Hunting Washington Forum

Community => Photo & Video => Topic started by: netcoyote on October 15, 2014, 09:06:21 AM

Title: New member of the "Stolen Trail Cam" club
Post by: netcoyote on October 15, 2014, 09:06:21 AM: I've read a lot of stories on this forum about stolen trail cams and felt lucky that my cameras were always intact when I went to retrieve them. Never even so much as got a picture of a human on any of them. Mostly figured that I had them buried so far in that no one would see them unless they were a pretty dedicated soul and they would not likely F* with them anyway.

I had been getting a little bolder about where I posted my cams and about two weeks ago I took a chance and put one in a tree within about 50-80 ft of a logging spur near the end and several miles behind a locked gate. Never saw signs of humans in there before so I figured I was relatively safe. If you knew where to look, the camera could be seen from the road. Bad move.

Went in yesterday to pull it; I just had an uneasy feeling that it was risky to keep it up during hunting season. Even though I had it secured with steel cable someone broke the plastic case and the cam was gone. Pieces of plastic near the tree and a bend in the cable made me think whoever took it had to do a little bit of work to free it. :bash: :bash: :bash:

Question to all: Do most of you who post cameras, pull them before hunting season? Seems like it would be a good way to get the latest view of animal movement if you were tracking something but that has to be balanced with the greater risk of theft.
Title: Re: New member of the "Stolen Trail Cam" club
Post by: billythekidrock on October 15, 2014, 04:38:39 PM: I pull most, if not all during rifle season, but right now I do have one out.
Title: Re: New member of the "Stolen Trail Cam" club
Post by: Doublelunger on October 15, 2014, 04:44:59 PM: I leave mine out but worry my butt off the whole time.
Title: Re: New member of the "Stolen Trail Cam" club
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on October 15, 2014, 04:48:58 PM: Do you guys camo them in a little or just leave them out for everyone to see.. :dunno: I have had guys walk within inches of mine and never seen them .. :dunno:
Title: Re: New member of the "Stolen Trail Cam" club
Post by: netcoyote on October 15, 2014, 06:49:48 PM: Quote from: BOWHUNTER45 on October 15, 2014, 04:48:58 PM
Do you guys camo them in a little or just leave them out for everyone to see.. :dunno: I have had guys walk within inches of mine and never seen them .. :dunno:

I almost always stick ferns around the straps and branches and twigs if they are handy. It's amazing how a few ferns will almost make the camera disappear. The one I got stolen was facing uphill where there was an obvious game trail. There was little vegetation above the camera so it was pretty obvious. I got sloppy and learned my lesson, I guess.
Title: Re: New member of the "Stolen Trail Cam" club
Post by: lee on October 16, 2014, 05:46:48 AM: Yes, .... I always pull my camera out of da woods before hunting season.....except this year I left it up during archery elk.... any worried like crazy.

I've been lucky. Over the past 8 years I've had pictures of 2 different Gents posing in front of the camera. One "tested" how secure it was to the tree it was attached to by shaking it.

I have the camera in a pad locked metal camera box lag bolted to a tree.

Lee