There are plenty of opportunities to screw things up when setting up a trail camera. Here are some of the author’s mistakes learned through trial and error.
• Never, ever set up a trail camera where there are free-roaming cattle on the property. Oh, I got plenty of great shots. My personal favorite was the full Monty of a cow rubbing its posterior on my camera.
The camera continued to work, though and I did manage the photo of a decent white-tailed buck, but nearly all the camera memory was filled with cow shots.
• My own worst mistake in setting up a trail camera was forgetting entirely how the winter sun angle was going to impact my camera shots. When I reviewed the camera data card, nearly every photo was of a blazing sun cast directly into the camera lens. On several shots I could see the body or legs of a deer, but the heads were washed out by the sun angle.
• Steer away from placing a camera on trails used by other hunters. I once posted a camera on an ATV trail not a hundred yards from deer camp because there was a fresh scrape right there on the trail. Unfortunately I caught all the traffic coming and going, as well.
And it seems like every deer hunter aspires to be a stand-up or bent-over comic — so I cannot describe some of the photos I captured.
However, I did capture what appears to be a doe working a scrape from brow rubbing the overhanging limb to urinating in the scrape.
• Don\’t waste money on cheap batteries. Buy the best, either alkaline or — better yet — lithium batteries. The latter are more expensive, but last much longer and are durable under adverse weather conditions, especially prolonged cold.
Forget any battery marked “Heavy Duty,” because they aren\’t.
• Even on private land, secure your camera with a suitable tamper-proof cable and lock. I\’ve had hunting friends lose multiple cameras to random trespassers, poachers or perhaps to adjacent property owners.
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