{"id":13528,"date":"2026-07-10T10:59:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/what-i-learned-about-whitetails-from-year-round-trail-camera-use\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T10:59:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:59:29","slug":"what-i-learned-about-whitetails-from-year-round-trail-camera-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/what-i-learned-about-whitetails-from-year-round-trail-camera-use\/","title":{"rendered":"What I Learned about Whitetails from Year-Round Trail Camera Use"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6 capitalizeFirstLetter_Ieufb\">\n<p>It wasn\u2019t intentional, but I\u2019m glad I did it. Over the last couple of seasons, I put out my usual summer trail cameras to gather pre-season intel. Some, I re-upped on batteries, while others just ran until they couldn\u2019t. A few, built with solar panels, kept a charge through the North Country winter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>What those year-round cameras did for me was change how I view whitetails, particularly bucks. One of the most interesting takeaways involves predators and their impact on deer movement. Here are a few things I learned from year-round intel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>\n  <iframe title=\"Toothy Critters &amp; Cagey Bucks\" width=\"801\" height=\"451\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zznAxY81Npw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3>Toothy Critters &amp; Cagey Bucks<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>Back when we filmed the first season of One Week in November, I started my hunt on a property in south-eastern Minnesota. The first morning, while sitting over a pinch point and waiting on a cruising buck, I watched a forky bound through like he\u2019d seen a ghost. A little while later, a coyote came down the main trail.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>I figured that might be it for the morning, but it was the first of November and I had nowhere else to be, so I rode it out. An hour later I was standing over a 155-inch eight-pointer that came down the same trail. It was a good lesson, but it was still the prime rut where anything can happen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>The presence of predators at other times of the year must have a more outsized impact on immediate deer movement, or so I thought. After a couple years of running year-round trail cameras in northern Wisconsin, where the density of bears, wolves, coyotes, and bobcats is high, the truth became more evident.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/1jAofeD0bhIb57TR3rADdH\/7e93de519a4d04c4b260ec0bdbc27a54\/Predators2.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=480 1x, https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/1jAofeD0bhIb57TR3rADdH\/7e93de519a4d04c4b260ec0bdbc27a54\/Predators2.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=720 1.5x\" media=\"(max-width: 479px)\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/1jAofeD0bhIb57TR3rADdH\/7e93de519a4d04c4b260ec0bdbc27a54\/Predators2.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=770 1x, https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/1jAofeD0bhIb57TR3rADdH\/7e93de519a4d04c4b260ec0bdbc27a54\/Predators2.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=1155 1.5x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/1jAofeD0bhIb57TR3rADdH\/7e93de519a4d04c4b260ec0bdbc27a54\/Predators2.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=730 1x, https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/1jAofeD0bhIb57TR3rADdH\/7e93de519a4d04c4b260ec0bdbc27a54\/Predators2.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=1095 1.5x\" media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/1jAofeD0bhIb57TR3rADdH\/7e93de519a4d04c4b260ec0bdbc27a54\/Predators2.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=900 1x, https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/1jAofeD0bhIb57TR3rADdH\/7e93de519a4d04c4b260ec0bdbc27a54\/Predators2.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=1350 1.5x\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>I realized that at least with bears, coyotes, and bobcats, their presence seemed to have a short-lived effect on overall deer movement in the same locations, while wolves seemed to have a much more meaningful impact. While my sample size is small and highly anecdotal, my observations showed me two things.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>If a single wolf comes in and hangs around, which happened a couple years ago on a property I hunt a lot, it seems like the deer traffic normalizes pretty quickly. An entire pack is a different story. This happened on that same property last year, and it pushed a heck of a lot of the deer and the coyotes to the fringe habitat closer to the roads and houses. It was a real eye opener, and one I probably won\u2019t forget any time soon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>\n  <iframe title=\"Terrain Traps Rule\" width=\"801\" height=\"451\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5fGWdLf2-i4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3>Terrain Traps Rule<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>One spot I\u2019ve run cameras on pretty much steady for three seasons is a pinch point next to a swamp. It\u2019s not a very obvious terrain trap, but definitely funnels deer movement. It\u2019s a rut hotspot, for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>It\u2019s also one of the most consistent locations I\u2019ve ever found for just general deer movement, which becomes much clearer when you hunt where the deer density is really low. Deer use that swamp edge all year long, with enough frequency to realize that focusing on terrain traps for mostly rut hunting is selling the whole thing way short.