It was over 40 years since I had a theft from my farm, but now I've had 2 within a week. I guess the dogs and the used targets with the 5-round group over the heart aren't enough any more. So far, they're just stealing scrap (though with the price of copper, it may have amounted to a few hundred dollars) but I guess I should do something before it escalates.
One of the options I've considered is game cameras, (this is what the local cops recommended) but if I leave them out in the open, obviously anybody who has theft in mind will steal the camera, too. I've thought of mounting one inside a building with a big enough hole in the wall for the lens and the motion sensor. If this sounds feasible, it would not only protect it from theft and weather, but also make bulk and power consumption unimportant. I don't have power in most of the outbuildings, but there's plenty of room for a deep-cycle battery if the camera will operate off 6 or 12 volts. Where there's no building in a useful position, I can do the same thing by parking a junk car with the camera and battery in the trunk. I'm not quite ready to do the Breaking Bad thing with the M-60 in the trunk, though.
One feature I would like is adjustable sensitivity. It's possible, though unlikely, that a thief will come on foot. More likely, he'll be in a vehicle, so I'd prefer that the camera would only operate for large objects, not every rabbit or cat or blowing leaf.
And, as always, cost is a consideration, especially since I'll probably need more than one camera. After all, this isn't a nuclear power plant I'm protecting, and spending more on security than the value of the property at risk starts to get counter-productive.
Is there any particular camera I should be looking at, or would a video camera be a better option? If so, which one? Any suggestions on mounting it?
To be realistic, what will happen is that for the first few months, I'll conscientiously charge the battery and check for pictures. When nothing happens, I'll start to forget, and that's when the next theft will happen. The same thing would happen with gates I'd have to close every night.