Big Bucks Present but Never on Camera

[OutHouse]

Over the years I have noticed that the big bucks very rarely end up on my cameras. They are present because I see them from time to time, but they seem to be experts at not showing themselves to the camera.

I once read an article about a guy with tons of private land in the midwest and he said every year numerous bruisers are taken off his property that never ended up on an SD card.

Any thought or experiences with this?

[DaveMonti]

The big ones have an invisibility cloak.  You won't see one unless he forgets to put it on.

[jrebel]

The mature bucks don't follow the same travel patterns as the rest of the deer.  They will use a different trail sometimes just out of camera range.  If you put bait at a site, the small bucks, does and fawns will find it thus changing the habits of the big bucks.  Try and place cameras without bait away from the areas the other deer are using. 

[idaho guy]

I know nothing about blacktails but for whitetails I have a few suggestions that have worked for me. Have you tried placing your camera on old rub lines or scrapes you found in prior years? better yet is putting them on current rub/scrape lines once that stuff starts happening. Put your camera off the main deer trail on the downwind side of what the prevailing breeze is when you think deer are using the main trail. You should be able to see a way less obvious trail down from the main. A lot of times on ridges this will be on the downwind side of a heavily used traii on the ridge. Do it on bedding areas too if you can without spooking the deer.  You will catch the mature buck during the pre- rut scent checking the does from the downwind side but staying within cover.  If you are using bait you should get pictures of nocturnal bucks I think at your bait but a like midnight etc. once the rut kicks in you should catch mature bucks on camera anywhere there is does. If you can put out salt early spring seems like big bucks are way more likely to show themselves at that time too. Biggest factor is not disturbing or stinking the area up too much when placing and checking camera.   

[HunterofWA]

This past season my brother picked up a little doe-p from sportsman's and we got quite a few bucks on cam. Not any older than 2.5-3 years though. We also had apples out but the bucks probably were only there because of the doe activity in that area.

Your best bet would to use some deer scent or something, and make sure you use a scent killer to try to make your camera site seem completely natural. I think it's because people don't put their cams where big bucks like to hang out, and the bucks can smell the human scent you leave behind and are turned off by that.

Another thing I have heard is the bucks get scared of the flash from the cam at night, causing them to shy away from it. I think that is only the case when the buck is super cautious and is about 1-2 feet away looking directly at the camera.

[OutHouse]

Good advice. Thanks for the replies fellas. Now that I recall, I do get a few monsters on camera in the middle of the night on a salt block. It makes sense that they would use a different trail that allows them to scent/keep tabs on the does from a distance. Usually I just find an obviously well trodden trail and set them up, but now I know the bruiser is probably lurking not far away but out of camera distance.

[hunter_sean08]

This is based on my experience with mulies. Big bucks get big for a reason. I wouldn't be too discouraged if you're not catching the big guys on camera on a regular basis, if at all. Seeing a lot of deer in general is a plus. Also, if you have other knowledge of big bucks in the area (i.e. big tracks, trails, or maybe you've even seen a nice one at some point), that goes a long ways. I didn't get any big deer on my cameras last year, but I had seen a monster on one particular scouting trip and plenty of giant tracks. The cameras were catching a lot of does and smaller bucks, so I knew it was a high traffic area (plenty of water and food). With that said, I focused most of my attention on that general area during the regular season and closed the deal on a nice buck.

[OutHouse]

This is based on my experience with mulies. Big bucks get big for a reason. I wouldn't be too discouraged if you're not catching the big guys on camera on a regular basis, if at all. Seeing a lot of deer in general is a plus. Also, if you have other knowledge of big bucks in the area (i.e. big tracks, trails, or maybe you've even seen a nice one at some point), that goes a long ways. I didn't get any big deer on my cameras last year, but I had seen a monster on one particular scouting trip and plenty of giant tracks. The cameras were catching a lot of does and smaller bucks, so I knew it was a high traffic area (plenty of water and food). With that said, I focused most of my attention on that general area during the regular season and closed the deal on a nice buck.

Cool. It sounds like they are probably there whether you get a pic or not--that's comforting. I got a decent white tail this year but I was after a mule. Now that I think about it, your profile pic is that King of the Mountain buck huh? That's not a nice buck. That's a freaking stupendous buck!! Good work. So you didn't get the King on camera or did you?

