What trail cams do you like

[nomad_archer]

So I am thinking about getting my first trail cam to run on some public ground. I want to start running the cam with my 3.5 year old daughter since she has show a lot of interest when we have been out scouting. Since this is going on public ground I am trying to get into this cheap to start since I figure the cam will eventually grow legs. So what do you like in the $60 or less range.

[mrbb]

60 bucks or less range is a not so easy to get quality cam, unless on a BIG sale or blow out(outdated models)
I have had a few wildgame inovations cams that were dirt cheep that worked good for 2-3 yrs then well, died

BUT NOT all of there cam's have been worth having
I got a few free one's off them, last spring, and they are worthless, in anything but day time, there flash has a ranbge of about 3 ft at night, and NOT kidding

IF you want the cam, I'll give it to you for free
again works well in day time, but worthless at night

there Blade like models have been good to me for the price(wally world after season for like 45 bucks) good trigger speed/wake up time and long battery life, I run my cam's 24/7/365
CUddy backs have been my longest lasting camera's
best trigger speed and get the fewest pic's pf NOTHING, or pic's I cannot tell what I got
but there seldom under a 100 bucks
battery life is NOT the best, but rather buy more batteries than miss things or get a LOT of pic's of nothing!

I'd suggest trying to stay above 6mp too at a min, for decent pic's

I have to think right now a LOT of cam's are on sale, so good luck
smaller cam's seem to blend in better too, less likely to grow legs maybe

[nomad_archer]

Thanks MRBB. I will take you up on the offer for the marginal cam that you have. At least let me pay for shipping. As for the price range I am not crazy about spending a lot just yet. I do have a feeling this will get addicting and I will be willing to invest more in the future but right now I am doing it to get/keep my daughter interested. It does have a fringe benefit for me as well.

[CARiD]

We recently received pretty cool cameras in our shop (check them here (http://www.carid.com/trail-cameras/)), didn't get much time to test them but the Bushnell® Trophy 8.0 Megapixel LED HD Camera seems to be the best in top class so far.
If we speak about the middle price range my choice would be a Browning® BTC5 - Strike Force Sub Micro Cam

[mrbb]

Thanks MRBB. I will take you up on the offer for the marginal cam that you have. At least let me pay for shipping. As for the price range I am not crazy about spending a lot just yet. I do have a feeling this will get addicting and I will be willing to invest more in the future but right now I am doing it to get/keep my daughter interested. It does have a fringe benefit for me as well.
PM me a shipping address, and will call it a Xmas gift for your daughter, tell her its form Santa Lol
or what ever you like,
when you get closer . 100 dollar range, better options show up, and yes cams are very addicting. I got my first one back in the late 90's, 35 mm film cams, and cannot tell you how much money I spent on 1 hour developing Lol
I still have the camcan and it still works, was made by NON Typical, who sold to cuddy back, now.
and maybe why I am partial to there cams, always worked great lasted long, fastest triggers, andthat's a huge key. Missing pic's sucks.
I used to stack two cams on top of another to see what one's got more or better pic's, cuddy backs always won.
plus I'm still a big fan of real flash cams, for color night time pic's.
and when legal/allowed, the cuddy back metal box are the only OEM box that works to protect both cam and LOCK,
a huge deal to me, as I had a ton of issues with trespassers.
Lots of good cams out there today.
Reconix, is the top of line IMO, and there price tag reflects it Lol

[nomad_archer]

Thanks mrbb. You have a PM. I can only imagine how much you spent on 1 hour photo development considering how many cams you still run today.

