Cell camera in or near buck bed

[bshane88]

So some context... I found a huge bed just wore to the bare dirt smack beside a 10 inch wide rub, huge poop, huge tracks, the whole nine yards. It seems this is definitely his primary bed and I would love to have a cell camera in there.I know a lot of guys say to stay out of a bucks bedding area with cameras, and I get that, but I'm wondering about going in this summer on a wind I know he wont be bedding on that point (mountain country here), and go 30-40 feet downhill of that bed and climb a tree until I'm above his sightline and shoot the camera into his bed. I did just think about it though as I type this that he will be bedded down looking to the downhill side with the wind at his back so anything but a blackout camera he could possibly see the red infrared flash at night if he is looking that way, so maybe another angle might be best. Thoughts? Stay further away from his bed or get aggressive? With a cell camera I could know if he is there when I sneak in to hunt and it could be unreal intel, but I hate to do anything stupid because I have a feeling this buck is special compared to what I usually find in our area.

[Elite]

I don’t know. I feel like hanging a cell cam over a bed takes away the excitement and anticipation of bed hunting. I’m sure it would work though.

[Dewey]

I wouldn’t do it with a buck I want to kill. Kinda takes the fun out of the hunt and if actually used to kill based on if he’s bedded there that days crosses the lines of fair chase. If you feel it gives you an unfair advantage you probably crossed that line.

For educational purposes it’s really cool. There have been a few threads of guys doing this over the years and I find it extremely interesting seeing the variety of deer using a bed or only bedding there in certain winds or times of the year. So much to be learned from that.

[Boogieman1]

Depends on the motive. An educational tool is one thing, but running surveillance cameras all over the woods to determine where u will hunt is kinda Bush league in my opinion. Not pinpointing you, was a good question. But one of those deals where I draw a line in the sand. Much easier going on a moose hunt in Alaska and doing a quick helicopter fly by, yet it’s illegal. I see no difference in the two.

Put em on a bed in the summer.... How often does he bed there? For how long? How many diff bucks bed there? Or run em a year in advance then form a plan using your own head. Short cuts and Tom Foolery very seldom pan out the way one hopes.

[bshane88]

Good thoughts, and yea, that crossed my mind as well about it taking the sport out of it. I guess if I wanted the information but not use it real time I could put a non cell cam there and then pull the cam next year and see how the bed got used. I think the reason I entertain the idea of a cell cam there is the fact I burn so much gas and walk so many miles trying to get on a shooter that when I finally find a good deer I want him to die the death. Lol Legit big bucks are pretty rare in our part of the country.

[phade]

It doesn't work as well as one might think. You're better off leveraging sets on trails and paths into and out of bedding areas to better understand how/when/why deer use the beds.

[szwampdonkey]

Setting a cell cam on a bucks bed while hunting him is unethical.

If using to pattern I don't see the point of putting a cam on the bed as you wouldn't be hunting him right there. Id stay back quiet a bit and place cams on the trails you think he may be using to come and go. Id leave his core to him or youll push him out, even in summer. That's if I used cams anyways, I don't anymore. I ditched them and went back to reading sign for the sheer fun of it as I remembered doing it when I was a kid.

[rfickes87]

So some context... I found a huge bed just wore to the bare dirt smack beside a 10 inch wide rub, huge poop, huge tracks, the whole nine yards. It seems this is definitely his primary bed and I would love to have a cell camera in there.I know a lot of guys say to stay out of a bucks bedding area with cameras, and I get that, but I'm wondering about going in this summer on a wind I know he wont be bedding on that point (mountain country here), and go 30-40 feet downhill of that bed and climb a tree until I'm above his sightline and shoot the camera into his bed. I did just think about it though as I type this that he will be bedded down looking to the downhill side with the wind at his back so anything but a blackout camera he could possibly see the red infrared flash at night if he is looking that way, so maybe another angle might be best. Thoughts? Stay further away from his bed or get aggressive? With a cell camera I could know if he is there when I sneak in to hunt and it could be unreal intel, but I hate to do anything stupid because I have a feeling this buck is special compared to what I usually find in our area.

