Checked my cameras today. Lots of big bucks. Probably won't put them back out because I've already verified the deer are there and checking them creates some disturbance which tips big bucks off.

Just curious if anyone else limits their camera use???

I've never used one either.

I don't. I still like that element of surprise when I'm out hunting!

My limited camera use is only because of limited time in the woods. When I have the time I use them. Right now I am scouting public land and I don't use them there.

I agree with Danny.

No cameras yet for me. Just enjoy the scouting and roving around reading the sign as best I can. Nothing againts them. I had one given as a gift 4 years ago I am sure I will give it a try some day.

I don't own one. So, yes. I have limited my camera use. ;-)

No cameras for me.....still like old school scouting and what Danny said X2. Regards

None here.

I don't own any.. I still put a lot of time in scouting.

But I'm gonna buy one. I figure it will just add to my hunting.

To me hunting season never ends, because scouting is year round. But you can only kill during certain times of the year.

To me scouting is a large part of hunting.

I do not use one

Never had one, never used one. I do however watch for them when I'm cruising in some of the local woods. I'm camera shy!

Cameras allow you to 'hunt' year 'round. While a good picture isn't in the same class as a good shooting opportunity, it's still a thrill to see something interesting, rare, elusive.

What Danny said. Bought one about four years ago and never used it. Sold it off my table a few weeks ago at the United Bowhunters of Mo. shoot.

I'm not against someone that wants to use one.

I've got one, and used it very sparingly. Then, I left it out in a heavy rain and it leaked and now I have to send it in for repair.

Prefer low impact glassing especially for early season whitetails. Do use corn and camera setups to locate late season deer.

I don't use them.

In my area, cameras are set up over bait or salted stumps. When the season comes you can guess where the stands are placed. Not only illegal but highly unethical. The use of cameras have ruined some formerly good hunting spots.

Cameras have their place and can be used responsibly but seldom are.

I cant afford to have cameras so I dont use them. I know there are deer in my area anyway. Heck I know a couple of guys who have like 25 cameras all around. I told them they should be into photography, not archery.

Just another gimmick of the modern day hunter, times have changed haven't they. I'm obsolete!! but I love it, I hunt like its the 50's!! And it's still great after 60 years! We don't need to follow the crowd.

Never used them

I have never, and don't really plan to. I don't really have anything against them, just not for me.

I don't use them. Jawge

I never have and never will

Prohibited Activities on NWR

. Use of remote trail cameras.

i use them on my own land for surveillance. Always have a camera watching a camera.

I have a camera and love it. For me it's just fun to see what's around my place, I don't use it for scouting.

I get great photos of fawns playing, bucks I'd never see otherwise, bears that cruise through and all kinds of other critters that pass by the stump and mineral block I have it set up over.

For me it just adds to the hobby.

I don't use them either.

"Cameras allow you to 'hunt' year 'round".

Not for me, I like doing it the old fashion way. I'm in the woods off and on year round, scouting. I guess I'm too prideful. I take pride in scouting and hunting without electronic help. Well other than a flashlite,lol. So the short answer is , I've never owned one. But sound like ur enjoying it and that's always a good thing.

If this is a survey, don't use them.

don't use or own a camera or GPS. I think both items take something away from the hunt and woodsmanship.

I know a guy that hates them so much he will steal every one he finds and destroy them. I have a 5 picture sequence of him trying to steal my locked camera. I have had many stolen in the same area. I used to have a lot of respect for this man but not any more.

I have one that I put out around the house to look at the deer in my woods, garden and the food plot I put out every year to attract deer for viewing. I don't hunt around the house for deer, only squirrels.

I don't use a camera on the private land where I hunt deer, I like to be surprised when a deer shows up and not know ahead of time that it might.

I sure do and see nothing wrong with it:)

Never used a camera. See nothing wrong with it for those who choose. Maybe I should? Not likely as too stubborn & cheap.

I dont use them.

I don't use them at all.......never have other than to give demonstrations when I worked in the sporting goods industry.

I admit, I feel like my privacy is being invaded when I think I'm alone in the woods enjoying solitude and then look over to see one of those !^@*!$÷ things taking my picture. It's about then that I have impure thoughts about smashing it with a hammer, or axe, or blowing it up, but I never have... yet :^/

Never used them.