[mrbb]

Thanks mrbb. You have a PM. I can only imagine how much you spent on 1 hour photo development considering how many cams you still run today.

when I first got into cam's
I had 4 , 35 mm ones running 24/7 and only got 36 pic s and then full
I had them on a farm 100 mile round trip and was checking them every other day, and always had a full roll's of film
the farmer I had them on always wanted copies of the pic's so, was always double prints too, on 1 hr

this is NO lie, a friend of mine once asked me for some deer pictures, she lived in LAS Vegas at the time
I said HOW many you want
she said I could never send her enough, as she loved looking at them
SO< I mailed her a box that weight just under 80 lbs worth
got a phone call when she got the box, saying she didn't want any more LOL
and I had a LOT left
between the film the developing and the gas and driving, it would scare me I think if I tried to add up what I spent over 3 yrs of doing this
BUT again, almost 20 yrs later that first cam still works, I have YET to have any other camera last even close to the old 35 mm's and mine stayed out 24/7/365, went on trips across the USA with me too
but I do admit digital cam's have paved the road to saving me a TON of money, BUT I do think what I saved on film, I spent buying extra cam's, and then had SO many stolen over the yrs

there a fun hobby , as you just never know what you will get on one,
and that to me is the best part, as every time you look at a SD card, its amazing what I have captured over the yrs
I just wish more folks didn';t feel the need to steal them

the other issue with trail cam's
is the makers keep changing models yr after yr, so, if you BUY one NOW you like , come next yr that model will NOT be out there
and every cam has flaws

when you find one you like, BUY two LOL

[nomad_archer]

I will buy two when I find what I like. Plus for me I don't usually see a lot of bucks when I hunt for whatever reason. I get into sub legal bucks and does pretty regularly. So I am hoping to use the cam to help me improve how I choose my hunting spots. I get into does pretty easily but it would be nice to figure out where to look for bucks or at least some high probability areas. I plan to move the cam every two weeks as to not be predictable on the public ground. I really hope to learn something new and to find some new hunting spots.

[mrbb]

moving cams can be both good and bad
the main thing I feel is, , in BIG woods like you hunt,
deer move as the food does
so seeing bucks in a spot all summer, normally doesn't mean there , there come hunting season, or as soon as any mask crops starts to fall
Up at my hunting camp on some large tracts of public lands(50,000 acres like)
we find they move and bed almost at random
its like where ever they were eating THAT day, they bed near by
and then next night some where else
DO real pure bedding areas or feeding area;s
they simply stay where they find food and then where a good cover/escape route is

we kill the most deer hunting between cover and food
or on route after YRS we found deer use as run away paths when pressure starts
but these places are SO unpredictable, due to it all comes down to who shows up when and from what direction
Big woods is a LOT of luck IMO LOL
as deer per sq mile is very low, and the same like foods can be almost any where

weather and playing the sun, if COLD or HOT< can help on bedding spots
water sources have a big draw if NOT many, but up our way small springs and creeks are all over, same with a lot of smaller swamps and ponds
so water is every where LOL
but it does help find GOOD trails where they cross, and about water you normally have fresh growth all the time, so better browse
always have goo luck placing cam's near water crossing, just back up from it some, as , hikers and such follow water ways and might stumble onto cam's on you?

another thing I found on trail cam's is this
for every cam you have , have TWO sd cards JUST for each card, mixing up sd cards from one cam to another, even if same like card or cam
seems to screw with them
its like they connect with ONE card, and NOT using same card in each cam over and over, they go bonkers faster
I number my cam's and then sd cards for THAT cam( a "A" and :B" sd card for each cam I have
as got tired of having issues with a cam, that would work one day then screw up next time and then work again
since I started using SET SD cards for each cam, I have had a LOT less cam's go screwy on there own

I also find NOT using solid color bungee cords helps them NOT stick out, as solid lines on tree's stand out,as to broken up colors on them
camo spray paint or cloth camo tape helps

I also try and camo my cam's with NON glare spray paint too

last but not least, since your a PA guy
watch scent control when placing/checking cam's
a BEAR WILL< smell if you just ate a cheese burger and then handled a cam, from scent transfer
and then the NOISE of a camera taking a pic, can be too much for a bear to understand
and like MOST things there NOT sure of, they like to stick things in there mouth and taste them
and they can crunch a cam pretty easy, there just WAY curious critters at times, and don't know there own strength

