How to set up your trail Cam? How about some tips.

[PA BEN]

I'm new to trail cams and have been playing with it in the back yard. My Stealth Cam times out between shots and takes a little time to start taking pictures ones tripped. I have pictures of nothing, someone stepped out of the back door then went back in I have pictures of the wife walking away after the first shot has nothing in it. Here are some questions;
1. If not using bait whats the best shot placement on trails to get pictures before they walk by?
2. I have a burst mode, 1 to 9 pictures. I set it for 3 and started to get what tripped the camera. How many pictures should I set it for?
3. Do most of you guys use locks?
4. Durning the day it well trip at 20 yds at night it's about 15 yds.
Any help would be good. Thanks

[Alan K]

I always point mine down a trail so that it trips as soon as it can and snaps pictures as they walk towards it or away from it. Perpendicular ends up with a lot of empty pictures in burst mode like you're experiencing if the trigger speed isn't very fast.

As far as the amount of pictures, that's up to you and the size of your memory card. If your card can fit 2000 pictures and you check it weekly you'd have no problem setting it on 9 per triggering.  You can't have too many pictures in my opinion, especially if something neat walks by like a cougar or bobcat.  It all depends on the how well used the trail is, the size of your memory card, and how often you'll be checking it.  It sucks when you go check it after a month and find out it's been full for 2 weeks so you didn't get any pictures during the last couple. 

I have and use a lockbox and python cable for my bushnell.  In the past I just used the strap that came with them, and actually got away with it for years (since I started using them, when 35mm cameras were all that was out!).  I got one ripped off finally after getting probably a couple dozen pictures of people, and have never felt so sick before. Nothing worse than being stolen from, so I went with the box and cable and would highly suggest it!

As far as day and night, that seems about right.  Like I said before, pointing it down a trail will get it taking pictures as soon as possible and the animal will be in the frame for the longest amount of time for pictures.

I actually just picked up my camera yesterday afternoon.  Was up on an old abandoned road with a bunch of old rubs.  We were skeptical about getting any pictures since it's been so hot up here and it was a long ways from water (90% of the fresh sign we've been seeing is down by the river) but we decided to give it a shot anyways.  It only had a handful of pictures and I'm guessing they were of us setting it up and picking it up. It's a good example of my typical setup down a trail though, so I'll go load the pictures and load an example for you.

[Alan K]

Like I expected, just pictures of my step dad and I. 

Anyways, here is an example picture from that setup.  The red lines I threw on there are the routes that are generally walked through here.  The lower route is a trail that just goes right down the road and has been going for at least a hundred yards.  The upper trial comes out of the reprod above the road just off the point of a ridge and ties into the overgrown road.  I wanted to get it set up so that both trails could get plenty of exposure time when tripped.  Figuring that each gets tripped when an animal is 30 feet away, there is more than that that they'll have to walk to get out of the frame, so there is probably 40 feet or so of their walking while the camera will be activating and then snapping photos.  By the way, this was the second picture of a 3 shot burst with the bushnell. 

Another thing to note, is figure this was a herd of elk walking through and the first elk tripped it and is standing where my step dad is with his bow.  The rest of the herd, or at least a bunch of them will be filed in behind them or milling around down the abandoned road.  I would guess that you'd get pictures of at least 4-5 of them if they weren't fanned out over a huge amount of area.  Maybe a minute of downtime passes and the camera activates again, then hitting the 4-5 in the middle to back of the herd.  You get pictures of most of the elk in the bunch!  The same would go for deer if there were a handful hanging out together and coming down the road.

Hope this helps!

Oh, and I just realized the time and date are off. . . I usually check that. . . 

[bobcat]

I agree with Alan in not placing cameras perpendicular to trails, unless you have a camera with a really fast trigger speed, then it's not quite so critical. But I have cheap cameras with slow triggers, so it takes more thought in setting them up. I have never used bait (except for a salt block) until just a week ago- my wife got me some apples from her friend's apple tree, and I put a pile of them in front of one of my cameras. Boy what a difference that made. I checked it five days later and had 280 some pictures. Normally for that camera, in five days, I would have had maybe 20 pictures. What I learned from that is I need to change the setting on the camera when I have bait there. I got lots of pictures of the same deer and it ran the batteries down. I had it on 3 shot burst and a 1 minute time out. I'll probably change that to 1 or 2 pictures with a 5 minute time out next time I put apples out there. I think the apples will really help in getting better pictures, because a lot of the time all I get are blurry pictures as the deer walk by on the trail, and sometimes it can be difficult even telling if it's a buck or a doe.

