Why Use Trail Cameras During The Summer

ANTLERS: 

Summer is the magical time of year when deer are growing their antlers. Velvet antlers are one of the fastest growing tissues among mammals. A deer’s antlers can grow ¼ inch per day during the peak growing season — which is right now. If you’re running your Moultrie Mobile cameras now, then you can begin putting together your “hit list” of bucks for the coming deer season. 

HOME RANGE: 

Sure, deer movement changes from summer to fall. However, many mature bucks are homebodies. You’ll have a much better understanding of a buck’s home range by having months of photos to go off of prior to deer season, instead of just a few weeks. Plus, you have time to tweak your camera locations during the summer to really hone in on where this fall’s trophy is living now. 

BACHELOR GROUPS: 

Most bucks are in bachelor groups during the summer. This is an ideal time to get photos of the bucks that will be roaming your property this fall. Not only can you form your “hit list” as mentioned earlier, but more importantly you can form your “do not shoot” list. These bucks might have impressive antlers, but they’re not mature animals. If you desire to have mature bucks to shoot on your property, then you’ll want to give these guys a pass. 

FAWN RECRUITMENT: 

Fawn recruitment is vital to any hunting property. These are your future bucks and does. Summer time is the best time to capture these cute — but vital — creatures on your trail cameras. If you start seeing does without fawns later in the summer, then you might have a problem going on that you need to know about.

PREDATOR MONITORING: 

One of the major factors in reduced fawn numbers are predators. If you’re seeing an influx of coyotes around some of your hotspots for deer, then it might be time to do some trapping or coyote calling to get rid of these fawn predators. Studies have shown that coyotes can make a major impact in fawn recruitment. If you have your Moultrie Mobile units running during the summer months, then you’ll know if you have a problem or not. 

PREDICTABLE CAMERA LOCATIONS: 

Deer aren’t wandering as far during the summer months like they do in the cold-weather months. So, you can hone in on some key locations to really monitor your herd.

• Summer food plots, such as soy beans, lab-lab and iron clay cowpeas are hotspots for deer seeking high-protein foods. Look for heavily browsed corners of fields with lots of deer tracks entering for likely camera locations.
• Mineral sites are excellent camera locations in the summer. Lush green plants are loaded with water and deer need to help expel this excess water from their bodies, which makes them seek out salt. If you have mineral locations on your property, then deer will be hitting them regularly. Place a camera on your hottest locations for great photos.
• Another great location is supplemental feed sites. These protein-packed food sources will have deer visiting daily.
• Deer also need to drink plenty of water in the warm months, so look for watering holes with concentrated deer sign around them and place a camera.