Recently there has been an increase in deer in my neighborhood. One of my trees has all kinds of bark missing where it has been scraped. I know NOTHING about game cameras or security cameras. Are they basically the same thing? What should I look for? What should I avoid? Best place to buy them? Any info appreciated.

One part of my antipathy to electronics is that I was once contacted by a dude whose trail cam snapped me a few yards inside his boundary. There was a fence at the edge of the wood but he was too lousy to put up one on the actual line.

So, people will tell you the best one to buy ... but I know by now that you are a real hunter. Pass up on the decadence! Get up early and go out and sit there, for days before the season if necessary. See for yourself what is going on ... or just take pot luck in the primaeval lottery. Then, when you shoot one you can have pride in the knowledge that at least you did it by yourself.

quote:

Originally posted by sambarman338:
One part of my antipathy to electronics is that I was once contacted by a dude whose trail cam snapped me a few yards inside his boundary. There was a fence at the edge of the wood but he was too lousy to put up one on the actual line.

So, people will tell you the best one to buy ... but I know by now that you are a real hunter. Pass up on the decadence! Get up early and go out and sit there, for days before the season if necessary. See for yourself what is going on ... or just take pot luck in the primaeval lottery. Then, when you shoot one you can have pride in the knowledge that at least you did it by yourself.

---

Seriously??? So you despise electronics because you were caught trespassing onto another person's property? And you feel he should have set up the camera on the fence so you could have have more easily seen it instead of having it hidden in the woods???

Secondly, the post asked for something specific. Not everyone has the time or ability to sit out all night for weeks on end to see what is destroying trees and at what time. Your response was condescending at best.

carpetman1-
As to game cams, I have used several over the years and keep going back to my original Moultrie model that was purchased at least a dozen years ago. It has low resolution, but it is utterly reliable in that it seems to trigger and supply images when others don't. It is weather-worn, big, bulky and the ear loops for attaching/securing are long ago broken off. But, the bottom line is that it still functions reliably.

I have not tried the high-end units. All of mine were in the $60-$120 range. The WildGame Innovations were a bust and never worked for me. The first would not fire at all -- no matter what -- and was returned. The replacement unit had an electronics issue and would not reliably keep date/time and often just shut itself down. It was returned, too. I never tried or even opened the box of that replacement and just sold it for a loss...and went back to the old Moultrie. Right now, I don't even recall its specific model but will go next door and check it later this morning.

Thanks Bobby. Sambarman, I'm not looking to shoot the deer that get in my yard. I'd just like to know what all is coming around. One night I did see a nice ten pointer in the street in front of my house. Last night my neighbor and I were on my front porch having coffee and I'd gone in to get us a refill. While I was in the house a doe came into the yard not 20 feet from my neighbor. Obviously from my questions, I've never used a cam for hunting. Really don't see how knowing what had been there in the past would give any unfair advantage.

Be sure it is well secured to the tree with a cable and a lock. I see a lot a used trail cameras walking around local small gun shows. My neighbor hung two on his property and they were gone in two days.

Bobbby with your recommendation, I bought a Moultrie AC-30. The instructions are lacking. Doesn't even tell how to download the pictures nor erase them off the memory card.

Sorry to hear that! Looks like things have changed with them since I got mine way back when.

What I always did with mine was remove the card and take it home and put in in my laptop to view. Later I bought another card so the camera wasn't "empty" and so I didn't have to rush back with the one.

Did you see if they have instructions to download on their website?

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
Bobbby with your recommendation, I bought a Moultrie AC-30. The instructions are lacking. Doesn't even tell how to download the pictures nor erase them off the memory card.

You pop the card into your laptop either in a dedicated slot or with a USB adapter. Windows should recognize it and ask if you want to download. After downloading, you can then delete them from the card. There may be a setting to delete them automatically after downloading.
Good luck.

I think a camera will inform you of the deer's lifestyle, Carpetman. They are creatures of habit and while the weather stays constant, will tend to a kind of pattern.

The problem is that much of the action will happen at night, a time that may not help much considering laws, ethics etc.

Sambarman--You have a point that you might gain an insight into an animals habits. Then again, their tracks tell you that they have been at a location and perhaps the amount of tracks indicate whether frequently or not.

Yes carpetman, hunters are learning all sorts of stuff from using these cameras, including how many thieving varmints there are walking around the woods.

One thing I think they will put paid to is the belief by some in Australia that we have an established population of big cats running wild. While no news is no news, if there were big cats roaming around, someone would have recorded them by now. Even this could be falsified, of course, by someone snapping a puma in some Californian eucalypt grove or photoshop.

Until recently, had I lived right next to the action as you do, I would have had a camera, for sure.

Daughter showed me how to do what Moe said. Had a fox and a doe in my front yard.

So far, the fox and doe are all I'm getting and this has been from locations in front yard and in the alley. I have seen turkey behind the alley, maybe get some day time shots of them. I downloaded my sons in law card and he had 1986 photos. Large number of them were the trees moving on windy days.

Enjoying my trail camera. Got a possum picture last night and a couple of pretty nice whitetail bucks. Going to put out some corn and hope to get some day time pictures of turkey. Ordered a reader I can download with my IPhone.

After the night with corn had a racoon. Several deer to include a spike and an 8 pointer with real long tines.

Put out a lick block today, see what the night brings.

Glad to see it's working. It's always fun to see what shows up on a game cam.

Take care with the lick block, Carpetman. If you are just using it as an amateur David Attenborough, that's fine, but some hunters take a dim view of using them for hunting purposes.

Sambarman--My lick is in a residential area--no hunting involved. Getting trail cam pictures. Have gotten feral cat, possum, coon, fox, and deer. Several are regulars. A spike buck and an 8 pointer. Last night had 5 doe in one shot.

It is common practice here to use feeders that disperse corn for hunting. If anyone views that dimly they will be very despondent as it is the rule.

Apple makes an SD reader for your iPhone.

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
Sambarman--My lick is in a residential area--no hunting involved. Getting trail cam pictures. Have gotten feral cat, possum, coon, fox, and deer. Several are regulars. A spike buck and an 8 pointer. Last night had 5 doe in one shot.

It is common practice here to use feeders that disperse corn for hunting. If anyone views that dimly they will be very despondent as it is the rule.

Sounds great! What can I say, take care it doesn't turn you into a greenie?

I got the reader that hooks to my IPHONE. Didn't fit at first. I have an Otter Box protective case on my IPhone and I had to do some whittling on the Otter Box and it now works.