Trail Camera ShopScroll on down to our Trail Camera Shop, or first read how two of our readers use their trail cams for completely different reasons. A trail camera can be an important ally to hunters early in the season. Following the photographic evidence, looking at each photo like a detective on a criminal case, can prepare you in many ways before you even enter the woods. There are common mistakes in the setup and processing of the vast amount of information that today’s trail cams can provide. However, just by taking notice of a few overlooked details your success in the tree stand could be nearly guaranteed. The technological advances in game cameras are staggering. Now they can provide a wealth of information about deer movement and habits. Game cameras give you a set of eyes in the woods when you cannot be there. Around the clock surveillance to allow hunters to pattern their quarry, information that includes the time of day or night the picture was taken and even the barometric pressure. This data can even be streamed and downloaded onto your computer. Short video clips can now be recorded to provide even more information. The problem arises because you have this over-load of info, but how do you use it? Setting your camera up in the right place is paramount in getting the best info from your pictures. Search for sign, trails, or areas with abundant forage that you can hunt, then position your camera so that you can duplicate it with your tree stand. Also, don’t be afraid to move the camera around. Take note of the direction the good deer are moving in your photographs and move the camera to follow their movements more precisely. You might stumble upon a great place to set up and increase your chances of taking a wall hanger. Notice even the smallest details, not just what time the photo was taken, but whether or not your quarry was moving through the area or browsing. What type of forage or mast was the deer munching on? Was the deer alone or traveling with a herd or bachelor group? There are plenty of questions that can be asked, and all the answers can be found if you know which details to look for in your game pictures. The greatest information that your game cam can provide and will help you in the stand more than anything is to see good bucks. Just the knowledge that their has been a big eight pointer in the area is enough to keep you on your toes and in the stand, even on the slowest of days. To have good bucks in your area, you have to manage for them. That begins with being selective in your harvest, followed closely by managing your land to provide plenty of deer attracting habitat.... Bob, Gulf Shores, Alabama
This past summer I assisted in collecting data for an experiment with some research students at college. They were interested in recording animal behavior when the animals? natural habitat has something unusual added to it. I was assigned to set up a trail camera about half an hour away from my home (I live in a very rural area), mostly to observe deer behavior. We had a 20 gallon aquarium tank, with fish, set up on a stand in a random part of the woods. I was given a Bushnell Trail Scout 3.0 camera to use for the experiment. I don't have a lot of experience with cameras like this, but it was fun to do. If you have never used a trail camera before, you should really play around with it for awhile to see what the buttons do and how the pictures till turn out. The biggest mistake I made was not having a full understanding of how the flash settings worked. You see, flash is kind of important when half of the film is going to be taken during the night time. Another thing is that before you go home to let the camera do its thing, you need to have it set up just right. If it's too high or too low, you might only see the heads or legs of whatever it is you're trying to record. It's not that the camera itself that is hard to use, it's just about knowing your surroundings and knowing how to work with them. ... Joan, Jackson MS
|
