Captured in the early evening, this blacktail buck was photographed with a Stealth Cam MC2 using FujiFilm X-tra Superia 800 speed film. Photo by Joe J. Warren

Large tracks or antler rubs may provide evidence of a buck's presence, but such telltale sign still leaves unanswered questions: How big is he? When did he come through? Which trails does he use?

Fortunately, technology exists today that allows us to answer those questions, and trail cameras rank among the most popular apparatus. With an increasing number of manufacturers producing trail cameras, outdoorsmen are enjoying a flood of affordable, portable and durable cameras. These self-operating devices can help in narrowing the guesswork of elusive animals by capturing their images to illustrate presence, timing and movements.

In the Pacific West, the trail camera can be well worth its weight in gold as an aid for preseason scouting in blacktail country, especially for those whose time in the field may be limited. Avid hunters respect blacktail deer as one of the most challenging types of deer to hunt in North America, and even more so when the attention is on trophy-class bucks.

Venturing into thick forests with heavy underbrush is no cakewalk, not to mention limited visibility, and yet oftentimes this is where the buck of a lifetime resides.

According to game biologists, non-migratory blacktail deer have a home range of about one square mile. During the preseason, they can be creatures of habit, with routine movements between feeding, watering and bedding areas. Recording the quality and whereabouts of these "home-guard" bucks is a great way to stake out your hunt for when the season begins. And with the affordable price range of trail cameras, owning more than one is economical enough that you could effectively monitor more than one location at a time.

GETTING SET
As easy as it may seem, the use of a trail camera does take some forethought and planning to successfully photograph your quarry just as it would to harvest that buck with a bow or rifle.

A successful location of placing a trail camera is not a matter of luck. Knowing the terrain, reading deer sign from tracks, droppings, antler scrapes/rubs, and bedding grounds are prerequisites to selecting likely spots for trail cameras. For me, reading tracks was a good way to start photographing bucks, and I soon learned to emphasize the size and depth of tracks, which are likely indications that a buck made them.

When I first experimented with a trail camera, I took the first simple route by finding a good trail break visible from the road and taking a hike on it. Eventually, I noticed more intersecting trails with plenty of traffic signs that told me the deer in that area were active. A good-sized Douglas fir about 5 feet off the trail served as a steady post for my camera, and a quick test of the sensor by walking back and forth in front of it indicated the camera was ready.

Four days later I returned to find all 24 frames exposed. When I picked up the prints at a one-hour photo lab, I was utterly amazed. "They don't get big by being stupid," I told myself. Those earliest of photos proved that I had a great deal more to learn.

To employ the use of a trail camera, a hunter should allow plenty of time ahead of the season. Starting in the summer would be ample time to explore where big bucks are hiding. They are notorious for moving only during dark hours, which is most likely when the trail camera will photograph him. Once the pictures reveal what you are looking for, move the camera to another area and give that one a rest.