I leave mine out year around. It's cool to see how many times you will get a pic of an animal never to see him or get another pic of that animal. I still do lots of scouting and hunt in areas I do not have a camera. They have also helped me in the past to let me know when I have someone trespassing on me and who they are. They are good for lots of things. Plus my little girls love going out and checking them with me which keeps them wanting to go out in the woods.

Cameras are trouble and work. Its another toy to use and get frustrated with too I think.

Plus here's something to consider the percentage of animals shot that were seen on camera are lower than you would think. One season I had 14 different bucks on camera and only seen the one I shot 3 times and only once on camera though. Once off to the side in the bush another on camera getting ready to challenge another buck and then the day I shot him with no cameras out. The other bucks were there when hot does were and then not seen again.

Don't get me wrong cameras can be good for those who are good with them but if your not they can be a nightmare at times and very frustrating.

I'd rather not know whats there it has more merit not to use them I think however it works out to just another tool. I find it amazing when I hear just how many cameras some guys maintain and then don't shoot what they see thinking always checking each week disturbing and scenting up their areas to much and harassing their animals.

One thing I enjoyed the most when using them is the other wildlife as well as the actions you catch these animals doing you would not normally see all the time if you stood where the camera was set up.

They definutley do have their place though but there's other things to learn with them to use well I think. Plus if you bait the spot you really get to see things as well.LOL

I was hunting Grassy Knoll in WA along toward dusk way up on the ridge top, 100' off the main trail on a game trail, two miles from the trailhead, and just moving along slowly when I saw a flash of 'lightning'. It was clear and just at sunset, and I looked to the left to see what the flash was. There on a tree about 30 feet away was a trail cam, so I approached it shielding my face from it somewhat. It kept taking pics, flashing each time. I got to it and it had a WA Dept Fish and Wildlife ID sticker on it. It also said something about a cougar study being conducted. So now I'm a permanent statistic in the Gifford Pinchot cougar study record. It bothered me to be recorded though. Felt like my 'personal space' was invaded. I guess they could say the same thing.

Humans who relied on hunting to survive had the whole tribe watching for game all the time--20 to 50 human cameras recording everything that moved and reporting it to the hunters.

I have a camera, but rarely try to use it because I haven't really figured out its finicky settings.

Have to say, I AM surprised when I see game. ;)

Several years ago I had my stand over a well used path that held many scrapes. I typically freshen the scrapes when nature calls. As I approached the largest scrape I noticed a camera strapped to a tree ready to record the event.

Could have caused a riot!

Game cameras are a PITA, especially on public land. I don't care what people do on private land, but it would be nice to be able to roam on public lands without the constant notion to be under camera surveillance. In my opinion, they should be outlawed on public lands. For me, not any different than a drone with a camera on it..... Another gizmo to maximize outcome without too much effort. Wouldn't it be nicer to see all that activity in the woods by yourself? What does it help you to see that big buck you always see at 03:00am on your photos? Will you ever see him during legal shooting hours? Probably not.....they get big for a reason...

To me it does not make sense to use low tech shooting equipment and high tech like a camera...I do not even carry binos when I hunt

DDave

I hear the new cameras are set up to rely your computer. For me out back that could mean inside working a Big deer shows up to eat some apples and you slip out the front door down the fence line and shoot him as he is eating? LOL

WOW kinda like flying a drone over the bush so you know where to go in and wait them out at? LOL

Always said its getting so tech anymore its not hunting its shooting if you set up on the camera basis.LOL

I saw a gizmo that went on the scope of the crossbow that told you where to aim at the distance said was a sure thing. Yeah I bet it was just that to? LOL

These tools are only as good in the hands of the user. BTW I have 4 cameras and with that said don't really know how to use any of them heck can't see to dial them in either.LOL

Don't really know what all the fuse is like someone is going to get over on you if they use a camera or bait what should any of us care. To use tech you need to be a techie don't ya think.LOL

I don't have any to me that is not consider hunting

I don't. Gives too much advantage to the hunter.

I dont but I think they would be great to see whos on the property when your not. meaning other hunters that aren't suppose to be there.