I keep a pair of Mechanic's wear gloves in a scent bag, and wear when handling cam's
, that or rubber gloves
only lost on cam in the past 10+ yrs to a bear since doing so, and trust me I have a LOT of bears in my area,back yard
and keep 3 cams in my yard alone 24/7
and NO issue's ever on them
16 different bears here in my yard this yr, and from about MAY till Dec , I have one or more in my yard 4-5 days a week it seems HAHA
so, a bears nose is better than a deer's, so if I'm beating there nose, deer don't stand a chance LOL personally I think MOST deer hear the cam more than smell them

[nomad_archer]

The good thing is I will be running these close to home on some of the public land in Lancaster/Lebanon counties. So not what I would call big woods any more. Lots of cover smaller wood lots. But still pretty big chunks of woods. Lots of food between the mast and cultivated fields.

[mrbb]

you'll do a LOT better then patterning deer there, smaller woods between homes and farms, , deer stay on more reliable patterns, but still do change with the food as things come into there prime
as crop go thru there stages of being tastier and easier for them to digest

[nomad_archer]

I expect the locations to change throughout the year. Right now I am exploring some new areas that look like they should hold deer. But it will be fun to know if there are deer in the area or not.

[nomad_archer]

Did some hiking yesterday with my daughter and found some areas that need a trail cam hung. .75 mile from the road and big buck rub after big buck rub. The challenge is there are very few trees for a climber. I am going to hunt it once in the late season. But I wonder what is roaming this block of woods.

[mrbb]

cam will be in the mail tomorrow lol
Didn't have time yesterday

and sounds like a place to try in late season, However I would do some good looking on some aerial sites and and look for funnels leading to food , what and where ever it is this time of yr
any crops left standing or LAST picked/cuts fields
that's always something I tried to keep tabs on, in farm area's
what fields got cut first and then last
as last cut crops will have the most deer near them this time of yr, as first cut one's will be picked clean by now
so paying attention to corps even when NOT where you can hunt can help you, as deer from FAR and wide will travel to get to them and return of they prefer there home turf for safety
a deer can travel many miles in a short time too!

[nomad_archer]

Thanks mrbb. I have a spot a few hundred yards from a green grass field that I hunted in gun season. It is loaded with scrub oaks and surprisingly I saw deer both times I hunted that spot. Its right over the hill from a huge thicket that serves as a bedding area. I plan to try this spot this Wednesday, this time from my climber to see what it looks like from a tree. It may turn into a pretty good spot. Right now I enjoyed the two days of hunting there and two shot opportunities in rifle. One day was opening day which provides unreliable deer movement. I hunted this spot the second day and had a deer come through that I to a shot at in the rain. She was moving on a natural pattern since there wasn't anyone else out there to talk about. Best part about these spots is they are .5 mile or more from the nearest parking area which helps cut down on the people traffic except from the multi purpose trail which is close but doesnt bother the deer.

[mrbb]

got the cam in the mail today, so should have it in 2 days

you'll what I mean on its crappy night time pic's
but decent day time one's
I'm glad I got it free, as I would hate to spend money on something like this LOL
and this is what I some times mean when I say cheap cam's have there down side to almost NOT being worth buying,
as its very frustrating to have 100+ pictures and NOT being able to tell what anything is ?? as we all know deer are much more nocturnal now than ever
BUT a cheap cam like this will get you started and well, honestly MAKE you want a better cam REAL FAST!

I hope you get lucky in the late season, few folks out there that's for sure, not like yrs back when we had tons of die hards


and this crazy winter, should be a LOT of green fields now, winter wheat fields should be magnets for deer
same with turnips/rape/brassisia plots


Good luck

[nomad_archer]

I cant wait to get it out. It is going in the back yard for a few days. I will see how many squirrel and bunny pictures I get. Then it will be going out in the woods. I have a feeling this is going to be addicting.

There really isnt that many hunters out in the late season. I drove around the gamelands last Saturday and there were a few cars but I think most were small game hunting. I saw one archer going in at 1:30. I walked a few miles and only saw 3 hunters all close to the vehicles. Where I am hunting is a popular game lands due to its proximity to all of the people. It is not like hunting in the big woods. I hope to see something this year. Last year was terrible due to snow and high winds on the days I could hunt. This year the challenge will be staying dry with all the rain.

