24/7 EYES

Nature enthusiasts have found a way to watch the wilderness without even being there.  In particular, deer hunters can scout areas for weeks without as much as an hour in a treestand.  Since the advent of trail cameras the sportsmen and women can keep tabs on their spots from afar.

Trail cameras run the gamut as far as price.  Many are at least affordable now as competition is keen among manufacturers and more companies have joined production with their own version.  This is beneficial to consumers and trail cameras now can be purchased for as little as $50 with other models still costing several hundred. 

Some of the factors to consider when purchasing a trail camera include price, trigger speed, ease of operation, battery life and mounting choices.  Trigger speed is important unless the animal is stationary as shots can be missed on moving deer.  Another factor unfortunately considered nowadays is the potential for theft.  Trail cameras are difficult to secure adequately and unscrupulous individuals may walk off with one.  It's a problem on public wildlife areas but private lands aren't exempt, either.

Swapping out cards on a trail camera equals the feeling of a kid at Christmas.  You can't wait to get home and see what you've got waiting once you plug it into the computer.  Oftentimes, it's usually the run of the mill deer photos.  Much of the activity takes place at night but flash or infrared photography light up the scene.  If it's not deer, occasionally you see furbearers and other natural odds and ends.  People in Kansas using trail cameras have even recorded a couple mountain lions and an elk or two.  Millions and millions of images are shot each year in Kansas.

Trail cameras are valuable scouting tools.  They show when deer are using a particular area and future hunts can be planned accordingly.  They also show when you SHOULD have been in a stand.  Several years ago I attended a friend's daughter's wedding and about the time she was saying "I Do" a big buck said "I Did" and with plenty of shooting time left walked right by the tree I would have been sitting in. 

I never saw the buck and she's still married so I guess most involved consider it a happy ending!