[HunterofWA]

This is based on my experience with mulies. Big bucks get big for a reason. I wouldn't be too discouraged if you're not catching the big guys on camera on a regular basis, if at all. Seeing a lot of deer in general is a plus. Also, if you have other knowledge of big bucks in the area (i.e. big tracks, trails, or maybe you've even seen a nice one at some point), that goes a long ways. I didn't get any big deer on my cameras last year, but I had seen a monster on one particular scouting trip and plenty of giant tracks. The cameras were catching a lot of does and smaller bucks, so I knew it was a high traffic area (plenty of water and food). With that said, I focused most of my attention on that general area during the regular season and closed the deal on a nice buck.

  Just cause they aren't on cam doesn't mean that they aren't there.

[hunter399]

I've had a few show up once a month,smaller deer everyday,so when your checking 3000 photos or more you have to be looking really good,cause you might only have five pics of big ones,i have looked over some big ones in my pics before.

[OutHouse]

I've had a few show up once a month,smaller deer everyday,so when your checking 3000 photos or more you have to be looking really good,cause you might only have five pics of big ones,i have looked over some big ones in my pics before.

That's a good point. My brother and I were looking over some old trail camera photos and noticed a coyote following a doe way in the back ground. Totally missed it when we first saw the pics on that SD card.

[Jonathan_S]

Mature bucks have their own secluded habitat and patterns. Most of the year they are committed to isolation. So visiting spots frequented by other deer isn't in their typical nature

[hunter_sean08]

This is based on my experience with mulies. Big bucks get big for a reason. I wouldn't be too discouraged if you're not catching the big guys on camera on a regular basis, if at all. Seeing a lot of deer in general is a plus. Also, if you have other knowledge of big bucks in the area (i.e. big tracks, trails, or maybe you've even seen a nice one at some point), that goes a long ways. I didn't get any big deer on my cameras last year, but I had seen a monster on one particular scouting trip and plenty of giant tracks. The cameras were catching a lot of does and smaller bucks, so I knew it was a high traffic area (plenty of water and food). With that said, I focused most of my attention on that general area during the regular season and closed the deal on a nice buck.

Cool. It sounds like they are probably there whether you get a pic or not--that's comforting. I got a decent white tail this year but I was after a mule. Now that I think about it, your profile pic is that King of the Mountain buck huh? That's not a nice buck. That's a freaking stupendous buck!! Good work. So you didn't get the King on camera or did you?

We never got him on camera, but one of my hunting partners had seen him in August near where we were setting up our cams. His tracks (along with sets belonging to other nice bucks) were in the area too. Cameras don't catch everything. And as Jonathan said, mature bucks have their own patterns. With that said, if there's a good watering hole that deer are frequenting, it doesn't mean the big guys aren't making visits, they just might have a different approach than the other deer. This deer lived on the other side of a ridge we were hunting, but was going back and forth from one side to the other. Most of the other deer I think were holding out near the camera sites until hunting season started.

[LeviD1]

I always have 4-5 160ish class bucks on cam all year long. Just come hunting season they are all gone. At least you don't get teased all year with what could happen haha.

[branches]

I know nothing about blacktails but for whitetails I have a few suggestions that have worked for me. Have you tried placing your camera on old rub lines or scrapes you found in prior years? better yet is putting them on current rub/scrape lines once that stuff starts happening. Put your camera off the main deer trail on the downwind side of what the prevailing breeze is when you think deer are using the main trail. You should be able to see a way less obvious trail down from the main. A lot of times on ridges this will be on the downwind side of a heavily used traii on the ridge. Do it on bedding areas too if you can without spooking the deer.  You will catch the mature buck during the pre- rut scent checking the does from the downwind side but staying within cover.  If you are using bait you should get pictures of nocturnal bucks I think at your bait but a like midnight etc. once the rut kicks in you should catch mature bucks on camera anywhere there is does. If you can put out salt early spring seems like big bucks are way more likely to show themselves at that time too. Biggest factor is not disturbing or stinking the area up too much when placing and checking camera.   

Great information