“For Better or for Worse” - how trail cameras have changed hunting in last decade

[Sligh1]

i was pondering this obvious thought this weekend..... it was about early 2000’s I had chance to see 1st trail cam. Right up until then, cabelas offered a string that deer tripped where it recorded the time.
I bought 1st one and thought it was exciting. A stealth cam I think ??? Had film u brought in to be developed. That was about 2004???? 2005? Eventually I got ONE good one. I think I split the cost with my brother. 3-4 years later I loaded up on about 10 bushnells. That was a “pretty big deal” for Cost & impact for us.

I personally think- for better or for worse- it’s one of the biggest changes or most impactful in last 20 years. I personally think the good vastly outweighs the bad. What u think though. Here’s my assessment but chime in.....

POSITIVES:
-I personally think it’s cut back on trespassing 50% or more. Maybe considerably more. No exact data to point to but I think it’s been extremely effective at reducing trespassing & law breaking.
-ability to track deer over the years to get fairly good idea of how old xyz buck is.
- above has created major increases in age management, excitement to manage, information for those that do want to better manage the deer herd or age class, etc.
-fun time that Almost “extends hunting season” out of the season dates.
-security going well beyond trespassing.
-kids can join along easily.
-information on predators, bizarre stuff, things u may not have realized were happening, whatever.
-FUN!!!!!
-I won’t fill em all in or taint others thoughts cause I wanna hear others too so stop there.

NEGATIVES:
-could be viewed as giving unfair advantage to hunters through information.
-expensive.
-broken & defective cameras are a major problem and a big hassle.
-extra intrusion.
-some who may feel the advancement of technology & outdoors (being in nature & primal desire to hunt) not meshing together well.
-I’ll stop here as well. .

Good, bad or indifferent, I’d vote the trail camera as one of or THE biggest advancement for hunters & Hunting of any other “invention” in last 10-20 years (of anything that’s widely implemented ). What u guys think?

 

[Ishi]

I was thinking of starting a thread asking what everyone thought was the best advancement or improvement for deer hunting. Skip you beat me to it
My vote was and is the trail camera.
It’s Christmas time every time I pull a card!

 

[IowaBowHunter1983]

In large part the uptick in big deer getting killed over the last 20 years coincides with trail cams ( lots of other things, but that's a big piece)

In some part technology makes me a little sad when it comes to the woods. Sad isn't the right word... But whatever you want to call the fact that in large part "woodsmanship" is disappearing. The vast majority of young people have not really had analyze the "clues of the woods" to put the pieces together to get on Mr. Big. That's one thing I want to make a point of teaching my kids if they get into hunting.

Far more positives than negatives for me so not trying to be debbie downer with above above.

Another big positive is learning about the existence of deer that you would otherwise not know about. Yes that is stating the obvious, but some deer you flat out would never know existed. This has perpetuated the Management movement (I'll pass the 3 year old cuz I KNOW deer xyz exists). This is even more pronounced in high presssure places/states where the "big" deer are 99% nocturnal.

 

[HawkeyeStateHogs]

I wonder how many tags go unfilled because of guys waiting on that bruiser they caught on camera, but never see during the season. Maybe passing up a nice 140s buck you'd otherwise shoot had you not known about the other bigger buck. It leads to excitement and disappointment. lol

 

[Hardwood11]

It’s so fun to pull cards! Big part of property management. I see mostly positive (deer numbers/trespassing)

I guess it’s cut back on scouting with Binos... etc. I know one thing for sure—it helps sell farms when and if that times comes.

 

[180class]

Don't shoot the messenger here, but I was told by a coworker who is good friends with a southern Iowa CO, they are considering banning the use of trail cameras during season. This stems from the recent influx in wireless cell cameras. Some find them to be unethical. I tend to agree.

 

[Obsessed]

I don't think they should be allowed on public land, for a few reasons, but mainly because they take pictures of people without obtaining their consent. On private land, they could be attached to every other tree or fence post.

I ran three cameras for one year and decided the negative outweighed the positive. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when I would pull my cards, but... I was intruding into my hunting areas more extensively and often than I would have if I'd just been hunting. I actually felt disappointment if/when I was passing on nice mature bucks, waiting for bucks that I only had 3:00 AM pics of. This being said, I think they're a great tool for those hardcore hunters that are interested in targeting specific bucks and overall better deer herd management. Just not my thing, personally.

