Trailcam Reflections
January 20th, 2012 by MUCC Staff.Yesterday I braved the frigid temperatures and headed out to take down a couple treestands. Yes, I should’ve taken them down the last couple weeks when temps were in the 50′s but that’s beside the point. After struggling with frozen straps and numb fingers, I decided to go check my trailcams and take a few of them down. I always run my trailcams through January and sometimes February to take an “inventory” of which bucks survived the gauntlet of Michigan hunters. While checking them, I couldn’t help but think about how far trailcameras have come.
Back in the 90′s I used to work for an outdoor chain store which happen to sell the original trip string Trail Timer single event monitors. A trip string was strung across a trail and as the animal walked by, it tripped the string and recorded the movement time. It was a very crude unit and did not do much in the way of helping the hunter with only a single event recorded. But, trail monitoring progressed. Eventually film cameras were used for monitoring. Not only were these units loud, but they also were very expensive to run. Developing film took at least an hour and they went through D-cell batteries like my truck sucks gas. Once digital game cameras came along, it was still tough to get more than a thousand pictures from one set of batteries. Nowadays, there’s not many trailcams that can’t go a full season on one set of batteries.
The first trailcamera I had that took AA batteries was made by DLC Covert and is still in use today. After 5yrs of abuse across the country, the two originals are still going strong and have taken an average of 10,000 pictures each year on one set of 8 AA’s! As far as trailcameras have come, there are still a couple that I consider my go-to cameras for under $200. When I head out of state, these two cameras are always packed.
The Trophy Cam looked like Bushnell’s reply to the DLC Covert II. If the Covert II was a game changer, the Trophy Cam perfected it. Using no remotes, a hunter was now able to have a tiny little camera that he could check on throughout the season without having to carry around a remote. One set of 8 AA’s takes over 10,000 pictures a year and since it’s debut, there are not many hunters that have anything but good to say about this camera. This year I put a Trophy Cam on an apple tree through the heat of summer and into the fall. Each time I checked the camera I would take note of the farthest animal that triggered a picture and would place a rock at that distance. The rock is now about 45yds from the camera! When testing a much more expensive camera this summer and fall, I would periodically set it up next to the Bushnell and it would pick up about 1/3-1/2 of the pictures each time. Checking it yesterday found the battery indicator over half and I didn’t even use Lithium batteries in it this year! After over 15,000 photos this year alone, this is a die hard camera that is a hunter’s dream.
Although the Trophy Cam perfected an awesome camera (in my opinion), Covert already had another game changer in the works. The Edge series raises the bar yet again in trailcamera features and affordability. Using only 4 AA’s, the Edge features 8mp photos, video capability and Lunar Phase/Temperature stamp. Us trailcam nerds were also asking for a better security system which is now provided in Covert’s pipe through system. A couple switches and buttons make the setup on this camera almost fool proof. I put a set of 4 lithium batteries in this camera in August and like the Trophy Cam, has taken over 15,000 pictures this year. After temps of over 90 degrees to minus 5, the battery indicator now reads a whopping 97%. At this rate, who knows how long this camera will run on batteries. It will also accept a 32gb card so if I need to monitor a spot for months without going in to check it, I know it will still be running when I get there.
With the current cameras available to hunters for under $200, the sky is the limit for monitoring game. With 9 cameras in the field this year, I had more up to date info than I’ve ever had before. With spring just around the corner, they will also be doing double duty and helping me monitor fields where I’ll be turkey hunting. Using trailcameras year around would’ve broken the bank years ago. But now, they are just another tool in my arsenal for understanding game animals that I’m pursuing.