[mrbb]

cam's have been very addicting to me, loved taking them on out of state trips and NOT checking till I get home LOL
then seeing IF I should have hunted closer to the cam HAHA!

as for hunters, I am surrounded by hunting club lands, and NO one has been out this late season yet,
weather has been crappy, warm rain
and today COLD and rain off and on here, in the 28-31 degree range

on a side note, I heard about 50 different folks of geese flying south today

and MAN that's LATE,
all fall, I never heard any to be honest, and even made a note about it to a few friends, who all said the same thing
NO geese this yr flying south??

wonder if this will screw up there return in spring time and then nesting issue's

I know there numbers have been getting OUT of control last few yrs, SO maybe this will help on that some??
but almost Jan and JUST hearing geese flying south is a first for me, or that I can recall!!
Crazy weather ha a LOT of things screwed up I guess!

[zachc]

Ok I'm going to be honest fellas, I haven't read this whole thread just skimmed it. But I picked up a Browning trail can I think it is a Recon model, 8-10 mp, night time IR so no flash, almost zero shutter sound, and about any pic and video mode you can think of...got it new on eBay, I think it was from Woodbury outfitters, for $60 plus free shipping. Not having a ton of experience with trail cams when I bought it, I love this cam. Sure its not the best of the best but for $60 its a great buy! If you look at my thread I started on the trail pic page (Think we're off to a good start) most of those pics are taken with this cam, matter of fact I just posted a few more pics yesterday.

[nomad_archer]

Thanks zach.

[mrbb]

When I was At Cabela's about 2 weeks ago, they had a big tote full of them Browning on sale for I think 59 bucks, almost grabbed one due to the price guess I should have Lol

[nomad_archer]

I have been looking around online and no one has any really good sales on them right now. But I plan to keep an eye out for them, something with come up.

[mrbb]

I have been looking around online and no one has any really good sales on them right now. But I plan to keep an eye out for them, something with come up.

some times the best places to find them will be like Mid way shooting supplies and such on there close out sections on there web sites, they tend to try and blow out last yr's things

same can be said for other online company stores
BUT many times you don't be allowed to return things, so a gamble at times, but can get a deal

rural Wally worlds too will be blowing things out from NOW till there gone too

[nomad_archer]

I am going to stop at the wally world to night or at least try. I need to pick up an SD card. I can't find the one I thought I had. By the way Santa man Stan on reindeer lane's package showed up yesterday day. Again thank you. Please pm me your actual address my daughter made a thank you card to send.

She was thrilled it was like Christmas again.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/31/0f453d92e8c6b095bd44ce6ac3f0a445.jpg

[mrbb]

I am going to stop at the wally world to night or at least try. I need to pick up an SD card. I can't find the one I thought I had. By the way Santa man Stan on reindeer lane's package showed up yesterday day. Again thank you. Please pm me your actual address my daughter made a thank you card to send.

She was thrilled it was like Christmas again.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/31/0f453d92e8c6b095bd44ce6ac3f0a445.jpg

your welcome
BUT just tell your daughter Santa Stan, doesn't need a Thank you card, BUT instead, get a NICE big buck on cam and post the pic here for all to see, and that will be thanks enough

just enjoy it, Them batteries were in it since this spring time, I think there still at 50% or so, maybe 2500 p[pictures so far
SO I just left then in there, don't have much use for that size

Scan Disk have been my best most reliable cards I use

Good luck at Wally world on a different cam

If they have any of the X models , there NOT bad, and I know thats what they tend to carry up my way
there a BUNCH smaller than that one, and work a TON better!
After the season is over, if you add some corn or even dump some mineral mix, or even vanilla extract(cheap stuff) in front of cam, you will get a LOT more pic's

another trick to keeping cam's safe on public land is to hang them HIGH, and angle them down

I used to carry a small 4 ft ladder section to do this, , or even stand on the front of my atv racks when possible

But if you pick the right tree in a Thicker area there not so easy for folks to find


Good luck