Got My First Camera
I was so excited when I got my Moultrie that I ran out and set it up in my back yard immediately. At the time, we had some chestnuts falling and I wanted to see what was coming in to eat them at night. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the time to read some simple tips for trail camera placement before I set it up. If I had, I probably wouldn’t have ended up with a bunch of pictures of a branch swinging around. To make matters worse, I hadn’t yet figured out how to avoid simple mistakes. Because of that I had pictures of sun glare to go along with my wind blown branch pictures. I couldn’t believe that something as simple as taking trail camera pictures could be so difficult. So, I took what I saw and made a few changes. Once I got that figured out, I had to then make the transition to where I was going to set up the camera on the land I hunt.
My Camera Placement
Once I figured out how to avoid some mistakes in how I oriented the camera, I had to then decide where I was going to place the camera on the land I hunt. Since I only had one, I had to make sure it was in the best spot possible. So, I took to the aerial maps of the land and started identifying possible placement sites. Soon, I had quite a few places that I eventually wanted to try putting the camera. After narrowing down all of the possible choices, I finally came up with my spot which happened to be on the main food source of the property. I new that a lot of deer were using a specific trail in and out of the corner of this field so I decided to get that covered because it offered me the best chances at seeing the most deer from the area.
Tips for Trail Camera Placement
The simplest tip that I can offer is to place the camera in the same type of location that you place your stand. In fact, that is exactly what a lot of hunters do so that they can monitor what deer are walking by their stand. There are many things you can do with the information that you get from a camera placed within shooting distance of a stand. That however is a conversation for another day. If you are trying to get pictures of as many deer as possible, your best options is to place your camera in one of a few places. First, on a funnel. Many deer have to use the funnel which is why funnels are such great places to hunt. Same holds true for getting photos. Next, on the most used trail leading in and out of a major food source. I was able to place my first camera in a location like this and I had great results. Not only did the camera cover a deer highway that lead in and out of the field, but it also covered a buck trail and scrape as well. That location has hit a jackpot for deer activity and actually also has a stand that sits 20 yards away. I am excited to see some daytime photos from that location this year. Another great place to put a camera is on a scrape. This tactic doesn’t really apply until mid to late October but once scrapes start opening up, you can bet that you’ll get a ton of photos. If legal in your state, another good place to get a lot of photos is on a mineral or attractant site.
Conclusion
When I first got my trail camera, I was shocked at the learning curve that had to take place in order to consistently get not only good photos, but also a decent amount of photos. So if you are using your trail camera to try and get as many photos of deer as possible, make sure to follow these tips for trail camera placement and you’ll be sure to get plenty of photos this year. Also, be sure to avoid the easy mistakes like I failed to do with my first camera. Good luck and happy hunting!