Game Camera Setups

[Neil]

I have two trail cams with the hopes of picking up one or two more by June. Can anyone offer advice on trail cam setups that will benefit my scouting process? My thoughts were to find wallows with previous elk activity. I hope to make it in to scout and swap sd cards once a month between June and September. Any help is appreciated

[82ndreddevil]

Last year was my first time with cameras so I can offer what I learned.

1. Try to set the camera up oriented to the north or south. Direct sunlight will washout some of your pics.
2. When setting up on trails do not have it facing the trail from a right angle or 90 degrees. You may just catch a rear end of an animal trotting by. Try having the cam face the trail at an obtuse angle.
3. Try to clear out some of the debris that will trigger your cam on windy days.

Good luck!

[wawhitey]

I would really suggest setting them up like this so people dont notice them. It works better on trees with some limbs, but this still works.

[82ndreddevil]

Another thing I learned last year was that there is no sense in having your cameras less than 1.5 miles from each other. I had three cameras that were within a mile of each other and all three showed the elk drop off on the same day. So I had to start my elk hunt off at square one, just trying to locate elk again. Had I spread my cameras out over a few miles I may have still had coverage in other areas and a place to hunt on day 1.

[CurlyTail]

I like the idea of setting the cams high on a tree trunk for security and secrecy. I could just carry in some screw in steps to get them up out of reach.

I also try to set my camera facing North when possible. I try to line them up down a trail rather than at a 90 degree angle, to avoid missing the elk due to a slow trigger.

I run 2 trail cams for trails and wallows, and 2 Plotwatchers for saddle crossings and meadows. The trail cams provide more entertainment, but the plotwatchers give more useable hunting intel.

I set them on National Forest land, and use a security box and security cable. Nobody has messed with them. I kind of think you could get by without all the security stuff and just use an inexpensive game camera like the Moultrie 880, and just replace them on the rare occasion they are tampered or stolen. Interested to hear other guys experiences.

Wallow set up have been disappointing for me. Surprisingly infrequent activity. Have had much more activity on trails and saddles.

[mandrroofing]

I like the idea of setting the cams high on a tree trunk for security and secrecy. I could just carry in some screw in steps to get them up out of reach.

I also try to set my camera facing North when possible. I try to line them up down a trail rather than at a 90 degree angle, to avoid missing the elk due to a slow trigger.

I run 2 trail cams for trails and wallows, and 2 Plotwatchers for saddle crossings and meadows. The trail cams provide more entertainment, but the plotwatchers give more useable hunting intel.

I set them on National Forest land, and use a security box and security cable. Nobody has messed with them. I kind of think you could get by without all the security stuff and just use an inexpensive game camera like the Moultrie 880, and just replace them on the rare occasion they are tampered or stolen. Interested to hear other guys experiences.

Wallow set up have been disappointing for me. Surprisingly infrequent activity. Have had much more activity on trails and saddles.

Would you say that trail cams have had a hand in your success,weather that was a kill or a shot opportunity?

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[six]

TC Turkey.jpg (215.88 KiB) Viewed 4027 times

Sorry no elk where I'm at, but I do run a couple of cameras. I like to place my cameras where there is a little distance in the background. This old logging road works well because when an animal triggers the camera you may have multiple animals in the background. The camera is facing east and the logging road curves to the south starting where the camera is. Occasionally I get a picture that is washed out, but for the most part it is pretty shaded in this spot.

I like the idea of placing the camera out of reach. Especially on public land. Carrying a couple screw in steps is a great idea too.

[CurlyTail]

I cannot directly attribute any actual elk kills to information from a specific trail camera.

What I have learned is general ideas about certain areas like - how frequently do elk cross this area. We found one spot, and determined that if you just sat yourself at this certain area and didn't move , you would have a shot opportunity about every other day. That is useful information that makes a man more patient.

I had a plotwatcher on another saddle high on the mountain, and I learned that elk only rarely crossed that saddle. No way I am spending time in that spot. I also learned that the very impressive looking wallows in my area did not get hit nearly enough to justify sitting the wallow a hunting strategy.

But the trail cameras have been fun. They enhance my anticipation of the hunt, and give me another excuse to visit my hunting area in the off season and get some good exercise.

[Neil]

Thanks for the advice guys! Good information to think about. I hadn't thought much about the geographical direction of the camera, so that will certainly help me to not waste a month or so of footage.

[lamrith]

I cannot directly attribute any actual elk kills to information from a specific trail camera.

What I have learned is general ideas about certain areas like - how frequently do elk cross this area. We found one spot, and determined that if you just sat yourself at this certain area and didn't move , you would have a shot opportunity about every other day. That is useful information that makes a man more patient.

I had a plotwatcher on another saddle high on the mountain, and I learned that elk only rarely crossed that saddle. No way I am spending time in that spot. I also learned that the very impressive looking wallows in my area did not get hit nearly enough to justify sitting the wallow a hunting strategy.

But the trail cameras have been fun. They enhance my anticipation of the hunt, and give me another excuse to visit my hunting area in the off season and get some good exercise.

What is a plotwatcher, how does it differ from a game cam?

[Deanmac]

I run and average of 20 cameras on my hunting club in GA, probably seen and tried most everything over the years. I always try to face North or South about 4 feet high with a slight down angle. As some on stated, up or down a trail and not 90 degrees. I do have and advantage most of my camera sites are on mineral licks, foodplots, scrapes, etc. I did take one camera with me to Colorado last year and put it on a trail coming into a water hole, did not get any pictures.

[CurlyTail]

What is a plotwatcher, how does it differ from a game cam?

A plotwatcher is a time lapse camera that takes a picture of the area every few seconds(you can determine interval) all day long. They turn on at sunrise, and off at sunset. They have a wide angle lens and can cover a large field. A game camera has a motion sensitive trigger and takes a picture when motion is detected

Great for determining frequency of use, direction of travel, trail being used, time of day being used etc. But image resolution is low and not good at all for determining antler size or trophy potential. Simple to use

Game cameras also have defiencies - slow trigger speed, 1,000 pics of a piece of grass waving in front of the camera, limited range etc.