The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Hunt

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old December 13, 2012, 01:37 PM   #1
tchunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 17, 2010
Location: Decatur, MI
Posts: 113
Trail Cameras?

Just thought it would be interesting to see some opinions on this. The last 5 years I have been nuts about scouting with a camera. The last couple years I have captured pics of record book bucks only to have my neighbors harvest them. It's like the season goes down the tubes after that. I'm now thinking of getting rid of the trail cameras just for the excitement of the unknown. Just wonder if anyone else has thought about this?
tchunter is offline  
Old December 13, 2012, 03:43 PM   #2
Double Naught Spy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 8, 2001
Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX
Posts: 12,712
You mean that you would rather not know that there were ever any record bucks and that way you would not feel bad knowing that while they had crossed your property, that they were killed elsewhere as once you know, you don't have a reason to hunt?

Interesting. So you would rather hunt the season not ever knowing you had a chance rather than knowing when to stop.
__________________
"If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011
My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange
Double Naught Spy is offline  
Old December 13, 2012, 04:08 PM   #3
tchunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 17, 2010
Location: Decatur, MI
Posts: 113
No it's just that there used to be something special about the unknown and the possibilities of what might be out there. The cameras have helped a ton. I'm not taking anything away from them. Mine are out 365 days a year. I just wonder if anyone misses that thrill of the unknown. As far as stopping hunting that will never happen. Way too many deer around here for that. I just feel a little let down when I have a pile of pics of a monster and the neighbor gets him. Of course none of my neighbors have cameras so I always donate pics for their game rooms.
tchunter is offline  
Old December 13, 2012, 04:15 PM   #4
rickyrick
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 15, 2010
Posts: 8,233
Mine stay until batteries die or the cow licking has clouded the lens, the animals schedule never match mine
__________________
Woohoo, I’m back In Texas!!!
rickyrick is offline  
Old December 13, 2012, 04:17 PM   #5
ohiomossyoak
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 15, 2010
Location: East Central Ohio
Posts: 143
Trail cams can be a pain in the but...Not seeing things while hunting that you see on cam can be mentally taxing for some.....I didn't run any cams this year(yet),and I kind of regret it..
__________________
First it's pretty tires, then it's pretty guns and bows...next thing you know, you're shavin' your beard and wearin' capri pants
ohiomossyoak is offline  
Old December 13, 2012, 05:02 PM   #6
bswiv
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 4, 2006
Location: NE FL.......
Posts: 1,081
We like to put ours out in odd places just to see what ambles by.

And you know, sometimes it's a surprise what you see where you don't expect to see anything much.

Bears and turkeys are the worst ones about showing up where you don't expect them.
bswiv is offline  
Old December 13, 2012, 05:14 PM   #7
hogdogs
Staff In Memoriam
 
Join Date: October 31, 2007
Location: Western Florida panhandle
Posts: 11,069
I own one game cam I use on my 5 acre place mostly to see how many feral cats are lookin' for me to punch their ticket for a ride on the long slow black train kitty Valhalla...

Brent
hogdogs is offline  
Old December 13, 2012, 05:57 PM   #8
tchunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 17, 2010
Location: Decatur, MI
Posts: 113
I have found since using cameras that my brother scouts my spots quite regularly. Every year I have pics of him with an ice cold beverage in his hand!
tchunter is offline  
Old December 13, 2012, 08:13 PM   #9
arch308
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 6, 2011
Location: DFW, Texas
Posts: 876
Haven't used one in years. I've been hunting the same stand for 8 yrs on a 1000 acre lease with 5 others. We all see pretty much the same deer as the season progresses. Since I will spend 90 percent of my time in my blind I don't bother with the camera anymore. I have found that the less you prowl around the more deer you will see.
Back when I was younger and liked to still hunt I used cameras to help locate bucks, not that they were really any great help. I had more luck looking for sign.
arch308 is offline  
Old December 13, 2012, 08:34 PM   #10
12GaugeShuggoth
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 6, 2008
Location: Virginia
Posts: 534
I tried using them for a couple years, with somewhat less than stellar results. Bad picture quality and washed out images, moisture issues, etc. Decided they were more trouble than good so abandoned the idea.

Honestly I don't feel like I'm missing anything by not having them. People have hunted just fine for thousands of years without digital trail cameras, I think I can manage to do the same.
__________________
---Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.---

---Enlightenment is the ability to take infinite pains---
MOLON LABE
12GaugeShuggoth is offline  
Old December 14, 2012, 06:51 AM   #11
Double Naught Spy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 8, 2001
Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX
Posts: 12,712
Quote:
People have hunted just fine for thousands of years without digital trail cameras, I think I can manage to do the same.
They hunted without guns, too, and before that without bows and arrows, LOL.

Like any other technology, if you buy garbage, you have to expect poor results. Not all are quality cameras, even by name brands, and so you have to shop wisely. You also have to use the technology wisely or you fail to use it to its capabilities.
__________________
"If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011
My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange
Double Naught Spy is offline  
Old December 14, 2012, 08:45 AM   #12
12GaugeShuggoth
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 6, 2008
Location: Virginia
Posts: 534
^^^ Cute. Different strokes for different folks.
__________________
---Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.---

---Enlightenment is the ability to take infinite pains---
MOLON LABE
12GaugeShuggoth is offline  
Old December 14, 2012, 09:48 AM   #13
Woody55
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 19, 2012
Location: East Texas
Posts: 407
My wife and I like them just for the pictures.

