Hunting Forum

I own 3 Wildgame Innovation cameras now and love them all! The latest is an IR. Does a great job day and nite--sometimes will wash if light hits it just right. For me, it's seeing what's out there and what's NOT. You can't guarantee that the animal comes thru at the time YOU are hunting so it is still a challenge--at least where I live!

Trail cameras are great tools for people with limited time on their hands and don't have the options of being able to scout and hunt. The cameras give them the ability to scout in a more efficient manner, so that their time can be best utilized in the pursuit of their quarry!

I use them on my own land, as a tool in deciding which animals I want to kill, and which ones I want to leave for another year or so. This way I know about how many does to take out of my herd, which bucks are cull bucks, and which ones are the bullies who are running other bucks off of my property. The cameras also aid in monitoring trespassers and poachers.

Rt, I'm all for cameras used for trepassers and poachers. I like many hunters have limited time to hunt and I also hunt public land in IL. but manage to scout and hunt all in the same day hence the word hunt. The dependance on technology is tunring hunting into more of a shopping spree imo, and mother nature has had a design in place for many years to take out the weak and stupid animals. Hunters need to take a step back and reevaluate what hunting is all about and realize that it should not be about antlers, even though antlers are what sells all the product. jmo no offense to anyone.

HI, I AGREE W/YOU, THEY ARE LAZY HUNTERS & JUST OUT FOR BUCKS !! THAT IS ALL I SEE &HEAR ABOUT IS HUNTERS OUT FOR BUCKS, IN YOUR MAG. & ONLINE STORIES !! YOU DON'T HEAR ANY STORIES ABOUT ANY DOES BEING TAKEN ! THAT IS WHY THERE IS SUCH A OVER-POPULATION, CAUSE THEY ONLY GO FOR BUCKS FOR THE RACKS ! THEY DON'T WANT TO BOTHER W/DOES, THAT IS WHY THERE IS A DEER POPULATION PROBLEM, NOT TO MENTION THEIR DISEASES! IN GA. YOU CAN TAKE "12 DOES" +2 BUCKS ! THAT WOULD FEED A LOT OF PEOPLE & A LOT OF OTHER STATES HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. IF YOU DON'T A DOE, DONATE IT !!

LBshooter, if you read my post, you'll notice that I didn't mention killing trophy animals, I talked about managing my herd through the use of cameras, ie. killing does, cull bucks, etc. Since currently in my part of SC, there is no limit on deer of either sex, just restrictions on when we can kill does, not how many, I will normally kill from 1-5 or more does every year. It just happened that this past season, I only killed one, but that was due to having three of them killed by cars, and my nephew taking one. I did kill 6 bucks this past season, off of 3 different pieces of property I was able to hunt. Of those 6, 3 of them were cull bucks. I did get two very nice 8 point bucks, one while dog hunting and one still hunting from a ladder stand. All of them were killed for meat, and several of them had been decided on by studying trail camera pictures and targeting them specifically. The interesting thing was that only one of them was killed in an area where it appeared in multiple pictures, but had been photographed numerous times in other locations. The point is that I knew of their existence, but I still had to put in the time and effort to get the opportunity to kill them.

There is also another benefit to using trail cameras, in that during the off season it's sort of a substitute for hunting by checking out what the cameras have captured; not to mention watching as deer grow and mature, whether it's a fawn, doe, or a buck! I also use them to pattern turkey and predator movement, which enables me to identify predator problems that I can concentrate on eliminating!

PS: panman65, why are you still yelling everytime you post???????

RT, I respect that, and I am in no way attacking you, but at some point we as hunters need to say enough and get back to basics and keep the sport pure imo. I think the lack of interest in the huntng might be due to the exspense that a newbie thinks that have to spend and in the long run will hurt the sport. By the time they look at a bow, treedtand, camo, scents, cameras etc... they're well over a thousand bucks even though they could spend less then a third to get going. All the shows that they may watch, I would guess 90% plus of hunters could not afford to go on. I think that the down economy may take alittle sting out of the outfitters at least in IL and the price of hunting land prices, at least I hope so. We need to remember why we hunt. JMO
P.S. I'm jealous that there's no limit on bucks in SC lol.





















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Hopefully the "no limits" in my game zone won't change, but currently the out of state hunters and the up state guys are in collusion with some idiots in the DNR who would change our regs. They also are trying to eliminate dog hunting, which is the traditional method down here in the lowcountry, going back to the Native Americans and colonial times.

i'll pop a doe quicker then a buck when does are legal.due to work, i can only hunt about 10 days a year.that's one day here,one day there,so using a cheap camera to help check one spot while i hunt another,it helps me out.i only use the camera when i'm in the woods for those few days i'm able to hunt.i have reliable stand sites when the wind is right,but it's nice th have back-up spots,..ie....camera.i wish i could hunt the way i did 20,even 15 years ago.not that i'm old, but my work load was more........lax.i could hunt 30.....40 days a year.i'd take 5-6 deer or hogs every year.now i'm lucky to get one.if using a camera to check for game is not for you......so be it.i'll keep using mine without feeling guilty.good luck to everybody who hunts,thoses who use cameras and those who don't.use what ever works for you that is legal..........legal by law.

I have 3 stealth cams on their 2nd yr now. No problems.

Sometimes it is just plain fun and recreational.It is nice to know what is on your hunting land. You see things you may not realize is out there. I have two Albino deer that I am trying to get pictures of. I also use them for scouting and I enjoy it.

I think this is a great thread. I have been considering purchasing a game camera to assist in my scouting efforts. I live and in western Washington state. I have to drive a long way to find open public land to hunt on and have a very limited hunting season. The last 2 years we have had 15 days for modern firearm season and we only get to hunt one season each year, ie... you can hunt the archery season or the muzzle loader season or the modern firearm season for deer or elk. Since I have a limited season and a limited amount of time to scout, not to mention the cost just to get to the hunting area to scout, I think that using a trail cam would be beneficial in determining if there are any deer in the area at all. From my experience, with such a small population of deer and elk where I am living, just knowing the animals are in the area is essential. Otherwise, I am wasting my time.

I have a Moultrie M100 that I am very pleased with, takes great pictures and has ir capability for night. On the subject of cameras being cheating I totally disagree, I probably put in more work and time scouting and managing my land with the use of my camera than most back to basic hunters do for their hunts. I keep my camera up 365 and there is nothing like the hour and a half drive home on an early summer day with a 16gb memory card in my pocket, headed for the computer just to see what i got running around, wether it be deer, bear, wolves, turkeys, raccons, pretty much anything.

I like the Moultre I45. It is cheap ( $120) and I get 1000pics. and videos on a set of batts. Works better on the food plots and feeder sites than on trails though. It also has the e-mail function on it That will send photos to your pc or cell however I don't use this

I have alot of trail cams and most of them are pretty cheap. I allways figurer if a trespasser comes along and sees your camera he really dosen't have a choice other than to steal it cause now his pic is on it! The best way I have found to use the cameras is to put them over a mineral lick, which is legal here. Really cheap cameras can take great pics in the right conditions. From my experience, deer are more starteled by IR than by flash cams, but niether of them really bother the deer. I have started a post under "Members Photo Albums" that is called 'New Trail Cam Post' and everyone is welcome to add your trail cam pics, so lets see what you've got!