I do not believe that they should be allowed on public land. They are invasive to others that have the right to use the same land. If my land purchase would have gone through, I would have used cameras for surveillance purposes at the accesses. It is very difficult to buy land in Iowa that has that just right balance of tillable,(to pay for itself) and wooded land for hunting. I advocate leave no trace policies on all public land.

I found it to be a waste of time other than the fun of seeing different animals running through. I could already tell where the deer were and approximately what size and enough buck sign to tell where they were and how big.

I have a spot with good sign, pretty consistent. Put a cam out there and found out that ALL the activity is midnight- 4 AM.

How many seasons would I have sat there not knowing that?

If they're where they shouldn't be they get butter on the lense.

I have a couple, but don't rely on them for hunting. I often put them up in the fall in locations to see if I can get pics of trespassers.

I've posted a few pics of deer and coyotes on here but I consider them more in the "gadget" category as far as trying to pattern deer etc.

I keep one about 100 yards from the house just to keep an eye on whats on the property. Sense we don't shoot the local deer and wait till the rut starts to take the big ones that come down from the national forest to breed all the does, The camera isn't much help in hunting.

My hunting spots are so bad, if I used one, I would most likely be so disappointed, I probably wouldn't hunt. lol

Never have used one, just not the true aspect of hunting for me. Nothing against you either, just my opinion. The only reason I would use one is to see whom might be trying to steal my tree stands!!

I dont use them.

I was given one, to stupid to operate it, to busy to learn how. After all, I got scouting to do...sorry I thought that was funny.

I don't use cameras either.

We pull our cameras a few weeks before the season starts. We enjoy seeing what is around the property whether it is a game animal or not. But, we enjoy using less technology aids when it comes to hunting.

Don't and will not use one.

I don't and have no interest in using one. Just more modern techie stuff that I shoot/hunt traditional to get away from.

I don't own one and probably couldn't operate it if I bought one.

Good replies. THank you all.

justin

In MT they are illegal during season. This year I have several bucks with weird antlers and would like some pics. One has a high 4 point left with zero one the right.

A camera would be nice this time of the year but not for hunting.

Just another case of substituting technology for skill or effort IMO, so I don't and won't use them.I was watching a video the other night and it showed a water hole in Arizona...with about 15 different game cameras posted around it. What chance does a good bull elk have when "hunters" (or the guides they pay) are monitoring his movements 24/7, from mid-summer until opening day?

Never have and never will.

don't own one

I own one camera that was a Christmas gift. I've only used it in the back yard just so I can look at deer pictures. Never used it for hunting. I have 4 or 5 pics of the neihbor kid eating my deer corn. MP

Ok here is my take on this. To all the guys who say it makes it easy I say baloney. i have pictures of this deer since 08. in that time I have seen him with my own eyes less than 10 times. He is extremely nocturnal and he vanishes during our gun season witch is during the rut in november. I get pics of him on a consistent basis at least every 3 days. When the gun season opens he vanishes for 30 to 40 days. About the time I'm convinced he's dead he shows up after thanksgiving. In no way shape or form has it made killing bucks or deer any easier.. It has just increased the joy that dear hunting/studying has given me. If you don't want to use them thats fine but don't try to diminish the joy that they bring others with some holier than thou attitude. over and out bryan

forgot to ad picture of the old buck

try again

Reading over this thread makes me laugh . I use them , don't care if someone else uses them or likes them . It's just funny how some people will run down a camera because its to high tech and they will be shooting an ILF rig with a rest and sights on there bow. I'm not saying anything wrong with that ! Shoot what you want , use what you want and have fun shooting and hunting ! Get your family involved and enjoy !

Don't have them, don't want/need them.

My general rule for hunting equipment is that if it's needs a computer chip and/or a battery in order to function then I neither need nor want it (except for a flashlight). This INCLUDES cell phones!

Things that need batteries and ESPECIALLY microchips are things that I go into the woods to get away from.

Besides, leaving a camera worth $100s of dollars strapped to a tree in the woods is not unlike leaving hundred dollar bills stapled to a tree. It's not a matter of IF, but WHEN it'll be stolen.

None here. Just another pain and habit to me. See everyone around here obsessed with it though. They spend more time talking about pics than anything it seems, but everyone likes diff things and that's fine.

