A Beginner’s Guide to Trail Cameras

Of course, you’ll need to avoid a few common mistakes if you want to get the most out of your trail camera strategy. If you’re considering running trail cameras for your whitetail or other big game pursuits, this guide can help you figure out everything from choosing one to finding the best spots to place them all season long.

Traditional trail cameras don’t give you immediate access to photos and videos, but they also don’t require cellular service to function. Trail cameras require SD cards and tons of batteries to run. Depending on the weather conditions and batteries, you might have to change them multiple times in a season. If you’re lucky, you might have a camera that lasts you an entire season or longer before you need to change the batteries.

You also have to regularly check your camera, if you want to stay up-to-date on your intel. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until the season’s over before you go pull your SD cards.

Unlike traditional trail cameras, cellular trail cams allow you to view your photos and videos without physically checking your camera. This means you can monitor deer activity without putting pressure on a specific hunting area.

Unfortunately, cell cams only work in areas where they can get good service. Otherwise, you’ll have to go pull your SD card or move your camera to a spot with service, which defeats the purpose of having a cellular trail cam.

One of the benefits of having a cellular trail camera, like the Moultrie Edge 4 is that you can easily organize and store your photos in an app. You’ll save time and money when you don’t have to keep up with a pile of SD cards.

While trail cameras can certainly provide incredible scouting info, it’s not as simple as placing one on just any tree. You have to consider trigger speed, distance, and false triggers. Where legal, you might have to do a little prep work to make sure you get the best photos possible. Depending on the time of year, you’ll want to consider where you should place your trail camera.

Consider the time of year. Are you summer scouting for whitetails, looking for season-long hunting data, monitoring the rut, or trying to find a buck’s core area. These factors will determine how you need to approach your camera setup.

Food sources, travel routes, terrain traps, and scrapes are great places to set your trail cameras. Ag fields, food plots, or feeders (where legal) can give you a good overview of your local deer herd. Travel routes like creek crossings, worn trails, soft edges naturally funnel deer through certain areas. Similarly, saddles, pinch points, benches, bluff gaps, etc. that might be difficult to hunt without busting deer can be good spots to leave a camera all season long. Of course, scrapes are natural communication hubs for deer, and the right ones might clue you into several different bucks using that area.

Most hunters just find a tree and hang their camera at waist height. I’m not saying this is wrong or that you shouldn’t do it sometimes, but there might be a better way to set it up if you’re trying to make sure it doesn’t grab a mature buck’s attention.

Again, you’ll want to consider the time of year when you’re hanging a trail camera. There are also a few mistakes you can avoid to make sure your trail cam photos don’t suck. Luckily, trail cameras like Moultrie’s Edge 4 allow you to utilize features like Live Aim to fine-tune your setup and see exactly what’s in frame.

Trail cameras have sparked contentious debates since they first came out. A lot of western states have even banned them on public lands for portions of the hunting season. Arizona actually banned them outright for the purposes of scouting or hunting. Just this year, Idaho banned the use of cellular trail cameras on public lands throughout its hunting season.

Some states that ban trail cameras on public lands might allow them on private lands. Others allow cellular trail cameras but restrict hunters from using immediate intel to hunt that same day. Trail camera rules vary by state, so make sure you research your local regulations before purchasing one.

One of the main ways you can derail your hunting is by relying solely on trail cam pics to determine where you hunt. While cameras might clue you into a big buck’s habits, they can give you plenty of red herrings. A single picture of a buck might mean he’s living in the area or simply passing through. You need more information to confirm or deny that theory. Scout around, look for tracks, rubs, potential bedding areas, or spend a few evenings behind some glass to get a visual if you can. Use that picture as a piece of the puzzle.The worst thing you can do is plan your whole hunting season around one image and miss the rest of the story.

You can also sabotage your setups by checking your cameras too often, leaving you scent and potentially bumping deer. This reason alone makes a compelling case for cellular trail cameras.

Trail cameras are great tools for giving an estimate of your local deer herd. They can give you great intel, but they won’t tell you the whole story.

Just because you don’t get any trail camera pics one day, doesn’t mean the deer aren’t tearing it up at that location. I once watched a pile of deer feed just out of range of a camera. If I hadn’t been hunting that day, I would have assumed the woods were dead. You can’t believe everything your cameras show (or don’t). Make sure they aren’t making you a worse hunter. Use camera intel to inform your hunting strategy, not dictate it.

Trail cams aren’t just for the whitetail woods. Where legal, you can use them to locate elk, turkeys, bears, or other critters. Just make sure you follow local rules and regulations. Like with deer hunting, trail cameras can be a convenient tool when it comes to hunting. They can give you great intel, but you’ll have to use your woodsmanship and critical thinking to decipher what it means.