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Biggest advantage of cell cams over sd and wifi cams….

Ski said:
Interesting. What makes the difference in whether the information is real time or after the fact? It's the same exact info and all time stamped. What is the benefit of real time?
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Too much information to try and piece together and understand when you are trying to go through thousands of pics from multiple cameras. Cell cameras allow you to see it as it is happening over time. Really is a completely different experience.
 
chris1976 said:
Cell cameras allow you to see it as it is happening over time. Really is a completely different experience.
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As well has allowing for some different opportunities, especially when timeliness is part of equation.

Personally, I don't see myself not having an arsenal of both traditional trail cams and cell cams.
Each type has some different "pros & cons".

Why not have the best of both worlds?
 
Of course, there remain areas with zero to horribly poor cell service,
making cell cams a no go for those areas.

But at the time of new purchases, keep in mind most cell cams work the same as most traditional trail cams, and you don't have to use the cell feature. Some cell cams are actually priced cheaper (at time of purchase) than their comparable non-cell traditional trail cams.

I often discontinue the cell feature on some cell cams afield, say in May, and those cams simply continue working as a traditional trail cam until I go retrieve the sd card. May go "service" one of those, say in October, then finding out what happened there between May & October, restarting the cell plan with a new sd card & new batteries in October.

Leaving out cell cams for long periods of time, such as year, can necessitate higher capacity sd cards than are useable on some brands. I'm not buying any new cell cams that won't accept at least a 64 mb sd card. If you're running video, you may need at least a 128 mb card.
 
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For me personally, if I used cell cams and a big buck showed up, I would have buck fever so bad every squirrel coming up from behind me would give me a heart attack! I like not knowing what is coming. Of course the rut changes everything. Most of the mature bucks I killed were rarely on my cams. Obviously their range shifted once Coño showed up.
 
Big thing that was mentioned…knowing when the camera is down. Nothing sucks worse than waiting 2 months to check a camera and find out the sd card messed up or something.

I am 4.5 hrs from my family land in south bama. They allow me to get daily checks with spots which is crucial and helpful.

It's like a mini Christmas every day when the pics come through.
 
I don't have anything to add, I don't use cameras. Don't have anything against them and I am not for banning the use of them, but IMO, cameras take away from hunting.

So many depend on cameras and not their knowledge of how to read sign and attempt to "figure" deer out just by what a person sees with their own eyes. I hear of so many that most all their hunting depends on what they see or don't see on camera. I think I would quit hunting if I relied on cameras.
 
Headhunter said:
I don't have anything to add, I don't use cameras. Don't have anything against them and I am not for banning the use of them, but IMO, cameras take away from hunting.

So many depend on cameras and not their knowledge of how to read sign and attempt to "figure" deer out just by what a person sees with their own eyes. I hear of so many that most all their hunting depends on what they see or don't see on camera. I think I would quit hunting if I relied on cameras.
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I don't necessarily disagree with all what you said. Can't speak for anyone else but for me. I use cameras to find specific deer I want to hunt. There's times I want to go back to the old ways. But targeting one deer Is fun and very challenging. But a camera doesn't make you a better or worse hunter imo. You still have to kill the deer you do have to figure out where the deer is and read the signs. That part of our deer hunting hasn't changed. I don't want to hunt a 110 inch deer when I have 130s and 140s running around.

With all that said do people let cameras ruin there hunting because they don't have what they think they should on cameras 100 percent we aren't those people, I also know 100 percent that even with several cameras we miss deer impossible not to. But look back several years did those same people hunt a lot? Were they successful? The people I know that let cameras make or break them have never been that good at hunting anyways. They Never really loved it.
 
Headhunter said:
Don't have anything against them and I am not for banning the use of them, but IMO, cameras take away from hunting.

So many depend on cameras and not their knowledge of how to read sign and attempt to "figure" deer out just by what a person sees with their own eyes. I hear of so many that most all their hunting depends on what they see or don't see on camera. I think I would quit hunting if I relied on cameras.
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I can only speak for myself.

Trail cams are just another scouting tool, and a really good one.
And I see all those pics they provide with my own eyes :)

The pics help me to "figure out" deer patterns & behavior better and quicker.

One of my biggest "take-aways" over the years has been what large ranges deer can have. By running trail cams over some very large areas, many cams miles from others, I've seen the same buck show up on multiple cams in a 24-hr period, while those cams were miles apart.

We often hear a hunter say something like, "I've got a good buck on cam, over on my place, and he's my target buck". Often, that hunter's place is less than 100 acres while that buck may be spending more of his time on the adjoining 1,000 acres. What's more, there may be several other hunters within a 2-mile radius catching that buck on their cams frequently, each thinking that buck spends much or most his time in their area.

I've found deer, particular bucks, can be much more nomadic than we wish, especially in more wilderness or big woods areas, compared to farmlands & urban areas. Often, they may regularly travel thru an area, but not on some specific trail, often over 100 yds away parallel to where they last passed thru that area. Deer are most "patternable" when their range is severely limited, such as by subdivisions in urban areas.

For me, the advantages outweigh disadvantages, although I've made many the same mistakes others have made because of using trail cams. Number one mistake has been over-hunting a specific spot because had obtained pics of a particular buck more from that "spot", while discounting all the other spots that buck actually spends far more of his time.
 
The above is more regarding my hunting.
But trail cams are even of greater value for inventorying and attempting to manage deer herds.
(Matter little whether traditional trail or cell cams.)

One aspect of so many hunters collectively using trail cams is that their use may have improved herd dynamics & hunting opportunities for most hunters, including those who never use trail cams.

