Killing deer not on Camera?

[Semihunter]

How many of you in the new age of cell cams have killed large, mature deer 140” plus that you haven’t had on your land on camera at all?

I’m a Wildlife Biologist by trade and do camera surveys each year and I’m gauging the effectiveness of trail cameras.

Very, very few hunters have killed 140+ deer in Georgia. There aren't many that big to begin with.

 

[Arrow3]

Very, very few hunters have killed 140+ deer in Georgia. There aren't many that big to begin with.

I'm fixing to turn 48. I started hunting alone at age 9. I have seen 1 confirmed deer alive over 140 while hunting.

 

[antharper]

Between me and my dad this season we’ve killed 3 bucks and had them all on camera multiple times . I’ve got one more that I’ve got pictures of that I’m waiting on or one bigger . And I have killed a 140 Ga buck and I also had a picture of him

 

[sea trout]

probly 50/50 on our club killing bucks we've seen on camera before vs bucks we never knew were around.
no 140's that I've ever seen before though. Biggest off our club was 132 when we measured him. 129 when truck buck measured him. So we just say 130, it sounds good

 

[sea trout]

And another twist is... runnin cameras and huntin in Oct and Nov... Ya think ya seen em all, then WHAM a late Dec trail cam pic of a huge mature buck you never knew was around.
We've had that happen a few times.
It makes ya wanna get back out there

 

[Blackston]

And another twist is... runnin cameras and huntin in Oct and Nov... Ya think ya seen em all, then WHAM a late Dec trail cam pic of a huge mature buck you never knew was around.
We've had that happen a few times.
It makes ya wanna get back out there

Like this ? Last year I liked to swallowed my tounge lol

 

[fishbit]

Yes, but was he over 140”?

Yes

 

[buckpasser]

Yes

Okay, good deal. Wanted to make sure he qualified.

 

[johnpoulan83]

That's because guns are not allowed and more deer make it to maturity.

And alot are basically like pets

 

[johnpoulan83]

I have killed 5 in GA from 143 to 181. I didn't have pictures or had not seen any of them the year I killed them. Three of them I had pictures of in previous years and thought they were gone because they avoided my cameras that year. One I had a long history with and thought he was dead. He was 7 1/2 and it had been 2 years since I saw him and 3 since I got a picture. I found out after killing him that my neighbors on both sides were getting regular pics and were hunting him hard.

I’d love to see the 181 Georgia giant you got , post a pic for us !!

 

[Gut_Pile]

I don't know of but maybe one or two bucks me and friends have killed in the last 7-10 years that wasn't on camera. And this is on several thousand acres between my club and neighbors/friends properties

 

[Blackston]

I’d love to see the 181 Georgia giant you got , post a pic for us !!

My thoughts exactly

 

[Luke.Deer.Commander]

@Luke.Deer.Commander

Just out of curiosity, why does the score matter when gauging the correlation of cameras and killing an unknown or unrecorded buck?

Score was unnecessary for the question. Mostly because I am not interested in “deer not on camera” harvested if they are your run of the mill 110” 3 year old. I believe you can get those on camera easily. Not sure that you can get the much larger frame deer on camera as easily.

 

[Luke.Deer.Commander]

Okay, good deal. Wanted to make sure he qualified.

Any particular reason to be condescending?

 

[buckpasser]

Any particular reason to be condescending?

No good reason. It’s just how I am sometimes.

 

[Luke.Deer.Commander]

No good reason. It’s just how I am sometimes.

Heck of a way to be on the internet to strangers. To each his own

 

[kmckinnie]

Luke
I think lots of hunters try to put human quality’s on deer. Like avoiding a camera. It maybe the bait around the camera. Or even the reaction other deer make when they detected the camera.
I’ve put cameras on scrapes to have them not return then others kept on.
Guess older bucks to self preserve have a higher avoid level of things not natural. With more cameras in use deer may not be bothered as much as time goes on.
I know we have bucks that will avoid any human contact at any cost.

 

[kmckinnie]

I will also say the harder the hunting pressure, the more the leery. Our piney woods here gets lots of hunters in its home range. Hunters here will put a camera on a feeder in the wide open visit it everyday while hunting. Walk all around it and then come tell me the deer are nocturnal now.
For 8 months they don’t get bothered and are everywhere then come the hunters intruding. And they say we are the more intelligent species.
Anyway thanks for taking up this as a career.

 

[Luke.Deer.Commander]

You might want some thicker skin while on the GON forum friend. It wasn’t a personal attack on my part. I just thought it was funny (and so did many others here) that you set the bar at 140”. Seems like a biologist collecting data might be more interested in age or general “maturity”. That’s all. Heck, many NEVER kill a 140” for a lifetime of Georgia deer hunting. Have you been fortunate enough yet? If so, be thankful. They’re rare in Grady Co.

Plenty of thick skin here. Thought it was odd to have such zealous, acerbic commentary on a post about trail cameras.

It may be funny to set the bar at that level but I wanted to weed through the stories of people shooting 110” deer they never had on camera.

I’m not collecting data, rather gathering basic hypothetical information from peers. Definitely not the way to collect data.

I’ve been blessed to kill deer but not in Grady County. I am fortunate to oversee thousands of acres of high quality ground in the Red Hills.

 

[Luke.Deer.Commander]

@buckpasser

Also, I believe the common Hunter has a much easier time identifying 140 inches atop a skull than they do a Four through Seven year old buck. More debates about deer ages than ever before.