Wildlife Scouting Cameras

For years I wondered how big the bucks were that were roaming our property in the dark of night. After all, I knew that monster bucks had to be eluding me during the daylight hours only to roam the woods at night. In an attempt to reveal these mysterious nocturnal monsters I purchased a scouting camera in 1996.

After a couple of years of using the camera I was very disappointed. The camera worked fine and we had many pictures of deer, but they were the same does and spike bucks that I was seeing during the day. Something must be wrong; I knew that there had to be big bucks stalking the hillsides at night. After all, everyone always said "you know there is a big one in there somewhere".

After many rolls of film and an equal number of anxious trips to retrieve developed pictures, I came to realize that there simply were not any mystical trophy bucks roaming our property.

This scouting camera was the proof that I needed to convince myself that the problem was not nocturnal deer but it was actually a deer management problem.

In the eight years since that initial camera purchase I have gotten pictures of bucks that I had not seen, but this wasn't until after I had implemented a quality deer management plan on our property. One thing is certain, if mature bucks are not on your property you will not get a picture of them and you will definitely not see them.

You can use your scouting camera pictures to get approximate buck to doe ratios simply by observing the ratios that are in the pictures. Also it is easier to estimate the quality of the bucks on your property once you have a picture that you can study. You will also get pictures of the other wildlife that make their homes on your property.

With a scouting camera you can practically perform 24 hour scouting, especially with the new digital scouting cameras. For those of us who work it is difficult to spend a lot of time scouting, but the camera can be your eyes.

A scouting camera cannot find bucks that are not there but they do a real good job of letting you know what is.

Camera Placement

Where do you put your scouting camera? This is one of the fun parts of having a scouting camera. Deciding where to put the camera is just like deciding where to hunt.

The easiest way to get pictures of whitetail deer is to have something that attracts them. If you do this, a camera can take a lot of pictures in a short period of time. Be careful of your delay settings on your camera or you could get a lot of pictures of the same deer.

It is interesting to put the camera up at various places such as: well used trails, scrapes, rubs, food plots and minerals licks. I'm sure that you can think of a few places where you would like to know how much deer activity takes place.

Most scouting cameras have the ability to place the date and time on the photograph. This can be very helpful in determining the time of day the deer show up at your particular hotspot. I use it to let me know what time I have to be in the woods in the mornings so that I don't have to get out of bed any earlier than I have to.

Set Up Tips

There are a few things that will help ensure that you will not be disappointed with your scouting camera.

Try not to place the camera where it is facing into either the rising or setting sun.

Clear weeds away from the front of the camera so that you do not get pictures of weeds swaying in the breeze.

Do not set your camera up too close or far away from where you expect the deer to travel. A camera set up on a tree within 3 feet of the trail is too close whereas most flashes cannot reach much beyond 30 feet or less.

Fresh batteries! It is very disappointing to find out that you didn't get many pictures because your batteries have died. Rechargeable batteries are gaining popularity lately; I'm having good success using them with my digital scouting camera.

I advise buying a scouting camera that has a locking device. It would be too easy for someone to walk away with your camera if it is not locked.

I am using a digital scouting camera for the first time this year and highly recommend them. There are many advantages to the digital camera, in particular the capability of viewing your pictures right away.

The exciting part is seeing a picture of a nice buck that you didn't know was on your property. These pictures help you get out of bed on those cold mornings and make you stay in your stand longer when you get bored. Get yourself a scouting camera and have fun with it.

About The Author

I have been deer hunting in West Virginia for close to 30 years. Now I am teaching my children to hunt and enjoy it more each year.

You can read more about our experienced with scouting cameras and our latest digital adventures at www.whitetaildeer-management-and-hunting.com.

---

Photography Courses Online

There are also some excellent online courses available and some... Read More

The Paradigm: Going Digital

As you might imagine the paradigm shift from traditional film-based... Read More

Have You Read Your Digital Camera Manual?

Have you read the manual that came with your digital... Read More

Digicam File Formats

Looking at the digital camera, a person can visualize it... Read More

The Beginner Buyers Guide To Digital Cameras, Or The Ins And Outs Of Megapixels

The most important part of buying a digital camera is... Read More

Inspired Vision

A picture is worth a thousand words, so goes a... Read More

Optimize Your Photos for the Web

It doesn't matter if your emailing photos of your grandson... Read More

10 MORE Ways to Make Money with Your Digital Cameras

1. Pet photos - advertise a Pet Photography business where... Read More

Digital Imaging Explained

Digital Imaging is a process where an electronic photograph, scanned... Read More

Fuji Digital Cameras

Fuji digital cameras entered the market in the late 90's.... Read More

Keep a Digital Photos Diary

Digital Photo Diary - memories that last a life timeThe... Read More

Hyperfocal Focusing: What Is It And Why Should You Use It?

When should you use hyperfocal focusing? Well, sometimes when shooting... Read More

Nude Art Photography

Nude photography is the genre of art photography, whose subject... Read More

Candid Photography

Candid photography is photography that focuses on spontaneity rather than... Read More

Canon-Powershot-A80 Review

Last month we bought the Canon Powershot A80 online for... Read More

The Venice Rookery

Love is in the air at the Venice Rookery. The... Read More

Get Closer to Your Subject

Almost any shot will look better if you take two... Read More

A Guide to Underwater Cameras

There are two types of underwater camera systems: an ""amphibious""... Read More

A Guide to Disposable Digital Cameras

Disposable Cameras (also called single-use cameras) first came on the... Read More

Panasonic Digital Cameras - The History Behind Their Cameras

Panasonic is a world-renowned consumer electronics company today. Its digital... Read More

Let Those Digital Photos Out! (You Don?t Have To Print Them Yourself)

What have you done with the photos you've taken with... Read More

Underwater Digital Cameras

Underwater photography's is primarily focused towards entertaining and informing the... Read More

Sony Digital Cameras - Always On The Innovation Frontier

Sony was the first company to introduce digital cameras into... Read More

Crooked Horizons in Your Photos? ? Here is a Five Minute Digital Fix

Remember the good old photography days?Film camera in hand, you... Read More

Olympus Digital Cameras - Digging Into The History

One of the oldest companies, Olympus has had a long... Read More

Light and Depth of Field

With such a fantastic device as the digital camera for... Read More

Tips for Taking Better Vacation Photos

Photos are a great way to share your travel experiences... Read More

Pinhole Photography: Right Back to Basics

Why Pinhole Photography?It's fun. It's creative. It's educative about the... Read More

Picture Framing for Photographers - Part 2

There are two sources for obtaining the moulding for making... Read More

The Naked Truth on Shooting Nudes

There are major obstacles to overcome to get into nude... Read More

Digital SLR Camera versus a Compact Digital Camera

Digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras are excellent cameras that... Read More

Using a Camcorder to Record Family Events Quickly and Easily

Let's start there (but not spend too much time on... Read More

Photography Success Without School

What I learned from a mentor that enabled me to... Read More