November game camera photos

My fascination with game camera photos continues, even if largely the vast majority of images captured this month were of whitetail deer.  We are monitoring 4 cameras at 2 different properties, both in St. Louis County.  All of them are finding large numbers of deer, including many very nice bucks.  And while they are recording some nice deer during the daytime hours, they appear with no discernible pattern.  The most impressive bucks appear at nighttime, often several times a week at a similar time.  For example:

While it is possible I will never see these deer with my own two eyes during daylight hours, it is fascinating to know that they are out there somewhere.  Both of these two properties with the cameras are less than 20 acres in size, but obviously adjoin larger areas under various ownerships and activity.  Realistically I have little hope in being able to harvest any of these deer, but I have some great ideas where I want to search for sheds.

Of course there is a sliver of hope.  Many deer do show up on the game camera during the day.  The fragmented ownership of nearby properties does mean that the deer get stirred up sometimes, and they have to go somewhere.  I just constantly remind myself that there is no way I will get a shot at these deer while on my couch, so I just need to get out there and see what happens.

I am ninety percent sure that I have a shed from one of these deer above from last season.  Another thing that is fascinating to me is that one of these cameras is set up on a very active trail in a heavily wooded area full of white oaks.  We never have baited this area, not even in the off season.  However, all of these deer (and raccoons) spend a lot of time browsing the area.  Presumably they are in search of acorns.  There are also some world class rubs and scrapes in the area that are really fun to keep tabs on.

Of course there are a few unwelcome guests to include raccoons, coyotes, foxes, and the occasional tresspasser.

While I would want nothing more than to just spend a day or weekend sitting on a hidden log in the woods watching, the reality is that I have soccer games, grocery shopping, and a full time job to keep so the game camera is the next best thing.

What will December bring?