Anyone else given up game cameras?

[Species8472]

Too much intrusion? Use cell cams. Put the cams in in August and you don't show up again until opening day.

Only works if you have signal. No signal at my deer camp and bear sites are 50/50. Although bear site I am on right now has signal and lots of sign.

[Ryeguy]

I hunt public and the risk of theft to me is too high when considering putting out a ~$150-$200 cellular camera - though it would be very convenient and can see the fun in getting pictures uploaded to my phone.

I put out one cheap SD trail camera which I got from Amazon for around $30. I do it for my four year old son. He enjoys putting out a mineral block and then returning to grab the SD card to see what animals came by to check out "his" block. We've only done it one season, but it has been exciting for him, so I will continue to do it until he gets tired of it.

[LowbanksArcher]

I bow hunt, I dont use game cameras, too much human intrusion, I find the best hunting is done in the first 1-2 sits and after that it tapers down quickly. The rut is an exception. Much better to scout in spring and leave the area alone until actually hunting.

The level of human intrusion is entirely up to you. I guess it depends how you're using them. During the fall, I'll typically only check cameras if i'm heading by them anyway. Some don't get checked for months, and often not until after the season. That said, i'm not using them in a way that improves my hunting success immediately. It's really just for inventory, get some cool pictures, and to understand how game use the area year to year.

Here's a recent example tho. December 2019 I hung a camera is a spot I considered low percentage and never bothered hunting. Too close to houses. Small bush. If I were a deer, I wouldn't walk thru there. But I was tagged out for the season and decided to hang a cam there out of curiosity. I pulled the card a few months later while looking for sheds and was blown away at the daylight deer traffic it captured. It's now proven itself to be one of my most productive spots.

[Marker]

Here's a recent example tho. December 2019 I hung a camera is a spot I considered low percentage and never bothered hunting. Too close to houses. Small bush. If I were a deer, I wouldn't walk thru there. But I was tagged out for the season and decided to hang a cam there out of curiosity. I pulled the card a few months later while looking for sheds and was blown away at the daylight deer traffic it captured. It's now proven itself to be one of my most productive spots.

Thats a good idea, I may try that also.

[Sam Menard]

I have 8 cell cams that I put out in May and take down in November. They are set up over mineral sites and see daily deer activity. The cameras send pictures once a day to an app on my phone and it’s become a daily routine to check the images. It’s interesting to see the growth of fawns as well as the development of antlers. The cameras also give a good indication of the local deer population which, at the moment, isn’t great. The only reason why I would stop using them is the high cost of Lithium batteries. Due to the travel distance to my hunting area, I just can’t drive out to swap out dead batteries so I have to use lithium ones… they last for 6 months.

I hunt big woods and rely on a GPS for navigation and to determine my precise location… no way that I’m giving that up. My GPS is a Garmin Oregon and I can download satellite imagery on to it, which is neat. I also carry paper copies of aerial imagery as well.

I carry a high quality compass with me also, but last year the needle lost its magnetism which made it useless. First time that this has happened to me after 40 years of exploring the woods. It goes to show you that even a compass can fail.

[newbiehunter]

No way for me. I don't think I am ever giving up on trail cams..

Firstly, it's an excitement of seeing what happens in the woods while I am not there. Secondly, it's a great tool for beginners to confirm that the " theories " of patterning of a game. There are numerous examples where my "theory" didn't have anything to do reality [emoji53][emoji53]

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[Gilroy]

No way for me. I don't think I am ever giving up on trail cams..

Firstly, it's an excitement of seeing what happens in the woods while I am not there. Secondly, it's a great tool for beginners to confirm that the " theories " of patterning of a game. There are numerous examples where my "theory" didn't have anything to do reality [emoji53][emoji53]

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Same here, all I need now is a source of reasonably priced lithium batteries, which have almost disappeared from many store shelves.

[werner.reiche]

Same here, all I need now is a source of reasonably priced lithium batteries, which have almost disappeared from many store shelves.

I'm using spypoint solars. Their solar recharging is one bright spot in a technologically challenged product. Mine have been out since last September without a recharge. Only drawback is that they have to be positioned facing south - which sometimes doesn't suit the best with where the deer are travelling. My old bushnells used 8 D cells...

[werner.reiche]

No way for me. I don't think I am ever giving up on trail cams..

Firstly, it's an excitement of seeing what happens in the woods while I am not there. Secondly, it's a great tool for beginners to confirm that the " theories " of patterning of a game. There are numerous examples where my "theory" didn't have anything to do reality [emoji53][emoji53]

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One thing that game cams will show you is how little of an intrusion it takes to make deer change there pattern. One thing I've learned is that if you walk up on a deer and spook it - that's a minor scare for the deer. If you are sitting quietly and the deer walks up on you, gets close and then gets spooked - that's on a whole different level - and that deer won't be back for a few days.