Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Seems like everyone these days has trail cameras. Just curious what the % is.

I can't think of a better scouting tool then a trail cam! I've been using them for 8 years now and I get the bug more and more every year.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Yup...and if I didn't, I probably wouldn't have realized this guy was still around. I let him walk 2 years ago during firearm season.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Nice buck...and yes, I do. I purchased my first trail camera this year and just checked it for the first time Sunday. I already had a doe and two fawns. Nothing too exciting, but it was good to see the deer around my stand.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

not yet, would be a toy for Christmas hopefully!

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

If I hunted different areas than California and Arizona, which is mainly comprised of public land, I might use one, if you did use one here, you would have to provide exceptional theft protection...most of our hunting is on public land, a little on private but not much, so most everything is spot & stalk...hogs, bears & deer.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

yes by all means use the rascals

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

This is my 6th year using them.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

No not really. I do have one that I toss up behind the house just for kicks, but I don’t use them in my main areas for scouting purposes.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

I've never used them because I never wanted to invest the money to buy one that works well. Always thought about it as leaving a couple of hundred dollars stuck to a tree for some piece of crap thief to grab. Getting ready to break those chains though and get a good one. Seen to much on this site in the last week proving their worth.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

I'm curious to how it helps your scouting?

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

yep, i use them and they have helped tremendously

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Nope, can't use them on the federal property I hunt. It is just get out there and scout.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

I traded in my Cuddeback EXcite (software problems)for the EXpert model. I like seeing what's in my area when I'm not around.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Duke:

I'll answer your question for MY purposes. What I WILL do, this year, is take mine in with me to a certain area IF I'm already going in there to stand, anyways. I won't make a special trip, though. I'll check it when I return to that area......noting the wind each day and recording my sightings (via trail cam).

That's using it for scouting in "my" book.....and doing so in a non-invasive manner.....since I was already going in there, anyways.

It may sit for a month without being checked.....and that's just fine. I've never done this....but I don't see how this hurts me.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

I have one of the original 35mm stealth cams that hasn't been out of the basement in 5 years.

IF I were to get a newer one, it's use would be more for curiosity of what's there, that , and I just like looking at pictures of deer.

But for SCOUTING....I do fine without them.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Yes, I use one...:D

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Why not?:eek:

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

I dont because I do not like to dink around in my hunting areas any more than I need to....

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Yes, I use them year round. I run them in my hunting area after season till a couple months before season then I move them to area's of interest during the season. The way my work schedule ionly allows me to check them every other month or so. Plus I enjoy watching them grow and see whats going on when I am out of the country working, it is more of a entertainment thing for me, I guess. However, if during season I find one on one ofmy camera's in a place of interest, I will move a stand in and give it a shot.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Nope, hunt public 90% of the time and have $30K a year tuition. 'nuff said.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Yep, I use them. Have three homebrews that I run and they stay out pretty much from late July to January. Some are white flash, one is IR. Two are extended life cameras that can run for 6-8 weeks under heavy usage. I don't run them every week or anything like that, I just check them if I am out there anyways. They let me know what kind of buck I have a reasonable chance at, and can let me know what times I should (or should not) be entering or leaving my stands.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Heck yes! I wouldnt go without them. I got two of them. One at each spot. Let's me know what is in the area and helps me decide which deer to shoot and which ones to try for.

rick

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Yes I do. I like to see whats walking around when I'm not there. Last year I had a real nice 8pt. on camera that I didn't know existed on the property.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Nope, I don't use them. They're neat and all but the bug hasn't bit me yet. I like to be surprised and see that monster for the first time on stand.:D

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

I only have one and just started using it about a month or so ago. Loving it so far and hoping to add two more for next year.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

I use them. It helps me to see whatdeer areout there but it also helps to keep track of what else is getting into my feeders. The camera has helped me tweak my defenses against the Pigs Cows Horses and Coons.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

I've been using them for the last few seasons and I love it. It's like Christmas everytime I check them.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

OUCH!!! I hope that is for law school. [:-]

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Yes I do, for a couple years now.. But right now I'm not getting many pics for the first time in a long time.. Just not a whole lot going on, not sure what the deal is...[:'(]

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

I'm running 2 cams right now, maybe a third real soon

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

This is my 3rd year using them and I'm up to 3 cameras. I have a feeling I'll be getting a couple more in the near future.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Yep, I have been using them for about 5 years. I use them mainly just to see what is in my woods.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

This is the first year i will be using one. i don't really have the time to scout with class and being 2 hours away.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Have two right now, would like to add a couple more at some point.

Lot of fun checking to see what you have for pics!!

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

I don't deny that the use of a trail cam can be a good tool for scouting a particular area. Never have.

But the statement was made that the author of this post can't think of a better tool than the camera. And I greatly disagree with this statement. It may just be semantics.. but I like to know what the trailcam guys do with this new found knowledge they have.

I believe if used properly a trailcam can help determin where a good deer may be.. even a pattern of sorts. However.. I don't believe most hunters use them correctly.. and in fact end up hurting their chances more than not.

The best tool for scouting is you. Put some miles on those legs and they'll make your camera just part of the equation.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

I concur.;)

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Heck Jeff. I'm a pretty smart sob.. but I know I was using them in such a way that it impeaded my hunting.

So I stopped using them. Cause I suck.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

This is my first time using them. I've had it out for two weeks, and I've got about 25 or 30 pictures. But they are all of the same three deer! A doe and her two fawns.

Zero bucks. Based on this, I'm not likely to waste much time hunting at my dad's house this year LOL.

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Preseason - i learn about which deer are hanging around on each property. on my 40 acres I have pictures of I think 8 different bucks but only one is a shooter. on my inlaws land i have pictures of 5 bucks and 4 of them are shooters. plus, most of the buck pictures on that property were day time pictures.

by just walking the properties (or any other scouting method i have available to me), it would be IMPOSSIBLE to know that 4 shooter bucks were hanging out at my inlaws and only 1 at my land. how else would I have gathered that information? Using a spotting scope would be great but it's half an hour from my house and it's also in the woods where a scope wouldn't help anyway. it's too early in the season to find much for buck sign and even if i did find a bunch - how would i know it was 4 bucks and not one super active buck?

walking in the woods can be just as damaging to your odds as trail cameras. You can certainly scout an area too hard, just like you can scare deer by checking a camera too often and having a flash go off in there face. Both (walking and trail cameras) can definitely be done in excess.

that said, i couldn't agree more about putting on miles. during the season i usually go for at least one 4-5 mile scouting trip a week. i love it! putting on the miles is about the fastest way to find new spots. but i think trail cameras are the best way of finding out definitive, absolute, details about the wildlife in the area.

anyway, i've rambled on long enough. this might be my longest post ever. good luck all!

RE: Do you currently use trail cameras?
 

Yup. I enjoy running trail cameras as much as hunting itself. Never know whats going to show up on them. I currently have 8 cameras, and have had 3 stolen, so I've owned a grand total of 11, and sometimes borrow my buddies cameras after the season to see what made it through the season. He has 3 cameras.