Game Camera... PITA!!!

[Infantry-Soldier]

So yea... Went out to check my trail cam last night, and to look for some grouse...

So as I go over the rise, my salt lick is on the ground, and my camera isn't on the tree... It's laying face up on the ground, w/ the strap all chewed to rat poop.
So I get excited, and throw the card in my camera. I have a picture of me walking away from it, one picture of my salt lick on the stump. One picture of my salt lick half off the stump, a picture of my camera facing the ground. Next is a picture of something black, then about 2400 pictures of a leaf that's above where my camera is now laying.

What a pain! LOL no animals or anything. I'm figuring it was a bear... Ah well, will check it again and see.



Was hoping for something though... What a let down. I've only seen one deer this year... I want to get one! (would be my first)



Oh, and no grouse last night either.

 

[beefman]

Well that sucks.

How long did you leave the camera out before checking it? Did you know bears were in the area?

Sounds like you need one of those metal camera enclosures....or try mounting it up higher in the tree, pointing down.

 

[Infantry-Soldier]

Every time I'm out in the area on my ATV I see bear(s). I'd left it for about 2 weeks this time w/o checking it... I guess I'll have to check it more regularly.

I'm just excited too. After being over seas last fall and getting no hunting done, and only one other year of hunting exprience, I'm anxious to get a dear!

Hopefully this year will pan out.


***EDIT***

I'm going out tonight aswell to add more bait. I think I'm going to try and find a better location for my bait/camera. The spot I have it in right now has loads of bushes and foilage around, which I think is setting the camera off. I'll try to find a bit better of a clearing, and see what happens.

 

[beefman]

I usually try to point my cam's straight North...to avoid rising/setting sun. And yes, leaves getting hit with sunlight will set-off your cam.

I know what you mean about getting excited to see what is on the cam...I can't let mine go more than 4-5 days.

 

[Infantry-Soldier]

I would like to check mine more often... A few days before I set it up, I went out and saw a nice white tail doe about 30 meters from where I put it.

It takes be a good 45-50 minutes to drive out to it in my truck, ATV is about 20 minutes. I prefer going in my truck though because its quieter, and I have to drive slower, so I have a beter chance at seeing anything. Plus I don't have a gun boot/mount/whatever on my ATV to carry my gun... So its easier to leave em in the back seat of the truck.

 

[Tim H]

I check mine every week if I can, Friday afternoons. I also have mine set up in an area with a healthy bear population. In fact this summer I've gotten more pictures of bears than deer. I've never had any trouble with bears messing with my camera, but here's some advice that might help;

Instead of using the strap, try putting 2 screws into the tree & mounting the camera on them. Most trail-cams come with some kind of mounting system other than a strap. I used the strap that came with one of my cameras, and when I checked it one week it had slid down the tree & was facing down the wrong trail.

You mentioned putting out more "bait." Unless you want to shoot a bear, this might not be a great idea. Most deer "attractants" are just as enticing to a bear as they are to a deer, if not more. That includes salt & sugar blocks, mineral powders, molasses, apples, etc. I found that the more pictures of bears I had, the less pictures of deer. Not sure if it's coincidental or not.

As far as placement, I have found that if the camera is pointing south it will DEFINITELY get a lot of false triggers from the sun. However, even if it is pointing away from the sun, if it's aimed at something that reflects a lot of heat or sunlight it will give me a lot of pictures of nothing too.

Hope that helps, good luck this fall!
Cheers.

Tim H