Camera Shy

I've been using trail cameras for about 4 years and have captured many great shots. I have pictures of some magnificent bucks. I have quite a few of does and young bucks also. Although I've placed my cameras in some great locations, I have yet to catch the buck I'm really after in any of my shots. 2 years ago we found a shed antler that carried 6 points on one side. This year I've found a rub on a tree that is 28 to 30 inches in diameter. I catch some big body pictures with the head gear hidden or turned the wrong way. It is like the bucks can sense the reason for the camera or they are just camera shy. I wonder why some bucks look as if they are posing for the camera and others are always hiding. I guess it is the same reason that some bucks are like ghost that people never see, while others are seen regularly. I guess if we had all the reasons answered for us we would be bored with chasing these beautiful animals.

Changing Thermal Winds

I hung a deer stand well before season so the deer would get used to it being there. This stand always had the wind blowing from left to right when I sat in it before season. This would have kept my scent blowing back in the direction from where I came and toward a house. I was looking forward to hunting from this stand, for every year I have found some great sign around this area. As winter and hunting season came I prepared to hunt from this stand. The first time I hunted from this stand, I noticed that the winds had changed. I didn't think this was a problem because the wind blew into my face, until I got busted by deer coming from behind me. This happened every time I tried to hunt from this stand if it was cold. If it was warm it went back to the way it was from left to right. I decided that as the temperature dropped the thermal winds changed. As you hang your stands watch out for these changing thermal winds they may cost you some good hunts. As for me I learn from my mistakes, I will be able to hunt this area by moving the stand about 50 yards where the wind funnels down between 2 small hills. The wind stays the same between these hills warm or cold. Also moving gave me another view of a logging road where I have found rubs and scrapes. But moving also keeps me from seeing a pond on the property also surrounded by rubs and scrapes. I guess you just can't have everything.

Beliefs

There is an old statement saying "you have to stand for something or you will fall for anything". I believe that goes for hunting products also. I am not bashing any product. I just get amazed that hunting shows push products that they don't believe in. I understand sponsorship and you push what ever pays the bills. But you should use what you push. I have seen some shows be sponsored by a type of rifle and when you see them hunting they are using a different type.
I have a 4x4 that came with hunting stickers of products on the windows. When I added more I decided only to put what products that I use. This way if any of my friends saw my truck and the stickers they wouldn't go buy a product they thought I trusted unless it was. I only use or swear by a product if I have tested it and know it works. I wish more host of hunting shows would decide this.

Hidden in Plain Sight

Trail cameras are a great way to scout. Not only do tell you if anything is moving during the day light hours. They can let you see if any bucks are in the area you plan to hunt. They can also educate you. I got a little education from my trail cam pictures this week. When I checked the pictures there were many of does and a few small bucks that you could clearly see. My ten year old son was helping me view them and noticed a set of antlers up behind the other deer. They were not very open like the other deer in the shots. After zooming in you could see a very large buck hidden in the shadows. He was not hiding behind any big tree, just a bunch of saplings 2 inches or smaller. It was like he was fading into the shadows around him. My Granddad and Dad taught me to look for more than the body of deer. They used to say look for an ear or an antler that may stand out. After seeing that picture this statement took on a new meaning. It was amazing seeing that buck blend into his surroundings just by being hidden in plain sight. It makes me also wonder how many times I overlooked deer doing the same thing. After 24 years hunting these elusive animals I'm still learning. This is why I never get bored with hunting.

Hunting Supplies Are Here

Hunting Supplies Are Here signs are going up every where. It makes me want to be heading off to the woods. Me and some friends went out and sighted in the rifles. Everyone is talking about the deer that have been caught on trail cameras. It is too bad that we here in Alabama still have another month and a half before season starts. This year the eagerness we all have has escalated. All of us are chomping at the bit ready to face off against the elusive whitetail bucks.
As we decide where new stands are to be hung or what we want to plant in the green fields. Or we look back at our memories of hunts gone by(triggered by something you see in the woods) may we all take time to be thankful for a country that allows us the freedom to follow our dreams. And may our freedoms never be infringed on.

Navigation

I recently did a Men's Bible study entitled navigation. I was teaching on finding direction from the Bible, in life, or anything that this would apply to. Hunters in the old magazines always used topographic maps for scouting or planning to hunt new areas. I have used this method when starting out hunting public land or new hunting clubs. Each time I use what I have learned from my experiences and the symbols for topographs. But when I first started I didn't understand how to read these maps so I bought maps of the hunting land I was raised on to study. By doing this I could find mountains, ridges, or other land fixtures. Water was easy it is the same for all maps.
I try to hunt funnels, edges,ridges, and swamps . Using what I 've learned I can spot these on my maps. It has come in handy in my hunts. I learned how to navigate these maps and in doing I also learned how to have better hunts.