Deer Factory: How To Take Trail Camera Surveys

If you're looking to learn how to take trail camera surveys, you're in luck. Dr. James Kroll is one of the top authorities on whitetails and his advice on trail camera surveys will prove invaluable.

Dr. Kroll recommends at least one camera per 100 acres and cameras should be located near an attractant. Bait such as corn, minerals or feeders can greatly improve the efficiency of your camera inventory efforts.

In areas where baiting and feeding aren't legal, cameras should be located in areas where deer movement is concentrated. This might be a terrain feature that forces deer to move in a certain manner (think pinch points and funnels) or man-made structures that force deer movement can work as well (gates and fence openings).

Trail camera surveys are critical to developing a management plan for your property and Dr. Kroll claims that you can capture images of most deer on your property in a couple of weeks. Surveys conducted in the fall help you inventory the number and quality of bucks on your property.

But, perhaps, the most important survey is done in the spring. This allows you to determine fawn drop dates and as well as recruitment rates -- the number of fawns that survived one year.