Trail Cam Location advice

[russm86]

So I was just wondering what everyone looks for when finding a good location to set up a trail cam? Also, how long do you generally have to leave it to get a decent numb er of animals caught on it? How long should I try a spot before moving it? I tried for a month or two last year before my trail cam packed it in (cheap bushnell D-cell eater type crap) but in that time never got a single picture of animals on it. Now this year I decided to try again and got myself a Uwy U150 and have had it up for 2 weeks now in one spot and again not a single animal. Both areas I have had the cams set up in I know there are deer as I have seen them there almost every time I have been in there. I had them both set up on what I thought were game trails. I don't know what else to try? Any tips and pointers?

[ramron]

I like to find a good used game trail, or an area with lots of beds. I usually check my cam every 2 to 3 weeks. It also helps to use an atractant such as salt. Happy hunting.

[Ron.C]

How high are you setting your cam up? And are you getting any pics at all, like false or late triggers? I like to postion my cameras so they are looking down a game trail, get pics of them comming or going. If your camera has a slower trigger speed, this may help. I usually like to leave my cameras in place for a minimum of a month before checking them. Sometimes longer. Depends on what I am looking for. If I am just trying to pattern all deer movement, a month is lots. If I am looking for a specific deer, and trying to learn his habits, I'll leave it longer

It is possible that the deer just aren't using the trail you have your camera on.

[bassplayer]

I like to set my camera in small clearings with several trails coming and going. The more trails the better. Just like playing the lottery. The more lines you play the better your chances. I set my camera between 4 and 5 feet off the ground. Make sure you point it north or south to avoid false triggers as previously mentioned. There's nothing more frustrating than having 60 pics on your camera of sunrises and sunsets along with the shadows creeping through the trees and along the ground. I usually check my cams every 3 or 4 weeks.

[capper911]

I've learned over the years to ALWAYS point the camera north.....Keeps the sun glare to a minimum!! High traffic trails are a great start. Like Ramron said, use a bait, salt works great!! always clear branches away that can potentially trip the sensor. Take a test pic or 2 before you leave to make sure everything is perfect!! Nothing like going back 2 weeks later to 400 pics of a branch blowing in the wind....:-P I leave my cameras up for at least 2 weeks before checking it! Any longer and your wasting batteries on a spot that either sucks or is showing animals!! 2 weeks is plenty! I've been into my cameras 4 times since mid June and I know exactly where I'm going this year!! Good luck!!

[russm86]

Hi Ron, Do you mean in how high as in elevation or how high on the tree? I have my cam about 5' off the ground I always do a couple passes walking by it in a few different directions to make sure its triggering good and the angle and everything is good. I do also remove any branches that are close and I feel will trigger the cam as I have had that issue on my first cam. Also, yes I am getting some pics just not of animals at all, looks like either shadows or trees moving in the distance. In the 2 weeks it was set I had 9 pics (3 sets of 3) that, like i said, appear to be triggered either by tree or shadow even though it was facing south. I know not to point east or west as well. No late triggers though just false triggers. Its a brand new camera and seems to have a pretty quick trigger with the bit of testing and playing around with it i have done. Any easy ways to determine if a trail is currently being used by game or not or even a game trail as opposed to cattle?

[bassplayer]

Russ. I've also had false triggers that i could never figure out. Camera was positioned perfectly and all surrounding branches removed but yet, i would still get pics of nothing. I would go through a set of 3 and not see anything moving between the pics such as wind moving branches etc. Even though you are pointing north or south the shadows still seem to find a way into the pics. Ron means how high up the tree trunk are you setting your camera. 5ft is a good height and they recommend that you have it pointing down at a slight angle. To achieve that i usually break a good size branch or twig about 1" around and wedge it in the back of camera at the top between the camera and the tree. I too have also had my camera up for a fair amount of time and still found nothing on it for animals. I would then relocate it to another area and try again. I do a lot of quadding and scouting throughout the year before hunting season and i tend to find a place for my cameras in certain patches where i have been seeing a fair bit of game on my outtings.

[Ron.C]

yes, I meant how high on the tree. I know allot of guys will say only point the cam north to avoid rising or falling sun, but not all game trials are best watched with the cam set up pointing north. If I have a specific spot I want to watch, and the best option is to face the camera east/west, then thats how I set it up. Yes you'll get more false triggers or some pics with allot of sun, but I'm not framing my trail cam pics and any free photo editor like Picasa allows you to muck around with the exposure/contrast to get a good look at what triggered the camera.

If you are getting false triggers, and no pics of game it either has to be;
1) foliage moving and triggering the camera
2) false trigger from light/shadow change
3) camera has a slow trigger spreed, and is picking up game but taking pics after they have passed. "Three of my cameras are older Moultrie cams and one has a noticable slower trigger then the other two"

Hi Ron, Do you mean in how high as in elevation or how high on the tree? I have my cam about 5' off the ground I always do a couple passes walking by it in a few different directions to make sure its triggering good and the angle and everything is good. I do also remove any branches that are close and I feel will trigger the cam as I have had that issue on my first cam. Also, yes I am getting some pics just not of animals at all, looks like either shadows or trees moving in the distance. In the 2 weeks it was set I had 9 pics (3 sets of 3) that, like i said, appear to be triggered either by tree or shadow even though it was facing south. I know not to point east or west as well. No late triggers though just false triggers. Its a brand new camera and seems to have a pretty quick trigger with the bit of testing and playing around with it i have done. Any easy ways to determine if a trail is currently being used by game or not or even a game trail as opposed to cattle?

[capper911]

Birds flying through the "sensor zone" will trigger the cam too!!