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2017 Trail Cameras and Noobie Advice!

donnieballgame

donnieballgame

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
1,872
I've been looking at trail cameras for weeks now, and can't decide where to start. I will be hunting several different areas of parks(urban archery program) and a few military installations. So I kinda need to cover a lot of terrains.

I was thinking about a few cheaper cameras so I could cover as much ground as possible and didn't want to break the bank.

I was hoping to get some recommendations and thoughts on trail cameras, numbers, how often you move them(including specifics on how), what works well(ie carrying laptop or phone card readers), what doesn't and some lessons learned if you have them.

Thanks for any and all advice!
 
I have been using trail cameras on public land for about 10 years now. Here is what I have learned... Trail cameras are a ton of fun. I love checking them and the anticipation of what you caught. To date I have shot 2 bucks that I caught on trail cameras. Both of those were in the least pressured areas I hunt, a county park that I have to get a permit to hunt. Other than that I think I have seen only 1 or 2 mature bucks in person after catching them on cameras. That is just my experience but I have started putting less time into cameras the past couple years, and the time I do put in to it has been in the less pressured park.
 
I like to just bring an extra SD card and swap it out then go home, pull out the laptop and go through the pics. I do have a card reader that plugs into my iPhone that I use during hunting season. But I like to spend some time going through the pics on a larger screen.
I am a huge fan of exodus cameras. I have the lift and am about to order the new one. I also run 3 less expensive wild game cameras. I use these on public land where if they get stolen it will hurt less. I try to leave them in the general areas where I plan to hunt. Tough to chase the deer, you may go days without a pic but then 2 great days.


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I tried to keep my son from putting out cams. I think hunters just wise the deer up while running cams. Most of the deer that we kill, we have no clue is even in the area and only once have we taken one that we had a pic of and he killed it 1.5 miles from where the cam was.
 
I like to have an idea of what's out there. Gives me more will power on the decent bucks knowing that there actually are big boys running around. I have taken 4 bucks that I have pics of and all were in the same location as camera. But I have yet to smoke one of the monsters I've gotten on camera.


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As far as brands it's hard to beat the old Bushnell trophy cams and moultrie m80's. I have several of these, some are probably 10 yrs old. If I was buying new ones I'd probably try to get the newer models of those. If you read reviews it's hard to figure out what's good cause they all break. I wish I could tell you more about the new stuff. I found a browning spec ops I got for $100 from ****s with coupons and I love the video quality but haven't seen them for anywhere near that recently. I don't spend a lot on mine due to too many people in areas I hunt. Had a dark ops fail and a g42 fail both under less than a yr.
 
For placement if you know the areas hot spots don't put the cams there. I think a lot of people ruin good spots like this. If I know the area I'll place the cams near food sources and then hit those hot spots when the time is right if there's a nice deer there. If it's an area I don't know I'll put the trail cam near food, primary scrape, or bedding areas or wherever I feel it needs to be to learn the area. A lot of times this ends up scouting for the following year anyway but it's still worth hunting if your careful about scent. I should say though a 3 yo deer is nice to me 120-135. Not a lot of "huntable" places near me get deer much bigger. I'll see the once every couple years a bruiser that's above 140 but it's usually during the rut. I do hunt Ohio as well and see the same thing with the 150 class deer, it doesn't take much to make them nocturnal once they get that age. I know this because I've made the mistake of putting cameras too close to their daytime areas. A lot of hunters better than myself will tell you this.
 
Also if you want to check them in field bone view for the iPhone works for me it's just much slower than going through on a computer. There's a lot to enjoy about trail cams, they can be like a whole other hobby themselves. Checking trail cams for me is a lot like Christmas morning when I was a kid.
 
To me cameras are more about fun than actual usable intel. Sure, it's helpful to know that a buck is in the area...it keeps the anticipation high. However, on highly pressured public land deer with big hunter numbers, I'm not sure they've ever helped me actually kill a buck. But that's just my experience. I'm sure others would disagree with me.
 
Cameras are awesome. I love the anticipation that comes with swapping out the sd card and hurrying home to see what's going on in the deer woods. However, I probably educate more deer than I should by checking them too often. And I also like to at least get pictures of the giants that live in underground tunnels during daylight hours.
 
I think cameras are a useful tool. The anticipation of seeing deer on camera is cool especially when there is a bruiser. I used to run upwards of 20 cams but found I put too much faith in them saying to myself "he will be here at this time" and if it didn't materialize I would then be bit and solely focus on that one deer which led to over hunting spots with little success. Since then I have grown and run cameras more strategically. I use them to locate if deer are in the area and which way them come in and leave. I also use cameras on private land to test homemade attractants during the off season (can't use them in season). On public land the threat of stolen cams is high so I place them 8-10ft up in a tree angled down. If a bruiser is caught on the cam I know the area he is in and stay out not to continually disturb the area. I also believe cams should not be checked regularly once every 3-4 weeks I think is ideal. I also prefer to run cams in inclimate weather as to help with scent and less likely to spook deer.
 
Thanks everyone all good points and things I haven't thought about!

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I got 2 cheap ones, threw em in the woods this morning, didnt want to spend a bunch of cash only to have em get grabbed

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I have used cuddieback and Browning. They both work great. Put them up in a tree helps them from walking away.
 
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