Deer Hunting Tips: Trail Cameras

If you’re into whitetail deer hunting, you probably want all the deer hunting tips you can get, including those you’ll get from trail cameras. Trail cameras can make all the difference in the success of your season. You already know how important scouting for hunting season is, and a deer cam can give you a huge advantage. A whitetail is a wary critter, and they’re most active at night, which can make them pretty tough to scout. Sure, you can find tracks, rubs, and wallows in the light of day, but those won’t usually correctly indicate the size, age, or sex of the whitetail. Even when you know the deer leaving the signs is a buck, you won’t know what size rack it has. A good trail camera can provide you with sharp deer pictures.

Trail cameras have come a long way in the last few years. The night vision has improved drastically, so you can get sharp deer pictures, even on the darkest nights. By viewing a specific area with a deer cam, you can get an idea of how many deer are in the area. You can also assess their health and get a general idea of how many does and bucks there are. And if you’re a trophy deer hunter, the deer pictures you get with trail cameras provide you with the ability to see the actual size of the racks and how many points they have. You can also tell if the racks are still in the velvet stage.

With the popularity of whitetail deer hunting, you can find all sorts of deer cameras on the market. You can choose between flash photography, infrared photography, or a camera with LED flash that can’t be seen by wildlife. Some deer hunters strongly believe that the tradition flash spooks wary whitetails, so they opt for the infrared or LED types of trail cameras. On the other hand, some hunters swear that the deer get used to the traditional flash and become accustomed to it.

You’ll also have the choice between still deer pictures and videos. Some trail cameras provide both. You might also prefer a game camera with a camouflage pattern on the housing. When buying a trail camera, consider all the options carefully. And remember – cheaper trail cameras might not provide the best value.

There are numerous potential good locations for trail cameras. You might want to place a deer cam near an established wildlife trail, where you know that whitetail deer frequent. If you have a food plot or deer feeders, these are great places to set up your game camera. If you have a permanent deer hunting stand, placing a trail camera near it would obviously be a good idea.

If after a few nights of viewing, you don’t see many deer pictures, you might want to move your trail camera to another location. Actually, a lot of serious whitetail deer hunters use more than one trail camera to scout and assess an area.

For more tips on trail caeras, including set-up, watch the videos below the products.

When to place trail cameras

If you’re scouting for hunting season, place your trail cameras well in advance of opening day. This will give any super-spooky whitetail a chance to get used to the camera’s being there, and it will give you plenty of time to find a productive area.

Check out the trail cameras for sale below. Several are offered at discount prices.