 

[meyeri]

Good thread, I'll add a few.
Postitives:
-Best scouting tool in your aresenal.
-Helps you to sit longer knowing what's there.
-Eliminates wasting time hunting places without shooters.



Negatives:
-Guys tend to over analyze/make trail cam pictures a bigger deal than they are, when really pictures are just a small piece of the puzzle.
We
-And the worst of all..... trail cams show you what walked past your stand when you were in the other stand for that particular wind.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[IowaBowHunter1983]

Don't shoot the messenger here, but I was told by a coworker who is good friends with a southern Iowa CO, they are considering banning the use of trail cameras during season. This stems from the recent influx in wireless cell cameras. Some find them to be unethical. I tend to agree.

kind of like the idea of banning guns. Impossible to enforce even if someone wanted to.

 

[Tmayer13]

I personally think they are an amazing tool! and also am in consensus of them being the best tool made for hunting in the past few years. Theres tons and tons of pros to them and most them are obvious but ill list my cons
-I sometimes can fall into the category of checking too often. When i was newer into the trail cam game heck i would check them literally every chance i could. Now i have them moved to areas where I can check without too much pressure or have them located in areas where I can walk past them on the way to a stand.
-One year I had 2 bucks on a cam i really wanted to kill, it was either them or nothing! well let me tell you that was my least favorite season Ive ever had. I passed some dang nice deer because it wasnt them. At the end of the season I was disappointed I didnt get to kill my target bucks. With so many pics of them how could i not kill them? (both had walked passed my stand on multiple occasions while i was working), so now I do not ever build a "hitlist" and thats great for the guy that do, but for me and my line of work, im lucky when i get to bow hunt so i just wait for the first mature buck and let him have it.

I solely use trail cams to see whats there and really for more of a conversation piece. Gives me something to do, lets me see whats going on in the woods when im not there. And yes i still use them to build history with certain bucks, but only to see if they are still alive.

And to the cell cam debate: I have one and love it! gives me uptime info for what is going on. But for me the one farm i have it on is 2 hours away. Its used for both wildlife and trespassers.

 

[muddy]

Trail cams have certainly allowed me to get some great photos of sun shadows, blowing weeds, boxelder bugs, and an occasional deer

 

[Sligh1]

I don't think they should be allowed on public land, for a few reasons, but mainly because they take pictures of people without obtaining their consent. On private land, they could be attached to every other tree or fence post.

I ran three cameras for one year and decided the negative outweighed the positive. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when I would pull my cards, but... I was intruding into my hunting areas more extensively and often than I would have if I'd just been hunting. I actually felt disappointment if/when I was passing on nice mature bucks, waiting for bucks that I only had 3:00 AM pics of. This being said, I think they're a great tool for those hardcore hunters that are interested in targeting specific bucks and overall better deer herd management. Just not my thing, personally.

Hmmmmmm.... that’s interesting point I never would have thought of. But- I think, could be wrong, being in public- u can take a picture of anyone. I’d almost bet “by law”. examples: paparazzi idiots, having a security system that records your road, drones, traffic cameras, news broadcasts. Maybe I’m wrong but I think in public, u don’t have a “right” to not be photographed. Maybe if I wanted to put on television or tape a recording of you I’d need consent. May be wrong though. Interesting.

 

[meyeri]

Don't shoot the messenger here, but I was told by a coworker who is good friends with a southern Iowa CO, they are considering banning the use of trail cameras during season. This stems from the recent influx in wireless cell cameras. Some find them to be unethical. I tend to agree.

Wouldn't surprise me if they wanted to ban wireless cams. It's illegal to use walkie talkies/phones to tell someone where a deer is going or coordinate, but a cell camera can instantly tell you where a deer is?
I'll be mad if they try to ban all cams during the season for sure.

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[Obsessed]

Hmmmmmm.... that’s interesting point I never would have thought of. But- I think, could be wrong, being in public- u can take a picture of anyone. I’d almost bet “by law”. examples: paparazzi idiots, having a security system that records your road, drones, traffic cameras, news broadcasts. Maybe I’m wrong but I think in public, u don’t have a “right” to not be photographed. Maybe if I wanted to put on television or tape a recording of you I’d need consent. May be wrong though. Interesting.

