trail cams on sets?

Just wondering how many of you put a camera on a set? I was thinking about doing it for learning purposes. Putting it on video mode, and see how different animals react to my sets. As a deer hunter, I have seen them deter some deer from being in the area of a trail camera, can the same thing happen with coyotes, bobcats, or anything else? I would not think so, but I have no experience in this...

Depends on the area.

Great way to keep wolves out of bobcat sets.

On Jwood trapping today podcast I heard a guy from Washington talking about using trail cams on his cage traps for certain setups or secluded areas hard to access. They were cell cams or something. Never researched but did find it quite interesting. Check laws in Washington state you cannot leave a caught animal for more than 24 hours or something like that. Basically saying if you know it is empty then you don't have to check it. Camera provides proof it is empty type thing. Expensive but really interesting. They talked about it and related it to ADC work as well where i can see the dollars making a little more sense on a daily basis. Nonetheless very interesting conversation they had.

Guys like Clint locklear have made night videos of animals and their reactions to sets and i find them fascinating. I think there is a lot that can be learned by watching the animals react to further your opinion on what you think they will do.

That little red light will scare some animals, especially if you have it down on their level. I've seen where fox and deer really shied away. Also had bear grab and lick the camera, have had coon come over and grab it. Luckily neither damaged it. Had Deer stick their nose right up to it. Another thing is, mine has a delay between videos. I had a coon clean out a dp and not get caught. The camera only caught his approach. It will show you how much stuff you miss!

You’ll learn more from watching them work your set than anything else. We have a dumb trail cam law where you can’t use them from August 1st thru December 31st. Well I totally get it for big game hunters, but don’t get why a trapper can’t have one on there set till half way thru the season, but that’s besides the point. Use them if you can and if you have them.

Sometimes they don't notice...



Sometimes they do...



The deer behind the one sniffing the camera is checking out the lure I put in a pipe driven in the ground.

It can be humbling. These are all pictures of animals walking right by or missing the trap. I have one somewhere of a skunk in a trap and a fox running right over the top of him.





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Here's a bobcat ignoring a pipe set I had out for coyote. I've since put in a scent post for the cat.

https://youtu.be/VbZUx2NDg6M

depends on the camera.some scare, some don't

date is wrong, this was last week. my dad helped me with this camera, put it back upside down.rain washed out the display but it's still working!

I use a cell cam for monitoring some traps set off the main line. My traps are all “road” set and generally in a big loop. Only have to visit these sets when it sends me a pic.
First pic in the far right of the pic you’ll see a caught coyote with eye reflections in the middle of the pic.
Second pic you see the second coyote on the left. My first double!

As far as regular trail cams, a small piece of black electrical tape will cover that red light. I’ve seen some deer pay attention to it and some don’t. I have one old buck that looks for it every time he comes to the feeder. Definitely going to have them all out when season comes around.

I used a cam for a short time on one set had a coyote work the back realized they can come from anywhere and I needed to put the back of the set against a bigger secondary backing

Animals can/do notice the cameras, especially if they are facing the camera when it snaps a picture. There is a faint shutter click noise that can be heard in the silence of dead of night. Also, on IR type cameras there is a soft red glow of the led's when the camera takes a picture. Again, if the animal is facing the camera that faint red flash is noticeable. I like to put my cameras perpendicular to the expected travel path and have some brush around it to make it blend in.

The more expensive cameras have the black flash which has no visible flash. The nighttime pictures are not as bright though.

Animals can smell your scent on the camera after you have handled it as seen in the video. Wipe it down with a damp towel or similar. Once the animals (deer, turkey, hogs, coon, etc.) get used to the cameras, they don't pay much attention to it. Coyotes are a little more spooky of the cameras, so hide them well and leave them scent free. Elevating the camera slightly to get it above their line of sight helps.

The cellular wireless trail cameras send each picture to your cell phone or an app instantly. That's pretty cool to sit at home and watch what is going on out there in real time. There are also cellular wireless controls that will release a trap door/gate on your command. You can sit at home, watch your cage trap, and close the gate/door at anytime you see your quarry go inside. Very effective for trapping hogs.

The camera-to-phone cameras are illegal, here.

They don't always get scarred off

Might depend on distance camera to set and on intensity of camera flash.

I just added two cameras on my small line I have, hoping to see how my sets make the coyotes, foxes, badgers react. If I get any good photos I’ll upload them on to here for everyone to view!

https://youtu.be/-NU9qllnmMM

I set a cheap IR camera over a set last year. About head level, pointed down. As soon as the coyote comes into frame he turns and looks straight up at the camera, and then takes off like a rocket. Make sure if you use one it's the "invisible" IR.

Not only indivisible flash but quiet lens shutter

Black flash is the terminology used in the trail camera world for invisible. The lens noise is actually the infra red filter which drops down behind the lens which enables the camera to see in darkness. There are a lot of cameras on the market that use black flash technology. I've owned or own a trail camera from just about every major manufacturer. The brand with the best black flash illumination and reliability overall is Ridgetec. Its a cell camera that uses ATT or Verizon, your choice, for the cellular connection. The monthly plans are inexpensive, around $11 for a couple thousand photos. You only pay a monthly fee on the months you choose, or you can just use the camera as a regular trail camera without the cellular connection. I had my Ridgetec deployed all winter last year here in Minn. We had a very cold winter where -30's were not uncommon. I'm not here to sell you a camera, rather just pass on my experiences. This winter my camera will be deployed in my better snare locations.

So what are the average prices for an decent quality I.R.? There're so many on the market now. Any specific brands you like?

You can pick up a Bushnell aggressor no glow right now on their site for $109. Cheap cameras do better at night set on video. On predators I think set on video doesn't spook them as bad as a camera clicking pics.

For price, durability and quality of the pictures it takes, it's hard to beat the $100 Walmart Bushnell cameras. I don't run the black flash cameras and the red glow from the IR can spook game. Most of the time it just alerts them to the camera and you get a lot of pictures of an animals nose as they investigate the source of the glow. I've got over a hundred YouTube videos from those cameras. More than happy with them.

Whatever brand or model trail camera you decide on, consider buying it from TrailcamPro. They give you a free two year warranty and a free SD card, have great customer service and support. Lots of camera reviews and information on their website; https://www.trailcampro.com/

Dave