[sled]

Keep the sun in mind, and try to get them high enough so the elk cant smear your lense up the second day then you get 500 pics of blur.

[Alan K]

Keep the sun in mind, and try to get them high enough so the elk cant smear your lense up the second day then you get 500 pics of blur.

Good point about the sun! The sun can heat up things like grass and branches and when the wind blows them, trigger the camera.  On top of that, sometimes direct sun shots will drown out the picture so you can hardly make out an animal.

[ORCA_SIX]

There is a specific thread or article for a how to on trail cameras. Do a search for it.

[Alan K]

And before you decide on whether or not you want to use bait, decide on what you're trying to achieve by setting up the camera.  To just get pictures of the animals in the area, or develop and pattern of their habits.  Baiting will throw the latter out the window by making them adjust their schedule to be the first to the apples etc. 

[Alan K]

There is a specific thread or article for a how to on trail cameras. Do a search for it.

Not to be a *censored*,  , but there are threads on just about every topic on this forum. . . If all we ever did was search for old information there wouldn't be any new threads! Not to mention people are picking up new tips, tricks, and experiences every time out.

[PA BEN]

 
Thanks for the info

[Jason]

There is a specific thread or article for a how to on trail cameras. Do a search for it.

Not to be a *censored*,  , but there are threads on just about every topic on this forum. . . If all we ever did was search for old information there wouldn't be any new threads! Not to mention people are picking up new tips, tricks, and experiences every time out.

Alan I don't think your the one feeling like a *censored* right now. Seems like we see "do a search for it" alot on here anymore.

[Heredoggydoggy]

Good info in the first post here.  Still, experience is the best teacher.  I'm new at it, but the main thing I learned is it's like the Real Estate saying:  "3 things; Location, location, location."

[Skyvalhunter]

There was a thread on here already reguarding this topic.

[PA BEN]

OK you guys who know it all. "there has been a thread"
Will post the dam thread!!!!! Seems like people like to come on bust balls and say "this has been talked about before". Will post the dam thread. I just asked a few questions. And guys like you come on and stir S#!T. 

[dscubame]

post thread, post thread, post thread.  I thought the same thing and have been everytime someone says that, good on you for expressing it.

[Kola16]

I agree. I don't feel like reading every little post on a topic that I have searched for to find out that I have read the whole five pages, and I didn't even find what I was looking for. Just tell me what I was looking for please.

[Ranger91298]

PA BEN, I had the same issues with the first time I set one up because of the location. It was on a well used path but there was nothing in the area to get their curiosity or to get the animals to stop. This might sound funny but what someone told me was to hang a handkerchief along the route about head level. Most animals are curious and when they see something unusual like that they might stop to check it out... I haven't tried it yet but I have thought about it.   

[ORCA_SIX]

Here is the the thread from BTKR.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,62220.0.html

[Heredoggydoggy]

I for one, didn't put my camera out until I had a lock box for it.  Even though my cam is out where nobody else has gone, it still gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to know that if someone finds my camera, and wants it, they've got to work to get it.

[PA BEN]

Here is the the thread from BTKR.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,62220.0.html

Yep, read that, it never herts to ask from others on this site too.

[baldopepper]

Maybe a bit off topic, but try to put it where there are no BUGS!! I kept getting pictures of nothing, could'nt figure it out - then last time I was over I happened to be standing by the camera when a wasp landed on the box looking, as they do, for a place to nest- sure enough as he buzzed in front - click.  Not sure that's the answer to all of the "blank" pictures but I suspect it's the cause of quite a few.  I'm also not sure what  I can do about it, but if anyone has a cure please let me know-had over 200 pic's last time I checked and the vast majority were just of the landscape.