Grow the Hunt

Moultrie I-45 & I-65 Game Cameras - Buy 1, Get 1 FREE!*

We at Moultrie are so thankful for all of our loyal customers that we want give you a head start on your shopping list! For a limited time, when you buy a Game Spy I-45 Refurb or I-65 Refurb, get a second camera of the same model FREE! Simply select the camera of your choice and add a second to your cart (camera model must be the same). Your savings will be reflected at checkout. Purchase as many cameras as you need to outfit your property... for instance, buy five cameras at full price and get five FREE!

*Offer applies to Game Spy I-45 Refurb and Game Spy I-65 Refurb models only. All refurbished units are factory reconditioned, guaranteed to be in working order and carry a full one-year warranty. While supplies last. Hurry, offer ends soon!

Using Moultrie Game Spy Cameras to Track Down a Trophy Buck

By Rich Miller

I am in the truck riding through Nashville on my way to Kansas for a week of bow hunting. The odd thing is, the scenery is a lot different this year than in years past. All of the leaves are still on the trees, whereas normally they have all hit the ground by now.  I left the house at 4:00 am this morning and avoided the traffic in Atlanta, but had one little slowdown when we were coming into Nashville. Hopefully, the rest of the trip will be as smooth as the first leg, although I expect Kansas City to be pretty rough by the time we get there. 

In the last week all of the reports out of Illinois and Kansas from some of the guys I know that have been hunting has gotten better. I have gotten several pictures of some good bucks in the last two days and reports that the bucks are starting to cruise around pretty well. By the sound of things, we might hit it right this year and not hear the “ you should have been here last week” saying that we always seem to hear.

I did get a little more good news last week from my buddy, Mick, when he sent me a Moultrie Game Spy photo. Now, since we put the feeder and camera up in August, we have had a lot of deer activity on the camera but no big bucks so far. Usually, every year the really nice bucks start showing up around the middle of October. This fall has been just like the rest of the year and it seems like everything is running behind. 

Last Saturday afternoon, Mick called and said we had a good one on the camera and started explaining to me what the deer looked like. As he was describing the deer, it hit me that this was a deer that I had hunted really hard last year when I was in Kansas and never got a glimpse of the twelve days that I hunted there. When he got home, he e-mailed me the picture and confirmed what I was thinking. To make things better, I had saved one of the hundreds of pictures that we had of him the previous year and he is standing in the same position as the only picture we got of him this year. In the area I hunt, we get a lot of different deer on camera every year but to the best of my knowledge we have never gotten the same buck two years in a row. The split G2’s give it away that it’s him, but man has he packed on the mass from the year before! Not just the antler mass but tine length and body weight, also. 

As I said earlier, last year I had a ton of pictures of this bad boy and never got a shot at him. He was there almost every day. This year he showed himself one time last week but Mick hasn’t checked the camera since then to see if he has came back again. I will definitely check the camera when I get down out of that stand in the morning unless I get an up-close look at him before that!

3 Big Buck Hot Spots

By Brandon Wikman

If you have been out in the woods within the last few days you may have realized yourself that rutting action is at its peak! Archery hunters from across the country are licking their lips and putting their time in stand anticipating a cruising, antlered giant. During this time of year things go bonkers. Bucks are knocking antlers, doe are running through the forest, and the odds of a hunter harvesting a buck are high!

Only a few issues arise during this time of year. Often times, bucks are very unpredictable and you may have just as much luck hunting a tree stump in the middle of the woods than anywhere else on a property! Below you will find a few big bucks hangout hot spots that will increase your setup’s success.

1. Water
Deer must drink water to hydrate themselves. When bucks and doe are burning mass calories by running around in pursuit of love, they think water before food. Deer can go up to 3 days without food. However, whitetail must refresh their taste buds with some type of water source on a daily basis.

Look for small streams, creeks, or ponds where you are hunting. These are key spots that deer will key on throughout the day. There have been more big bucks shot over a waterhole during the rut than any time of the year. As the rut continues, be sure to spend a few days at a watering hole.

2. Funnels
Funnels will constrain deer movement to a certain location. Whether it’s an opening in the fence, saddle on a ridge, finger of woods or simply a low spot in a creek bed, funnels are spots to find right now!

Funnels, also known as pinch-points, are spots deer will naturally use during the rut. Take a hard look at your property and think about what natural or unnatural terrain features will help steer deer in your direction. Many times bucks will use these funnel spots because they are the most convenient and easiest way of passage.

3. Food Source
Food is a primary concept in the eye of a whitetail. Even though bucks could care less about grabbing a snack right now, the doe are and will be in the fields or your food plots. Wherever you find doe, you will soon find a buck. Many times bucks will cruise downwind of a food plot or field edge 50 yards or further back in the brush. They will use their nose to identify any hot doe in the field before they even bother entering. Tree stands that are positioned in the woods a bit behind a food plot are dynamite spots to ambush a lovesick buck.

I hope you take these small tidbits of information to help you pinpoint your own hotspot. During this time of year, sometimes luck is your biggest asset; but with careful preparation, you may be able to make your own luck this year!