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After thinking about it recently, I told my wife I don't want one. I've bowhunted since 1977 and did just fine without it. The only advantage I could see using one might be to see the actual size of something and I admit it would be fun to have pics of the deer in my area. I absolutely see no advantage using one to help me set up for shots. Legwork lets me know where I want to hunt and besides..........we all know that during the hunting season deer can and will change their habits according to pressure and crop harvest schedules.

Ill probably using mine more, thought about maybe even buying another one too.

I have no idea It just bugs me, maybe because if I seen one on camera I would hunt that spot even if the wind was wrong and get sloppy.

Just a weird feeling, I really think I just need to buy one and use it, and stop being such a blank

How are they valuable?

Germ,

Are you now one of the official HNI curmudgeons?

Next it will be cedar shafts and flint (maybe obsidian) for you. [8D]

Germ, you have what is known as "It's All In The Chase" phobia. LOL Seriously though, I have thought the same way before, but I got over it for one reason. I had a buck with a messed up rack that I got several pictures of around August of 05 and then when season opened, no more buck. So it's really a guess at whether or not you will actually see the buck again after you get his pic. Like others have stated, I simply like to get pics and kinda keep tabs on whether "new" animals are introduced into the herd. Just fun.

LT

Go buy the camera already. Go with a Cuddeback white flash instead of IR. BTW I have alot of pictures of bucks that I have never saw while on stand. I also have saw alot of bucks on stand that I never got a picture of. I leave my camera out 24-7. I have a stand 50 yards from a camera spot and have watched deer get their picture taken.

Just because I get a picture of a nice buck doesn't make me hang my stand right above my camera. But it will tell me one passed thru even though it may have been 2 in the morning.

I enjoy the cameras. I like them for the simple reason that I like seeing pictures of deer. I have never shot a deer that I got on camera. I only use them in the post season until antler drop so I don't spook them by the camera alone or by checking them. I'm superstitious when it comes to not spooking deer, any deer, close to open season. It helps me inventory does and bucks. It is especially helpful for the bucks because the 1 1/2s all look alike . 8 pointers are common at 1 1/2 and when they are 2 1/2, they seem to be just a bigger version of the previous year. So when I compare a 2 1/2 that I saw from my stand to a pic from last year, it helps in identifying them. Older bucks, 3 1/2 and older are easier to recognize from year to year because the shape and number of points are nearly the same, just bigger.

Cameras have not influenced how or whereI hunt. Scouting does that. I'm trying to get a pic of some of the true monsters that I know are out there, the 170 to 200 class. So far, no dice. Biggest ones I've got are 140s to 150s.

I still love having mine out and running it, but last year I didn't have as much time to keep mine out. To me, I don't see them being an advantage. You have to think the area where you are setting the camera up has deer or else it would be pointless to set it up. This is where you scouting/knowledge comes in to play. You are not going to just walk in to any area and just plop a camera on a tree and get a pattern of a huge buck just like your not going to go set up a stand and have a huge buck pass by the stand on the minute every day (without some incredible luck). To me, using a game camera is pretty much the same as hunting, one I shoot them with a bow and the other I get everything set-up so my camera shoots a picture! I was actually going to go set up my Cuddeback today but being that it was 3 degrees when I woke up I decided to just pass on that idea