Summer Trail Camera Intel

The summer months can be thrilling for deer hunters. Although deer season is months away, bucks are highly visible during the daytime as they pack on inches of velvet-clad antler. Can you think of anything more exciting than watching a group of bachelor bucks feeding on luscious alfalfa an hour before dark?

As exciting as it is, it only gives you insights as to evening movement patterns in open areas. In other words, what are the bucks doing the rest of the day, especially in areas of thicker cover? Bring out the trail cameras!

A solid trail camera strategy can help you gain key intel relative to your stand locations that you won’t get from behind a spotting scope. Not only can you inventory bucks around the clock, but you can begin to connect the dots on particular bucks that will help you solve the puzzle later on when the season opens. To that end, let’s discuss some summer trail camera tactics.

Camera Locations

Let’s begin by identifying top trail camera locations for the summertime. First, mineral sites (where/when legal) are highly attractive to bucks as they develop their antlers and build their bodies for the coming rut and winter. Water is another necessity, especially during a drought or in more arid climates. Hang cameras on ponds, river crossings and waterholes. Edges of clover, bean and alfalfa fields where deer enter are also hot bets.

Set It and Forget It

Trail cameras are most effective when they’re set and forgotten; eliminating the coming and going of pulling cards diminishes human disturbance and keeps deer calm. That’s why cellular trail cameras such as Moultrie’s EDGE 2 PRO are so beneficial. With nationwide coverage via four major LTE carriers, you’ll get your images and videos transmitted wirelessly to the Moultrie Mobile app without visiting the woods.

Vegetation changes as the season progresses, and trail camera locations deep in the timber could prove difficult to relocate months later when you’re ready to pull cameras, but the GPS-enabled Moultrie EDGE 2 PRO pins the camera location on the map in the app for easy reference.

Peg Your Target Buck’s Personality Now

You can execute a successful hunting plan on a specific buck if you can learn and understand his personality. Every mature buck has personality-based tendencies, and it helps to peg them early during the summer.

Specifically, try to learn how the buck interacts with other deer. A good way to do this is to run the EDGE 2 Pro in QHD video mode complete with audio. If the buck exhibits dominance toward other bucks, you could conclude that he’s an aggressive buck and will likely be susceptible to calling and decoying later in the fall. If he tolerates other deer, perhaps a more conservative hunting approach on a bed-to-feed pattern will prove most effective.  

Plan, Prepare, Succeed

Trail cameras won’t put a big buck broadside in your shooting lane, but the intel they provide, especially during the summer months, can be highly advantageous. Follow the tips outlined above to kick off your summer trail-cam program.