July 9th Trail Camera

July 9th, 2012                         


                                       “It’s Camera Time”

Well I commented in my previous post, my mineral licks have been brewing for some time. I was able to make it out on Father’s Day to put out a few trail cameras. The licks did not appear to have had much use. But, I set up on them anyway. The past few weeks have been unseasonably warm. Therefore, deer activity was expected to be low, although it is my personal opinion that this tends to draw the deer to the mineral sites, igniting their desire for nutrients.

I set out about 5:30 a.m. to start my trek to several site locations, as the heat was expected to be in the upper 90’s once again! I checked the first two sets, with only about 200 pictures total. Next, I ventured to a mineral lick I set out in the spring, with reluctance to place a camera to due past theft of a buddy’s tree stand. Well, after viewing what appeared to be pretty good visual activity at this site, I elected to put up a camera. I’ll have to go back and check that one in a few weeks. The third camera I already had in place, had about 120 pictures. I was not expecting much activity at this site. But, some early spring scouting revealed a lot of big rubs. I mean a lot! This is an area of young dense pines, along a thin stretch of public land. So far, the only way I figured it could be hunted is by ground blind (not my desired means), as there are no mature trees and the thick underbrush would make it literally impossible to see deer until they were directly below you. But, the myriad of trails and old buck sign, have me intrigued to say the least!

Well, I was unable to view my pictures in the field, as the card reader I had recently purchased failed. Again! I’ve come accustomed to having to return the cheap junk that is being made these days. So, needless to say this will be going back to the store. The drive home was kind of torture. As I see my checking of cameras kind of like Christmas in the fact that it’s always a surprise and sometimes disappointing! Well, this was a mix of both, because the pictures (bucks) I could decipher were nothing to get excited about. There were several pictures of what appears to be a good buck in the pines, but due to the thick cover and low light, most of the pictures were blurry. And, this camera (oldest in the bunch) is not taking night pictures. So, well see what the next trip brings.

This was also a sad day, as it was the last day of my vacation! Had a good time visiting family and friends in both Tennessee and Mississippi. The wife and I had a good night in Nashville listening to some good music and plenty of cocktails! We headed south to Mississippi where we partook in the 1^st annual “Juggin in July” on Booths Lake. It was a friendly competition with plenty of trash talk and some controversy, indeed! Needless to say I didn’t win, but it was a blast no doubt. We even extended through the night where we boated some 26-29”, 6-9 lb. fish. Great time with great people! And, there is always next year!