Things are starting to happen

This year I have been doing things a little different than in the past.  One thing is I am using a trail camera to try to pattern the deer.  In years past I stopped using my camera at the end of Sept.  Then I got a camera that keeps track of date and time this past Christmas.  So I figured I would use it as a tool during the hunting season.  The one thing I worried about is that checking my camera leaves scent and I didnt want to ruin the hunting checking my camera.  So I needed to find a spot that I could check it easily but also a spot that would tell me a lot of info.  So what I did was placed it at the end of a treeline that leads into the sanctuary.

You can see from the ariel below that the blue square is the camera the blue dotted line is where I walk in, the blue circle is where I park the ranger and the yellow dotted line is how I come in with the ranger.  The red X's are the stands I have up right now.  The property looks quite a bit different from what this ariel shows.  The Yellow lines are corn fields this year and the green is the pumpkin patch/alfalfa field.  The deer have been using this treeline to move, I knew this from information I gathered this summer using the camera.  All the videos in previous posts were taken on this treeline.  I also went in there early summer with the chain saw and cut out fall downs and such.  Making it more appealing for the deer to travel through this treeline.  Giving it more of a tunnel feel for them.  It really started working right away I got pictures and videos of several bucks and narrowed it down to 3 shooters (see previous posts)

I have been checking this camera once a week for the last 4 weeks.  My plan has been to watch for one of the shooters and then watch for "daytime" movement as apposed to midnight to 4am movement.  The first couple weeks I didn't get anything some does and a few coyotes.  Then last week I started getting some smaller bucks showing up.  Then this past week finally the bucks we have been waiting for showed back up.  Below is two videos the first is at midnight of Tues the 9th and the second is 7:40 am the next morning.  The first video you will see the tall 8 walk off camera and you will see the wide 9pt in the back ground and he slowly walks closer.  They are heading into the sanctuary which is to the right.  Then the second video which is the next morning you will see a large deer(buck) walking off to the left followed by a small 6 point.  I know I am guessing but I am thinking this is for sure the tall 8 leaving.  It could be the big 9 but something tells me it wasn't.  He could of taken up the rear of this group though.  My camera waits 5 min to take another video.  Either way its very encouraging to see them starting to move at that time in the morning. 

http://s863.beta.photobucket.com/user/chad182nd/media/WGI_0009_zpsa866eaf6.mp4.html

http://s863.beta.photobucket.com/user/chad182nd/media/WGI_0010_zps46b5254c.mp4.html

The other thing I have been doing different is waiting.  Basically waiting for conditions to be right before we go after these deer.  So as the corn comes off they will use this tree line even more.  I am waiting to hunt it until next week(Oct 22)  Then it is game on, whenever we get the right winds we will give it a shot.  Focusing first on the two stands in the treeline.  If we are unsuccessful then once November comes we will try the stand that is on the north end of the sanctuary. 

Its been tough to wait like we have but I have a feeling its going to pay off in more encounters and hopefully one of these guys walks by at 15 yards and the next post I put up will be of myself or Julie with one of these deer.