Trail Cam Strategy

[RunNGunSC]

Does anyone else use trail cams for preseason scouting? Do you focus on roost sites, taking a general inventory, trying to pattern them, or strut zones?  I haven't had consistent success capturing turkeys.  I hunt a large club with hardwood bottoms, cut overs, and planted pines.  There really aren't any large food plots.  Any trail cam tips?

[Trl91]

I mainly have them out to see when deer have dropped antlers to give me an idea of when to start looking. Naturally, having a camera on a field, pole line, somewhat open area you're going to pick up turkeys and other critters. Its good for inventory to see whats out there and then I've also noticed if I have a spot/year where I'm getting a lot of predators on camera the birds adjust accordingly and are a lot less vocal. Never truly tried to pattern just a turkey or a flock

[Mossberg90MN]

I find it to be pretty difficult to use them as you would for deer. Unless you have a small private parcel and you can place them in key areas. Something real large gets tough because you can put it on 1 ridge point or a bench and they could be skirting that camera and you'll never know it.

I gave up using them for turkeys, I don't know... I'm sure there's someone on here that has great success with it. But not me, I just prefer to get to the spot before the season or before the hunt and just listen to locate birds. Trying to strategically place a camera where I think I'll get Turkey action never really worked. And if you let's say find a bottom or ridge top that's tore up with scratching, what's the point of putting a camera there, you already know they're using that area.


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[Dtrkyman]

I did it quite successfully when I was managing ground in Illinois.  I had guests in the spring and would typically only take one at a time and the others were on their own.

Cameras mostly on fields where they liked to strut, I had several thousand acres and multiple properties to cover so it was tough to pin point birds by just going and listening.

I would set yours on small openings or edges of cover, if you find a bunch of sign, maybe some heavy scratching you could also set it up there.  Cutover edges may be a good place, logging roads anything that can concentrate their activity.

With the guests the key was figuring out what time birds were in a spot, those guys were headed to breakfast before 8am if the birds quit talking, they would go back out later and I could tell them where to sit, so sense sitting sign that is made in the evenings with the 1pm cutoff we had.

[J.D. Shellnut]

I use them every year. Look for dusting bowls and strut marks on logging roads. If there are any feeders around put one on them. Logging sets where they load the logs when they harvest the timber are good places also.