Been hunting for several decades now and I can say that game cams have completely changed the way I hunt. When I was a kid, I went to the field religiously like a kid on Christmas morning in anticipation of the unknown. I went totally not knowing what I would encounter. It was that feeling that a trophy could be responsible for rustling in the leaves behind me.
Fast forward to 2017 and now, the only time I get even close to that feeling is shortly before I throw the SD Card in the computer.
My (like others) hunting views have changed over the years as deer numbers have increased and I seek out only a buck that I claim to be a trophy in my books (along with the occasional gratuitous doe). However, I can tell you that my hunting intensity is only as big as the pictures on that card. In years like 2016, 2017 which were on the heels of several years of drought and decline in fawns and 3.5 year old + bucks the pics have left me with a ho hum attitude.
To say it simple, I just don't have the desire to go out when my $100 electronic employee tells me that there is nothing that I would personally shoot in the area. 135" gross 2.5 yo 10 points are so 1990 and now reserved for kids I can introduce to the sport. Increase that to 150" 3.5's and my interest is peaked.
Heard a game warden say that bowhunter, blackpowder and deer numbers are declining once again this year and I asked if Game Cams could be to blame. He replied "I know I don't go out when I don't have anything showing up on the lens".
Is it time to leave these at home in the drawer?
Fast forward to 2017 and now, the only time I get even close to that feeling is shortly before I throw the SD Card in the computer.
My (like others) hunting views have changed over the years as deer numbers have increased and I seek out only a buck that I claim to be a trophy in my books (along with the occasional gratuitous doe). However, I can tell you that my hunting intensity is only as big as the pictures on that card. In years like 2016, 2017 which were on the heels of several years of drought and decline in fawns and 3.5 year old + bucks the pics have left me with a ho hum attitude.
To say it simple, I just don't have the desire to go out when my $100 electronic employee tells me that there is nothing that I would personally shoot in the area. 135" gross 2.5 yo 10 points are so 1990 and now reserved for kids I can introduce to the sport. Increase that to 150" 3.5's and my interest is peaked.
Heard a game warden say that bowhunter, blackpowder and deer numbers are declining once again this year and I asked if Game Cams could be to blame. He replied "I know I don't go out when I don't have anything showing up on the lens".
Is it time to leave these at home in the drawer?