Better to have seen and lost or to never see at all?

by Nov 1, 2013Whitetail Deer

Better to have seen and lost or to never see at all?

Deer season starts tomorrow!!!  Dad and I have had the cameras up seriously for about a month or so.  The excitement of bringing the memory cards home, waiting to see if there are new pictures and then of what… it’s almost like Christmas morning for us.  We have three cameras out, two by the Sky Condo and one by my tree seat. One of this year’s photos (the last one, below) got Dad and I talking.  Is it better to know what you have out there, even if you never see it? or is the element of surprise better?

For example, here are some photos that we have taken from the trail camera of deer that came, got their photo taken and disappeared.

This buck is right below the Sky Condo
A different buck (look at the tines and width of the rack), 10 minutes later, also at the Sky Condo
This photo was taken near the tree house that Dad and I first built in 2007.
This is the same deer as above
This year’s photo.  This is the only photo we have of our ghost deer and he is walking away from the Sky Condo.  He is approx. where I dropped my deer in 2012.

So what is your preference?  Would you rather get some great photos of awesome deer but never see them again or would you rather be surprised when you are out there hunting and a big deer steps out?  I realize that before trail cams, the later was the norm but now that we are spoiled, which do you prefer?

Dad and I start season #11 this year and it will be a totally new experience as we juggle a baby with our hunting schedule.  It should be a great season!

2 Comments

  1. Ohhhh I don't know. I'd feel better about the start of the season if I had a buck on camera, but I'd be disappointed if I didn't see him during the season. hmmm… I'd rather see him….yes…I'm sticking with that. I'd rather see him.

  2. We recently got a new trail camera and it uses memory cards but is also set up to send the pictures to my email. OMG! It is awesome to get up every morning and see what was in our stand every night. Rifle season opens up for us next week, so we are excited. Good luck!

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Erin Merrill, author of And a Strong Cup of Coffee, is president of Women of the Maine Outdoors, a senior writer for Drury Outdoors, a contributor to the Northwoods Sporting Journal and passionate all things Maine, Hunting, and the Outdoors.

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