How do y'all use trail cams to kill good bucks? I see them on my cams a good bit, but they are always at night. When the rut kicks in, my cams by the doe bedding areas might catch one in the day time. Just wondering if y'all have any tips or tricks that I may be missing.

I use mine to first try and identify what bucks are in an area, which is real subject to change once the season gets underway.

Once you have good idea that an area is holding a buck, I will usually string a line of cameras along or near where I think he may be bedding. If I can determine where that area is located and then identify his primary travel route, you will find a couple of lockons in that area for ususally two wind directions.

This has worked for me in the past.

Scrapes are always my most buck pictures. I just use them to know the buck is in the area I don't care if hes only on camera at night. That doesn't mean he doesn't walk 20 yds to the right of your camera every afternoon at 4:30. I've never really been able to pattern Alabama deer any more than being able to pin them down to an "area". They gonna move when the wanna move.

agree^

X2

This^^^^^^^

Bout the only patterns I ever seen with them is late season food plots in North Ms. I like to see what bucks are in the area too. Far as a tool for killing a specific deer, only success I've had is checking them at daylight, seeing a buck was on there an hour before, getting my track dog out the box and putting on him then.

Like stated earlier, I use them to see what I have before the season comes in. I usually kill my good deer well before December gets here. During the season I hang them around food sources. Mostly swamp chestnut oak acorns.

I use them to see what bucks are using the area and then I set them up on primary scrapes to see which one I am gonna hunt......but my advice is to not show your pics to anyone that hunts with you

Thanks fellers. Good stuff here.

I use them 2 places.. salt licks and scrapes. And like others have mentioned im mostly just taking inventory. You might get a 5 yr old at 2 in the morning every day for 2 months and then one day he chases a doe through camp at noon. Patterning a mature buck outside of summer is next to impossible. Ive had a good year and so have my neighbors, I know 4 of my hit listers are dead. So I put out 5 cams last week over scrapes to see whos alive and if any new bucks have shown up.