Trail Cams Why?

[BFinegan]

I got one for christmas. So far it's just been fun to see what's out there.Right now the cam is set up over a gut pile from yesterdays doe kill.  There has been some speculation we have coyotes coming into our area. I think the cam will help to determine of this is so. I'm looking forward to sharing the pics with neighbors.

The area I hunt gets a lot of gun pressure and access is limited. The cam gives me an idea of what is out there and another way of enjoying the woods and it's offerings.

If I kill a big deer it will be because I did the due dilligence to be in that position. Or dumb luck. I think if you have control over a piece of property and the deer are not under a lot of pressure then you could use the cam to pattern deer movement. The cam could give an advantage in this instance.

[Blackhawk]

My neighbors have been complaining about the loss of their cats, so I put the camera in a wooded area by my house and got this pic on New Years Eve.

I guess the mystery is solved...thanks to the trail camera.

 

[kennym]

I'm with Santiam,all for fun. Just cause you get a pic of a buck,he ain't in the back of the truck yet. Lots of pics are at night,cause thats when the deer are out most around here. No bait for me either.

Actually bought the one I have to try and catch somethin else,but it hasn't happened yet. I don't set it where my stands are either,too many one pic sequences with the big boys. Just my .02,have fun whatever you do!  

[Chris Lantz]

It's always interesting to see what's in your area, Trail Cameras can give you pictures of game that you  may not have the opportunity to see otherwise. I think they can also make a person a little more confident. Even if you are only getting pictures of deer at night a person may stay on stand a little longer and hunt a little harder if they have some pictures of an otherwise unseen monster from their trail cam.

[killinstuff]

Jeff,

It really depends on where you live. Here in Michigan, bait is huge. Come October just about every gas station has bags of it stacked 6 feet high and semi trucks come in a dump sugar beets at little stores to sell. Guys will get a pickup truck load and take it to their "spot" they are hunting (really it's just shooting at that point as you can't call it hunting). I bet at least 90% of the hunters, bow and gun hunt over bait now. If they have a trail cam, it's set up on there bait pile. You just have to see it to beleive it.

CJ

[bearhair]

For me Fishmerf nailed it, it gives me hope.  For example this year I got a pic of a huge (monster for this are) 10pt.  Yes it was at night but at least I knoew he was in the area.  That gave me hope to stick it out those cold evenings when not even the squirrels were out playing.  Eventually I saw him about 30 minutes before sunset and he came as close as 18 yrds but the wind shifted and he was out of there.  I work in the city so the only time I can get out is Saturday and Sunday morning so the camera does the scouting for me to a certain extent.  I still have to read the sign to determine where I think the deer are coming/going.  The camera helps confirm my hunches and helps me focus the precious  few hours I can put in on the weekend.  If I was retired I'd probably have no need for a camera as I would be out there all the time.

[Gatekeeper]

I use them for fun and to gather information. 2006 was the first year that I had ever used them and I would have sworn to you that there aren’t any large rack bucks in my area but I got a pleasant surprise.

Yes most of the pictures are nocturnal but I always look forward to checking my cameras. My cameras allow me to hunt all year long and really build up the anticipation for the upcoming hunting season.

I have been practicing QDM on our property and would like to start a Co-op in my area. I am hoping the pictures form my game cameras will encourage my neighbors to join me.

The cameras have given me an indication of the buck to doe population and the age class of the deer herd. For instance I know that there is one 9-point buck that uses our property that is approximately 3.5 – 4.5 years old that I have named Moose and another 2.5 year old 13-point buck that I have named Baker. Baker will be an absolute monster if he makes it to 4.5 – 5.5 years old but the cameras tell me he may not make it because a lot of his pictures were in the daytime. It is a thrill for me to get a picture of the deer and other wildlife that inhabit our property.  Last week I got a picture of my first bobcat! Also last week, two of the cameras let me know that Moose made it through gun season!

Game cameras are a lot of fun you should give them a try. Check out my avatar it was taken with a game camera.

[Herdbull]

Yes there are many uses as indicated above. I would like to add one more. For me they are humbling. I missed this buck at 15 yards two days prior to this picture. The picture reminds me to concentrate on the shot and that “….the outcome of the hunt is written in uncertainty!”
Mike
 

[Izzy]

Blackhawk, excellent pics.Where can I get some of those coyotes as we cant do away with stray(actually pets that people let out at night) cats by our own hands in my town.Back to the post topic, baiting is legal in some areas and and highly ethical if someone so feels.I dont use them but I have friends who spend more time trying to get pics than game.I guess theyre fun and to each his own.

[DeerSpotter]

I had to pass up on a six-pointer like the one in the photos on page 1.  I was hunting on land that the rules were eight points or more.  Now I know that one had eight points with those two little ones in the middle of his head counted, but I still had to let him pass, because he'll make a nice 10 pointer next year, but I sure wish I had a photo of him.  So that's what I would you use a trail cam for.

And just like some people said those cameras are " Just Great Fun"


Pastor Carl

[longbowman]

It's a good post.  For me using one is kinda like finding out if it's a girl or boy before it's born.  That's part of the fun of waiting.  For me I like seeing deer but have no problem seeing a buck that made the sign for the first time within my bow range.

[trapper1]

really what's the difference between Bill Jordan or any other famous bowhunter, hunting over an expensive man made food plot or one of us average Joes hunting over a poor mans food plot.....a 3 foot pile of corn?
Trapper,

oh yeah, I use a trail camera during the summer months to locate my early season stands, and it works well....

[Biggie Hoffman]

An expensive man made foodplot takes time and effort and improves the habitat for all wildlife in the area...a pile of corn does not.

[bluegrassbowhunter]

Originally posted by Biggie Hoffman:
An expensive man made foodplot takes time and effort and improves the habitat for all wildlife in the area...a pile of corn does not.

Yes your right but not everybody belongs to a big lease or has the ground or equipnet were they can plant those pricey food plots.So as long as it's legal you have to do what you can to make the most of a situation...I'm not saying nothing to nobody for using corn or camera's...lots of people put down baiting wildlife....wonder when the last time they went fishing & left their tackle box at home....  

[Weekend Warrior]

I've never seen this in the day time..
   
Homemade Food Plot..
 

[Tree Killer]

Some are nocturnal...
 

Some aren't...
 

I keep my trailcams deployed year round for fun...
 

Treestands on the other hand, talk about unethical!    :D
 

[trapper1]

Biggie, I see your point but we all have to stick together, no matter what the preference....united we stand, divided we fall.
Trapper

[LV2HUNT]

I see them as a "to each their own" thing. I used the original string timer and was a little uncomfortable about how close I could pattern deer with them so I quit using it. Those were my reservations though and not other people's.

I love looking at everybody else's pictures and I know they are a valuable management tool for many places. I think that is why you so often see them at bait stations so people can do herd counts or surveys (formal or informal).

I also know a lot of people have a lot fun with them and I do not see the harm.

[Bonebuster]

They are just plain fun.

Even if a person believes they offer an unfair advantage in hunting, I bet they would think they are alot of fun if they put them in an area that they do not hunt.

I have two trail cameras, and I have several pictures of bucks that I have never seen.

These cameras have proven to me what true survivors our wildlife truely are. They give me a glimpse of deer I otherwise never would.

[Lost Arra]

Santiam