Editor’s Note: To learn more about the deer living on your hunting-club or hunting-lease lands, I’ve talked with Brian Murphy, a wildlife biologist and the executive director for the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) https://www.qdma.com/, about the effective use of motion-sensor cameras for better deer management and to better protect deer. Murphy says that this type of deer census may capture photos of 95% of a deer herd in 10 days. Many landowners also are learning the value of using game cameras to catch poachers on their properties.

John E. Phillips: What are some other uses for motion-sensor cameras that hunters are finding?
Brian Murphy: You may be surprised to know that many hunters are using motion-sensor cameras to patrol their hunting lands. They have these cameras located at gates and access points where poachers may enter their property. There’s been a number of legal cases made where the key source of evidence was a motion-sensor camera that photographed hunters trespassing on hunting lands, whether they’re on vehicles or ATVS or simply walking.

Another use for motion-sensor cameras is for landowners to record the number of truck loads of logs that are removed off their property. Most landowners get paid per number of truck loads of wood. So, by simply placing a motion-sensor camera in an inconspicuous spot along the road that logging trucks use, a landowner can very easily and effectively keep up with and determine the number of truck loads of logs that are harvested off his property each year. Then, if there are any discrepancies, the landowner has photos of the dates and times that the log trucks came onto and left his property. We’re seeing many landowners using motion-sensor cameras for a wide variety of security functions.

To learn more about hunting deer, check out John E. Phillips’ book, “PhD Whitetails:How to Hunt and Take the Smartest Deer on Any Property,” available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007A2N792.

To receive your free book on “How to Make Venison Jerky,” go to https://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/Ece3UZVcOo52cKPJcL

Tomorrow: How to Use Game Cameras to Capture Wildlife on Your Land and to Pattern Buck Deer