I'm going to be different than everyone else and say go for it. Think about how much effort you've already put in to find that bed. Think about everything that's gonna need to go right to kill that deer even if you've got a cell cam over his bed. You gotta not get busted walking in. You gotta be in THE kill tree, off the correct exit trail. You still gotta make the shot. You might get pics of him but by the time you get there he could have gotten up and left. You gotta hope that day in and day out he doesn't smell or see your camera and spook.
Honestly, most of all you need to hope and pray he's still there this fall and hasn't shifted to another area. If you don't scout that entire core area, he could shift even only 300 yards from you in mid Sept to feed on acorns and you'll never know where he went.

My first year after finding the hunting beast about 5-6 years ago I wasted a season once trying to hunt a bed that I had put a camera in, granted it was not a wireless camera. Looking back on those hunts, I ruined that bedding area long before I ever went to hunt it from over scouting and poor camera placement and I don't think a wireless cam would have made any difference... This nice crazy rack buck used this bed day and night... I never saw him on the hoof that season.

09180219.JPG

09130167.JPG

09090076.JPG

Couple years later I came back and found that the bed was being used again...so I put a camera back on it...Watch this different buck sniff this camera I put over the bed. I put it up at my head height, still not high enough obviously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OuRIvtuTQ8

I had a two year history with this buck and he NEVER came back ever again after getting spooked in this video. I have trail cam pics of other bucks walking in and running off immediately after seeing the camera. I say all this and honestly I don't own a wireless cam but I've tried it with regular cams during the summer months.

I believe the only thing this approach would ever help me kill is 6 points and button bucks... One time I had over 2,000 pics once of a button buck laying down not caring about the camera for 2 weeks straight. Here you can see, a little fella has taken over that same nice big bed since no mature buck wants to bed it in anymore...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrbR7qFPfJw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcf9ABaAvgc

I just think that mature bucks are too smart for an average Joe to kill over a cell cam. If you're going to do it, so many factors need to work in your favor. If it were really that easy then wouldn't you think we'd be reading a lot of stories on the beast about guys doing this? and I don't think not for the reason of ethics. I think we don't hear about it b/c its still very hard and doesn't work unless its done perfectly.

[szwampdonkey]

So some context... I found a huge bed just wore to the bare dirt smack beside a 10 inch wide rub, huge poop, huge tracks, the whole nine yards. It seems this is definitely his primary bed and I would love to have a cell camera in there.I know a lot of guys say to stay out of a bucks bedding area with cameras, and I get that, but I'm wondering about going in this summer on a wind I know he wont be bedding on that point (mountain country here), and go 30-40 feet downhill of that bed and climb a tree until I'm above his sightline and shoot the camera into his bed. I did just think about it though as I type this that he will be bedded down looking to the downhill side with the wind at his back so anything but a blackout camera he could possibly see the red infrared flash at night if he is looking that way, so maybe another angle might be best. Thoughts? Stay further away from his bed or get aggressive? With a cell camera I could know if he is there when I sneak in to hunt and it could be unreal intel, but I hate to do anything stupid because I have a feeling this buck is special compared to what I usually find in our area.

I'm going to be different than everyone else and say go for it. Think about how much effort you've already put in to find that bed. Think about everything that's gonna need to go right to kill that deer even if you've got a cell cam over his bed. You gotta not get busted walking in. You gotta be in THE kill tree, off the correct exit trail. You still gotta make the shot. You might get pics of him but by the time you get there he could have gotten up and left. You gotta hope that day in and day out he doesn't smell or see your camera and spook.
Honestly, most of all you need to hope and pray he's still there this fall and hasn't shifted to another area. If you don't scout that entire core area, he could shift even only 300 yards from you in mid Sept to feed on acorns and you'll never know where he went.

My first year after finding the hunting beast about 5-6 years ago I wasted a season once trying to hunt a bed that I had put a camera in, granted it was not a wireless camera. Looking back on those hunts, I ruined that bedding area long before I ever went to hunt it from over scouting and poor camera placement and I don't think a wireless cam would have made any difference... This nice crazy rack buck used this bed day and night... I never saw him on the hoof that season.

