Trail cam users question- Nocturnal trend?

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
To those of you with good knowledge of your herd-- Noticing a shift to night pics on bucks?

The dreaded "nocturnal phase"?
 

badlandbucks

Ten Pointer
Not really. I think nocturnal "phases" throughout a deer herd are probably more related to pressure than anything. Less boot prints on the property= More daylight movement
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
I normally set my cams on field edges so I usually get night pics anyway with a daylight pic here and there.
 

Crappie_Hunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I think it depends to on what your cams are set up on. Meaning trails or corn piles. I would suspect that many cams set on corn piles would show night time activity on bucks. Transition areas or trails may show a different result.
 

cummins59

Eight Pointer
I think it depends to on what your cams are set up on. Meaning trails or corn piles. I would suspect that many cams set on corn piles would show night time activity on bucks. Transition areas or trails may show a different result.

I agree with this. I think the reason my pics are at night are because the deer don't live on my properties. I hunt very small tracts where deer just pass through and I can't get close enough to the bedding area (another person's property) to see them before dark.
 

bowhuntingrook

Old Mossy Horns
Mature bucks in daytime before dog season opened, now its only nocturnal pics. This happened when Eastern opened and then when Central season opened at the other tract. Thats how it goes.
 
Last edited:

MoBucks

Old Mossy Horns
Still getting plenty of daytime pics...but more on the camera that is down in the woods...

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
 

newdeerhunter011

Eight Pointer
No daylight pics here except does and small bucks. Only had 1 mature buck pic in daylight since September and that was during the first week of ML.
 
I'm not noticing anything different, still getting several daytime pics of bucks ,mostly in the early mornings ,around 2pm and 4pm till dark..I'm sure pressure is affecting most folks who was getting daytime pics early season..
 

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
Been seeing pretty consistent sunrise-9am except for once in bow season. First hour of the day theres usually at least one that i catch most days its 2-3.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

muzzymomentless

Eight Pointer
Contributor
Checked a camera yesterday and had a lot of pictures at night and middle of the day. Still have bucks together on camera also. This is in Watauga county.
 

wolfman

Old Mossy Horns
Just checked one of my cameras. Nothing but late morning to early afternoon pics on this one camera (time on pic is one hour ahead of actual). No bait, just a trail. Now if I can just go hunting. Here's a few. Never seen the big guy before.

iOmLsaD.jpg

oHki1tH.jpg

EdwPsgR.jpg

LesJVCG.jpg
 
Last edited:

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
I have watched my cameras over a few years and it seems the deer change activity times a few hours every few days. Late night to early morning to late morning to some midday to early evening then back to late night. There would be a couple or three periods of movement a day. I hunt with hounds and still hunt and I can see the most disruption in deer movement when more people are in the woods.
 

newdeerhunter011

Eight Pointer
Almost all of the bucks I see while hunting are cruising or chasing and not getting anywhere near my cameras. For that reason I don't put any thought into getting daylight pics. I just hunt as much as I can especially during the rut.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

wolfman

Old Mossy Horns
Might get to go Friday evening. I'll take what I can get. Too bad no turkeys went in front of the camera.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
Almost all of the bucks I see while hunting are cruising or chasing and not getting anywhere near my cameras. For that reason I don't put any thought into getting daylight pics. I just hunt as much as I can especially during the rut.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I too, believe not getting pictures on camera may make some people not hunt a good spot. I have seen deer I was sure I got pics of, but nope! I don't run but one camera now. I would rather hunt not knowing than fight with a preconceived thought that I'm going to see nothing when the deer sign says different. I find it much easier to hunt spots I have confidence in, w/o the cameras. Sure enough these spots paid out.
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
I too, believe not getting pictures on camera may make some people not hunt a good spot. I have seen deer I was sure I got pics of, but nope! I don't run but one camera now. I would rather hunt not knowing than fight with a preconceived thought that I'm going to see nothing when the deer sign says different. I find it much easier to hunt spots I have confidence in, w/o the cameras. Sure enough these spots paid out.

I agree. If the camera is set up on corn and there is a good deer in at night, that affects my consideration none at all. Me and two friends have all killed good deer hunting a corn pile. Only had night pics of deer. But the deer were not coming to corn. They were just scent checking. All were killed 75yds+ from closest corn in plenty of daylight. Way too many deer hunters are too caught up in trail cam pics dictating when they hunt. They are missing a lot of opportunities to see or kill that buck they're after.

To the topic, just had good buck show back up we ain't seen in a month. Pic was about 10 mins before end of legal light. Still $hit ton of does in daylight but these are very lightly pressured deer...... Until tomorrow when I get to my parents. lol.
 

BigBenNC24

Button Buck
Not sure what i can do deer are all over the camera 11pm-4am, i have been in the stand 5-6 times in the past 7 days and haven't seen a deer in daylight. WTF...
 
Top