Have any of y’all had success using trail cameras (with correct date/time stamp) to pattern AND KILL a mature buck? And if you did have success, how many cameras and pics did it take? And across how much of a timeframe? I’m new to the camera game, and am curious about how much success can be attributed to the successful patterning of deer movement.

Thanks.

You are covering a tip of the needle sized area with a camera. It can get frustrating when you do t get many pics but you know deer are there. They may just be walking 10ft too far for the camera to catch. That said, I have used cameras to get me in the area of a buck and then usually have to adjust from what I see when hunting there. Cameras become very intrusive as well because you always wanna go check them! I’ve never been able to just pin one down with camera reports but it’s gotten me in the game. Good luck!

I killed a nine with my bow last year that I had pretty well patterned.....Before season he would come thru everyday. But once season started he would only come thru about every third day. I just waited him out. Hunted Saturday and Sunday for several weekends and finally caught him on a Sunday morning. I would get him on camera in other areas but none were as regular as this spot.

Never done it with cameras but I've killed 2 that were spotted the day before same place same time

I've had good luck using timelapse cameras like a plotwatcher over fields. It mainly helps with identifying which trails they used. Never patterned a mature buck though. I would see one every once in a while but there was nothing predictable about their movements. They never did the same thing twice.

I killed a big 9 two years ago I had somewhat patterned with cameras. I might have killed him without the knowlege I gained from the cameras. But after getting pics of him for three years straight about the same time in the same place, I atleast felt like I had a good plan.

I was going to chime in and state that only after multiple years worth of pics,did I begin to pattern bucks movements,and even then, it was guesswork. For example,when the bucks are all in velvet,they generally are all bunched up together;when the velvet is coming off,they disperse. Theres a current group I've been getting pics of for 3 years,and every year,they've dispersed to the same areas as years past. Hopefully I can connect on one of them this upcoming week.

It's been done on a few bucks at my camp. We basically got lucky and caught them coming into a plot before the season started. Two of them were killed on opening day. It takes a lot of time running cameras. It can be addicting when you first start. Now, I don't even fool with them.

Patterning deer with cameras is a huge help to me especially since I usually only get to hunt 1 day a week. Last year when it snowed I left work in time to check cameras that evening. A buck that had been nocturnal was on camera right before daylight that morning. Went back super early the next morning and he made a mistake and did the same thing again. Year before I had a mature buck that was showing up all over the place during the rut. He was just moving from one area to another covering several miles wherever the does were coming in. Friday night I went and checked cameras and had pics of him that day and the day before in one area chasing. Went back the next morning and he showed up at 7:30.