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Trail Cam Recommendations?

TNbowhunter

TNbowhunter

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2019
Messages
1,023
Location
Middle Tennessee
Howdy, hope you boys are enjoying your Monday (at least as much as an out-of-season Monday can be enjoyed). This offseason, one of my to-do's is to purchase and use trail cams to better understand a new property I'll be hunting. My scouting time is unfortunately limited, so I have to use trail cams to gather the intel my work schedule prevents me from getting in-person. What do y'all recommend based on personal experience?
Here's my list of priorities:
1) Reliability - When set up properly (distance from the trail, settings, etc.), the thing must capture a picture or video of a deer walking by basically every time.
2) Affordability - I have about $500 to spend on this endeavor this offseason, and I'm open to buying two or so great cameras or several really good cameras. I'm not looking to blow the whole budget on the Hubble Telescope of trail cams.
3) Picture/Video Quality - Self-explanatory.
4) Battery Life - It would be awesome to be able to let these things soak for 2+ months without them dying.
5) Wireless Technology - This is a bonus, but not necessary.
I've only ever owned one trail came, a Moultrie, and I was so dissatisfied I returned it within a month. The batteries dies too quickly, the pictures were blurry, and it triggered on windy days at least ten times as often as it triggered for a live animal (even on an active trail). So, if you plan to recommend a Moultrie, just save your time--I'm sure lots of folks have had great experiences with them, but mine was so bad I'll never buy one again.
 
I never had any wireless cams. All I will buy is browning dark ops or browning strike force. I think they’re the best camera for the money. Can’t beat their battery life either. I’ve had them out early April to mid November over minerals with thousands of pics on 1 set of 6 AAs.
 
I will also second the browning camera’s for the money. I run some really cheap wildgame cameras on public ground, and they do ok, but have a couple browning strike forces on private and I run lithium batteries and I have no reason to look for any other brand. I will be getting a browning wireless with solar panel, most likely, this off season but that will be my first cell camera endeavor
 
I third the browning trail cameras I’ve had 3 for about 4 years now and they haven’t missed a beat. I’ve replaced batteries in them once a year. Plus it is pretty easy to set up on site.
 
Try checking out Exodus Trail cameras. Really good cameras and they have a five year warranty also if the are stolen you can get a new one at 50% off. I have a Trek and Lift II and they both are awesome plus they have a hybrid mode where they take a picture first and then a video. I really like that.
 
I have heard a ton of great stuff about exodus. Plan on getting some soon.
In the past, I used a lot of Bushnells. Some issues with whiteout and sensitivity but overall fine imho.
Recently, I bought a Bow Creek, I know the owner- great guy. One thing I like is the view screen and settings of a more expensive camera for le$$. I paid $99 at a show for one, and he does online sales every now and then. Also, he makes an interesting high protein mineral.
www.bowcreekoutdoors.com

Bow Creek Outdoors | Trail Cameras and Buck Fuel Supplements & Attractants

Bow Creek Outdoors was started out of an obsession for understanding whitetail deer and their health. Each product is formulated to help bucks grow bigger antlers.
www.bowcreekoutdoors.com www.bowcreekoutdoors.com
 
I love my Browning Dark Ops cameras. I have 4 and let them sit all year on Energizer lithium batteries and all on video mode and after a year the batteries still registered at 100% but I changed them anyway.
 
I have 5 Browning cameras. 2 Command ops and 3 Strike Force. They are good cameras a bit grainy at night on video but they work. Now my favorite ones are the two EXODUS cameras I have.
 
I guess I'm the odd duck. I use Primos Proof Cam Gen 2. I have about 8 that run year round. Work off any batteries I put in them and last almost all year on eneloop rechargeables. Eat any SD card I throw at them. Exceptional pic and vid quality for the price. Easy to set up.
 
I use Bigfoot Cameras. Specifically their old 3g cell cams. They’ve been super solid and great pic quality for over a year now. I use lithium batteries and get a minimum of 3-4 months between changes. Also they are owned by American family owned archery company. You can call them and actually talk to their tech who helped design them. Pretty great service. I will be buying their 4g at some point. But at&t still has not announced a sunset date on their 3g service so I’m gonna keep riding that.
 
I have 3 Spypoint cameras. I bought the first Force 10 because it had fast trigger speed and was cheap. Liked it so much I bought two more which are Force 11's I think. The first one is more than two years old, has taken thousands of pictures and batteries last about 10 months.
 
Apex7 said:
I have 5 Browning cameras. 2 Command ops and 3 Strike Force. They are good cameras a bit grainy at night on video but they work. Now my favorite ones are the two EXODUS cameras I have.
Click to expand...
What model of the Exodus are you running?
 
I’ve used both moultrie and stealth cam, for the money, they’re ok. I’m interested in checking something new out this year though.
 
Seems like I probably can't go wrong with Exodus or Browning. Does anyone have a good lead on discount codes or upcoming sales for either brand? I'd rather not wait until Black Friday... Haha
 
TNbowhunter said:
Seems like I probably can't go wrong with Exodus or Browning. Does anyone have a good lead on discount codes or upcoming sales for either brand? I'd rather not wait until Black Friday... Haha
Click to expand...
I know Browning has some sales on their web page. Don't over look refurbish cameras I have two of them and they work great. They check them out really well unlike new ones were they may check 1 out of 100 cameras .
 
The new Moultrie wireless has been working good for me. I also keep an eye out for refurbished Moultrie's (love my refurb A30s) on amazon. I also have a handful of the cheapie stealth's that I put on public land areas that may be easier to find/steal and they have been flawless. I subscribe to the train of thought that 3-5 low/mid grade reliable cams with fewer features are better than one high end camera. I also tend to use my cell cams in areas that I am worried about disturbing the area by checking cards (example- close to potential buck bedding). The cell cams are nice as well just to have real time data of movement. Make decisions on hunting an area or not on a particular day.



What Moultrie did you have issues with? I've had quite a few over the years and aside from an old m880 getting attacked by a black bear they all have been awesome.
 
I’d also stay away from Wild Game Innovations.

I’ve never actually owned one. But I always carry my reader when scouting. If I come across a camera I will check the card. I find a lot of those Wild Games, and the pictures are always way grainier and have a larger percentage of misses and blurry pics than my browings. Not familiar with their models, but I’d assume they’re the cheaper ones.
 
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