Charting Trail Camera Photos

[hortontoter]

I've been using trail cameras since 2010. I find the use of them as both fascinating and informative. Yesterday I decided to see when my bucks show during daylight hours month to month during the hunting season. Took a few hours to compile the results, but they were interesting. I broke it down by months and morning (6AM - 10AM), midday (10:01AM - 3PM), and evening (3:01PM - dark). I know that I have deleted lots of photos that were blurry or low quality over the last couple years so these numbers aren't exactly accurate.

I always knew that gun season had a big effect on my deer. But, charting my photos showed how much. But, I have to admit that only last winter did I have a camera up through January. And I always pull my cameras during gun week. Not ONE daylight photo of any buck from the end of gun week until the end of the archery season, Wow, what a revelation, as this is my favorite time to hunt!!

September, even though the season is only the last couple of days, was counted as the entire month. September was a good morning month. The daylight buck photos were as follows.
Morning 6
Midday 0
Evening 2

October was again a good morning month. The daylight buck photos were as follows.
Morning 9
Midday 1
Evening 4

November was what I anticipated. The month when a buck traveled most any time of day. The daylight buck photos were as follows.
Morning 3
Midday 5
Evening 8

This little charting showed me a few things. First and foremost that hunting bucks after gun season is almost fruitless (on my property). Next I was surprised how many bucks traveled my property in the morning. It also proved most bucks travel at night all year long. I had many more night photos than daylight photos.

Guess I'll be spending more mornings on stand this year.

I'll continue to plot this chart through out the season. I'll keep the low quality photos until months end starting this September to get a better handle on daylight buck movement.

[mrbb]

Well cool info, but unless your area is under great management and super low and the same pressure yr after yr
I cannot say I go along with deer movements based on trail =am pic's
just too many day to day changes effect that in my eye's
I have been running trail camera's here since 1998
My deer have zero consistant movements or where or why they show up at different ends of the farm
tried tracking where and when's for yrs and well, just gave in to, they move based on too many things, from people, dogs cats, yes I get stray dogs and cats, trespassers, atv riders, fishermen, weather maybe, coyotes bears, who really knows
the way my place is set up, with a few good bedding spot, and all the food a deer could want/need and water too
they move differently every day, all hrs, its =razy?
I simply say best time to kill a deer is when you can hunt, any hr and day, have to be out there to kill em!

[hortontoter]

You are 100% correct on your last statement. You can't kill one if your not hunting them.

And to try to use camera photos as the time to hunt is probably not the best strategy. But, any info I can get may help in some way. I'm curious to see how the numbers from this year line up with what I compiled yesterday.

Another fly in the ointment is where cameras are placed at certain times of the season. Some are placed at funnels, some over scrapes, some here, there and anywhere.

When you eat, drink and sleep deer hunting, you have to spend the off season doing somthing.