I've hunted deer for a long time now, and have tended to do it fairly "low tech." I think I am ready to try to put out a camera or two near spots where I know bucks travel. To those of you out there who use the things, do you have recommendations as to what type I should get? I don't want to spend a fortune, but I would like for them to be reliable.

I have 10 cams, 5 are the Bushnell Trophy Cam 2009 5MP models. I love those little cams, fast trigger, good pics, easy set-up, and unmatched battery life. Be sure you go with the 2009 model, the 2010 was made by a different company and several folks are having alot of problems with them. There are plenty of 2009 5MP models available on the net.

Be sure to get IR cams, the white flash cams scare the heck out of the deer in our area. Some of the IR cams make filter noise. Read up on the chasing game web site for reviews on cams.

Have a good one,

Reloader

quote:

Originally posted by Reloader:
I have 10 cams, 5 are the Bushnell Trophy Cam 2009 5MP models. I love those little cams, fast trigger, good pics, easy set-up, and unmatched battery life. Be sure you go with the 2009 model, the 2010 was made by a different company and several folks are having alot of problems with them. There are plenty of 2009 5MP models available on the net.

Be sure to get IR cams, the white flash cams scare the heck out of the deer in our area. Some of the IR cams make filter noise. Read up on the chasing game web site for reviews on cams.

Have a good one,

Reloader

X2! You will not be disappointed with this camera

Drummond

I cannot recommend Cuddyback, mine hardly ever takes pics yet I see fresh spoor right in front of it all the time. Waste of money.

I've had a BUNCH of these cameras.

I've had the best luck with Cuddebacks. I have three out right now and I left three in Zim with my PH. The Capture model can be found on ebay for 150 to 200, depending on whether you want the flash model or the IR model. I use the flash on deer as I can see them better at distance. I use the IR for leopard.

My $.02.

Will,

Is there a secret to getting the durn thing to take a photo? Do I need to drop kick it first or something?

Please help....

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
Will,

Is there a secret to getting the durn thing to take a photo? Do I need to drop kick it first or something?

Please help....

Not sure. Mine are super sensitive. I often get birds, squirrels, possums, and skunks on camera.

You might want to check and see that you have the latest firmware installed. When you insert the batteries and the camera boots, it flashes two numbers (13 13 for example). This is the version of the firmware. You can check the CB website to see what the latest version is as well as how to install it.

You might also want to try a different memory card. I think 1gb works best.

Finally, you could put the camera in test mode to be sure it is pointed/targeted correctly.

On the issue of aiming the camera, I like to take my small cannon digital cam and set it on the top of the trail camera. With the cannon turned on and sitting on the cuddeback, I can check the aim point by looking at the cannon's display.

Don't feel you have to spend a fortune to have fun with game cameras. I have two, a super cheap wildview and a Stealthcam. The Stealthcam takes better pictures and has longer battery life, but both work fine.

I think I have as much fun with my cameras as I do hunting. I have pics of deer, turkey, squirrels, red fox, gray fox, black bear, porcupine, and a bat. I use corn or dropped apples as bait, or I had some old horse feed they ate, too. Not much luck with the powdered baits or salt.

I have no evidence that deer are spooked by the standard flash, but thats hard to know either way. I have pics of deer sticking their noses into the camera to check it out, then eating afterward.

My best picture spot is a natural pathway for all animals, with a little bait to slow them down.

Have fun

Yeah.....I like mine.....tells me what size trap to use.

These are the cameras I am using..

http://www.walnutcreekoutfitter.com/

I know the guy that is the distributor for these cameras. I got one from him a while back and I was impressed enough that I bought several.

The trigger speeds and photos are great, and they have absorbed a beating and not one has quit on me. Price is good for what you get on them.

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:
Yeah.....I like mine.....tells me what size trap to use.

Use a 1 1/2 coil spring, Sleepy Creek, American Made. Turn that sucker into a hat.

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:

Use a 1 1/2 coil spring, Sleepy Creek, American Made. Turn that sucker into a hat.

Can't do that.....has to be a tree set......160 body grip, compel set.

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:
Yeah.....I like mine.....tells me what size trap to use.

What is that sloth-coon-badger thing???

Perry

I have been using a Primos Truthcam 46 this year... good camera, good price, outstanding battery life.
Andy

quote:

Originally posted by perry:

What is that sloth-coon-badger thing???

Perry

Fisher......as mean as a wolverine or badger.

The Primos cams are great IMO. Ive got the Truth 35 cam..only about $100 and it takes great pictures and very good battery life.

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
Will,

Is there a secret to getting the durn thing to take a photo? Do I need to drop kick it first or something?

Please help....

We've found the Cuddebacks to be superior to anything else we've tried (at least among those that are reasonably priced).

If your Cuddeback is not loaded with the latest software it may spontaneously quit taking photos due to some glitch in the older software. You can download the newer software from the Cuddeback website onto an SD chip, then transfer it to the camera. It's a bit of a pain, but just follow the directions. This instantly cured two non-functioning Cuddebacks.

BTW: We don't find the visible flash to arouse anything more than perhaps a momentary start in deer -- they never leave the scene after the flash. I've watched them at dusk when the camera flashed and they are totally undisturbed. Leopards might be a "different breed of cat".

I guess maybe I should have refined my question a bit. I hunt in hardwood woodlots. The trails along which deer travel in my area are generally under pretty heavy canopy during most of the archery season and remain so until around the second week of November. I would not be using trail cameras in an open area, nor would they be over a bait pile. The only thing that might keep a deer in one place for more than a few seconds would be a rub scrape or licking stick. Also, I really only want to use one to pattern deer.

Given all of that, does anyone change their suggestion? (BTW, Alex, which particular model(s) do you use?)

I am using the basic sg550's. I have gotten lots of good photos of deer passing by on trails with them. The trigger speeds seem to work just fine for that scenario.

When you place a camera on a trail resist the urge to place the camera right on top of the trail. I always seem to get better results when I have the camera positioned about 20ft away from where I want the photo taken. You get a much larger field of view and can get multiple animals with one shot that you would have missed if the camera had been closer.

For a $180 camera I really have been very pleased with them.

This seems to be the only photo on my work computer that I have taken with the trail camera. It caught this Sandhill Crane walking by

[/QUOTE]

Fisher......as mean as a wolverine or badger.[/QUOTE]

Off topic, but I have only had one experience with a fisher, and it was pretty much the opposite of mean. I was following a badly hit muley in CO, about eight hours worth of tracking, and this cute little guy kept me company the whole way. Seriously, as I was hunched over for hours, looking for a pinprick of blood here or there, he was scrambling around the trees and along the ground nearby me. When I finally caught up to my buck started gutting, the fisher hung around in a tree a few yards off. Every time I threw it a chunk of fat or something, it would run up, take it and cache it somewhere. When I came back with help to pack the deer out he was still there, but had not touched the carcass-- only the gut pile.

It was almost like the stories you here about honey guides in Africa.