How to Win in the Whitetail Woods: The Experts Weigh in with Their Top Strategies

Are you ready to take your whitetail strategies to the next level? We asked the experts how they deploy and utilize trail cameras to pin down bigger whitetails. From the tried-and-true strategies to surprising secrets, we learned what it takes to get on great bucks year after year. 
 
Throughout these conversations, we found a few common themes that are noteworthy. Every hunter offered unique insights with a few gems that can help the novice to the veteran deer hunter. 
 
There's a reason a small percentage of hunters consistently takes a majority of the biggest bucks. These trail camera strategies play a big role in that success equation.  

As co-owner of Last Breath Media, you can watch many of Garrett's hunts on YouTube or the Pursuit Channel. He also tells stories and has great conversations through the Last Breath Huntcast. Garrett gets around, regularly hunting across the Midwest states with plenty of forays into the South and West. However, it's in his home state of Illinois where his camera strategies are fine-tuned to monitor numerous exceptional bucks. 
 
I asked Garrett about his big-picture strategy for trail cameras. He noted the importance of a long-term approach in his hunting areas. Garret said, "It's really about data collection over a longer period of time. We watch bucks progress for years. Each one is named, and we wait until a few specific bucks reach the maturity level where they are ready to target. That's when we narrow the focus to deer we are hunting in the specific season." 
 
The level of intimacy with bucks that are monitored for years is impressive. Garrett runs 20-30 Moultrie cell cameras at any time, and he notes, "The MOV files are cleaner than ever. The video quality helps me understand individual deer personalities. Some are dominant, and others are passive. I can build a calling strategy to target individual behaviors." 
 
Understanding personalities and targeting behaviors is an interesting approach. Having real-time data and high-quality video to read behavior delivers a major advantage for savvy hunters. Garrett also mentioned the value of knowing the right time to hunt. Receiving real-time data allows him to note the time of day when bucks are present. He says, "If we regularly see a deer in the same area around a relative time, we know when to focus on that place and buck." 
 
Garrett has been running trail cameras for decades, but being cell-connected has really changed the game. Time savings are a major factor for him, which every pro mentioned as well.  
 
"I'm not pulling SD cards and constantly running between locations. It's efficient and leaves more time to prepare for hunting season."  
 
Garrett reinvests his time savings to prep and strategize leading into the season. He also loves the reduced pressure placed on deer. He mentioned, "Big deer can't take much pressure without shifting behavior. Minimizing disruption becomes especially important as the season approaches." 
    
His strategies are obviously paying off, with an impressive number of big deer being taken by Garrett and his team. Watch his videos and take advantage of his advice to pin down more big deer in your own hunting areas. 

For Henry and Lakeisha Woodard, hunting is a family way of life. They live by the mantra – “We're enjoying nature's finest, marinated in a lifetime of memories." 
 
Many of those memories just happen to involve quality bucks in their Mississippi and Tennessee home territories. Regarding trail cameras, they put Moultrie cell-connected models to use on all their properties. Henry says, "It's a product we believe in and has taken our hunting to the next level." 
 
With four hunting children, trail camera strategies take on a different dimension. Cell-connected cameras make it easier to keep the kids engaged and excited about the hunt. Setting cameras is a family affair, and the kids work together to set locations while moulHenry and Lakeisha fine-tune the angles and positions.  
 
Henry notes, "We like to use different angles on entries and exits to capture varying perspectives. It gives us a better picture of the bucks crossing our cameras."  
 
After setting up cameras with the kids, they stay engaged while monitoring bucks. The instant ID and intuitive Moultrie Mobile App allow Henry and Lakeisha to share photos and videos in real time to get everyone excited about the season.   
 
Anyone who hunts with young ones knows that keeping them still in a stand is a challenge. Lakeisha uses cameras to her advantage by monitoring times busy with deer. 
 
"Moultrie cameras make it easier to involve our kids. We need to keep their attention. Knowing the times deer are most active around our cameras means we can get them into the action quicker during hunting season." 
 
