Game Cams Questions for western hunting

[RaggedHunter]

So I will have enough points to draw my limited entry elk tag next year.. I know the unit pretty well, have spent a lot of time videoing elk and hunting with family members. I know the general area that I am going to hunt well and finding elk per say is not very difficult, but finding "the" bull is going to take some work. I want to really do my homework this year and get a look at as many bulls as possible so that I have correct expectations for the hunt the following year.

I have played with game cams a little over the years, but usually its just setting one out for a week or two here or there. I am going to get serious about it this year and invest in some cams so I can start running them on as many water holes as possible. Ideally, to cover the main water holes that should show me the majority of the elk in the area I will need at least 10 cams, more would be better, but to be honest I don't know if I'll have time to run more than that. Realistically, I may have to settle for 5/6 cams and just move them around a little more, rather than dedicating 1 cam to a water hole for the whole summer/fall.

I have a good stealth cam I bought a few years back, it works good but it was ~$150. Do I really need to spend ~$100+ a piece on cams? Or are there models for cheaper that I should be looking at? I think I would benefit from having more cams to cover more area, vs super high quality photos, but camera reliability is definitely important so I dont want to go through all the effort and have junk cameras not working right.

What cameras? I've heard some people use refurbished cams, is this a good option? If so wheres the best place to get them?

Do you set cameras on burst modes? how many pictures per burst? how long between shots? do you take video?

How long can you get on a set of batteries? What size SD cards are you running? How often are you checking cams? The unit is a couple hours from my house and a lot of these cams will be several mile hikes some in the bottoms of nasty canyons, so the longer I can leave them the better.

Any other good tips tricks or general game cam advice is much appreciated also.

 

[5MilesBack]

Are you going to set them up above or below the other cameras that will already be out there?

 

[RaggedHunter]

Are you going to set them up above or below the other cameras that will already be out there?

Lol, I'm hopeful that there won't be too many guys running cams on these spots.. I can't say I see myself hanging a cam above or below another one. If a cam is already on a water hole, I will probably just find a new water hole lol. Historically, I haven't seen many cams on these spots in past years, but that probably all depends on the year and the individual who has a tag in his pocket. I guess that's something else I hope to learn better, is which areas see the most people and which ones see the least.

 

[kboatman107]

I have about 15 of the refurbished stealth cams. Picked them up at camofire for $40-50. They’ve all worked good with no issues. I just retrieved one last weekend that I had set back in July and still had some battery life(granted we don’t get real cold here so it didn’t drain the batteries). I run 16gb cards and set the camera to take just one picture, especially if it’s a water hole. Your most likely to get a few pictures by the time they leave the water hole.

 

[RaggedHunter]

I have about 15 of the refurbished stealth cams. Picked them up at camofire for $40-50. They’ve all worked good with no issues. I just retrieved one last weekend that I had set back in July and still had some battery life(granted we don’t get real cold here so it didn’t drain the batteries). I run 16gb cards and set the camera to take just one picture, especially if it’s a water hole. Your most likely to get a few pictures by the time they leave the water hole.

Great info, Exactly the stuff I was hoping for. I'm not thinking cold would be much of an issue for me as I will probably just run them through the summer and fall.

I'll keep an eye on camofire, Thanks!

 

[5MilesBack]

I have a buddy that put out some cams this last year and some jerk wad deleted the pics on the card and then broke the camera that was over a wallow. So there's that too.

 

[Tsenenfelder]

So I will have enough points to draw my limited entry elk tag next year.. I know the unit pretty well, have spent a lot of time videoing elk and hunting with family members. I know the general area that I am going to hunt well and finding elk per say is not very difficult, but finding "the" bull is going to take some work. I want to really do my homework this year and get a look at as many bulls as possible so that I have correct expectations for the hunt the following year.

I have played with game cams a little over the years, but usually its just setting one out for a week or two here or there. I am going to get serious about it this year and invest in some cams so I can start running them on as many water holes as possible. Ideally, to cover the main water holes that should show me the majority of the elk in the area I will need at least 10 cams, more would be better, but to be honest I don't know if I'll have time to run more than that. Realistically, I may have to settle for 5/6 cams and just move them around a little more, rather than dedicating 1 cam to a water hole for the whole summer/fall.

