And the Best Trail Cam is......?

[Spokerider]

It's time to get a trail cam. I tried my hand at making one from a Sony cam, but it has yet to function!! Grrrr.

Who makes the *best* trail cam with an infrared flash?
Are you happy with your choice of cam or not?

[gary murray]

I use a Stealth Cam from www.stealthcam.net (http://www.stealthcam.net). I picked it up on Ebay new for around $120.00 including shipping. It's nothing fancy and uses a flash and not infrared but it does the job for what i use it for. There are some nice high end models that i would love to have but i'd die if i spent hundreds on one only to find someone has stolen it or destroyed it. The only draw back is that if you have pictures on it then you have to drive back to town to upload them to your computer to see them or you can purchase a hand held viewer for your model which costs an extra $300.00 so you can view the pics in the field. The cameras also have video mode so you can take 10 second video clips instead of pics. I doubt if the one i have is the best but like i said, it's good for what i need it for but they have some top end models on the site too. Walmart also has them for about $120.00 or $140.00 if you don't want to spend too much money.

[mark]

My advise is buy a cheapy, they do seem to get stolen alot. I know a guy who spent $600 on the top model only to have it stolen! I find the flash doesnt bother game at all, find a unit with compatible SD cards to your digital camera or camcorder, use that as a viewer, or simply swap SD cards every time you check on it. Ive got a cheapy wallmart bushnell has been doing the job for 3 years now!

[gary murray]

Marks right. Get a cheapy and the flash doesn't seem to bother the game at all. Where i live in Penticton, there are tons of hunters and i wouldn't want to chance strapping a $600.00 model to a tree knowing there's a good chance someone will stumble upon it. This isn't to say that all hunters are thieves but there is always a bad apple in a crowd. I wish i knew about the compatible SD cards that i could swap with my camera because it sure would be easier than running back and forth to my computer.

[Ron.C]

I bought one of the Moultie game cams from Walmart a few weeks back. Your definitely not going to want to print and frame any of the pictures as the quality isn't that good, but that's not why I bought it.
As a scouting tool, it's awesome. I've gotten 59 pictures of deer and 7 pictures of elk in 3 weeks. And more importantly, I know exactly when these animals are using the area. Alot of great info for $130 :wink:
I am going to buy 2 more. For what I use them for, I'd rather have 3 inexpensive ones that I can use to scout 3 seperate areas then one real expensive one.

[Summit 512]

I am all so thinking of buying a trail cam....so this info will help Thanks

[gary murray]

I am all so thinking of buying a trail cam....so this info will help Thanks
You should buy one Summit. You wont be sorry. If you locate an area that looks good for a tree stand or ground blind, the trail cam will pick up any game that's moving in your area along with a date and a time stamp.

[Spokerider]

Well, I bought a Moultrie from Wally World, the Game Spy D 40. [ Prolly same as yours, Ron.C ] It actually gets a pretty good review as far as basic cams go, better than most other basic-cam reviews.

Loosing a $500 Reconyx to a thief would be too much of a loss to risk......

Anyway, I recall reading that bears have a fondness for destoying game cams while investigating them.....and we have no shortage of bears on the island...... Does anybody buy / build a bear proof enclosure for their cams? Do you even lock them to the tree?

The Moultrie is pretty big and being black, will really stand out and be easy to spot hanging from a tree.

[Ron.C]

The Moultrie is pretty big and being black, will really stand out and be easy to spot hanging from a tree.

I bought a roll of camo Duct tape and camo'd mine up. It really made a big difference as now it doesn't stick out like a sore dick while in the bush "pardon the pun":oops:

My wife also has some camo mesh, the kind of mesh that is used for laundry bags, and is making me covers for my cameras that just use a small bungy cord to stay in place. This should really make the camera tough to spot!

I'm not worried about animals seeing it as I've already got a few pics of does standing within feet of it looking right at it, then have pics of them feeding in the same spot minutes later.

Like you, I'm more concerned with the low life thieves walking off with it than anything else.

[gary murray]

I bought a roll of camo Duct tape and camo'd mine up. It really made a big difference as now it doesn't stick out like a sore dick while in the bush "pardon the pun":oops:

My wife also has some camo mesh, the kind of mesh that is used for laundry bags, and is making me covers for my cameras that just use a small bungy cord to stay in place. This should really make the camera tough to spot!

