There was a small bush about two hours hike upward, in a place with good amount of whitetail, the Coues species, little gray things. Fire took the bush.
Anyway, I nicknamed that tree-bush the "grenade tree" because the pre rut activity just tore it up. Ground all pawed at, branches tore and scrapped bare.
Well, my partner placed a trail camera up there, and got one doe in over a few weeks in October (rut is in January and into Feb here). Yet the deer are sort of steady in that area, so I think the above about camera in wrong direction might be true for your place.
FWIW.