TAM Report post Posted March 8, 2004 Hey everyone. I just wanted to give some feed back on a new model of trail cam I just got and used for the first time. For the past year I've been using a Deer Cam DC-100 which was a little expensive but worked great. I wanted to add a couple more trail cameras to my scouting efforts so I looked at several other less expensive models. I ended up purchasing the Moultrie "Game Watcher" (also known as the "Muley Cam"). I purchased the camera new in the box off ebay for under a $100 which was almost half as cheap as the DC-100. I was a little worried that the less expensive camera would not perform as well. The results came in on Saturday when I picked up the first roll of film and was happy to see that all 24 exposures had deer pictures. The flash on the camera is not super strong but it certainly got the job done. The camera was out for the last three weeks and held up fine through this last round of rain and snow. I'm not trying to sell anyone a specific brand of trail camera. Just thought I'd let everyone know that I've found a couple different brands that have worked well for me. My friend uses a "Stealth Cam" which has worked well for him and costs around $75. I think that these trail cameras are a great way to scout. In fact, my trail camera is out scouting a salt lick for me as I sit here at work! I've got pictures of deer, bear, lots of lions, javelina, and my friend recently got a ringtail cat. Anyone else using trail cameras to help scout??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted March 8, 2004 Thanks for the report TAM. Always good to know what is working for people. If you got any interesting photos, send some in, I have a section for trail camera pics. If you need them scanned, you can snail mail them to me and I can scan them and then send them back to you. I am still hoping someone comes out with a good digital camera system for this. Anyone use one? Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NMTcoueshunter Report post Posted March 10, 2004 I got a stealth cam for christmass and finally got it set out in some coues country about two weeks ago, so I am going to pick it up at the end of the week and see what I got. I'll let you know how it worked. It is my first time to try it out, so well see. NMTcoueshunter Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TREESTANDMAN Report post Posted March 10, 2004 I am using a Stealth cam right now. I am very pleased with its performance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted March 11, 2004 Is the stealth cam a digital trail camera? Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted March 11, 2004 Amanda, the "Stealth Cam" I was refering to in my original post that costs $75 is NOT a digital camera. However "Stealth Cam" does make a digital camera model but I think it costs around $250 - $300. For me personaly I would rather have 3 regular trail cameras for that kind of money and have the ability to scout 3 different locations at once. I am not trying to get magazine quality pictures, I just want to see if any good bucks are using a tank or salt lick. Tim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted March 11, 2004 Yeah, I just don't like the time and cost involved with getting prints made each time you use the camera. I haven't heard of anyone using the digitals yet, and I am really curious how well they perform. That is a huge price difference. Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TREESTANDMAN Report post Posted March 11, 2004 The stealth cam I use was about 75.00. I agree that having several inexpensive trail cameras is imo preffered to a high dollar digital because of the risk of it being stolen and of course to have several inexpensive cameras out at one time. In December I got a picture of a bowhunter following a trail my camera was on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
galiuro mountain man Report post Posted March 12, 2004 Why dont you build them. I am building 2 digital cams with olympus cameras and when it is all done I will have about $150 into each of them(including price of camera), and they work better than commercially made cameras. You can put any options you want into them, night pics only, day only, delays, slave flashes for long night shots, and even digital video cameras. I have one out right now in the field for testing, of course, two days after I put it up it rains (sure hope I sealed it off good) This camera is a 35mm and it only cost me $69 to build. I am going to get it this weekend and put it in a different box (smaller and lighter one). It worked great in my back yard, so I should get some great photos from it. Oh, about the cams I am building now, I can get about 300 photos on 1 memory card! They also have a time and date on every photo if I want, all I do is set up my camera for it. The whole unit is about 9" x 5". My next ones will only be 4.5" x 3" with a 3mp digital camera! Any one can build these, they are not hard, The more you do, the better you get. They do take a little time, but when you see the quality of photos you get you wont evr buy a trail cam again! WARNING! Building trail cameras is addicting, trust me, I have only been doing it for a month or so, and I have 1 out, 2 on the way, and plans for about 50 more. Good luck GMM I can post links to the sites, if it is ok with Amanda. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted March 12, 2004 I assume you mean links to sites that show the "how to" of building your own camera like the JHO website. That is fine with me. GMM - can you take some photos of your units and post them here or email them to me and I will post them? Would be nice to see what you have come up with? What digital cam did you use? What infrared units? ect... Thanks. Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted March 12, 2004 I just don't have the time to invest in building one, let alone several of them. And I know everyone says they're real easy to build but I'm extra dumb when it comes to those kinds of things! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
galiuro mountain man Report post Posted March 15, 2004 TAM, There is always someone selling them also on these sites, I saw a few digitals that someone was selling for $250. The quality of these cams is awsome, and you cant find any decent commercials at this price. You might be able to find one there to buy, or have someone build for you, a lot of the guys on there will put them together if you supply them the parts. GMM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
galiuro mountain man Report post Posted March 15, 2004 Here are the links Jesses hags Oh I picked up my camera yesterday, I had a whole roll of film gone. 16 coues photos, 6 of cattle, and 2 of me. It worked great, but it almost drowned. I set it a couple of weeks ago on the edge of a pond about 4 feet high, right above the water line. When I got to it yesterday it was only about 10 inches from the water!! That rain filled all of the ponds where I hunt, I just hope that this weekend wasnt the end of the rain. GMM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted March 15, 2004 I just picked up the film from one of my cameras on Saturday. This camera is set over a salt lick just inside of a wilderness area. There are deer hitting it pretty much every day, but most of the activity is taking place at about 5:30 in the evening. I did get one picture of some schmuck on his Polaris Magnum quad checking out the salt hole. I guess he is above the law when it comes to riding a quad in a wilderness area! The sad thing is that on Saturday when I picked up the film I brought my 3 year old boy with me and he HIKED the entire 1/3 of a mile down and back with me to get the film. I guess some people are just lazy!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TREESTANDMAN Report post Posted March 15, 2004 I just did a statistics survey on the pictures I got from my trail camera from the pines. The survey includes about 70 pictures with coues deer in all the pictures. I found that the majority of the pictures were from noon to 4 pm! These pictures are from december-february. Some were in the early morning just after light, some in the evening after 5 pm. A couple after dark, but the majority was definately between 12-4 pm most closer to around noon. This is an 2 yr established salt hole. The summer time may hold entierly different results. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
