As the countdown to opening day continues, many hunters throughout the whitetail’s range are keeping a close eye on their trail cameras. Trail cameras are a great way of monitoring a deer herd, and they can provide a great amount of insight to a specific buck’s personality and habits. But, if used carelessly, trail cameras can be very destructive, and could make harvesting that hit list buck even more difficult.

Wearing scent controlling boots and being cautious of the wind are very important in low impact scouting.

How to use trail cameras can vary greatly from property to property. For many hunters, the deer they are hunting may be conditioned to a truck driving by or some sort of human activity. Unfortunately, for the majority of hunters, this is not the case. Many of us are pursuing deer that are not conditioned to human traffic. If the right precautions are not taken, the simple task of checking trail cameras can spook and educate a lot of deer. Hunters who are pursuing these deer need to be extra cautious when entering their property to check trail cameras. Try using these three low impact scouting techniques:

1. Approach camera sites with a favorable wind
2. Check cameras in the middle of the day when deer are least active
3. Leave the least amount of scent as possible

Everyone is excited and eager to see what bucks are showing up at their favorite hunting spot, but don’t barge in without the proper wind and time conditions. If you do have the right conditions to go, make sure you are in clothes that are clean enough to hunt in and don’t be grabbing every limb or stick on the way in. You might even try wearing a pair of hip waders to further reduce your scent. Incorporating these simple steps into your strategy could be the difference that allows you to tag a hit list buck.

Waiting for the velvet to shed,

Clay O’Dell