Right now I've got all of them spread out on the creek, and I'm hoping to get a picture of a river otter.
Woody55 is offline  
Old December 14, 2012, 11:20 AM   #14
ChasingWhitetail91
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 10, 2012
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 336
I think they take the thrill out of hunting a bit. I'd rather sit in anticipation of what might be in the woods with me. It's not the same seeing that big buck for the first time if you've been taking pictures all year.

i'd set your camera where the creek meets the river or larger body of water to get a good otter picture woody55
__________________
Abraham Lincoln made all men free, Samuel Colt made them equal.
ChasingWhitetail91 is offline  
Old December 14, 2012, 11:44 AM   #15
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
 
Join Date: June 25, 2008
Location: Austin, CO
Posts: 19,578
A lot of guys seem to have what I would consider an odd way of using Trail Cams. I never much cared to get pictures of deer I already know are there.

The whole purpose, I thought, was to scout times, places and areas that you can't otherwise be.

I never thought of setting one up just to get pictures of a deer under my stand. If I have a stand there, I assume that I already know or suspect that the spot is a good one.

I can't possibly be everywhere. I can go scouting and find a trail that looks like a cow path. So what? Do they use the trail at 7am, 2am, 12pm, 4pm? Only in the spring, the fall, or all year? Do bucks use the trail or mostly doe? Big bucks or just yearlings?

Maybe you've got access to 500, 1,000, even 10,000 acres. Do you have the time to scout it all? 4 or 5 cameras will tell you in a few weeks a whole lot that you'd not know in 10 years of wandering that much land.

Yeah, I can find a trail and sit there for a few hours on a few mornings and a few afternoons and find out for myself.... which in my case, and many others, would pretty much use up all my time for the whole season. Why waste time scouting from the stand? I only have so many hours to hunt. I need all the help I can get to be where the deer are WHEN the deer are there.
__________________
Nobody plans to screw up their lives...
...they just don't plan not to.
-Andy Stanley
Brian Pfleuger is offline  
Old December 14, 2012, 03:51 PM   #16
Woody55
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 19, 2012
Location: East Texas
Posts: 407
@chasingwhitetail91,

Quote:
i'd set your camera where the creek meets the river or larger body of water to get a good otter picture woody55
I wish I could. That would be a good ways off my property. I was surprised that there was a river otter that far upstream. The creek is only about eight feet deep (water is usually knee high) and ten feet wide. I hope he comes back. It's several miles to anything bigger.
Woody55 is offline  
Old December 17, 2012, 10:47 AM   #17
Wild Bill Bucks
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 28, 2005
Location: Southeastern Oklahoma, Next door to Sasquatch
Posts: 1,266
Trail Cameras are great, but where I hunt, camera theft has gotten so bad, that the pawn shops won't even let you pawn them anymore.

I have 15 people that work for me, and we all hunt. Most all of the guys have had at least 1 camera stolen over the last 2 or 3 years. I had 3 stolen 2 years ago off of my lease, and decided enough was enough. My hunting partners and I, decided to put a camera up facing another camera, and it wasn't more than a week, that we got a picture of the culprit. After passing the picture around to some of the locals bordering our lease, we had a name and address. We presented it to the local law, and even though we did not get any of our cameras back, we haven't missed another one the last 2 years.

I got the idea from a lease we had several years ago where we had people driving in all the time during season, and road hunting.

We simply put a game camera up across from the entrance, and had a license plate for every vehicle coming onto the property. We then sent a nice letter to the owner along with the picture, explaining to him that he was trespassing, and that if he was caught again, he would be prosecuted. After about 5 or 6 of these letters, we had absolutely no problems with anyone on our lease for as long as we were there.
Wild Bill Bucks is offline  
Old December 17, 2012, 11:27 AM   #18
tchunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 17, 2010
Location: Decatur, MI
Posts: 113
We too have the camera theft issue. After I caught a few people on camera the theft of our stands and cameras seems to have stopped, knock on wood. I live in a very rural small town so opposed to turning in the culprits we just pass the pic around town and occasionally post one at the local big buck contest. Seems as though the shame of getting caught red handed works well. The only problem I've had is one of the trespassers is a local resturaunt owner. Funny thing is I was told I'm not welcome in his place anymore. Works for me!
tchunter is offline  
Old December 17, 2012, 12:41 PM   #19
RevGeo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 18, 2011
Location: North Idaho
Posts: 161
After having two stolen in three years I believe I'll spend my dough on something else for a while.
RevGeo is offline  
Old December 17, 2012, 02:41 PM   #20
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
 
Join Date: June 25, 2008
Location: Austin, CO
Posts: 19,578
Relatively simple solution for theft...

Take a ladder with you and mount the camera 10 or 12 feet up on a piece of angled board. It won't care, most people would never see it and most won't bring a ladder if they do.
Brian Pfleuger is offline  
Old December 18, 2012, 12:48 PM   #21
Rmart30
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 20, 2008
Posts: 602
I run game cameras year round. usually have at least 5 out at all times.
The new M80 black flash moultries will last about 4 months on a set of AA batteries and take over 4k pictures and still have a little battery life left.

I have ten thousand acres to hunt 20 minutes from home, and another five thousand a little over a hour away. IMPOSSIBLE to scout all that area if you work or have a family. I get deer on camera every year that are never taken or even seen by anyone.

I also use them for to help my with trapping. If im getting a lot of predators on camera thats where I concentrate my trapping efforts at and it saves me lots of wasted time and effort.
Rmart30 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:35 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.05833 seconds with 10 queries