By:  Jake Barnett

            Every hunting season it seems there always comes a time when a hunter will want to move a stand or trail camera.  I have done this multiple times to try to figure out if target bucks are actively using another travel corridor, gap, or pinch point that does not have a trail camera.  Whether it be lack of food, human intrusion, or lack of does, mature bucks can change their travel habits for a multitude of different reasons.  I will preface this blog by saying, it is much better to just be patient if you are confident in your stand location.  Every day, hour, and the minute you sit in a good stand location will increase your chances of killing a target buck.  If you are going to move the location of the stand be absolutely sure the likelihood of your target buck returning to this stand location is slim to none.  In my opinion, the best time to move a trail camera or stand is during or right before a hard rain.  Doing this will help wash a hunter’s scent out of the woods, and it will keep from educating mature bucks to your presence in a new area.

I will also state that I believe if a hunter does this when the woods are just damp, without a driving rain following, it can have the opposite effect and hold your scent in the new stand location rather than wash it out.  The reason I say this is when hunting with dogs it is easier for a dog to locate and run a track if it has just sprinkled compared to dry ground.  In my opinion, this concept applies to mature deer as well.  A mature buck is going to pick up your scent just as a dog would locate and run a track.  Most likely he will then vacate this area and move to a location he feels safe.  I have always thought that a mature buck will starve before putting himself in danger.

For me, the optimum time to move a stand or trail camera is during a hard rain.  Then the hunter does not have to depend on a meteorologist after moving a stand or trail camera.  If a hunter will do this in a hard rain, the amount of noise being made in the woods will be much less than if done prior to a hard rain.  A hunter can then take their time when setting up a camera, hanging a stand, and cutting shooting lanes.  When moving to a new location, go ahead and move both the stand and trail camera to this new location, instead of moving a trail camera and then setting up a stand at a later date.  Get in once, set everything up, get out, and the next time you go hunting this location it will increase your chance of getting a mature buck in front of you.

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Whitetail Property Improvement