As a whitetail hunter the dog days of summer can be rough. Between the heat and the bugs heading to the woods can be a real chore. But as any dedicated whitetail hunter will tell you, the season never ends. It just starts over as soon as bucks shed their antlers. Running trail cameras in the summer is just as important as any other time of year.
Some of the main reasons for this is that once bucks start to grow their antlers, they will become identifiable. This will allow you to figure out what bucks survived from the previous season. You will also be able to get an idea of the caliber of bucks in your area. You will then be able to key in on one or two bucks to study all summer long. This scouting will be crucial when trying to pattern a certain buck in the fall. Not only that but you will get some cool pictures of bucks with their velvet on.
#1 Cell Cameras are Best.
Any camera is better than no camera but if you can run cell cameras every place you are able to. There are several reasons for this. The first is it provides you with real-time data. It will let you know the times the deer move as well as the winds they prefer and the weather at the time. This information will come in handy as the calendar moves on to the fall. Next, they keep you out of the woods. We are all guilty of hanging a camera then wanting to check it every week, cell cameras scratch the itch so to speak without being too intrusive to deer. Lastly, as season approaches, they will help you pattern the deer to hopefully capitalize opening day. If you are in the market for a new camera, I would recommend checking out the new Muddy Matrix or Stealth Cam Deceptor. Both cameras have not only picture but video modes as well as on demand pictures.
#2 Minerals are Magic.
As soon as the woods start to green up for the year the whitetails diet changes. With that change comes mineral imbalances in their diet. Deer will start to seek out the minerals they need to remain healthy. The main minerals they need are sodium, calcium, and phosphorus. Minerals are also especially important for fawns and does. This is because they will help aid with lactation and keep fawns as healthy as they can when they need it most. Many believe that it also helps bucks grow larger antlers. This is still a debatable topic, but research has shown that 35 percent of an antlers’ weight comes from minerals so there may be some truth to it. Products like Evolved’s Deer Cane or Stump Licker are perfect for making minerals sites. These are perfect places to hang a camera to monitor deer throughout all the summer.
#3 Keep it Clear.
Nothing is worse than hanging a camera at the end of May and returning in August only to find the SD card full of 3 branches blowing in the wind, or worse yet not be able to find the camera because it is so overgrown. I like to take a rake and my HME hand saw to the woods when hanging cameras. This allows me to clear all vegetation that could affect my camera in a negative manner. I will even take some round up with me if I need to kill off a bunch of grass. Another thing to keep in mind is bugs. To help with this issue I like to soak my hanging straps in permethrin. This will keep the bugs from trying to make your camera their new home.
#4 Cast a Large Net.
Do not key in on one spot during the summer months. Use this time to locate those target bucks to hunt in the fall. This is the perfect time to use apps like Huntstand to find new properties to hunt in the fall, it will give you all the information you need including the property owners. I then like to approach the property owner just to get permission to hang a trail camera. This is an effective way to break the ice and hopefully gain permission in the fall. By the time most people start to think about deer season you will already have permission and know what bucks you want to chase. Or you know the property is not what you are looking for.
#5 Hang on Hot Sign.
By this I mean hang your cameras on hot deer sign. Just like in the fall deer will still be leaving clues as to where they have been. It may be a little harder to find the sign this time of year but once you do get a camera on it. The sign I’m looking for in the summer would be a heavily traveled trail or a community scrape. This kind of sign will also be beneficial in the fall. Especially the community scrape as deer will work this scrape all year long. I have also had success creating a mock scrape with hemp rope during the summer months. Once the deer locate and take over the scrape it can be a perfect ambush point in the fall.