DONT GIVE UP ON THEM!!!!!
I’m sure I’m behind on this thread as I didn’t read all the way through,but I have worked REALLY hard over the last several years finding the least conspicuous trail cam setups for both deer and humans.
1. I only run Black flash cameras. White and red flash cameras are visible to both humans and deer, and I have seen even low glow red spook deer.
2. Set cameras high... I mean like stand on the top of a stick kind of high. I started doing this because I hunt a lot of floodplain, and I needed 10-12 feet minimum to stay above water during flood events. It just so happened to pull the camera up and out of view of people and deer alike.
3. No strap around the tree!!!!! I find dozens and dozens of other hunter’s cameras every year. Almost without fail, the first thing that catches my attention is the strap around the tree trunk. I use a DIY screw in mount made from a lag eye screw and eye bolt that threads into the 1/4-20 mount on the bottom of the cam. The plans for it can be found all over the internet.
4. Whenever possible, I point the camera north. From a photography perspective, this puts the sun (which leans south) behind the camera, reduces shadows, and helps simplify the camera’s exposure guesswork.
5. Don’t point towards a “hot spot”: Modern cameras typically have a thermal/motion sensor as opposed to a purely motion only sensor. It requires both movement AND a thermal detection to trigger. If most of your picture frame is dark shades, but one area is solidly direct sunlight... all you need is a grass or leaf to move to complete the picture trigger. Either mostly direct sunlight in frame, or almost entirely shaded. I forgot this rule and just wasted 1,800 pictures of a sunlit spot on a ridge line with only 20-30 deer pics.
6. Lithium batteries: I pony up the extra coin for Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries for a few reasons. First, their total MaH is unrivaled... they will last longer that any alkaline or nickle metal hydride. Second, the outperform all other chemistries in cold weather, no questions asked. Third, the voltages stay at “full” all the way until they are almost dead. This means the camera’s electronics are performing at their absolute peak the entire time, not just the first 10% of battery life. (This can cause a crazy sensitive/fast triggers in some cameras, so I run video mode instead of picture mode)
7. Fast memory cards: I don’t use anything slower than 100mbs write speed cards. This makes your recovery times between pictures/videos much faster, and reduces corrupted files. Also, any time you put a memory card into a camera, perform a “delete all” function on the camera. This automatically formats the card and further reduces corrupt file problems.
8. Video mode: I have ABSOLUTELY fallen in love with video mode. You get SO much more info out of your trail cameras that way. I can’t tell you how many times it has been make or break to know if a deer meets antler restrictions here or not (13” inside spread). It also can let you see hard to discern features that can make identifying bucks easier.
9. And finally, off season care: I pull all cameras after antler drop. They all get cobwebs and dust brushed off with a clean painters brush, batteries and battery trays removed (trays taped to the back so I don’t lose them). They all get put into an airtight container with moisture absorbers (desiccant packets) from random items we buy that include them in the box.
Bonus.... I always coat my trail cameras in permethrin when first putting them out in the summer. It keeps spiders and ants from taking up residence in/on them. I am considering also spraying them yearly with a matte clear UV protection paint to prolong the color on the case.
I end up with some pretty awesome quality videos/pictures for $120 cameras
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