Why? Because by knowing better what's "out there", many hunters are giving a pass to smaller & younger bucks. In so doing, they also have trending towards harvesting more female deer for tableware. This hunter behavior, which has been partially caused by trail cam use, has probably made more bucks available to all hunters, as the trend towards passing young bucks, and selective harvest of particular "target" bucks has grown.

In other words, trail cam use may have helped to raise the standards of many hunters, therefore enhancing hunting opportunities for most hunters, including those who don't use trail cams.

Last but not least, running trail cams has become a sport or type of recreation itself, additionally being a form of wildlife photography. That's on top of being a security tool to monitor property for trespassers, thieves, other shenanigans or activity.
 
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It may have been said already but another benefit of cameras in general on our place...actually probably one of the biggest benefits....is the number of bucks lives that have been saved because we have had time to study pictures, evaluate age, etc.
So in the heat of the moment when that borderline buck comes by bumping does around you know pretty quickly which buck it is and can make a more informed decision.
But there are still those bucks you have never seen that show up...which is also exciting.
No doubt cameras have been a huge management tool that have helped us manage age structure in our area. Also working with neighboring farms who run cameras helps...and...working with neighboring farms has also been eye opening understanding different bucks home ranges, and habits.....lastly, we dont have any cell cameras but the more I read y'alls comments the closer I'm getting to purchasing one or two.
 
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WHAT? Don't like going through reams of data???? That's where the fun is!

I've already gone through more than 250,000 images and videos. Many, many more to go and I LOVE it!
 
Yes they are (or can be) a BIG ADVANTAGE,

Cell cams can be great. But also can and DO mislead.
I have literally had them pointed in the wrong direction. And when I went to pull that cam, discovered WORN OUT trails (useless for killing mature bucks outside the peak rut), on the backside of the tree camera was pointing.

But also, cell cams are NOT considered fair chase when used to make real time changes in stand selection in order to kill a P/Y or B/C buck.

When these cell cams first came out, the rule was simple, if the animal had a digitally transmitted image sent to a device, it became ineligible for the year. PERIOD.

Since then , the Records programs have amended things somewhat.

The reality is this...everyone says, "I don't care about ""the BOOK"", until they kill a record, of some sorts. Then they have to lie and sign a affidavit of fair chase stating, in writing, that the animal was taken under fair chase. I have had several refuse to sign. I wouldn't either if that applied to me.

It's a gray area so I rarely use cell cams when I hunt areas that I know may hold a record buck. And I've learned more often than not, cell cams don't tell the whole story! Not even close!

That's why I have never had any pics of my biggest bucks before I killed them. I don't use them in areas where I know, through scouting or prior experience, big bucks are likely to hang out!

There is a very popular Youtube channel (think, find 1) that regularly kills "book" bucks in residential settings. Based on what I have seen them do, few, if ANY of their bucks are eligible for honoring the animal in any book except SCI.

Because they were not taken FAIR chase.

Hunting animals using fair chase methods, not poached, not tracked electronically but rather hunting them using ones ability to do the work, on NON manipulated natural habitat through scouting, keeping records, reading sign, looking at travel patterns, long range surveillance, studying doe groups, food sources, OTHER HUNTERS TRENDS, winds, thermals, etc., isn't for everyone.

But it is truly rewarding.

But killing slick heads using all the technology known to modern man IS A BLAST!!!
Especially when you are really old and learn how to spell tecnalogee!
 
Biggest advantage to me is knowing when the deer is where in real time. If you have to check your card, forming your plan for going after that deer may be too late by the time you pull and check the card.
 
102 said:
Hunting animals using fair chase methods, not poached, not tracked electronically but rather hunting them using ones ability to do the work, on NON manipulated natural habitat through scouting, keeping records, reading sign, looking at travel patterns, long range surveillance, studying doe groups, food sources, OTHER HUNTERS TRENDS, winds, thermals, etc., isn't for everyone.
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Just out of curiosity, can you define NON manipulated habitat. Hasn't all habitat in TN been manipulated by Man?
 
DaveTN said:
How much are you guys paying for unlimited plans?
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I only have 2 cell cams and I have them linked to my cell phone plan. It cost me $35 each upfront to do that, but now I get unlimited, year round data for $10/month. I like the unlimited option because I get both pics and videos. I also use these cameras for security around the gates, barns and equipment during the offseason.
 
For those running non-cellular cams, one piece of advice. Do NOT walk to your cameras. You are leaving scent that will drive deer away from the camera set-up. I've found that - for some strange reason - deer do not act as negatively to where a vehicle has driven versus a person walked. It only takes a couple of walks to a camera to see activity at that site decline. Yet when I drive my ATV right up to the camera, that site will be productive all season, some sites not hitting their peak until well over a month after I placed a camera there and visited on ATV weekly. This has become so evident in my data that I will no longer place a camera anywhere I can't drive right up to it on my ATV.
 
BSK said:
For those running non-cellular cams, one piece of advice. Do NOT walk to your cameras. You are leaving scent that will drive deer away from the camera set-up. I've found that - for some strange reason - deer do not act as negatively to where a vehicle has driven versus a person walked. It only takes a couple of walks to a camera to see activity at that site decline. Yet when I drive my ATV right up to the camera, that site will be productive all season, some sites not hitting their peak until well over a month after I placed a camera there and visited on ATV weekly. This has become so evident in my data that I will no longer place a camera anywhere I can't drive right up to it on my ATV.
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Unfortunately I cannot access but a few of my cameras from atv. However, I am purposeful in how I place them specifically so I can access without stepping into the area I expect deer to move through. Doesn't seem to be an issue for me.
 

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