I have 2 trail cameras. I think what I want to do is move them to various locations every 2 weeks or so. I'm not putting them on feed, I just want to try and find travel corridors and bedding areas.

So lets say I find spots that routinely show deer moving through in May or August or whenever, what are the odds that they will do more or less the same thing in Oct-Jan. I realize that once the season starts hunting pressure may alter their behavior. I just can't buy 20 cameras and leave them up all year.

Is this the best way to accomplish the goal of knowing where the deer will be in October with only 2 cameras or are they likely to do something completely different next month and again in 6 months?

For the last three years I experimented with that approach only to find that the deer patterns changed by the time the season started, even without the hunting. I'm interested to hear what the old timers say also ...

They have different patterns from spring to fall. Moving camera's every 2 weeks only puts pressure on your deer. People have become entirely to dependent on camera's. They can be useful, when used correctly, but when there not it just educates deer.

zero....

Summer patterns mean diddle come fall and winter.

You need to get a couple more cameras. Put it on your Christmas wish list or ask for Amazon gift cards.

There's not a more painful experience to a deer hunter than to have a big buck patterned to a T in late September and early October, then opening day he has pisadeered. We aren't able to hunt a summer pattern in this state so don't waste your time tying. Just keep an eye on your mast crops during the year and hunt em when bow season opens. That being said though, I always run cameras in august just to see what kind of bucks I have around. Then during bow season, I hunt the same funnels I hunt during the rut, except I try to hunt next to food sources in them funnels.

I just got tired of putting all that effort into patterning deer through the summer to early fall only to have them up and change everything right before the season ended. I believe it's just a waste of time to do any patterning with cams unless you are gonna hunt within a week or two

Set you camera up on a good mineral lick for summer pics.

I start running cameras in September. By then, the bucks have grown about all they're gonna grow. My acorns start dropping close to the opening of bow season. The bucks I have on camera in September will be in the same area eating acorns in October and November.

There is zero reason for me to run cameras during the summer.

Ok. Thanks for the responses. Here's a follow up question. Is there anything about summer patterns that might be a predictor of fall patterns? Should I just go fishing until Oct.?

Fishing would be good

I'll give them a higher chance of having the same travel patterns in fall/winter as summer than Paw Paw. I'll give them 1% chance........... maybe.

Summer/early Fall pics with your cameras should be used more to take a "census" of your deer rather than trying to establish any sort of huntable pattern. They can give you a good idea of what bucks MIGHT still be around once the season starts. The only exception I've seen is when they are coming to an agricultural food source (peanuts here in SE AL). Sometimes the bucks will continue to hit the peanut field late in the afternoon (as they have all summer) through the first week or two of the bow season IF the peanuts have not been picked yet and IF the acorns haven't started falling.

This, yep.

Another vote for this. When patterning deer, the most valuable thing is knowing where they bed and feed. While the bedding area may generally be the same, it is almost assured that the food will be different if it is natural food.

The only point of a camera this time of year is to see what is out there and watch their antler development.

About all you can expect to learn from summer cameras is where they go in the summer, and get a general idea of the rate of antler growth until they shed velvet. You can watch the pregnant does get fat and you can get an idea of when they drop fawns. I set up a single camera on a mineral lick for Spring/Summer pics.

So, I have a couple of different things to share that have worked for me:

As far as deer patterns go, the baseline for finding buck travel corridors are the bedding areas. Locate these on your property and you have the starting point no matter what part of the season you are talking about. And before anyone says anything the buck has to sleep to survive, period. It may not be the exact 20yd x 20yd location but it will be that 1-2 acres you don't like entering because you know "I may bump a buck if I go too far in here." Now, the buck doesn't like leaving the bed very often during daylight hours but does get up for a few things, water, light snacks and to use the bathroom. Locate the acorn tree you normally see bucks under feeding no matter the time of day, next locate the water source. Place the cameras in thick cover or even better funnels(if they exist) between these items. The only time this will not be the best intel is during the rut but even a buck likes his bed better than someone else's. There is comfort in knowing the area and security found with familiar territory.

Secondly, I have roughly 25 cameras and it is more of a pain than anything. I do not run cameras during the summer as most people have stated already. Come August 15th I begin putting cameras out on mineral sites and water sources. After fields are established I throw them on entry trails to the plots and funnels monitoring the deer on the property.

Just what has worked for me, I hope this helps.

I can agree on cameras educating them wont let that happen to me again

We run cameras on mineral sites and check them about every 2-3 months. It just gives us an idea of what is around and a potential hit list or protect list.