Just cause someone isn't lazy and hunts well away from a road DOES NOT make them ethical, and vice versa.
Just cause someone isn't lazy and hunts well away from a road DOES NOT make them ethical, and vice versa.
Maybe some folks simply don’t want their pictures taken when they are out and about on Crown land doing their thing....just sayin.
Assholes walk too.
We had one taken down by an elk and then a pack of wolves (the pups) played with it a couple hundred yards away - where the other camera caught them. If it wasn't for the second camera, we would have thought that a human had taken it and would not have looked for it and found it. I had 2 stolen one time but the third camera caught the SOB. I got them back.
"Target archery is seeing how far away you can get and still hit the bull's eye;
Bowhunting is seeing how close you can get and never miss your mark."
"A man's got to know his limitations"
I've never had a problem and I have had some as close as 300M as the crow flies from busy main stems in Region 2. Actually recently I have a few wintering within 50M but I have expect I could lose one... we will see.
We usually run 5-7 cams and haven't had any issues with people. We saw a mushroom picker once. That's about it.
As others mentioned, the further your get your cameras from human traffic, the less likely you are to see a human. It doesn't really take much. If it involves going up hill, through anything thick or even if it feels like a bit of a workout, that has already eliminated 95% of the human traffic
Bears are more of a problem. I think cameras mimic bug nests... like termites, wasps, etc. but regardless bears will be bears and chew up anything even if it is just for satisfy that lingering plastic craving. We have had two damaged and one clawed off a tree then dragged off. Not bad for running cams for several years though.
I stick to cheap cams, aside from a few pricey ones that were gifted to me. If you're ok with the possibility of losing a camera in the $75-100 range once every few years, it is definitely worth it. I probably get a few dozen hours of video footage for each camera that gets roughed up. Well worth it to me.
Worth noting, there is also no shortage of posts from guys having trailcams go missing from private property too.
I find salt works best for stopping deer and not attracting bears. A little goes a long way, even 1/2lb. It will stop them whenever they walk by for months after it appears to have dissolved. You can get away with putting the camera further from the animal trail that way too which further reduces the odds of human discovery. That said, salt won't stop deer much after mid September, so if you want to see much in the way of fall bucks, it's best to go big stick them right on the trail, pointing up or down the trail so they are in frame longer. I tried putting down a few apples (3 apples on 2 different cams) hoping it would stop them for a better look but they just walked over them LOL
I run about 6 cameras and have only had 1 fishermen hike by and 1 dog walker that waved.
Although i was in the farthest spot I’ve ever been away from the road into some late season mule deer above the river in old growth timber, i must have been in someone’s honey hole, as my SD card was mysteriously popped out of my camera on the last day of the season.
This tells me I’m in the right spot =P.
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance." Cicero - 55 BC
..... The NDP approach: if the facts don't fit your ideology, just pretend the facts don't exist.......
Yes, I remember when those dirty rotten bass turds gave their best attempt at getting that camera. It is always a risk placing our cameras on crown (and even private) land no matter how far off the beaten path we go. If someone wants our stuff bad enough they will get it. The best we can do is try and deter them.
Between guys attempting to steal our cameras, blinds etc., guys hunting over an established spot - oh and guys hanging tree stands 50yds away from your site (personal favourite) there seems to be no bar low enough for some people to go.
"The farther one gets into the wilderness, the greater is the attraction of its lonely freedom."