Game cameras help hunters scout without going into woods
A good friend called the other night, and I immediately detected a hint of excitement in his voice.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I'm looking at a picture of a buck I got on my trail camera," he said.
"How big?"
"He's a good'un, a real good'un," my friend said. "This deer looks like he belongs in South Texas. I have never seen anything like this around here before."
My friend is admittedly no expert when it comes to judging antlers, so I quizzed him on a few of the vitals.
How many points?
"Ten."
How long are the main beams?
"Can't tell. He's looking head on."
How long are its G2s (the first primary typical points above the brow tines)?
"At least 12 to 13 inches, maybe 14."
The G3s?
"Probably 11 inches, maybe 12."
How about mass? How thick are the antlers?
"Big."
How wide inside?
"Maybe 7 inches outside the ear on both sides."
When my friend concluded that the buck's rack -- from its bases to the tip of its longest tines -- was taller than its legs were long, I knew the animal in the picture had to be something special.
"Send it," I said. "I have to see this."
The image that arrived in my e-mail inbox the following morning confirmed it. My friend's trail camera had seen a bona fide monster.
The quality of the photo is not that great. But if you like a typical rack, this one is a picture of near perfection. With 10 typical points, towering tines and all the other good stuff, it's the kind of deer that will perk the interest of even the most consummate deer hunter.
It's also the kind of rack that might make a poacher put his thinking cap on, if he had a clue of its whereabouts. That's the main reason we chose to keep my friend's name out of print and the location of the lease under wraps. The last thing he wants in the woods this season, or next, is unexpected company.
Typical racks -- symmetrical with the same number of typical points on both antlers -- are fairly common in East Texas. But those that hold together long enough to develop into a king-size crown are a virtual rarity.
What makes this buck in my friend's picture particularly special is that it could be a potential "Booner." It takes a minimum net score of 170 for a typical whitetail rack to qualify for the Boone & Crockett record book. Amazingly, this one has managed to push the B&C envelope, minus the protection and high protein diet often afforded to high fence or intensively managed deer herds.
Ben Bartlett thinks the open range buck may already be there. Bartlett is an official Pope & Young (archery) and Texas Big Game Awards scorer based in Lufkin. I sent him the photo for evaluation. Not surprisingly, the quality of the rack grabbed his attention.
"Trail cam pictures can be tricky to judge, but based on what I am seeing, this deer could be a book deer," Bartlett said. "The first time I looked at the photo I was thinking around the mid-160s. But the more I look at it, the bigger it gets. The numbers I am coming up with are 178 gross and 173 net, and that could be conservative. That deer will shock your buddy or anyone else that is lucky enough to see it coming through the woods. I'll guarantee you that."
Interestingly, this may not be the first time the buck has stepped in front of my friend's trail cam viewfinder. The camera photographed a buck with very similar antler characteristics last December. Same long tines, just two less points. In the exact same location.
The deer and antlers are not the only things the two photographs share in common. Both images were recorded during the wee hours of the night, again backing up the theory that mature bucks feel most comfortable moving under the cover of darkness.
To date, the buck has never been seen during daylight hours. My friend is hopeful that will change this deer season, but his deer hunting soul tells him it probably won't.
"He's nocturnal," he said. "My only hope is he will make a mistake and come by on the heels of a hot doe. Otherwise, I will probably never kill that deer. Nobody will. Not legally, anyway."
Even so, the still images recorded by the trail camera have given my friend a renewed sense of confidence to hunt hard this season. Perhaps he will actually pull some all-day duty this fall as opposed to just talking about it. With a deer like that out there running around, putting forth some extra effort could certainly be worth it.
Spy cam advantages
Game cameras are nothing new to Texas' deer hunting fraternity. Hunters have been using them to monitor feeding stations, crossings and other travel routes frequented by deer and other wildlife for quite a while now. The cameras also have proven to be a useful tool for game managers in evaluating deer densities, buck-doe ratios and doe-fawn ratios.
From a hunting perspective, the beauty of the trail cam is it allows you to scout your hunting area 24/7 without actually being there. More importantly, it does the job without leaving behind scent or other signs of human presence that can spook game.
Scope on game cameras
Though the cameras themselves have improved in quality in recent times, the basic concept is still the same. The trail cam works sort of like the motion sensitive flood lights people use around their homes and garages. When the flood light sensor detects motion and/or heat, the light automatically turns on. When the trail cam detects a subject within range, it automatically triggers the camera's shutter and records a photo of whatever is standing in front of the viewfinder. Many modern units also have the capability to record video segments.
Deer hunters routinely capture still photos of hogs, coyotes, squirrels, raccoons and even other humans on trail cams. In many instances, they might even acquire photos of a buck that has never been seen before.
The earliest trail cameras recorded images on film, but the evolution of the digital age quickly made them obsolete.
That is not to say you can no longer record good images on film. You can. But going digital will save you money in the long run, because it eliminates film purchases and photo processing fees. Plus, it's much more convenient.
A digital trail camera records photos and other data using a memory card similar to the one used in regular digital cameras. When you visit the camera location, simply remove the used memory card and replace it with an empty one. The images on the used card can be downloaded onto a home computer in a matter of seconds.
Game cam craze
Not surprisingly, the trail camera craze among consumers has sent a passel of manufacturers scrambling to grab a piece of the pie. Advancements in digital technology have added even more fuel to the fire, resulting in units that are equipped with all sorts of cool bells and whistles. Naturally, more features generally means a higher price tag.
A date-time function is fairly common on most trail cameras. This feature records the date and time each photo is taken. Some units also record the outside temperature, moon phase and the owner's name.
Like standard digitals, trail cameras are available with different resolutions. A camera's resolution is usually expressed in "megapixels." More megapixels typically means better photo quality.
The tradeout is storage capacity. A memory card used in a 6-megapixel camera will not hold as many images as the same memory card in a 3-megapixel unit.
Trigger time is another feature to consider. This one refers to how quickly the camera takes the photo after it has detected motion. Trigger time can range from a fraction of a second to several seconds, depending on the camera.
The list of available features goes on and on. Some cameras come with an external battery jack, so they can be connected to a 12-volt battery for extended battery life. There are even trail cams with wireless capabilities, which allow you to utilize the Internet to download images off multiple cameras to a home computer, several hundred miles away.
The use of scouting cameras has added a unique twist to big game hunting. In some ways, inserting that memory card into your computer can be more exciting than the actual hunt itself, because it tells you what went stirring while the woods were undisturbed.
Matt Williams' e-mail address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.
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