Trail cam tips or tricks

[Ryan_woods]

Testing the waters here to see what’s everyone’s tip or tricks for setting up trail cams for the first time. Thanks for any input!

 

[sdolan617]

Nothing is worse then letting a cam soak for 2 months and going back to find there was branch or piece of grass that was setting off your motion detector every 15 seconds until your memory card filled up.

I try to take the time to clear anything in the immediate foreground that could potentially trip the motion sensor if the wind kicks up. I also dial the sensitivity down to low or medium at the highest.

 

[Beagle1]

Position your camera so that at its max range which is usually around 90’ the middle of your target animal is midline in the photos. So if say my target animal is a deer when I position my camera at 90‘ I want my mid thigh to be at midline in the photo. Tilting your camera too high or low will lead to lots of missed photos.

 

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One of these makes ensuring your camera is pointing in the right spot really easy.

 

[Mag_7s]

One trick that has worked well for me is holding my cell phone flush with the face of the trail cam, turn on my cell camera in selfie mode and align the desired capture field.

 

[Finn16]

To avoid false triggers, face the camera north - south if north isn't an option.

If you have a camera without a super fast trigger speed, don't place the camera 90 degrees from the trail but instead place if approx 20-45 degrees so the animals are coming toward or away from the camera and in the frame longer.

 

[BLJ]

In for more. Really good info. Thanks.

 

[TTT]

To avoid false triggers, face the camera north - south if north isn't an option.

If you have a camera without a super fast trigger speed, don't place the camera 90 degrees from the trail but instead place if approx 20-45 degrees so the animals are coming toward or away from the camera and in the frame longer.

Would you mind explaining why North or South?

 

[Finn16]

Would you mind explaining why North or South?

East and west allows the sun to pass directly into the camera's line of sight which causes washed out and blurry pix.

 

[Eric Ward]

That's a great idea Mag 7s.

 

[JohnnyB]

Use the lithium batteries. Mine wake up when the snow melts to below the lens height. I love getting great spring/ early summer pictures while the area is still inaccessible to people.

 

[Fire power]

going cheap on cameras is most likely going to cost you in the long run not to mention all the frustration.

Don't fall for the black flash thing going on with trail cams today. The whole idea of a flash is to see what is there at night. I use white flash cameras, and hang each camera about 12' up the tree angled down to the trail or bedding area. Each cam is cable locked, and I carry one section of a strap-on climbing stick to each location. The deer don't mind the flash and you can actually see night pics from a very long distance. The cameras are also out of reach of most thieves!

 

[EdP]

Avoid putting a camera on too small a tree. If the tree moves with the wind it will trigger the motion detector. 6" minimum trunk works for me. You are better off driving in a T post than using a tree that is too small.

 

[jacob_ski4]

I’ve used probably 5 different mid tier trail cameras but keep going to the $30 Walmart tascos. They’re great for the price, batteries last 9+ months with frequent pics, pretty reliable (I’ve had 2 go bad in 4 years out of about 24), and i can buy a bunch to blanket an area. Similar to other posters, I use a climbing stick to get them 10ft off the ground and have never had one messed with. When they’re elevated, the selfie mode on the phone is a great trick to make sure they’re aligned correctly.

 

[BLJ]

I’ve used probably 5 different mid tier trail cameras but keep going to the $30 Walmart tascos. They’re great for the price, batteries last 9+ months with frequent pics, pretty reliable (I’ve had 2 go bad in 4 years out of about 24), and i can buy a bunch to blanket an area. Similar to other posters, I use a climbing stick to get them 10ft off the ground and have never had one messed with. When they’re elevated, the selfie mode on the phone is a great trick to make sure they’re aligned correctly.

I’ve had great success with the cheap Tascos as well.

 

[rasfetch]

Looking to invest in some cams soon as well. Lots of great info in this thread!

 

[j_volt]

I have a handful of things that have worked well for me over the years. Some are mentioned above.

• Use your cell phone pushed flush against the trail camera and the front facing camera to see where your camera is pointing
• Wait AT LEAST 5 seconds after turning a camera off before removing the SD card. I heard it on a podcast from the Exodus guys.
• Format your SD card every time.
• Most people point their cameras too high. I use a stick between the top of the camera and tree more than I don't..
• Solar panels and cell cams go together like PB&J
• Trail cameras are like rifles. Sure, a $5k custom rifle is nice, but it is not 10x more useful than a $500 rifle
• I like to use Permethrin on my cameras on my initial summer deployment. As the weather gets colder, bugs are less of a problem and I have typically lost patience
• Treat your trail cameras like you would treat a DSLR camera. You would never throw a nice camera in a backpack with 3 of its friends and bang them together
• Trail cameras miss a lot of what is happening in the woods. Picture of deer = good, no picture of deer = inconclusive
• Battery life is primarily determined by photos taken, not by length of time. If you want your camera to die fast, put it on a mineral block in June. Enjoy 15462 photos of one deer.
• Anticipate green up. If you place a camera in June, things will grow taller.
• Straps with a buckle that make tightening easy are handy. The ones that come with Tactacam Reveals are nice.
• I like to have HME Easy Mounts with me
• Trail camera data collected during hunting season is more beneficial for next year than the current year
• Take a photo of your camera when you leave it. I have had a handful stolen, but lots of trees look similar when you haven't been there in 4 months.
• MAKE. SURE. YOU. TURN. THE. CAMERA. ON. BEFORE. LEAVING.

 

[BLJ]

@j_volt Excellent post. Appreciated.

 

[208hntr]

I have a handful of things that have worked well for me over the years. Some are mentioned above.

• Use your cell phone pushed flush against the trail camera and the front facing camera to see where your camera is pointing
• Wait AT LEAST 5 seconds after turning a camera off before removing the SD card. I heard it on a podcast from the Exodus guys.
• Format your SD card every time.
• Most people point their cameras too high. I use a stick between the top of the camera and tree more than I don't..
• Solar panels and cell cams go together like PB&J
• Trail cameras are like rifles. Sure, a $5k custom rifle is nice, but it is not 10x more useful than a $500 rifle
• I like to use Permethrin on my cameras on my initial summer deployment. As the weather gets colder, bugs are less of a problem and I have typically lost patience
• Treat your trail cameras like you would treat a DSLR camera. You would never throw a nice camera in a backpack with 3 of its friends and bang them together
• Trail cameras miss a lot of what is happening in the woods. Picture of deer = good, no picture of deer = inconclusive
• Battery life is primarily determined by photos taken, not by length of time. If you want your camera to die fast, put it on a mineral block in June. Enjoy 15462 photos of one deer.
• Anticipate green up. If you place a camera in June, things will grow taller.
• Straps with a buckle that make tightening easy are handy. The ones that come with Tactacam Reveals are nice.
• I like to have HME Easy Mounts with me
• Trail camera data collected during hunting season is more beneficial for next year than the current year
• Take a photo of your camera when you leave it. I have had a handful stolen, but lots of trees look similar when you haven't been there in 4 months.
• MAKE. SURE. YOU. TURN. THE. CAMERA. ON. BEFORE. LEAVING.

Great list of tips!

 

[Digitata]

North/south direction. Don’t mount it too high. Get all the vegetation out of the way that could trigger with wind. Remove any fallen branches or similar items that squirrels would like to sit on from directly in front.