The moment of truth

The moment of truth has finally arrived.  After an exciting summer of scouting, trail cameras and tending to our hunting spots we have finally reached the eve of season.  Needless to say, I most likely will not sleep a wink tonight!  The truck is loaded, our gear packed and my climbing tree stand is calling my name.  Tomorrow is opening day for archery in our area, so my dad and I are going out together to one of my favorite spots.  It's been quite a few years since I've had the opportunity to hunt with my father so I'm beyond excited.

Adding to the excitement is the fact that we still have several bucks appearing on our cameras...

Well, I guess it's time to see if we can seal the deal.  I'm starting out videotaping because this is my first time deer hunting with my father (we used to go for wildfowl together) and I really want to be there for his kill shot.  I'll post the results tomorrow...

Trail cameras

I love, love, love trail cameras!  

We took a quick trip up to the property to check the pictures on the trail cameras.  We found out that the sensitivity on the first camera was set too high so we had over 2,000 pictures of the tree branches moving in the wind but we did get several pictures of our little bear from that camera and while we were hiking we found a paw print from the little guy (or gal) near the camera

It was really a bit of luck finding that print...it was hidden under a Lilly leaf at the edge of the bog. I almost stepped right on the track but caught myself just in time.  It's hard to see the full print in this photo because I only had my phone with me; but the print, claws to the back of the pad, was just slightly shorter than my husband's hand (pinkie side). 

My favorite trail camera photos so far this year came from the other end of the property (opposite the bear's hangout). We had several shots of a coyote chasing a turkey back and forth across a small meadow over a 20 minute period. As far as we can tell the turkey escaped. There were also several shots of a bull moose in velvet. I really hope that the big buy decides to stick around so that we can capture photos of his antlers as they grow.  We also have a few bucks in velvet that we are watching grow; four point minimum, no does, here so fingers crossed that at least a few are hunt-able. 

I love that the trail cameras really bring the mountain to life. We hiked for two hours and did not see any animals, only signs that they had been there. When the weather gets better I hope to camp out on the property near the game trails so we can track (spot and stalk) some of the animals to get a better feel for where they go and what paths they are using. 

Trail Cameras

This year will be our first year hunting on the family's new property.  So we are starting from the very beginning and trying to figure out the perfect place to hunt.  About two weeks ago we hiked the property and saw quite a bit of deer and elk sign.  We made our best guess on hunting spots and placed four trail cameras around the property.  After only one day we had several deer images, giving us faith in our initial choices.

We have let the property sit for almost two weeks now.  I can't wait to go hiking this weekend and collect our memory cards from the trail cameras.

If you haven't used trail cameras before I would highly recommend them.  Two years ago we placed trail cameras on a friend's property.  He thought that he only had a few deer and an occasional moose passing through because he didn't see much wildlife when he was hiking around, we bet him otherwise.  Within the first few weeks we had photos of hundreds of deer and at least 8-9 different bears with only two cameras.  If you place the right cameras in the right areas your property will come alive.  On top of that you can find out their patterns and it will help you know what time you need to be in your stand so that you are not scaring deer out as your packing in.

Where should you place a camera?  It will take a bit of guess work at first, but placing a camera is no different from choosing a tree stand location.  Look for deer sign (trails, bedding areas, tree rubs, scat, prints...) then place the camera a little off the trail and position your lenses so that it will get a wide view of the spot you've chosen. 

A quick note...bears (at least the ones we've encountered) seem to be very curious about the trail cameras.  We've had several cameras pulled out of their trees by bears:

So I strongly recommend looking for a camera with an outer-housing that will allow you to chain it to the tree.  Use a light chain and lock, the bungee cords we used at first were not strong enough.  Once you've secured your camera to the tree, give it some time then enjoy your photos.  You never know...you might capture some amazing moments.