I'm no attorney, so I don't have official legal knowledge about this, but... I believe adequate signage is required when hidden cameras are in operation within the public sector, such as by the entrance of a building, or on a sign post in the parking-lot of a business. I believe camera surveillanced roadways also have signage notifying drivers that cameras are in operation. This is partly done to further dissuade criminal activity, and partly as a courtesy to those who might be captured on camera. I believe it is mainly done though because it is required to provide some sort of signage if hidden cameras are in operation. Hidden game cameras on public land don't provide signage.

 

[Obsessed]

Wouldn't surprise me if they wanted to ban wireless cams. It's illegal to use walkie talkies/phones to tell someone where a deer is going or coordinate, but a cell camera can instantly tell you where a deer is?
I'll be mad if they try to ban all cams during the season for sure.

I'm betting wireless cameras will soon be grouped into 2-way radio use to report deer movement during hunting season, and will soon be banned because of it.

 

[hillrunner]

I'm betting wireless cameras will soon be grouped into 2-way radio use to report deer movement during hunting season, and will soon be banned because of it.

I kind of doubt it. They could of done this fairly easily 10 years ago but the cat is out of the bag now and lots of these cameras have been purchased . It's going to be really difficult to regulate at this point. I'm not saying I'd be against the idea, I just think it's a little late now.

I do have one cell camera, I have it set to send me pictures once a day instead of instantly ( 2 o clock) for the very reason of not wanting to have instant information on deer movement. It wouldn't be a big deal to me if I could no longer use it in season, it's just kind of fun to get that little present every day.

 

[Obsessed]

I kind of doubt it. They could of done this fairly easily 10 years ago but the cat is out of the bag now and lots of these cameras have been purchased . It's going to be really difficult to regulate at this point. I'm not saying I'd be against the idea, I just think it's a little late now.
I do have one cell camera, I have it set to send me pictures once a day instead of instantly ( 2 o clock) for the very reason of not wanting to have instant information on deer movement. It wouldn't be a big deal to me if I could no longer use it in season, it's just kind of fun to get that little present every day.

I agree, it would have been easier to have regulated them right out of the gate than it will be now, but new regulation is introduced annually, so we'll see. If I ever ran cameras again, I'd hands down run wireless units. Set it and forget it. No physical intrusion or time/energy spent to pull cards. Real-time status reports of what's going on when. Wireless is the way to go.

 

[JNRBRONC]

-One year I had 2 bucks on a cam i really wanted to kill, it was either them or nothing! well let me tell you that was my least favorite season Ive ever had. I passed some dang nice deer because it wasnt them. At the end of the season I was disappointed I didnt get to kill my target bucks. With so many pics of them how could i not kill them? (both had walked passed my stand on multiple occasions while i was working), so now I do not ever build a "hitlist" and thats great for the guy that do, but for me and my line of work, im lucky when i get to bow hunt so i just wait for the first mature buck and let him have it.

Been there, sucked the fun out of that season.

I enjoy trail cameras immensely, almost more than hunting. I've always thought the cell cam was borderline ethical, doesn't surprise me there is talk of regulation. Be a bummer if they banned all cams during season instead of just cell cams, but talk about an enforcement problem if they didn't ban all.

Don't think anyone should feel that they need to give their permission for pics when in "public". You can't go anywhere in public these days without having your pic taken, signage or not. Banks, stores, walking down the street, ATMs, parking ramps, and many other public places all have cams.

 

[IowaBowHunter1983]

Going to be interesting on the wireless trail cameras. Same reason you can't hunt on certain remote locations the same day you fly in (fair chase on spotting animals). I don't know how you regulate the cams tho. Some are 100% for tresspassing but making any distinction becomes very difficult as that would be a gigantic loophole. Tough nut to crack.

 

[HawkeyeStateHogs]

Going to be interesting on the wireless trail cameras. Same reason you can't hunt on certain remote locations the same day you fly in (fair chase on spotting animals). I don't know how you regulate the cams tho. Some are 100% for tresspassing but making any distinction becomes very difficult as that would be a gigantic loophole. Tough nut to crack.

I'd imagine it's like most over game laws, up to the discretion of the officer.