I do not use them. I've learned to scout and read sign.

Don't like them. Don't use them.

Well, I'm almost hesitant to admit this, but I have four trail cams that I use extensively year-round. I also spend a good amount of time on my computer, on this great site among others. On the Internet. I shoot and hunt with glass/wood lam/glue bows that bowyers in other states crafted for me. Ditto aluminum arrow shafts and high-quality steel broadheads. I carry a flashlight (battery-powered) into the woods with me, as well as a cell phone. I watch tv, take a new-fangled wonder drug called Ibuprofen for my arthritis, take blood pressure medicine that was unknown 40 years ago, and wear no-line bifocals the last few years. If my arthritis progresses as my doctor seems to think it will, I will probably be shooting a crossbow within the next five years. Oh, the horror!

Y'all need to get over your snooty selves.

I don't own one. My son has one however, as do plenty younger generation now. No thanks.

love mine, its great to have one, there are like Prigles or cookies, ones not enough. Mine are out yr long, It nice to see whats making those tracks. I have bow hunted for 38yrs , got my first cam about this time last yr, addictive . I due check my cams around the house every couple days around the house, and when in the hunting land they only get checked when time allows . To hot to scout here till season opens . I plan on putting some out on WMA soon but its so hot lately .

I like long range surveillance early morning and evening with spoting scope!

All of the nice bucks I've had mounted were never seen before I killed them and that's the way I like it!!

I imagine some guys could pattern deer with a camera, and still never kill one.

Next guy gets one regardless of his equipment.

There is a whole lot more to hunting than using gadgets.

Some guys were killing deer every year long before trail cams came on the scene. Now years later they use trail cams and they are still killing deer.

I've come a long way in my thinking the last couple years.

My own sons helped me see the reality of it all. They use compounds, trail cams ect....But those boys will get there deer regardless of their equipment.

Send them into an area they never hunted, good chance they will be successful without a camera.

Put a gun, compound or a recurve in their hands it won't make much difference, they adjust.

Around here our success rate is WAAY above the PA average, and it has nothing to do with gadgets.

I have never used a trail cam, know little about them. But i'll have one one of these days. I like looking at the pictures.

But I was killing deer long before cameras, compounds, climbers ect...

It's not about being snooty or holier-than-thou, it's simply about our values, how they differ, and how they express themselves differently in our gear choices, among others.

I have lots of them. Not one time has my cam dropped the string on anything. I like seeing whats around my house.

I do not have one and have no plans to buy or use one. I am relieved to see that there are still bowhunters that do not, although clearly those that do. I think that it is a mindset about photographing/recording ones life. I do have a camera and I have at times driven my family to making death threats, but when I go to the woods I want to try to learn from the experience. Yes, I have to admit that once or twice I have taken a picture or two a something special to remember and I have taken pictures (and posted) of (heaven help me) "hero shots". BUT, the videotaping and the constant need to electronically record and communicate every idea or experience continues to escape me. At what point do we call it quits. It is unfortunate that even on this sight which is as close to basics as one could get(unless there is a site for primitive archery hunters only) that the slippery slope of technology has already gotten a permanent foothold.

I don't spend as much time in the woods as I would like, but it doesn't take much time to find trails, scrapes,rubs and droppings. Be in the moment. Use your mind, your senses, your memory.

If not already said, I am also convinced that this is a generational issue. Not because younger people are lazier or smarter or whatever.. but rather that Smart phones, and You tube and constant sharing of every experience is a mind set. I doubt that this will ever reverse course, and I find that sad...particularly here where the moto USED TO BE "HUNTING THE HARD WAY"

Exactly Jeff. No one (or certainly not me) is saying that you SHOULDN'T use them. If you want them then by all means have them.

But the question and title of this thread is, "Anyone not use cameras?"

So that's what I responded to.

In fact, it the people who do use them that posted here that are maybe being "snooty" because this wasn't a thread directed at you. It's just like I no longer respond to threads about mechanical broadheads. I don't/won't use them. If someone else does then knock you socks off.

WW: Yes the thread title is "Anyone not use cameras?" and I did interpret it that way initially...until I read his first post:

"Checked my cameras today. Lots of big bucks. Probably won't put them back out because I've already verified the deer are there and checking them creates some disturbance which tips big bucks off. Just curious if anyone else limits their camera use???"

