Disappointing trail camera results - any thoughts?

[Toke2]

So I mimicked my strategy from last year. I even added two cameras. I put them out mid/late July and checked them mid August. Last year, I had 100 pics of bucks and many of the top buck on my hit list. This year, not a single buck! All doe and fawn. Less deer overall. Not sure why. Could be an increase in human traffic ( fracking folks have been doing seismic studies in the area - not the immediate area but close by) or if it has to do with the wet summer and maybe an abundance of food elsewhere. Needless to say - I was very disappointed when I pulled my cards. I'm pretty certain the deer are there - just not using the trails where my cams are? Anyone ever experienced this?

[zachc]

I feel ya toke! I have been running my trail cams at my house literally 24/7-365 since last year when we moved in. Compared to last year the deer movement here is maybe half of what it was last year at this time. Last year I also had 10-15 different bucks, some spikes and some definite shooters, but buck are bucks and just a few does here and there. This year...I have about 5-6 different bucks and only about 3-4 are consistent visitors but I have a pretty good number of doe pics. Not sure why. Like you I'm kinda lost. One solution here might be, last year it was pretty much all soybeans around and this year we have a corn field that butts up against the back of the woods behind the house and one not to far down the road.

[mrbb]

this happens
MY backyard for about 20 yrs I had a solid mix oif bucks and does/fawns
then last few yrs almost ZERO bucks will show up
YET can place a cam about 80 yards farther back, and get a LOT of bucks on cam??
makes you wonder why??
so, just cause NO pic's doesn't mean there still NOT there

[Toke2]

Well that's somewhat comforting! I was in the neighborhood last night so I swapped out my cards, and I got one pic of young buck ( not a familiar one). So, I am going with " they are there, just dodging my cams". Gonna keep the glass half full!


this happens
MY backyard for about 20 yrs I had a solid mix oif bucks and does/fawns
then last few yrs almost ZERO bucks will show up
YET can place a cam about 80 yards farther back, and get a LOT of bucks on cam??
makes you wonder why??
so, just cause NO pic's doesn't mean there still NOT there

[mrbb]

I'll tell you what some deer just seem to avoid cam's
down the main farm I ran a LOT of cam's yr round
and cannot tell you HOW many bucks I would watch all summer in the plots eating, and yet NEVER get a single pic of them , even when winter time and would run a feeder
some ysr it would be like 5-6 different bucks, that I never got a single pic of, yet seen all the time??

and IF I didn;'t see them all the time, I would never known they were on the farm,based on just trail cam pic's
some deer I think are just camera shy LOL
SO, don't think deer don't be there you never seen, there are ALWAYS deer there that a cam doesn't get!

[Dan]

The deer on my lease change their movement based on the crop rotation. The more interesting bucks always seem to be in close proximity to the corn.

[zachc]

Checked your cameras lately toke2? I checked mine Sunday with again not very promising results. Batteries dead on 1, had a bunch of does pics and the spikey rack on another, and a pic of a decent buck on the one in the woods but only got pic of half his rack. Moved the camera so we'll see what happens...