Deer Hunting
Aging bucks on the hoof
Two of the cornerstone tenants of modern day “quality deer management” are herd monitoring and herd management. […]
Happy Trails
Deer Hunting
Thoughts on the science of trail cameras
Things have really changed over the past 40-odd years when it comes to deer hunting. There would certainly be some debate regarding certain aspects of the sport, but for the most part — in my humble opinion — we as deer hunters have never had it better than we do right now, especially here in the Deep South. […]
Columns
Tricks of the trade
True “mature bucks” can be as rare as proverbial “hens teeth” in most populations in the whitetail’s range. […]
Deer Hunting
All flashes are not equal
This past week I ran by the showroom of one of my favorite hunting-products companies that, fortunately for me, happens to be headquartered about a 20-minute drive from my home. My goal was to check out their new trail camera line in person and grab two or three of their latest “black-flash” cameras to replace some of my older antiquated “red-glow” flash (so-called “infrared”) models. […]
Deer Hunting
Deer camera techniques
My excitement level is now building to a fever pitch as I plot and plan strategies for the soon-to-begin deer season. […]
Happy Trails
Pre-season priorities
As we transition into August and the pre-season, there are numerous tasks that we as outdoorsmen should be busily engaged in. The topic “pre-season priorities” covers everything that needs attention, from right here at home on out to our hunting property. […]
Deer Hunting
Buck movement quantified
In last month’s column we looked at some of the methods I typically use to convert my personal trail camera photo archives into meaningful and usable “deer statistics” or “intelligence.” […]
Columns
Developing “deer statistics”
Common definitions of the word “statistics” are: 1) the mathematics of the collection, organization and interpretation of numerical data, or 2) the science that deals with the analysis and interpretation of numerical data. […]
Columns
Managing the data — Part 3
The pursuit by a hunter of trail-camera photo information regarding whitetail buck activity can be a labor intensive project and, as a result, the end product is absolutely what you make it to be.
My personal trail-camera goals revolve primarily around monitoring and documenting buck presence and movement activity on my hunting property before, during and after each deer-hunting season. […]
Columns
Managing the data — Part 2
Over the past several years, I have, through trial and error, developed a system that allows me to efficiently deal with multiple trail cameras and memory cards as I use them to monitor deer movement on my farm in west central Mississippi. […]
Columns
Managing the data — Part 1
My farm in west-central Mississippi is my personal field laboratory for experimentation with trail camera techniques and practices, as I continue to study and learn about local buck patterns.
When used fully and properly, trail camera data can become one of the most effective tools in a hunter or property manager’s toolbox. This is true not only from an overall deer population survey standpoint, but also from the hunter’s standpoint as one learns how to convert piles of trail camera photos into predictions about deer movement. […]
Deer Hunting
Trail camera scouting
This is my inaugural column in Mississippi Sportsman based around the general topic of trail-camera scouting. Each month I will share advice, tips, tactics, strategies and techniques regarding the use of digital scouting cameras that have proven useful to me over time in the successful pursuit of whitetail deer on my farm in west-central Mississippi. […]