Why Trail Cameras

Trail Cameras: Your "Eyes" in the Woods

By: Dan Small

If you're a deer hunter, you know the value of scouting in advance of the season to find deer sign, locate active trails and perhaps even spot a deer or two. If you also have to work for a living, you can probably spend only a couple weekends scouting seriously before the season starts. Since you also have to practice shooting and make sure your gear is ready, not to mention take care of those off-season chores around the house.

Meanwhile, the deer are going about their business every day, using new trails, hitting new food sources and perhaps changing movement patterns as summer transitions to fall. If you could be out there with them 24/7, you could monitor these changes before and during the season and make the most of the time you have to hunt.

Trail cameras let you do just that. A camera set up on a trail or food plot can be your surrogate "eyes in the woods," and it can do so much less obtrusively than if you were there yourself.

WHY USE A TRAIL CAMERA?
First off, a trail camera lets you know how many deer there are in the area. Most does look pretty much alike, but with a little practice, you will be able to distinguish individuals by their size, color or number and size of their fawns. Body size and antler configuration make bucks easy to tell apart. Most camera-users are surprised to learn how many different bucks live in the area they plan to hunt. You may not see deer when you are in the field, but a camera will see them when you are not, and a camera doesn't lie.

A trail camera can also help determine movement patterns. Its time and date stamp lets you know when and how often deer are using a certain trail, bait station or food plot, which direction they come from, and which deer show up first. A camera can verify whether the biggest bucks are usually the last deer to show up, which is usually the case.

Since a trail camera will photograph anything that triggers it, you'll also get shots of coyotes, fox, raccoons and other animals, some of which may surprise you. One West Virginia hunter photographed two black bears standing face-to-face on their hind legs, as if they were hugging or dancing, while a Texas hunter captured seven bucks on a food plot in one photograph!

Check your cameras regularly, and try to do so at midday to avoid disturbing deer. In areas of high deer numbers, it is not unusual to shoot an entire roll of film in one night.

HOW THEY WORK
All trail cameras let you photograph deer and other animals when you are not there, using a passive infrared heat-and-motion detector to trigger the camera. Some detectors adjust automatically to the time of day and ambient temperature to avoid false signals. A timer lets you adjust the shot delay from, say, every 30 seconds or so (for trails) to every hour (for food plots). Others are manually adjustable. Most feature a battery-level indicator and a photo-count indicator that tells you how many shots have been taken without having to open the camera. A waterproof housing protects and hides the camera. Some cameras can be removed from the unit for external use.

WHERE TO USE THEM
Attach the camera to a tree or fence post close to the spot you want to monitor, and make sure it has an unobstructed view. For close shots, as on trails, set the camera at waist height. On the edge of a field or large clearing, set the camera higher in the air for a more panoramic view.

Most hunters put cameras on the trails they plan to hunt to help determine where to place stands and when to hunt them. A camera monitoring a trail near a known bedding area will tell you when deer start moving in the afternoon and when they return in the morning. Similarly, one set up on a trail near a food plot will tell you when deer arrive and leave. A camera near a scrape or rub can monitor buck activity during the rut. You will find that deer are quite active during daylight hours in some places, especially during the rut.

WHEN TO USE THEM
Trail cameras can provide useful information any time of year. In spring and summer, they can monitor fawn production and growth and antler development on bucks. Most hunters start using them in late summer or early fall to determine deer activity prior to hunting season.

Used during hunting season, a camera can document increased deer activity that signals the onset of the rut. It can also tell you which bucks have not been shot by other hunters and how deer are reacting to hunting pressure. Some people believe hunting pressure chases deer out of an area, but it is more likely that they simply become more nocturnal. A trail camera can help sort that out.

Some hunters continue to use trail cameras after hunting season to learn how many bucks are still alive. Early winter is probably the best time of year to scout for trophy bucks, since there are fewer deer after hunting season than at any other time of year, and any buck that will have a big rack next fall is alive then and likely still sporting antlers.

Wisconsin hunters Ken Kuszuba and Brett Gorzalski photographed a dozen different bucks in an 80-acre woods near suburban Milwaukee after one recent hunting season, including several they had never seen before. Their experience indicates there are more bucks in an area and they roam a lot more than many hunters think.

FILM VS DIGITAL
Most units use a standard 35mm film camera, while some use a digital camera. A film camera costs less up front, but you can end up spending hundreds of dollars on film and processing if you use one or more cameras extensively. On the plus side, you can get film processed and have prints in an hour, and can always make more prints from the negatives.

Digital cameras are fast replacing film cameras for general use, and they have some clear advantages as a trail camera. With a large-capacity memory card, you can shoot many more digital photos before downloading them. On a low-resolution setting, you can shoot even more. With film, you must put in a new roll after 24 or 36 shots. Some digital cameras also have a video option that allows you to shoot several short video clips. Depending on the model, digital images may be viewed in the camera monitor or on a portable viewing device, TV, camcorder or PC, using a USB cable.

Because you review digital photos immediately in the field, you can quickly determine if your camera is in the right place and move it if it is not. You can also delete all those shots of crows and raccoons without wasting film or paying for processing.

If you don't have a computer, you'll need to buy one or at least a digital photo printer to download and edit digital photos at home. You can also take a memory card to many photo processing stores and edit, print and pay for just the photos you want to keep.

ADDITIONAL CAMERA FEATURES
Cameras used in these units have wide-angle lenses to ensure that animals at close range are in the frame. Most units have a test mode or laser aiming device to help aim the camera. Most can be programmed to shoot one or more photos when motion is detected and select from one- to 60-minute delays between shots. Some allow 15- and 30-second delays. Some can be programmed for day, night or 24-hour operation.

All cameras will stamp the date and time on a photo. Some date/time stamp features are adjustable. Some also stamp the user's name and phone number on digital images to deter theft and help recover a stolen camera. Most camera housings are camouflaged and most are sturdy enough to resist tampering. One brand (Deer Cam) advertises its housings as "bear-proof." Most units either come with a locking cable or can accept a locking device that you supply.

Most models use a flash for night and low-light photographs, and some have a flash guard to prevent wash-outs. The effective flash distance for different models ranges from point-blank to 90 feet. One model (Game-Vu) uses an infrared illuminator to shoot black-and-white digital images. While they may startle deer momentarily, the flash units will not spook them out of your hunting area, as some hunters fear. Many users have taken multiple photos of the same buck on different nights.

Some units incorporate an event counter, which records any animal that crosses the sensor beam, even between photos. Others will accommodate an external event counter.

Cameras and sensors are powered by standard or rechargeable AA, 9-volt or C batteries. One unit offers an optional solar panel to recharge batteries in the field.

Start using a trail camera and there is a good chance you will get a shot at a big buck you've photographed and patterned. Even if you don't, just knowing he is out there is enough incentive to keep going after him!