal monocular, I know they visit the same food source daily, but bypass my cameras 90% of the time.

 

[Bleachey]

The flash might spook them at first. My opinion is they will get used to it once they realize it isn't a danger as long as there is something to attract them to the area. Only had 1 cell camera out, but on it and about 5 trail cameras the bucks seemed to have a 3-5 day pattern that tightened up to about 1-2 days in late October early November pre rut.

 

[bwframe]

The flash might spook them at first. My opinion is they will get used to it once they realize it isn't a danger as long as there is something to attract them to the area. Only had 1 cell camera out, but on it and about 5 trail cameras the bucks seemed to have a 3-5 day pattern that tightened up to about 1-2 days in late October early November pre rut.

I have a younger buck and lots of does and yearlings that almost seem to enjoy setting off the solar motion light in the open part of my side yard. They set the lights off numerous time a night and bask around in the light, feeding on the mown lawn.

 

[Michigan Slim]

I have noticed a definite awareness of the cameras. I don't place them near my stands but just in the general area. Lately I've just been putting them near a feeding area just to see what is near, just not under my tree stands.

 

[INP8riot]

I don't have any cams deep in the woods. My cams are within 150 yards of my house, so maybe they are desensitized to electronics and odd noises. They notice them even during the day, but it doesn't seem to deter them.

 

[snapping turtle]

Until they link the camera with danger then they will be ok after the first few shots spook them a bit.

Now maybe the shyest most spooky old buck might dodge even the slightest none normal noise or flash.

I do believe some of the biggest oldest bucks are the ones who are ghosts because they are either shy or easily spooked. It gets past down in the genes. They also seem to be more nocturnal and breed with a few less does thus not the ones that you see chasing every in heat tail all fall. They follow but they don't chase until a smaller buck comes around.

 

[ws6duramax]

Between my neighbor and myself, we run roughly 60 cameras covering about 900 acres. The only sure way to get mature bucks (3.5+yrs) consistently on camera is mineral and we don't place cameras close to the mineral. We have countless food plots that are full of deer nighly and rarely get mature bucks. I'm certain they feed in there every night but they avoid cameras, no matter where you place them. Sure, we get the random picture but they are almost always at the the opposite end of the plot and probably the only reason we got a picture was anther deer tripped the camera.

 

[two70]

I feel that they do spook them, but I think all cameras do, especially at night. I think a mature deer and predators can sense any type of flash and also hear the camera when it takes a picture. Rarely do I get day after day pictures of mature bucks, unless it's over a mineral. On the flip side of that, I can watch them at night in the same bean field with my thermal monocular, I know they visit the same food source daily, but bypass my cameras 90% of the time.

I've seen enough reactions to know that even regular cameras do spook deer sometimes but I think it depends on the situation and particular deer. I often see does and young bucks that come right up to cameras to sniff and lick them. I've also had a few mature bucks that have reacted poorly when noticing my cameras and never showed up again.

I had one mature buck on camera for 5 seasons that almost seemed to pose for the cameras if he paid them any attention at all. He was always the first deer to the feeder when I'd put it out post season to survey the surviving deer. In fact he was the only buck over 1.5 that would even eat from the feeder. Yet, the two times I saw him in person he was incredibly wary. Once he spooked out of beanfield I was watching from my truck parked.. As soon as he noticed a vehicle parked where he wasn't used to seeing one, he turned tale and ran even though it was the middle of August and he was more than 200 yards away.

I think relative hunting pressure makes a difference as well. The deer where I hunt now seem to be a lot more curious about cams than the much more heavily pressured deer on my own farm near part of the HNF. I think they do seem to get used to cameras over time. The first year I hunted my current place, I had two big bucks that I only caught on camera once each. Since then, I have gotten at least a couple different photos of all but one buck. Now I often see definite patterns and cycles of movement year after year with the same bucks showing up in similar areas at the same time for multiple years. Many of them seem to be around for 1-3 days and then disappear for a week or more at a time before reappearing.

 

[tcecil88]

I set my cameras over scrapes and got several photos of the same mature bucks. I will say that I have several photos of one off big bucks, but that was during the height of the rut and you could attribute that to the buck just traveling through. I have often wondered if deer can sense the RF signal.

 

[phylodog]

Interestingly this was posted today. Just now starting to watch it.