Why Trail Cams Lie

One of my cameras spooked a big target buck this fall. It was high up on limb, but the buck stood up, sniffed at it, walked away never to return. I couldn't figure out how that happened. Then I went out to the camera and found the strap had come loose and was dangling down just low enough for the buck to see.

Mine often show me I should have been in stand A and not B. Have to rethink my daily stand selection based on wind direction.

Trail cams are a tremendous resource but sometimes it maddening. I sit in one spot, nice buck in another spot. Why wasn’t I sitting there? Urgh!!! Great info Jeff. Thanks

Atv are bad..... as Jeff is using his atv. Lol. Love it. Cameras are a great tool. But u must still scout those blind areas, meaning where the cameras aren't. I replace batteries once a year. I just do photos, no video. 1,500 pics every 4-5 days with a 10sec delay.

I purchased 4 new reveals in october and 2 are already broke by not sending any pictures, highly disappointed but theyve helped me around my property with trespassers

Yeah a close friend of mine his father in law owned 6000 acres they would run side by sides out a lot putting bait out. But that was the exception being on that kind of private land

Can you make a video about basically how to analyze and where to start building/managing your property?

I haven't used a camera in 3 years. I don't miss them. I also have not put out any corn this year. Cheapest deer season ever.

Hey Jeff, when you are mentioning trail cams at stand locations, how far are you generally setting the camera from the actual tree, or blind? Is there a distance that you won't consider setting camera up because it's to far from the stand or are you considering the range of the weapon that the stand was designed for to tell you how far you will accept a camera from blind or stand?

I have never used trail cameras for the following reasons; they are expensive and become a bad substitute for woodsmanship.

I tried a solar panel on one camera this year and it worked great. The camera had and still is at 100% battery strength. A great Christmas gift if you have someone that could use one. Merry Christmas!

Hello Jeff, have you tryed Reveal Lithium Cartridge? Or with there latest Solar panel. Just curious if they worked for you and if there worth the extra money.
Thanks 👍🏻

I never used a trail cam

Hey Jeff do the low glow models spoke deer? Trying to justify the price difference for low glow/no glow

Do you just use a regular tactacam camera above you to video?

60 cameras at $10 a month each. Need to learn to hunt buddy. Or wire up the woods and put actual cameras. I’d be embarrassed.

It really doesn't matter what is on your camera it matters what is in your cross hairs in season doesn't really amount to the pictures you have. When the rut starts buck can be anywhere

I hate them. I get tired of my camp mates passing their damn phones around showing all their stupid photos...

Great Video Jeff

i have ten trail cams out right now and all but one have batteries from last year and are still working fine , several of them are getting over 1000 pics every 2 weeks . not sure why you have to change batteries that often.

My camp mates will only hunt if there is a cell cam out, so they REALLY hurt us this year. By trying to keep track of our better areas, I ended up concentrating everyone but me into those areas.

Thinking spring Can you spray Simazine on a poor stand of switch grass and replant or just start over

To me its getting a bit over the top. Artificial water. Cell cams. Massive food plots. Minimize your time in the woods. Killing every target buck seems almost a foregone conclusion. And the money spent is crazy. I enjoy the time in the woods. Scouting, patterning deer and just being in the woods. Im a public land hunter though and I understand im the minority now. My cost is a license and a bullet. We kill great bucks every year on massive tracts of public (20,000 acres plus). Fun to watch your content but its just not what i enjoy. Fun to watch yall kill those target bucks though!! Continued success!

I ended up assisting our neighbor in their harvesting of some target bucks this year! I have been a little out of tune with nature the past couple of years. Drove the 4x4 to check cameras. Neighbor text saying how his cameras all of a sudden lit up with bucks! You’re welcome!😒. Needless to say, I didn’t harvest this year. I have one camera that is 6” off the ground, mounted on a stump. This year I had three bucks together sparing with each other. They even found my camera, posing for photos. Funny stuff to watch.

Killin it Jeff as always! Much love from Kentucky!🎉

Where did all the WHS haters come from? Why are you even here watching

Need to put up cameras with climbing sticks to get them above other hunters. I'd say 10ft+. They'll be less likely to see them and steal them.

Why not use the Lithium Battery along with the solar panel? My 2 cameras are set up like that, and I don’t need to worry about “managing” the batteries and it allows more flexibility in the settings in the camera.

I agree, but also I use my cams in terms of surveillance of the property. You can also use them to pattern deer, based on wind direction, temps, and biometric pressure. Only people with no real knowledge of hunting think they’re useless. They’re simply another tool in the tool box.

Hey Jeff! Great video. Off topic, is there an affordable pop-up ground blind you would recommend that doesn't have a zippered door? Zippers are loud. 😂

No glows make all the difference in the world. That and solar panels. Set it and forget it.

Jeff how high do u mount your camera? Tactacam told me about waist high is ideal. I believe bucks and does are frighten by camera!!

