deserthntr Report post Posted August 3, 2012 i picked my first trail cam i set up today, it was out about a week and a half. all i had were some pics of birds, but there were fresh javelina tracks on the trail i set it on. at least they looked fresh cause they werent there before i set it up and it had rained in this area after i set it up. so they had to have passed by it. there are a few pics at night where there is nothing in the picture. but what did i do wrong? im gunna try a different spot cause i know the javelina went past but didnt really see any deer tracks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle Eye Report post Posted August 3, 2012 What kind of trail cam do you have? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Becker Report post Posted August 3, 2012 You might not have had the camera low enough on the tree for the Javi's to trigger it??? Just a possibility Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigorange Report post Posted August 3, 2012 agree...depends on height or angle of the camera. I had one out and had a bunch of "empty" photos that I thought were due to branches. Then looking very closely I noticed the backs of javelinas at the very bottom of the frame. Surely they weren't moving through that quickly that you missed them... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reganranch Report post Posted August 3, 2012 Hey Deserthntr it may depend on the camera you have, more specifically trigger speed it has. You could've just barely missed them on your motion sensor. Is your camera on a game trail or some kind of water? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
200"mulie Report post Posted August 3, 2012 Could be trigger speed on camera, position of the camera, malfunction on the cam, sensitivity. What camera do you have? Flash, infrared ..?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abovethecoues Report post Posted August 3, 2012 Probably camera sensitivity and angle. Some animals can be stealth at times. You can adjust sensitivity on most cameras. Check your vertical angle too. You can also position the camera to be more parallel to the game trail and the critters will likely stay in the sensor area longer regardless of triggger speed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devilincatcountry Report post Posted August 3, 2012 Position camera where u want it, power on give it a few minutes. Walk or move where your game trail, water is. Let it take some pics. Turn off power view card and see where your camera's view truly is. Its happened to me before, this is my sure way of knowing exactly what trail and view I will be taking pictures of. Good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prowlerMan Report post Posted August 3, 2012 Something to think about doing too is checking to make sure your camera is working properly before u put it out in the field. I have put cameras out in the field only to come back to retrieve them and find out I have little or no pictures on them. Then take them home to find out they are malfunctioning and wished I would have checked them before I put them out. Just some food for thought. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deserthntr Report post Posted August 3, 2012 i put it in my backyard for a night and was getting good pics of my dogs running around before i put it out, to make sure i knew how to do it correctly. its on a trail leading to water because the water is all down through this wash, there are 2 giant game trails that come together and meet to a spot where the fence stops and the cross there. the fence crossing and trail are in my pictures, maybe i had it too high for the javelinas. and i have infared Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gotcoues Report post Posted August 3, 2012 I put most of my cameras 18" to 24" off the ground to make sure nothing gets by. I think lower to the ground is also less noticeable in case people are in the area hiking around. If you are on a trail, you need to face it up the trail and not across the trail. Some of the cams out there have slow trigger speed and the animals may walk by before pic is taken. Good luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLW Report post Posted August 3, 2012 +1 on putting it low. I had 3 cameras set up since april and I have checked them 3 or so times and a couple times I had operator error in the set up! No pics really sucks, but on the other hand my camera was still there! It happens! What I have found is to set it and let it go into sleep mode and then trigger it and let it do it's thing then shut it down and check the photos for height and ceterering on the trail or area you have selected. Then if all looks fine lock it up and hope for the best! If you do hang it up higher make sure you angle it down quite a bit... doing the tests on sight will help insure you have what you want. James Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deserthntr Report post Posted August 3, 2012 awesome thanks guys. all i could see on the trail were javelina tracks anyways and no deer tracks, but it still would have been nice to get some pics Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azpredator@work Report post Posted August 4, 2012 post an example pic Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunterjohnny Report post Posted August 4, 2012 Probably camera sensitivity and angle. Some animals can be stealth at times. You can adjust sensitivity on most cameras. Check your vertical angle too. You can also position the camera to be more parallel to the game trail and the critters will likely stay in the sensor area longer regardless of triggger speed. That makes a big difference! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