Sounds like two related but different topics to me.

Never owned one.

Never thought about deer in the "inventory" sense either; to me they are not a shelved commodity in a retail store with a sku # that needs to be accounted for.....but whatever.

Yes Roger, that's kind of how it seems some folks view them. That was an insightful post.

Hope the fishing has been good. I've been wrasslin' snappers the last week or so... and found some bass in new-to-me ponds, deer in new woods, and unhatched bows hiding among the trees in the process. Hot though, whew.

Limits: Guys who say camera's aren't useful for scouting, locating and patterning animals are either inexperienced or fabricating. I've spent enough decades patterning and killing deer the traditional way to know a set of cameras in the woods could be a huge advantage to understanding what deer are doing. It comes down to how they are used and putting in the effort to use them effectively if that's what a hunter wants.

Limits: No camera ever killed a deer and they can be used (by sportsmen) without being an aid to killing. They can simply be used as a remote camera to take images and video of wildlife of all kinds. Viewing those images and videos is enjoyable for many. If those images happen to include wildlife where you actually hunt...all the better. It doesn't have to always be about using them to kill, or cheating the effort required. I have several and they are nothing more than another way for me to enjoy being outdoors, seeing wildlife and seeing animals do things I would never see with my own eyes and presence...especially at night. I have never used a camera to pattern a deer or other game. I have used them to get great pictures of wildlife and to enhance my overall anticipation and experience. It would violate my personal hunting ethics for me to use remote technology to help me pattern and kill animals.

I'm neither pro-camera or against them universally. It's a personal thing for most. All this technology can be seen as ugly and bad...unnecessary...or used appropriately to enhance our experience afield. All of it has the potential to be abused and trail cameras are no different. It's always about limits.

Kevin, I know enough from your past postings to fully believe that you have a well-developed sense of ethical constraints regarding the use of cameras. Though I agree with your thoughts about how cameras CAN be used, I'm afraid that far too many of them are actually BEING used to help hunters locate, pattern, and eventually kill game animals. This just feels like more of the ongoing erosion of fair chase in this country.

One could just as easily say they want to dart a tracking chip into a big deer or elk...but solely for the purpose of learning more about the biology and movement patterns of trophy animals, and that they would never actually use it to help them locate or kill the animal. Ditto with drones.

I know people have trouble whenever these discussion stray into the ethical side of things, and especially the question of how much technology is too much--people quickly get defensive, and start tossing words like "snooty" around. However, I think that traditional archery sites like this one exist because we all, like Howard Hill, prefer "Hunting the Hard Way," and feel that some limits and ethical standards are appropriate.

do not use them, it takes the mystery out of the hunt and that is why I hunt.

I run several. Don't visit them but once a week. I spray my boots and stay clean,we try not to make much of a ruckus.Sort of still hunt to our cameras. Caught a nice 8pt laying right on the trail I cut in,just watched him chewing his cud for awhile. Also run one at my grandsons stand.Cameras give me even more time to get boots on the ground at the local military post where there are some fine bucks.Your not aloud to let stands or cameras there.Got to scout the old way.So yes I have the best of both worlds it seems.

What I was getting at was: Does anyone hunt without cameras anymore. I use them, but had considered stopping my use. My belief is that it creates some level of disturbance. I know, now, that there are good bucks using my area and where specifically, so I don't need to really keep tabs on them because unless there is a hurricane, not much will change on my farm.

Jeff,

The walleye have shut down on Pymie for the time being. May go up to Oil City tonight and wade the riffles below the pool on the Allegheny, but my God it's sweltering hot out there. Cat's are always an option below the dam at Arthur, where there are a bazillion turtles, btw. The only pic's I've been taking lately are of our 12 week old, 13" beagle pup named "Sweet Gracie-May".

Dunno, will them trail cams work under water for feesh too? ;)

Never have and don't ever plan to. I don't ever plan on using a crossbow or compound either.

Ya know I think the biggest reason I "don't" own a trail cam is the fact that most are 100.00$ plus a piece and up.

And its like anything else I really don't need to be successful, But have nothing against.

If they were cheap I'd probably have a few.

