AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. – Thanks to today’s technology, trail cameras are an asset to most deer hunters. These cameras serve a multitude of purposes as hunting season is fast approaching.
“Trail cameras are a great way for hunters to begin taking an active role in managing local deer populations,” said Mark Smith, an Alabama Extension wildlife scientist.
Hunters often use these cameras when trying to identify individual deer or when they want a rough estimate of the population. For these purposes, use one camera per 100 acres. It is also helpful to place cameras near a food source.
If hunters are trying to track a particular buck, trails near bedding areas should be targeted, as well as secluded field corners and corridors of trees. When trying to determine movement and number of individual bucks in an area, it is helpful to place cameras on scrapes.
Smart phones and cameras make keeping up with trail cameras an easy task.
“With today’s data storage technology, you can check and download images from your camera once every couple of weeks,” said Smith, who is also a professor in the Auburn University school of forestry and wildlife sciences. “This can give good information on a deer’s particular patterns throughout the season.”
This video first appeared as a part of Alabama Extension’s Management Minute Series on the Buckmasters television show.
For more information, contact the Bibb County Extension Office at 205-926-4310 or visit/like/message us at our Bibb County Extension Facebook page