She also notes the value of having great reception. Other models fell short by operating on a single network and struggling to report when cell signals are weak. 
 
"The Moultrie reception picks up really well on any network. We use solar to keep batteries running longer. We love the animal ID feature that tracks species as new photos and videos come through." 
 
The Woodard family opens their season with archery (and crossbow for kids) and progresses through the rifle season. They love cooking and eating game alongside fresh food from the garden. Their meticulous camera placements, scent control, and hunting strategies bring the family together in the woods and around the dinner table with all the great bucks they have harvested.  

If you follow Unfiltered Outdoors, you know that Blake Garrett is a busy man. He hunts hard, covering Missouri and Kansas with regular trips to Nebraska and beyond. His impressive collection of big whitetails and mule deer is growing yearly, and trail camera strategies help drive that success. 
 
Blake is very detail-oriented, which shows in his approach to camera placements. He says, "I put a ton of thought into the settings and play with sensors to get the best photo quality. Getting the right tilt and height for low-light photo quality is helpful. I also run feed in lines from 3-12 feet long with cameras placed to grab different perspectives." 
 
Blake also reflects on other pros regarding the value of real-time data. Monitoring multiple states makes it especially important for him to have current data from places where he can't pull SD cards regularly.  
 
"Having the most current information is huge. We used to rely on weeks-old data, not knowing what changes were occurring at the moment. Having current information during the rut is especially important because deer are always on the move."  
 
Blake can keep a pulse on the rut across a broad swath of the Midwest using cell-connected Moultrie Cameras. He can also save a ton of time with Moultrie Mobile's App features.  
 
"Before being cell connected, I had to organize data by creating folders and moving files to a laptop. It was very time-intensive to keep everything in a format that made sense. With Moultrie, the mobile app has auto-populating and sorting features that streamline everything for me." 
 
For someone running a ton of cameras, the ability to have all his data organized and accessible is a huge win. The hours saved leave Blake with more time to strategize and expand his hunting plans. He is always looking for water sources, food, field edges, and new places to test his cameras with the time saved using the Moultrie cameras and Moultrie Mobile App. 

Our pros are using cell-connected trail cameras to harvest bigger bucks. Every successful pro we interviewed mentioned a few commonalities in their approach to using trail cameras. They all agreed that being cell-connected minimizes your impact while scouting. They also said the time savings and how it's helping them hunt smarter.  
 
The following are a few additional commonalities that can help guide your trail camera strategies this hunting season. 

Your cameras are only as good as their locations. Deer behavior isn't static; they will shift to reach different food sources throughout the seasons. Every pro discussed the importance of rotating camera locations to accommodate seasonal changes in deer behavior. 
 
Blake Garrett discussed rotating between feed and mineral sites with transitions to scrapes. Garrett Boelkes also leaned into moving his cameras and adapting to the different phases of deer season. He moves with the food and looks to community scrapes to stay in the action. 

If there's one feature that seemed to excite everyone, it was the Moultrie Mobile App.. Henry and Lakeisha Woodward were quick to mention how useful it is for categorizing photos and youth engagement. 
 
Whitetail hunters often monitor 20+ cameras, and having an app that makes it super easy to organize all that data is a major asset. You can quickly recall information, isolate specific bucks, and manipulate data to form more effective hunting strategies. The Moultrie Mobile App will even automatically sort data and game movement with its Activity Charting feature. 

 
One specific data point that surfaced in every conversation is timing. Real-time data makes it possible to know when deer are frequenting various sites. It might be at first light, last light, or somewhere in between. Regardless, you will know the highest probability time to hit those locations. 
 
Play the timing right, and you can jump into the action with less idle time. For hunters with multiple tags or busy lives, it's a great way to be more effective with your available time. 
 
How will you implement new trail camera strategies this hunting season? With Moultrie, you can scout from anywhere and collect data to drive more effective hunting strategies. Shop cameras today.