As far as keeping tabs on the local deer herd ? I scout, I watch the fields It's pretty common for me to be discussing what we are seeing with neighbors ect...

Conversation often goes something like this....."there are two nice eights, ones probably pushing 20" a nice six point, couple small buck, seen a dandy on Anderson ridge, but haven't seen him lately.

If that's not keeping tabs on the deer I don't know what is. Whether or not I use a camera...I'm still gonna know. Or at least have a pretty good idea what's around.

Also check out the PSU deer study. Not sure of the web address but it radio collared a buck in the Bald Eagle SF for 3 years.

During the rut he covered up to 6 miles if I remember right.

During hunting season beginning in bear season and two weeks of firearm he holed up on a 100 acre parcel on the top of a mt every year.

While you may be able to pattern a buck using a trail cam when he's limited to small farmland woodlots....I doubt it's all that effective in a bigwoods setting such as the Bald Eagle.

Probably only kidding yourself.

I have seen mt buck use a particular bench, saddle, hollow ect...for a week straight then out of the blue start hanging on the other side of the mt for a week, then return.

Just the way it is.

never used one. I scout myself a lot more time in the woods, deer tracks and rubes dropping all tell me deer are in the area. two days after a good rain tells a lot about activity and travel routs. just more of the challenge.

My brother has a couple he puts out just to see what's hanging around the home place. Fun to see the bear and wolf pictures. I hunt the same way no matter what shows up for deer, but get a kick out of seeing the pictures. I don't think it disrupts anything, as he usually has them on fields and can check them with the 4-wheeler which the deer are used to.

Nothing against camera's, but on the public land I hunt a camera would disappear if discovered. I've not lost a stand, yet, but I hunt so far off the beaten path a stand would be a pain to get out. A camera on the other hand could easily disappear into someone's pack without detection. Since I'm known to buy quality equipment, I have a great fear of losing a nice piece to some scumbag. Therefore I do without.

I had one but gave it to a friend. I have no use for a camera. They make people obsessed with antlers instead of enjoying the woods and receiving what it gives you.

crookedstix:

"I'm afraid that far too many of them are actually BEING used to help hunters locate, pattern, and eventually kill game animals. This just feels like more of the ongoing erosion of fair chase in this country."

We're mostly kindred spirits on this. I would simply add that the definition(s) of fair chase are ongoing, evolving and will never stop. Nor will people agree. It was once normal and perfectly accepted to lob arrows hoping to connect and kill. Tree stands weren't fair chase in Michigan just a few decades back. Dogging for deer is fair chase...or is it? Spotlighting to find deer at night was acceptable in Ohio until it suddenly wasn't ok. Game cameras aren't everyone's cup of tea but their use is so widely accepted that a majority would likely call their use fair chase. For me...NO...not to aid in hunting. They don't make my ethical cut. I use them purely for enjoyment of images. Mine will go several weeks at a time in season before I check them. My wife and I sit down and enjoy the slideshow with a cup of coffee.

"One could just as easily say they want to dart a tracking chip into a big deer or elk...but solely for the purpose of learning more about the biology and movement patterns of trophy animals, and that they would never actually use it to help them locate or kill the animal. Ditto with drones."

The difference here is a matter of legality now. Neither of these activities are currently widely legal or acceptable to the majority. Drones will be part of scouting inevitably in my mind. I don't see how it won't happen, given their recreational potential. I won't ever use a drone to scout animals. I own a farm though and more than once have thought about a drone for use over my property. Again...it's all about limits and they must come from within.

True Kevin, but MANY sportsmen have no limits when it comes to making the kill too easy.

"What I was getting at was: Does anyone hunt without cameras anymore."

Yes we do. Lots of us.

Well I absolutely agree with you Jeff. 100%. We can't stop disagreeable behavior by blaming the devices already accepted and in use. Anti-gun activists use that tactic and we all know the (claimed) 'gun problem' has its roots in the person and their culture. Somehow people always find a way to behave (or not) despite the tools at their disposal.

I am one of those who doesn't hunt with a game camera. Ever.

I sure as heck love them for recreational wildlife images.

I actually wish that more people did use them, especially the ones that can be checked by a smartphone or a computer because that means LESS people in the woods.