09180219.JPG
09130167.JPG
09090076.JPG

Couple years later I came back and found that the bed was being used again...so I put a camera back on it...Watch this different buck sniff this camera I put over the bed. I put it up at my head height, still not high enough obviously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OuRIvtuTQ8

I had a two year history with this buck and he NEVER came back ever again after getting spooked in this video. I have trail cam pics of other bucks walking in and running off immediately after seeing the camera. I say all this and honestly I don't own a wireless cam but I've tried it with regular cams during the summer months.

I believe the only thing this approach would ever help me kill is 6 points and button bucks... One time I had over 2,000 pics once of a button buck laying down not caring about the camera for 2 weeks straight. Here you can see, a little fella has taken over that same nice big bed since no mature buck wants to bed it in anymore...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrbR7qFPfJw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcf9ABaAvgc

I just think that mature bucks are too smart for an average Joe to kill over a cell cam. If you're going to do it, so many factors need to work in your favor. If it were really that easy then wouldn't you think we'd be reading a lot of stories on the beast about guys doing this? and I don't think not for the reason of ethics. I think we don't hear about it b/c its still very hard and doesn't work unless its done perfectly.

Seems like you've pretty much outlined exactly why he SHOULDNT try placing a camera right on this bed.

[rfickes87]

So some context... I found a huge bed just wore to the bare dirt smack beside a 10 inch wide rub, huge poop, huge tracks, the whole nine yards. It seems this is definitely his primary bed and I would love to have a cell camera in there.I know a lot of guys say to stay out of a bucks bedding area with cameras, and I get that, but I'm wondering about going in this summer on a wind I know he wont be bedding on that point (mountain country here), and go 30-40 feet downhill of that bed and climb a tree until I'm above his sightline and shoot the camera into his bed. I did just think about it though as I type this that he will be bedded down looking to the downhill side with the wind at his back so anything but a blackout camera he could possibly see the red infrared flash at night if he is looking that way, so maybe another angle might be best. Thoughts? Stay further away from his bed or get aggressive? With a cell camera I could know if he is there when I sneak in to hunt and it could be unreal intel, but I hate to do anything stupid because I have a feeling this buck is special compared to what I usually find in our area.

I'm going to be different than everyone else and say go for it. Think about how much effort you've already put in to find that bed. Think about everything that's gonna need to go right to kill that deer even if you've got a cell cam over his bed. You gotta not get busted walking in. You gotta be in THE kill tree, off the correct exit trail. You still gotta make the shot. You might get pics of him but by the time you get there he could have gotten up and left. You gotta hope that day in and day out he doesn't smell or see your camera and spook.
Honestly, most of all you need to hope and pray he's still there this fall and hasn't shifted to another area. If you don't scout that entire core area, he could shift even only 300 yards from you in mid Sept to feed on acorns and you'll never know where he went.

My first year after finding the hunting beast about 5-6 years ago I wasted a season once trying to hunt a bed that I had put a camera in, granted it was not a wireless camera. Looking back on those hunts, I ruined that bedding area long before I ever went to hunt it from over scouting and poor camera placement and I don't think a wireless cam would have made any difference... This nice crazy rack buck used this bed day and night... I never saw him on the hoof that season.

09180219.JPG
09130167.JPG
09090076.JPG

Couple years later I came back and found that the bed was being used again...so I put a camera back on it...Watch this different buck sniff this camera I put over the bed. I put it up at my head height, still not high enough obviously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OuRIvtuTQ8

I had a two year history with this buck and he NEVER came back ever again after getting spooked in this video. I have trail cam pics of other bucks walking in and running off immediately after seeing the camera. I say all this and honestly I don't own a wireless cam but I've tried it with regular cams during the summer months.