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>While we all love sitting over a good food source or maybe a water source, if you want to have deer close and vulnerable, figure out the land. Learn where the deer have to walk, and then hang a camera and wait. Over three years I\u2019ve watched that spot produce more action than I ever would have predicted. Hunt those pinch points and funnels during the rut, but don\u2019t forget they can produce every day of the season if the deer have any reason to walk from one side to the other (which they probably do).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>\n  <iframe title=\"What We Know About Scrapes\" width=\"801\" height=\"451\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8oOjpg5YRwM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3>What We Know About Scrapes<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>A week or so ago, I got a trail camera video of a young buck visiting a scrape. He raked his velvet antlers on the overhanging branches and just did his thing. I showed it to one of my daughters, because in the 2024 season we sat 40 yards from that scrape with a doe decoy out. With half an hour of shooting light left, a young buck popped out of the swamp, eyed up his potential girlfriend, and then put on a show. He pawed that scrape up, peed in it, stood on his hind legs, and raked the branches overhead. Then he made the mistake of trotting into bow range.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>I\u2019d rather hunt around a bunch of rubs than a community scrape for most of the season. The middle 10 days of October are an exception, but I am fascinated by scrapes. I\u2019ve left cameras on a few of them for a couple years, and I\u2019ve learned that I don\u2019t know shit about scrapes and why deer use them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>They visit them every month of the year, and while they don\u2019t always go to town and work them, it seems like every single deer that comes in will at least give the licking branch a little sniff and a taste. I\u2019ve come to believe that the urine-soaked dirt is important, but not nearly as important as the licking branch. That doesn\u2019t really matter much to a hunting strategy, but it\u2019s an interesting takeaway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p>It\u2019s also just fun to realize that some of the sign we associate strictly with fall activity actually functions as a communication tool all season long. I never would have learned that if I had been responsible and pulled some of my cameras at the end of the season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_D-04G contentStyles_egLb6\">\n<p><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/6ugeCAfwrKvqGBA833LN2A\/ef6553b3d676ed1820789578b8eff3c7\/TerrainTraps1.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=480 1x, https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/6ugeCAfwrKvqGBA833LN2A\/ef6553b3d676ed1820789578b8eff3c7\/TerrainTraps1.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=720 1.5x\" media=\"(max-width: 479px)\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/6ugeCAfwrKvqGBA833LN2A\/ef6553b3d676ed1820789578b8eff3c7\/TerrainTraps1.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=770 1x, https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/6ugeCAfwrKvqGBA833LN2A\/ef6553b3d676ed1820789578b8eff3c7\/TerrainTraps1.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=1155 1.5x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/6ugeCAfwrKvqGBA833LN2A\/ef6553b3d676ed1820789578b8eff3c7\/TerrainTraps1.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=730 1x, https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/6ugeCAfwrKvqGBA833LN2A\/ef6553b3d676ed1820789578b8eff3c7\/TerrainTraps1.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=1095 1.5x\" media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/6ugeCAfwrKvqGBA833LN2A\/ef6553b3d676ed1820789578b8eff3c7\/TerrainTraps1.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=900 1x, https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/6ugeCAfwrKvqGBA833LN2A\/ef6553b3d676ed1820789578b8eff3c7\/TerrainTraps1.jpg?fm=webp&amp;w=1350 1.5x\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><img src=\"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/6ugeCAfwrKvqGBA833LN2A\/ef6553b3d676ed1820789578b8eff3c7\/TerrainTraps1.jpg\" alt=\"TerrainTraps1\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!----> <!----><\/div>\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themeateater.com\/wired-to-hunt\/whitetail-scouting\/what-i-learned-about-whitetails-from-year-round-trail-camera-use\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It wasn\u2019t intentional, but I\u2019m glad I did it. Over the last couple of seasons, I put out my usual summer trail cameras to gather pre-season intel. Some, I re-upped on batteries, while others just ran until they couldn\u2019t. A few, built with solar panels, kept a charge through the North Country winter. What those<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/pujs1b1v0165\/1DoWHPaKV21U2EYTtnSbdY\/c37048cef726b825729f3c8441ec5a1b\/yearroundpics.jpg?fit=fill&w=1200&h=630","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hunting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13533,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13528\/revisions\/13533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}