I have a good stealth cam I bought a few years back, it works good but it was ~$150. Do I really need to spend ~$100+ a piece on cams? Or are there models for cheaper that I should be looking at? I think I would benefit from having more cams to cover more area, vs super high quality photos, but camera reliability is definitely important so I dont want to go through all the effort and have junk cameras not working right.

What cameras? I've heard some people use refurbished cams, is this a good option? If so wheres the best place to get them?

Do you set cameras on burst modes? how many pictures per burst? how long between shots? do you take video?

How long can you get on a set of batteries? What size SD cards are you running? How often are you checking cams? The unit is a couple hours from my house and a lot of these cams will be several mile hikes some in the bottoms of nasty canyons, so the longer I can leave them the better.

Any other good tips tricks or general game cam advice is much appreciated also.

From my experience w game cams I have found with good lithium batteries and a 32 GB sd card you can easily get a couple months without having to revisit the cam for maintenance. A few things will affect that like how many pics it is taking. Be conscious of tree limbs and grass that may trigger an unwanted picture. Also the mode the camera is in. Ie high resolution to medium resolution. Bursts will eat up battery and memory. Dont shy away from a minute or two between photos.
I also have experience with refurbished cameras. They have been good for the most part. If you can find "good" refurbished. Their lifespan is shorter. I do know that. A couple seasons is all they have held up unlike a new one lasting much longer.
I like the mentality of set it and leave it undisturbed if I can for as long as I can. That would change with the probability of theft or damage.
I like stealthcam.

 

[Fshnpole]

I have had pretty decent luck with stealthcam qs12. They come in a 3 pack and go on sale a couple times a year for $99. I run them just about year round most the time and regular duracell batteries last several months and with a 16gb card I have had several thousand pictures. The cold does affect them some when it gets in the teens or so and they general last 2-4 years. I think there are better cameras out there but I cant see putting 6-8 $150 cameras out in the woods.

 

[TGLBRH]

I have browning, moultrie, and stealth cams. I have nothing bad to say about any of them. Batteries last a little longer on my newer stealth cam but I usually get 3 months plus on any of them before I need to start thinking about batteries. All my cameras ran me a little over $100. I have had two of them for 5+ years with no issues...other then an occasional nibble from a black bear.

I have always done 3 shot bursts, but that is on trails. Water holes I would consider 1 to 2 pics adequate. Make sure you avoid tall grass or branches in areas where wind is common. Also I'd expect to have hundreds of pictures of birds and small animals over a water hole...so maybe opt for a slightly larger card (16 gb). Good luck

 

[365buckin]

For whitetail.....I like fence crossing, scrapes, saddles, creek crossings, funnels, etc places where the animal is moving through. If you put your cam on a place where critters spend a lot of time expect to have a full card. Get big cards.
Others mentioned grass and windy branches. I shy away from down logs too. I get tons of squirrel, chipmunk, and racoons. For whatever reason they love running up and down down logs.
Vines also sprout shoots like crazy too. Summer is growing season, so keep in mind the stuff that will get bigger and grow into the view of your camera.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I have a buddy that put out some cams this last year and some jerk wad deleted the pics on the card and then broke the camera that was over a wallow. So there's that too.

I always get a little nervous when I go retrieve them, some petty sh*t to break or steal other peoples things

 

[Blake_Bartz]

Yea.. I had 2 cams stolen and SD cards stolen out of 3 this year in Colorado in an area I rarely see anyone else even during season much less scouting. I would definitely recommend taking precautions to secure them/deter theft at least.

 

[hersh2209]

I use either 550 cord or the screw in mount on mine, less noticeable than a strap around a tree and put them about 6 or 7 feet high angled down on gametrails.. I've had people walk by hiking or scouting and never see them. I pull mine in late Aug before bow season. Had good luck with the campfire refurbished too