Being a rookie sucks!!
choclab
7/23/06 6:34pm
I got my trail cam pics today.....not good. I set the camera too high for starters, and second, too close to the area I wanted to watch. I did manage to get a crappy pic of a nice little 3x2. And I also got a pic of his neck while he was eating...lol ](*,) I am gonna try setting the camera up alittle farther away this next time. I will also leave it for a week or two. I am feeding some deer pellts and I put out a salt lick. Any tips for the rookie trail cam operator would be welcomed. I have never used one of these dang things before.
Josh
Josh
2,979
I sure don't know it all but here are a few things that I think I have learned.
1. If at all possible put them in places that have little or no direct sun light.
2. even in the shade it is best if you can point them to the North, or away from where the sun will most likly hit them, or the area you are watching. I put one out a month ago and it was back in the trees where the sun could not shine on the camera, but the mineral lick was out in an opening and the last time I checked it there were 80 some odd pictures of bright sun shining on the grass. No deer.
3. it's OK to put them at eye leval while the elk have velvet on their bones but when it's shed you had better have it up higher than they can reach. I've had several ripped out of the trees.
4.Even though the adds say that the cameras have a 25-30 foot flash it's best to stay around 18 to 20 feet.
5. If watching a trail it's best to put the camera where it can view up or down the trail, as opposed to being on the side watching from a 90* angle. That way the camera has time to got the shot as the deer is coming or going. Where as a side shot gets you a lot of rear ends because the subject is past before the camera trips. ( The cuddyback is about the only one that I know of that is fast enough for a side shot)
6. It's best if you mount the camera high enough that if a deer is right in front of it you can see it's head and not just get a butt or neck shot.
Also I some times put mine 15-20 feet up in a tree looking almost straight down. I do this in areas that have only one tree to use, and also in areas where the spot you are watching is close to a trail that hikers or other hunters are likly to use. People like deer seldom look up.
7. It's good to put a note in your camera saying who it belongs to and that if the person who has found it would like copys of the pictures from this camera, "OR ANY OF THE OTHERS THAT YOU HAVE IN THIS AREA", just call the following number......
that might make them think that their picture may have already been taken some where close by.
I'm sure there are a lot of other things that people could share with you but this is a few of the things I have learned by trial and error. Mostly error.
And last of all just keep trying. A lot of the fun is in the eternal search for the perfect spot. Later Treetop