I believe the only thing this approach would ever help me kill is 6 points and button bucks... One time I had over 2,000 pics once of a button buck laying down not caring about the camera for 2 weeks straight. Here you can see, a little fella has taken over that same nice big bed since no mature buck wants to bed it in anymore...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrbR7qFPfJw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcf9ABaAvgc

I just think that mature bucks are too smart for an average Joe to kill over a cell cam. If you're going to do it, so many factors need to work in your favor. If it were really that easy then wouldn't you think we'd be reading a lot of stories on the beast about guys doing this? and I don't think not for the reason of ethics. I think we don't hear about it b/c its still very hard and doesn't work unless its done perfectly.

Seems like you've pretty much outlined exactly why he SHOULDNT try placing a camera right on this bed.

Yes you're right. Things I tried to point out are all reasons why hunting is never easy, even in this case. That's why I wouldn't think down on him ethically if he actually got it to work.

[Boogieman1]

Would anyone think down on a guy who puts out a few hundred cell cams? What about a dozen cell cams on 3O acres and hunter waits to make his move? What about like some outfitters advertise about more than a 1000 cell cams out on 1 centralized Intel feed location? For myself a line in the sand is needed. How do u feel bout shooting deer from helicopter? if not kosher is just flying by with choppers giving u the bedding location ok? After all u have limited time.... What bout drones? Hounds? Infrared? Thoughts.....

[bshane88]

Would anyone think down on a guy who puts out a few hundred cell cams? What about a dozen cell cams on 3O acres and hunter waits to make his move? What about like some outfitters advertise about more than a 1000 cell cams out on 1 centralized Intel feed location? For myself a line in the sand is needed. How do u feel bout shooting deer from helicopter? if not kosher is just flying by with choppers giving u the bedding location ok? After all u have limited time.... What bout drones? Hounds? Infrared? Thoughts.....

I totally understand what you are saying and agree that this type of surveillance can be abused in certain situations, but at the same time your example above is pretty far from what my reality looks like. I strictly only bowhunt, in hundreds of thousands of acres of big woods mountain country, sometimes walking 2 miles or more to my stand locations. That's after driving up to 2 hours from the house. Easy is not my life when it comes to hunting. That's why I say when I finally get a shooter on camera it's a pretty big deal and the odds are low enough of even just seeing that buck that I don't feel like I'm stacking the deck massively in my favor. But I totally get that it can be abused pretty easily and appreciate your feedback. My original question was whether it even works or if it is too risky as far as having him freak out over a camera in his bedroom. I want to play my cards right, and that includes ethically too.

[dan]

It doesn't work as well as one might think. You're better off leveraging sets on trails and paths into and out of bedding areas to better understand how/when/why deer use the beds.

EXACTLY... Beds shift, and there are probably a lot more beds your not seeing. The exit trail is less intrusive, and captures more.

[Mopar1169]

I try to find spots that are between bedding areas to hang my cell cams. Good travel corridors with community rubs or scrapes. Just to see what is in the area. When a nice one shows up on camera I start hunting the area. Last year had three nice bucks on one camera pretty regular. I don't hunt the spot where the camera is because there is way too many people that go through there. The whole season I only had one day that one of the shooters showed on my camera during daylight and it was 15 minutes before dark. But seems like just about every buck in the area rubs this cedar tree. I tried going after one of the bucks but got too close and busted him out of his bed. I normally put them up in August then go get them after season is done sometime.

The funny thing about cameras. On our place in MN I would hang 5 or 6 cameras in August then let them run. 10 years ago it seemed like we would never shoot or hardly see the bigger bucks we had on camera. Always shot deer we never had on camera. Then about 5 years ago it has gone the other way always see the bucks we had on camera. But we are almost always hunting the rut there so we get some roamers and other people pushing deer in I am sure.

[bshane88]

Thanks for all the input guys. I think I will follow the advice to not hang the camera over his bed and focus on travel corridors/ primary scrape locations as suggested. This forum is great! Pretty cool being able to bounce stuff off other guys who have been there, done that. I've loosely followed the beast methods for the past decade from watching the dvds but only in the past 2 years really got serious about the core principles. Didn't even know there was a forum until recently.