Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

General Discussion => Turkey Hunting Tips ,Strategies & Methods => Topic started by: 357MAGNOLE on May 25, 2015, 05:20:58 PM

Title: Trail Cameras
Post by: 357MAGNOLE on May 25, 2015, 05:20:58 PM
Any of you utilize trail cameras? Are they effective in helping track numbers, times of day that turkey visit certain areas?

I know alot of people "bust up" the turkey groups with dogs or by running at them, here where I hunt dogs are not allowed, and also scattering the birds might mean you run them all off your hunting compartment you have checked out with the game warden on base.

I am hoping to be able to use something to help me figure out when and where the turkey like to be as fall approaches to hopefully up my chances.

Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 25, 2015, 05:41:06 PM
Yes we use trail cameras all the time. We have a farm this year that we call the safety zone that no one is aloud to hunt on this hunting season.  We have several pictures of the turkeys coming to the clover food plots. We have morning, mid day and afternoon pictures..we have four farms we turkey hunt on and we alternate one of these farms each year to let turkeys just be turkeys ... we also use these cameras to make sure we have no trespassers and to see what predators are on these farms.  Trail cameras are a great help to our hunting club we also use these so we don't over hunt our farms during deer season.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 25, 2015, 05:53:10 PM
Trail cameras are something we keep out all year ..we had 6 out on our hunting cabin and last October we had 4 young men come and break into the cabin and lucky they didn't know about the cameras and we the video and pictures the sheriff Dept was able to arrest all 4 of them.. they were all on drugs...I would suggest to anyone get you some black out cameras and keep these on your hunting cabins or club houses.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: 357MAGNOLE on May 25, 2015, 05:57:27 PM
What brand do you recommend, there are so many out there.  I need something that wont be easily noticed from either animal or people.  I hunt on a base that is pretty populated with people hiking trails and what not. The areas I hunt don't seem to have a ton of people activity but I sure would hate it if someone went off with a camera. 

I guess price for me is preferably less than $150.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 25, 2015, 06:14:20 PM
 We like the covert cameras, bushnell and moultrie... our number one choose is the covert...check Wing Supply they always have a good price on the covert cam...if you can get it with a 8 or better Mp...get it black out also...I think you will see wing supply will have a good cam for under 150 dollars.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: 357MAGNOLE on May 25, 2015, 06:15:10 PM
Quote from: Greg Massey on May 25, 2015, 06:14:20 PM
We like the covert cameras, bushnell and moultrie... our number one choose is the covert...check Wing Supply they always have a good price on the covert cam...if you can get it with a 8 or better Mp...get it black out also...I think you will see wing supply will have a good cam for under 150 dollars.

What do you mean by "Black out" I never heard of that term
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 25, 2015, 06:18:34 PM
You don't see the flash of the camera... it helps keep from people stealing them at night... also some cam have were you can put a code in the cam and if they don't know the code it want work for them if it gets stolen.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: 357MAGNOLE on May 25, 2015, 06:21:49 PM
Cool, I am checking out the MP8 right now, looks like a nice deal.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 25, 2015, 06:28:16 PM
Yes they are good cam and covert has a good warr...and customer service
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: 357MAGNOLE on May 25, 2015, 06:31:38 PM
Awesome, thanks for all the help. I found a couple on ebay for $105, mounts for $19 shipped.  Not a bad price for both, I want to try one for now. I feel like it will be exiting loading the SD card and seeing the pictures taken. How do you typically set up the camera? Take a photo every few seconds of activity or minutes? I see it has an option to go from every second it detects something to every hour.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 25, 2015, 06:43:47 PM
That kind of depends on turkeys min. Are ok because most of the time they move a lot slower and for deer you want seconds..because they move faster thru the cam etc ...so it depends on the speed of the animal ...you know what I mean...
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 25, 2015, 06:45:40 PM
Pictures speed of cam is something you will just have to see what you like best...
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: nativeks on May 25, 2015, 06:56:07 PM
I am a huge fan of Browning trail cameras. Some of the best cameras for the money IMO.  And yes they help. FWIW I also have a Cabelas. I like the little LCD screen inside. When I'd arrive to turkey hunt I could tell if anything had been there recently.
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/dukslayer_25/IMAG0015_zpsvdp9myrm.jpg) (http://s49.photobucket.com/user/dukslayer_25/media/IMAG0015_zpsvdp9myrm.jpg.html)

(http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/IMAG000113.JPG)

(http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/IMAG00318.JPG)

(http://www.hunt101.com/data/529/IMG_021214.JPG)
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 25, 2015, 07:16:09 PM
Yes great pictures and yes the Browning cam are good also...
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 25, 2015, 08:07:37 PM
You are way off base with that remark Warrent...Ive never hunted turkeys off a pile of corn.. I don't use game cameras for that purpose.. so as you just said each his own..for you making that remark I guess you have hunted over corn piles.
And yes I AM a respectful turkey hunt and of the land the GOOD LORD has blessed use with to hunt...so if this the only remark you have to make then I don't think to much of you as a hunter..

Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: 357MAGNOLE on May 25, 2015, 08:15:59 PM
Hmmmm....

Well, this is my first official year of turkey hunting. I dont have the ability to run dogs on base, I can only hunt certain areas that I reserve on a first come first serve basis the morning of a hunt.  Therefore I need to be ahead of the game. I know how to check for droppings, dust bowls, scratching..... I find those all darn day all over the place here.  Does not tell me much on the numbers, times they come through. They seem to travel in a few groups around a giant circle on base. So timing could be huge for me if they have consistent patterns.

I don't see using the trail cameras as anything more than being better prepared.  They are used for deer, how is that any worse than turkey?

And no I dont hunt over bait, its illegal on base any way.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 25, 2015, 08:42:48 PM
Warrent... what have you ever done to help the wild turkeys in your area other than be disrespectfull to other hunters.. ive been president for several years of our NWTF chapter in helping with stocking of turkeys and habitat improvements .. So other than run your mouth what have you done Warrent... true be know I bet your not even a member of the NWTF...so as you said each his own...
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greybeard11 on May 25, 2015, 09:58:24 PM
Well then.....I run trail cams almost year round and I love the Browning cams. I have 3 of them now. If you are going to buy any camera you need to check out trailcampro.com. They have very competitive prices and you get a free 8MB SD card, free shipping, and a two year warranty with each camera and very fast shipping. I have the TrailForce cameras. Also, buy Lithium batteries. They are more expensive but they last an unbelievable amount of time.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: 357MAGNOLE on May 26, 2015, 11:23:43 AM
I went ahead and ordered a browning.  Well, actually what I did was search ebay for used models. I found a store returned, working Browning BTC 3XR.  I got it for $90.  Retail on these, cheapest I found was $150 range. Here is a link to the same model.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1046061-REG/browning_btc_3xr_trail_camera_spec.html

I think it will suit my needs. Ready to give it a test run and see how it does.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greybeard11 on May 26, 2015, 04:34:59 PM
I think you'll be happy with it.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 26, 2015, 07:46:19 PM
What do you think about the Browning Strike Force HD cam?  GRAYBEARD
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greybeard11 on May 26, 2015, 09:18:25 PM
I really like them. They are very small, almost disappear in the woods, very simple to setup and take great pics. I had older Moultrie cameras for years, then I bought a covert. The moultries used D batteries and ate them like crazy, the covert is OK but setup is a pain. I've had the Brownings since last fall. I think the oldest one I have I bought last August, then one in October and one in November. All three have been out since I purchased them and all three are still using the original set of lithium batteries. I do not use the video so I'm no help there, but I have zero complaints. I strongly suggest that you go to trailcampro.com and check out their website. They sell all the brands and do not push a certain company. They do real world testing on all the cameras so you will find lots of info written so the average guy can understand. They explain what recovery time, field of view, battery usage and other things really are and how it affects performance. By the way I am not affiliated with these guys in any manner, just trying to help. I can't see me buying a camera anywhere else. If you have any specific questions, let me know.
Title: Trail Cameras
Post by: ccleroy on May 27, 2015, 09:15:08 AM
Browning all the way, I've tried them all except Reconyx. The Browning Strike Force are the most dependable and durable cams I've used, great battery life on 6 AA's -@6 months, small, crisp pics and great price point. If you buy check out trailcampro.com . If you buy from them they offer an additional 1 year warranty for free.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: Greg Massey on May 27, 2015, 01:51:59 PM
Ok,  thanks guys we have several different types at our hunting cabin...but I'm fixing to order one of the Browning strike force..ive been wanting to try one.
Title: Re: Trail Cameras
Post by: nativeks on May 27, 2015, 08:48:46 PM
I've got the Dark Ops. As soon as we start building our house I am gonna buy a second one to watch the entrance.