does flash effect deer - NO
 

just got some pics off my new Bushnell 2.1mp cam. people wonder if flash spooks deer. I would have to say no - the cam took 34 pics at nite over 2+ hours. So the deer weren't spooked, they just stayed, came back moved around etc. I don't think flash is a big concern after seeing that.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

i got a moultrie 200 3.1 and the flash doesent bother em they actually got closer to see what it was

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

another

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

Sorry but I have to disagree with this above statement. It is totally misleading.

Will the white flash spook all deer, NO it will not ......... will any deer be spooked by the white flash YES there will be.

This statement is very hard to prove as well. Yes you got pictures of deer, but how many deer saw the flash and avoided that area, you will never know without having many IR cams set up near buy. Deer can also become familuar with the flash over time so they will not get spooked (they learn that it is not a danger) but that does not really work well for a scoutting cam.

The thing I can tell you is that over on the homebrew trailcam site, more and more builders are going to IR cameras becasue they have found that they will get more pictures of larger bucks. plus more pictures in general.

A little test I did with my homebrew was set it up for 3 weeks (checked weekly) as an IR cam (with the IR medium on the camera filtering out the white flash) and I got on average 20-30 pics a week on a trail. Every set of pictures showed more then one picture of the same deer. When I removed the IR medium to convert the camera back to white flash, I got 1 picture in one week and the buck was starting to flee. Never had another picture after that one (on second day). Converted the camerra back and it took over two weeks for the deer to start back on the semi regular pattern they had (time of day they used that trail). I underrstand that this test is not perfect, there are many variables which could have casude the deer to alter their pattern, but it is just too much of a coinicidence for me to say that deer are not effected by a white flash game cam.

Again:

Will the white flash spook all deer, NO it will not ......... will any deer be spooked by the white flash YES there will be.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

From my experience I have pictures of deer that have actually run from the flash. But not very many. The majority of deer I believe are either curious, cautoious or get used to it.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

does it spook deer.im sure it does some and not others.i think it makes big bucks weary...i get very few big buck pics even when i know there in the area or if i see them hunting in a certain area.they seem to get leary after the camera goes off if you leave it in the same spot for to long.so yes it spooks some deer and not others.especially during hunting season.winter and spring im not sure about.well thats my feeling about it.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

funny this post came up. I seen something this morning April 24 that changed my thinking on this. I have been watching a 130" buck that has not yet shed his antlers yet by my house. He has been entering the woods in the same spot, so i set up a cam yesterday and just after daylight today he was headed toward it from the left side, spotted the cam and locked up for 20 minutes. finnaly he walked away from it and stared at it again for 10 minutes just out of trigger range, keep in mind i was watching this from a spotting scope from upstairs. He finnaly decided to get closer and as he was walking by, it flashed. He bolted away and stopped to stare for a bit and then walked around it before entering the woods. unlucky for me it was a slow wildview and all i got was his behind as he walked by. given light enough to see the cam but dark enough to flash, it scares em!!

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

bloodcreek your story is in lines with alot of others I have heard from other memberrs on another site. More and more are converting their cams to an IR camera. Some have even converted the moultrie into an IR as well as their home brews.

It is not just the white flash that will spook a deer, some cameras are just plain noisey, some will flash an LED light when triggering. With some deer, any of the above will spook them, with others, it might attract their attention and curiosity enough for them to investigate and walk right up to the camera. Deer are deer and you can never predict exactly how they will behave.

My take on white flash / Ir flash is that it wil depend on what you want your camera for. If you want it for scoutting, then you would be better off with an IR as it will spook less deer by being less intrusive in the area. If you want just plain good pictures, and on a feeder or high traffic are where they can become famiular with the camera, then white flash will probually not be a bad choice for you. Each camera will have it's place in different situations.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

I can't disagree with the above statements and observations. I was just trying to point out that these particular deer (may be the same or could be some different groups) were obviously not bothered by the flash. I have very few pics where it appears that deer have been spooked. I am sure that some deer do spook, but to what extent and degree they are affected is definitely hard to say.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

I dont know if it is true or not but I heard, If you place your camera up highand point it down (so the flash is coming from above the deer)the flash will not scare the deer as much,when you do thisit is simillar to a lightning bolt. But when a camera is low and the deer see the flash they think it is coming right at them and they will spook. To me this sounds like it might be true.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

another factor is where the camera is setup. Like GrumpyTom has noticed on a trail when the whiteflash begins to go off deer avoid the area. When I set my cameras up over a corn pile I get pictures of the same deer as long as there is corn. I believe there is no way the deer are happy about a bright flash blinding them in the middle of the night but they tolerate it for an easy meal.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

I do not believe the white flash spooks deer to a large extent from my experience although I think there could be the odd deer that may shy away from it.

I've spoken to a wildlife biologist that was involved in one study and knows of another study that both determined that the deer that jumped came back when they could not associate any harm with the flash. When no harm came from the flash and other deer were still standing there they then settled down.

I also e-mailed three digital trail camera manufacturers that were selling IR cameras and asked them if they had done any studies or if they knew of any studies that showed that the white flash spooked deer. Two did not answer me and the other stated that they had not done any study and that their field people did not think that the white flash spooked deer. This company said that when they stated that the white flash could spook game they were talking about bears.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

The flash definitely spooks deer. I've seen in it happen. I've left my camera on while hunting and as soon as a doe got a bright flash in her face she bolted. Deer are the most skitish animals on the planet!

Does flash scare deer? - YES!

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

I don't mean to offend you but that statement seems a little ignorant. Just because deer "A" isn't spooked by the flash doesn't mean that deer "B" won't be spooked by it.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

i think it depends on if the deer has been hunted hard or not...if it is hunted hard, they spook....simple

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

did you read my second statement?????

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

i dunno about the flash BUT here in Florida it is legal to shine deer at night as long as you do not possess any firearms. we use to shine deer with 2 million candle watt power q-beams and that did not bother the deer. they would just stand/sit/lay there no matter how many times you took the light off of them and put it back on them. they paid it no attention, if they were feeding they would just continue feeding. some of these deer were close as some were far away but with that much light on them...they couldn't judge how close the source was.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

It is hard to say but i always thought it did, but now I dont know. I have two pics of the same doe just one min. apart although something has her attention she did not run after the first flash. sory about the quality in the first pic. my camera does this sometimes.

RE: does flash effect deer - NO
 

This debate will go on and on forever. There is basiclly no test that could put this to bed with definate evidence one way or another. A trail cam will only show what is infront of the camera, but not the deer off to the side that could become spooked. Everyone understands that most of the time, the old, large bucks, are the last to come by, letting the does and young to go first. How can you tell if these older larrger bucks are skirtting the cameras becasue of the flash, you can't really unless you see it happening with tracks in the snow or with your own eyes. I have read reports (more then one) where a hunter that had a trail camera close to his stand and watched bucks skirt the camera when it started to tack pictures as dusk.

Will it spook all deer ............ NO!!!!!!!!
Will it spook some deer ....... YES!!!!!!!

You need to deciede what you want in a camera, if it is for scoutting, then to be the least intrusive to your area and to get the most reliable results from the camera, I believe the IR cams are the best. But if ou only want pictures and do not really care if you spook the odd deer, then use a white flash camera, you will be ok.