Another great informative video on the trail cameras.
I have very few deer looking at cameras since i started putting them higher.
I wish cell service was better so i could run more cell cameras.
Unfortunately, where i hunt mimimal cell coverage so i run 2 cell cameras and 10 or 12 others i need to swap sd cards.
I've ruined spots because i checked my cameras too frequently.
This is great advice
Thanks again from the east coast of Canada
Merry Christmas to the good folks at WHS.

Jeff, had a Buck show up on my family farm (230 acres) in southern VT yesterday AM. Got him in the cell cams season ended sunday. By far the biggest buck we have ever had on the farm. Possible he was around all along or any way of keeping him around? Never ever seen this buck before, blew my mind!

Man, you dropped this and the last season video at the perfect time. Hunting all next week in Illinois. Paid $550 for out of state tags to hunt for 6 days.

I love your videos, my friend. I’m just so busy working. I haven’t got enough time to watch your videos so I have to listen to you while I’m driving.

Very much true never had decent bucks in the daylight. Sat Halloween week and saw 2 VERY nice deer that just weren't using the trail I had my camera on during the day they were taking one 20yrds away in the thicker cover

From watching your videos helped me where to decide to place my trail camera with a mock scrape. It turned out to be where a lot of the bucks on the property come through. Especially the bigger mature bucks I had never seen before. I put a stand up back in late July. I didn't hunt that stand this year. Can't wait for next year. Great videos they help alot

Great tips and advice. My cams lied to me because i stayed out of the woods to much relying on my cam to tell me when bucks were daylight. Well my son shot his buck that was 15yds from my cam. But never walked in front of it. We sat 4-5 times and saw deer that never walked in front of the cam but was in bow range. Never again will i rely on a cam. To go hunting. I will go hunt if conditions are right

😂 wtf deer dont have a clue what a trail camera is yall give too much credit

I use traditional cams over salt licks in the summer until hard antler to get an inventory of bucks in the area. I use cell cams over mock scrapes at stand sites beginning around September 1st. I stop checking the "salt cameras" and shut them down at the end of August. By then the rack is almost fully formed. The only reason I shut them off is if I leave them on and don't check them during the hunting season I get literally thousands of pictures. Deer aren't the only animals that like salt.

I'm just about done with cell trail cameras because of cell service. I've seen bucks hit my mock scrape right in front of me and i never got the pic on the app. so why pay for the service. just use it as a regular camera. I've seen bucks and chasing doe all around my stand but never once ran in front of the camera. So i need to do a better job of placement. external 12v battery is the only way to go. all season without changing the battery on video mode

I follow your videos and love the content BUT I have to disagree with you on the side by side topic. NOW I know it may be different depending on where you are. I have 22 acres. We live on that 22 acres and hunt it. It’s all timber so we opened the canopy and utilize food plots. We do drive a side by side all over the property. We have to use the side by side to take the trash up the drive to the bins out on the road. The deer have gotten so used to the side by side that we will see them on the edge in the timber and they just watch us drive by and continue on their way. We hung a new stand this year and used the side by side for that. We hung the stand DROVE the side by side back to the house, changed and went to that stand and were covered up in deer. Now we didn’t drive the side by side into hunt that evening but we sure made all kinds of racket using it to hang that ladder stand and then driving it back. The side by side just don’t seem to bother the deer on my place.

I haven't put any cameras out in a few years. I like the pictures I get of deer, but I've gotten some pretty cool pictures of other animals, too.

Reflecting back on deer season? Dude our season doesn’t go out until Feb. 10th. The rut hasn’t even begun

I haven't used cams for 5yrs now. When i did they never lied to me as i only used them for looking at overall herd health and always hung them high as i could reach. Also pulled them out 30 days before season opener. Have had my place long enough now to know travel routes and places to glass from to not spook them. This year is the 3rd consecutive i have hunted strictly from the ground during firearms season and hunt downwind of bucks that are downwind of feeding areas scent checking does. Seeing and harvesting 4+ year old bucks now. Admittedly having your own private spot to hunt makes it way more possible.

I'm new to using cameras this year. It's been a game changer.

#5 Brutally Honest: I reluctantly make this comment, however it is Brutally Honest. I'm not hater but I also never sugar coat a poison pill. Contrary to what the replies will be, I'm no dummie. I've had trail cameras before most people even knew what a trail camera was. Over 30+ plus years. If you new what I paid for my first 35mm CamTracker you would call me dumb again. Whatever brand/type camera you have when it works it is the greatest one out there. Very valuable tool. When it doesn't work it will be your biggest headache and trust me it will FAIL. Truth be told remember Brutally Honest: If you want a headache buy ( not invest ) in a trail camera.... Brutally Honest I really do enjoy them but what a headache. Good luck to all and Merry CHRISTmas.

Cell cam with solar battery. Over 1 year and it’s still fully charged. Sends tons of pics\videos daily.