And that's a GOOD thing...a VERY good thing!

Mine come down before season starts. So no I don't hunt with one.

I do keep them up for my enjoyment of nature in the off season.

I have NEVER killed a buck I had pics of, not sure on the does, none with markings I could recognize.

I did find a shed of a buck I had pics of, which was cool to me.

I do carry a small camera to shoot critters I don't want to shoot with my bow. Sorry if that is cheating.... :)

I purchased a game cam a few years ago. I kept spotting big cat tracks around a big pond at a very remote spot on my property.... Well I checked game cam after a week and had 100's of pictures of hogs but no cat. I went to check the game cam the following week and it was gone. Oh well, somebody needed a free game cam.

We are on camera in almost every store we enter , every city block seems to have one and now I get my picture taken in the woods , to which I go to escape all that . NO cameras for me .

Yeah - that's how I feel too Bow Ben AK. Well put. We did have some raccoons killing our chickens this past week, and until we knew it was 'coons, we had considdered (momentarily) the value of a trail cam to identify the predator. But we trapped and relocated a pair of raccoons w/out the cam. Glad they like peanutbutter hotdogs. I don't like the thought that other guys are camming around my deer stand. And they are. They don't understand my feeling violated by their gear. Don't care if they cam their spot - but spells bad news for me when their scoping my area. All my bucks were a surprise when I killed them. That's the excitement for me.

monkeyball:

NICE Gransfors Bruks axe! I have one and I love it.

As we spend less time developing our woodsmen skills we depend on things like cameras. Oh they're cool to see what is out there when we aren't. But can't we look for sign....or do we want to see at what time that 170" buck comes through on his way to feed? Not for me.

Kennym. I like taking pictures of game as well.

My wife never hunted, but when we were dating and first married (before 5 kids) my wife was an avid outdoor photographer some of the deer pictures she has are really something.

She was crouched in a timothy field along a fencerow and snapped a pic of a doe stretching its neck out to smell her that was only about two feet from her camera, the detail and clarity is awesome.

Some of these newer trail cams take really good pictures.

As stated,in MT you can't have them out,during hunting seasons and that covers a lot of the year.I love getting pictures of different wildlife and could care less about using them for hunting.

People who don't use them think they give an advantage to the hunter.They offer little advantage actually.

1.You need to scout and find the animals to set up the cameras to get good pictures.So you have scouted and know where the animal is traveling.The camera can't find them for you. 2.Cameras have a date and time stamp but if a hunter doesn't already know that most movement occurs morning and evening,then he has challenges that a camera won't solve. 3.The cameras do show you what the animal looks like and that can help a hunter pass other animals,waiting to see a certain one.It helped me once to recognize a big old sow bear that had no apparent cubs with it and might have been mistaken for a boar if I hadn't recognized her.As it turns out,I watched her for 3 hours before she went over to a huge fir tree and called down,two tiny,new cubs.

I have taken a couple animals,in season,miles from where I had gotten there picture in the Summer but the cameras have never helped me take one.

Trail cameras have seen increasing use as evidence in cases of theft of tree stands and other property as well as trespassing and have been a big help to wardens in getting convictions in those cases.That's a positive thing.We can't do that here.

I will say I've seen and learned some interesting things about animal behavior,using the cameras,things I had never read or heard of before.

One thing I really regret about our trail camera law is,I'm relegated to mostly only using them mid-Summer when animals like coyotes,foxes,wolves and bears are in their ratty,Summer hair and don't make for the best pictures.Neat but they sure don't look their best.

I like to scout them and setup for the best picture I can get,best lighting etc,behaving naturally,and don't use bait,salt or minerals to get them there.I enjoy the hunting aspect in that way.Most of my best camera locations are in spots that are virtually unhuntable due to terrain,thermals etc.The cameras catch them but sitting there just doesn't work.

I like the cameras and would use them more if I could.When I get too old to hunt,I'd be just as happy,running the cameras.And I guess that's the big thing.They give me an excuse to be out there,moving around when there is no hunting.I truly enjoy running the cameras as much as I do hunting and trapping.

Don't own any, but I don't have a problem if someone else wants to use them. I would consider someone using drones for scouting to be crossing the line, but that's a completely different issue.

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