Best Time to Start Trail Camera Inventory for Deer

Many deer hunters I know typically set up their trail cameras just a week or so before the season begins. They then remove them shortly after harvesting a buck or when the season ends.

In my view, this approach is a significant oversight. It misses the opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of your deer herd and how they use your property throughout the year.

Scouting during the off-season greatly influences your success during deer season. Whitetail deer are intriguing creatures, and their movements can often be erratic. This is why placing trail cameras out early in the summer, during the velvet phase, can reveal that crucial piece of information to complete your overall strategy.

As spring gives way to summer, now is the perfect time to deploy your cameras and begin taking inventory of the deer on your hunting grounds.

Spring / Summer Inventory

Taking inventory in late spring plays a crucial role in my whitetail strategy. I monitor not only the spring feeding patterns of my deer herd but, more importantly, assess which bucks survived the harsh winter conditions. And, of course, it’s always exciting to see velvet buck photos coming in again.

Winter can be brutal for whitetail deer. Freezing temperatures weaken even the strongest immune systems. Food supplies are at their lowest, and the rut exhausts both bucks and does. It’s common for several deer to not make it through the winter months. That’s why spring is the ideal time to compare herd numbers to the previous year and determine which deer have survived.

Mid to late spring is perfect for setting up trail cameras near spring food sources. During this time, I typically place about three cameras for every 100 acres. This number can vary depending on the property layout, such as the density of certain areas, the number of food plots, and the overall deer population.

If your spring food plots are green and lush, they are prime locations for camera setups. Velvet bucks will be seeking extra protein for antler growth, and does that have recently given birth will need essential nutrients to support their nursing fawns.

This is also the time of year when your deer herd will search for vital vitamins and minerals to sustain them through the summer. If you’re looking to track down that target buck and confirm he made it through the winter, a fresh mineral site is invaluable.

Choose a mineral supplement that contains no more than 30% salt and at least 10% calcium and phosphorus. These nutrients are among the most critical for deer during the summer months, making this a great spot to take trail camera inventory.

Late-Summer / Fall Inventory

In mid to late August, I begin devoting significant time and focus to the information provided by my trail cameras. Bucks remain in their bachelor groups, but as September draws near, their feeding patterns become less predictable than they were earlier in the summer.

With acorns starting to fall, deer spend more time in oak flats and feed on woody browse found in the hardwoods.

This period is an ideal time to move cameras to feeding travel corridors. Place them between bedding areas and a main food source, such as an alfalfa plot or soybean field. Positioning cameras on primary trails provides valuable insights for hunting strategies on opening day.

As the season advances, I gradually shift my cameras to focus on scrapes and rubs. I also target doe bedding areas where bucks are likely to be cruising. From experience, I’ve learned that increasing the number of cameras can lead to capturing images of bucks never previously seen on my property. These transient bucks might only pass through for a few days while pursuing does, so having access to timely information is crucial.

Monitoring Without Disturbing

Many hunters I’ve encountered tend to be careless when accessing their property during the off-season. Most do not consider how their scent and noise impact the deer herd in the summer. It’s important to realize that mistakes made during these months can significantly affect success in the fall.

Whitetails are creatures of habit and are highly paranoid. If you leave your scent around or make noise by thrashing through leaves and brush while checking trail cameras, your target buck may go nocturnal or leave the area entirely.

The invention of cellular trail cameras offers a solution to this long-standing problem. This technology is one of the most revolutionary tools introduced to hunters, improving strategies by allowing remote monitoring of deer activity. It eliminates the need to disturb the land weekly to retrieve SD cards.

If you haven’t invested in cellular cameras yet, I strongly recommend considering it. There are several affordable models on the market, such as TOMAX. These cameras can greatly assist in patterning deer behavior and tracking target bucks without adding pressure to the herd.

Whitetail deer are incredibly intelligent, and finding a shooter buck can often feel like an overwhelming challenge. The odds are typically stacked against the hunter. However, trail cameras provide a slight advantage by allowing remote monitoring and year-round study of their habits, helping to better understand their behavior.

If you’re like many hunters who have their trail cameras turned off and packed away, now is the perfect time to dust them off, insert new batteries, and begin scouting again!