I'm not worried about animals seeing it as I've already got a few pics of does standing within feet of it looking right at it, then have pics of them feeding in the same spot minutes later.

Like you, I'm more concerned with the low life thieves walking off with it than anything else.
I try to stick branches down the strap that attaches it to the tree and i do have a lock bracket for it but all it is is a metal plate that goes through two plastic rings in the back of the camera. I was thinking about maybe printing up a small card that states that the camera sends all images via satellite to my computer. Maybe they would think that i have their pic already if they tried to mess with it because mine too is a big unit.

[Spokerider]

I got a few ideas of cam locking brackets etc., from the net and decided to weld my own. It utilizes a Python cable and secures the cam around the middle and to the tree.
The cam sit's inside a bracket that doesn't allow for vertical / horizontal movement, so the cable can't be wriggled off from around the cam.

Of course, it won't stop anyone from destoying the cam if desired.........grrrr.

I need some camo mesh and camo tape, like you suggest Ron, and / or use some bushes to hide it. The problem with bushes is that they dry out and then they also look out of place.

[gary murray]

Well, I bought a Moultrie from Wally World, the Game Spy D 40. [ Prolly same as yours, Ron.C ] It actually gets a pretty good review as far as basic cams go, better than most other basic-cam reviews.

Loosing a $500 Reconyx to a thief would be too much of a loss to risk......

Anyway, I recall reading that bears have a fondness for destoying game cams while investigating them.....and we have no shortage of bears on the island...... Does anybody buy / build a bear proof enclosure for their cams? Do you even lock them to the tree?

The Moultrie is pretty big and being black, will really stand out and be easy to spot hanging from a tree.
I initially bought one of those ones before the Stealthcam. Walmart only had one but all the cables were missing from it so i returned it and i'll be damned if Walmart didn't put it back in the display case the next day. I got the lady to open it and there still weren't cables in there so i knew it was the same one i had returned. LOL.

[Ron.C]

I got a few ideas of cam locking brackets etc., from the net and decided to weld my own. It utilizes a Python cable and secures the cam around the middle and to the tree.
The cam sit's inside a bracket that doesn't allow for vertical / horizontal movement, so the cable can't be wriggled off from around the cam.

Of course, it won't stop anyone from destoying the cam if desired.........grrrr.




Exactly, and that's the problem. If someone see's it, and knows what it is, decides to try and steel it but can't get it free because of the locking mechanism, you can bet your ass they'll destroy it as it is a camera and has already got pictures of them and they'll want to destroy those pics.


That's why I'm not worrying about spending extra cash on locking mechanisms for these cameras. Stolen/or destroyed, cost me the same amount of cash to replace

Just goes back to our origional comments about buying a inexpensive trail cam to use as a scouting tool where average quality pics will do the job. Something you won't set you back hundreds of bucks if it does get stolen.

[Chuck]

Check out: www.reconyx.com
These are supposed to be top of the line and price reflects that.
Model RC60-HO.

[leadpillproductions]

You have to pretty low to steal a guys camera out there.

[ruger#1]

I bought one of our sponsor's cameras, It works fine. http://www.trailnsecuritycameras.ca/

[Spokerider]

I bought one of our sponsor's cameras, It works fine. http://www.trailnsecuritycameras.ca/

These look like nice units........a bit more $$ however........

[Spokerider]

I think that even some generally *honest* folks would consider taking a cam if discovered, just because they can so very easliy get away with it and at minimal risk of being caught..........kinda like the old "finders-keepers" addage. For the rightful owner however, it still results in a loss.......




You have to pretty low to steal a guys camera out there.

[ruger#1]

What i like about them is they will fit in a jacket pocket.

[gary murray]

I think that even some generally *honest* folks would consider taking a cam if discovered, just because they can so very easliy get away with it and at minimal risk of being caught..........kinda like the old "finders-keepers" addage. For the rightful owner however, it still results in a loss.......
I guess they like the thrill of seeing if they can get away with it. The camera may not mean anything to them other than for the sake of taking it because it happened to just be there.