When attempting to identify a pattern to the deer movement on your place, how many cameras do you put out? Do you put them along known travel routes? Entrance points by a green field? Near bedding areas?
I've always assumed that "patterning" a unique buck meant you knew his route to and from bedding to feeding and the general time frames when he'd be on the move. I can tell which bucks show up at the mineral lick, the clover patch and the ones that feed at the white oaks down in the bottom, but I got no idea which direction they came from or are going.
How many cameras do I need if I want to try and identify a deer's movement patterns?

I understand your question exactly, and I'm not sure its possible with a regular trail cam. I'd recommend a plot watcher, or at least one with that feature.

I place mine around food sources first to see if there's a buck in the area I'd be interested in. Once I locate a buck I'd like to take, then I start putting cameras on trails leading from the bedding cover to the general area where I had feeding pics. Usually it's not a coming and going pattern on a single trail but more of the deer making a loop. I find the trails he's making his rounds on in the morning heading back and evening goin to feed. It's a trial and error but it does work. Once you get a few down you'll be able to narrow down the trails bucks likely would use versus the does.

great question. I tried to pinpoint a travel route to a clover field last fall, before bow season. I put out two cameras and saw the bucks in both places, but it still didn't confirm where they bedded. For my situation I had a clover field and then to the east a mnt/ woods and to the west a county rd, but a lot of cover and corn fields past the co. rd. Never did figure out where they were coming from...

I start back using my cameras in September over corn. I do this to see what bucks I have on the property. Then I setup on Swamp Chestnut Oak when they start dropping their acorns. The bucks will be there. I'll use my cameras on creek crossings and foodplots during the rut to see what new bucks have shown up on the property. I check my cameras on a regular basis. I need to know as soon as possible when a new buck shows up. Checking them once every other week or so is pointless for me.

We have 3 cameras that we use primarily over a mineral lick and 2 corn sites in Feb, when we conduct a survey. The rest of the time we just use them as we see sign over the course of the season, moving them from place to place to try and catch whatever it is that makes the sign we like.
As with most of the problems and frustrations we face, being 2 hrs away from the hunting land is the biggest obstacle. I suppose, based on the things you guys do, the best we can hope for is a little luck now and then in finding a good buck. I can't get over there on a regular basis and it sounds like that's what it's going to take in order to place cameras where they'd do the most good. Distance, time and money....

When I try to pattern a buck, I try to see if there is any thickets or planted pines near the area I got pictures of him. If so, I try to put a camera overlooking big trails running in this thick stuff. Usually I'll get pictures of my buck accessing the pines or thickets from the hardwoods. Makes a good pinch point to catch him.

You might want to look into buying cameras that will text/email you pics. I have a couple of those. They're pretty cool, if you have cell service.

What kind of money are we talking about for those. I assume there is a separate charge for the cellular fees?

$300+ for the camera. Around $10/month for the text plan.

That's not as steep as I thought it would be but it still ain't cheap. Thanks for the info!

I've had good success using 3-4 cameras to track either the entering trail or the exiting trail from water sources/food plots. Once you find one worth chasing, leave one camera in place and back the other cameras up 25-50 yards down the main avenues of approach. If I get the same buck, on the same trail more than 4 times in a week, I'll back up the other cameras up down the same trail. Lather, rinse, repeat.

If one or more of the cameras further down the trail don't have pics of the buck you're looking for, that means he's sneaking onto the trail somewhere in between your cams. Adjust as necessary and keep moving cameras until you pick it up again. Usually the best luck I've had is to wait until a good rain or two has come through so that if I get a buck that sneaks onto the trail somewhere, I have a better chance of seeing his tracks and adjusting my trail cams.

How does "checking the cameras" translate into "pressure on deer"? If you go in every few days, or even once per week, will this contaminate the area?

How could it not contaminate the area? If I put a camera out I don't go back for at least 2 weeks and it is usually a month.

I've had luck on travel corridors putting 2 cams on the same tree back to back, facing 180 degrees from each other. Camera avoidance is real !

only way I've been able to monitor a pattern of a buck at all is by having as many cameras out as I can, I had a buck we killed last year on three different cameras in one night. overall he traveled about 1/2 mile working down creek and checking fields

Being able to pattern a specific buck is nearly impossible on some properties and pretty easy on others. I've never had much luck doing it, but most of the places I've hunted have little variation in terrain. If you hunt a place with a lot of variation, whether it be big fields, topography, etc, it helps.

I typically use a trail camera to inventory the bucks in an area early in the season, and for fun throughout the rest of the year. I'd say in most cases in alabama, if you put in the time to pattern a deer via trail cam, it would often be counterproductive. Adding so much scent to the area, checking it so often, etc.

I'd advise using them as a general tool, instead of a specific one. Stick it on a plot, Check it seldomly. When you get consistent night activity in an area from a buck, use a topo and arial map to guess at his daytime behavior, and hunt accordingly.

I agree completely. My cameras are black flash / no flash cameras. Even so, the sightings were down drastically the second season I used them.
Never would have thought to use two cameras on the same tree on opposite sides. That's a brilliant idea!