There seems to be a shift happening all around the world where people are going out and looking for wildlife in their local areas. Trails and parks are filled with tourists and as such, the wildlife has learned to stay away until things quiet down. Investing in a recreational property in the middle of nowhere opens up opportunities for nature to live unimpeded.You’d be surprised at what you find when the forest is still and the noise of the human world fades away. One of the best ways to remotely view wildlife is with a trail cam and with careful placement, you can really get some incredible footage. Local game hunters find a usefulness in trail cams to mark trails and food sources. There is a versatility in the use of trail cams and as many hunters can agree when learning about your target; you have to think like the animal.
Simply finding a tree and strapping your trail cam to it probably won’t yield any significant results. Wildlife is adept at sniffing out any predators that might be lurking and a foreign object out in the open would do well to deter most. White Tailed Deer, for example, have this preternatural ability to detect infrared light and will often investigate the camera or just dart off. If you were tracking an animal in the wild you would generally keep an eye out for watering holes or a food supply where they would gather. You can usually find little stamped out trails leading to and away from the area where animals drink. These are good indicators that there is some activity in that area at some point during the day. Setting up your trail cam off to the side of one of these game trails is an excellent strategy for placement. Products like the Stealth Cam STC-FVRZWX Fusion X offer a matte finish with dark tones to help the camera blend into its surroundings. You want your camera to have a full and unimpeded view so the infrared sensor can pick up any movement while being just out of sight so that a curious creature has a harder time detecting where you put the camera.
The time of year has a lot of impact on whether or not you will get any footage with your trail cam. It helps to pay attention to your surroundings as you scope out an area. If you’re looking to capture footage of a Moose then keep an eye out for scrapes on a tree during rutting season or exposed cambium where the hungry herbivore could have eaten. In the winter you’ll generally find White Tailed Deer hunkering down in low parts of the forests underneath the conifers for protection from snow and rain. Placing your trail cam higher up off the ground, say eye level, can still capture footage of your target without alerting them to your presence. You might still get a curious bear or two investigating but you’ll also still get the footage of them doing so which is ultimately why you put the camera out.
Trail cam technology has become more streamlined in the sense that you will find most of the features standard in any offering. The difference shines in innovation and how well the camera performs under adverse conditions. If your trail cam gets destroyed during its first rainstorm then you are going to have a rough and potentially expensive time. For most trail cams you want to have a low profile and the Stealth Cam STC-FVRZWX Fusion X provides a good baseline for features that you want to look for. Trail camera placement is all well and good until your equipment fails or just doesn’t have the capabilities you thought it had.
Features and specifications you want to look for when buying a good trail cam:
The direction in which your trail cam is facing plays a vital role in where you end up leaving it. If you can place your cam in a north or south facing direction you will have better luck at clean shots of your intended targets. The sun follows an east to west path and if your trail cam is facing those directions there is a chance that you will get a blurry shot or at least an annoying glare as the sun passes by the lens.
The internet is doing some incredible things in the trail cam world. For example the Stealth Cam STC-FVRZWX Fusion X features the ability to wireless transmit your photos directly through a data service that you can get from the manufacturer. This form of remote viewing is handy as you don’t have to necessarily trudge back into the woods to get your SD card from the camera. It also allows you to carefully tweak your camera settings based on the current situation and not having to rely on automated modes that may not be successful in certain conditions.
It all boils down to understanding your target and what their activities are during whatever time of year you’re putting your trail cam out. Using the techniques in this article and being mindful of the features you want in a trail cam will generate the successful images you want. Look up local information about the animals patterns or talk to an experienced hunter for tips. Products like the Stealth Cam STC-FVRZWX Fusion X also make the job a little easier by handling all of the nuances such as stealth, weather protection, and image quality.
