From The News Journal.
Gone are the days in which hunters dressed in red and black plaid coats and relied on in-person observation to predict the habits of game they pursued. Instead of spending hours afield before, during, and after hunting seasons with binoculars and notebooks (“notebooks” as in actual books of paper pages, not “notebooks” as in laptops or tablets computers), technology-savvy hunters now use powerful trail cameras to remotely monitor their hunting spots and record photographic evidence of the animals that pass through them.
Trail cameras—weather-resistant, motion-triggered cameras that attach to trees or posts and automatically capture still images or videos—have grown in popularity in recent years. Placing the cameras near game travel corridors, food and water sources, bait piles, deer-rubbed trees, waterfowl blinds, and deer stands, hunters can efficiently capture data about their hunting spots at any time of the day, on any day of the week, and in any weather conditions—all without leaving home or work.
Older model trail cameras used film, but modern cameras capture photos and videos digitally. When used with high-capacity memory cards, some digital trail cameras are capable of capturing and storing hundreds of images, which hunters can then retrieve when they manually remove the cards from the cameras. Hunters have typically viewed the memory cards on laptops or home computers, but new devices now allow hunters to check their memory cards while afield via their smartphones or tablet computers.
Features vary among trail cameras, and prices typically coincide with higher numbers of bells and whistles. Most cameras capture additional data with the images, such as date and time, and some cameras allow the operator to enter a custom name for the camera or location and capture elements like temperature and moon phase. Hunters can also choose between various other options, including housing size, image quality, trigger speed, flash versus infrared capabilities for nighttime capture, battery type, rechargeability, password protection, and more.
Perhaps the most intriguing feature of newer trail cameras (which comes at a premium price tag for the camera and accompanying cellular subscription) is the ability for hunters to access the cameras and images remotely via any interconnected device. Trail cameras with such remote access features are great time savers for hunters who want to check their photos and videos from one or multiple cameras from home or who want to monitor multiple locations in real time while hunting.
When used properly, trail cameras can increase hunters’ chances of harvest success. While a single camera provides useful data, multiple cameras placed in strategic locations at a hunting spot create a more comprehensive profile of the area and game movements. To truly maximize the usefulness of the cameras, however, hunters should be sure to set the date and time properly, and they should add location names to each camera. Recording the locations, dates, and times of animals they want to pursue is also helpful since the data can be used to identify trends and patterns.
Trail camera prices range from less than $50 for entry-level models to $500 or more for the most advanced models. I have purchased dozens of moderately priced trail cameras over the past decade, and the one constant is that the cameras last about two seasons. Batteries corrode, bugs nest in them, water seeps into them, they stop working for other reasons, or they are stolen (which happens frequently), so hunters should spend their money wisely.