Maximizing Your Trail Cam Use in July to Find Trophy Bucks

As antlers grow and hunting season approaches, it's the perfect time to begin your scouting efforts.

I keep a few trail cameras running year-round on my hunting property, just to observe the wildlife. However, right now is when I begin serious reconnaissance for the upcoming season. Velvet antlers are developing at full speed. By June, a buck’s rack has likely formed its eight or ten points, and the tine and beam length will continue to grow until the end of July. When you capture an image of a potential trophy, it will be unmistakable. That’s when you can place more cameras across your property, tracking and narrowing down the buck’s movements.

Mineral Cams

If using mineral licks to attract deer is legal in your area, take advantage of it. Creating one mineral or bait site for every 50 to 100 acres you hunt is a good rule of thumb. Secure a camera on a tree, about 10 feet from each lick you set up. Within a few weeks, you’ll have hundreds of images of deer digging and licking the soil. By late August, you’ll have compiled a solid inventory of the bucks on your land, categorized by size and age.

I prefer to establish mineral sites just inside the woods, particularly near the corners and edges of fields or food plots, and close to deer trails. This allows bucks to easily access the licks without much effort. These sites will provide your most valuable surveillance for the next two months.

Plot Cams

Our small hunting club maintains several half-acre clover plots scattered throughout the Virginia woods. We hang a camera on the edge of each plot, pointing it toward the center to cover as much of the area as possible. In July, the goal isn't necessarily to capture close-up shots of a large buck. Instead, we aim to monitor the entire plot using wide-angle cameras, hoping to catch the first subtle but significant images of large-bodied deer with tall racks.

Ag Cams

On the farm I hunt, I place multiple cameras around the larger soybean and cornfields. However, I avoid aiming the cameras directly into the middle of the fields. Instead, I set them about 20 or 30 yards back into the thickets along the edges, where well-worn deer trails lead to the crops. These secluded pockets and trails are prime locations for capturing images of big velvet bucks moving through the area. Fence row gaps and open gates near fields also make excellent pinch points for placing cameras.

Water Cams

Where should you place cameras in the dense, green, muggy woods of summer? It can be challenging, but focusing on creeks, beaver ponds, and other waterholes is an effective way to narrow down your options and capture images of bucks. This is especially true during droughts, like the ones we're seeing this summer in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and South. Scout for creek crossings or pond edges where deer tracks are most frequent, and set your cameras there. As the summer progresses, bucks tend to linger in low-lying areas that offer cool, shady spots.

Camera Time

Over the next few weeks, position cameras at prime locations, and you'll likely spot the fields or plots where large deer are feeding. You may even find where they are bedding down in the shady woods near water. While this initial information will give you insight into the bucks' summer routines, they will likely remain on these patterns when bow season opens in a couple of months.