Trail cams

It’s time I started looking for a new company. I have 5 Moultries and not one of them that works is the original, they are refurbs because I sent the original in for repair. I have 2 that need to be sent back. That makes 4 that I have sent back this year and of the 5 I own there was 100% failure. Done with them.

I have 3 Bushnell trophy cams. 2 have been sent back for refurb, but they are from 2009 and they are working well now. The other is working pretty well, but does get crazy trigger once in a while.

I need ones that I don’t have to pay $500 for the cam, but I want them to last more than one year. 5 or 6 years would be nice. I run most of my cams 24/7/365, so in MN they do take some abuse from Ma nature. Any help here would be great. I can’t replace all 8 at once, but I need a place to start.

I’ve had great service from the Bushnell Trophy Cams. I was late to the game and I got my first one in 2010 and it’s still in use. I’ve added 3 more since then.

Weather or not they’re the “best”, the other benefit is that standardization helps. I know how to program everything and can do it quickly. I also have everything running off the same battery type and battery consumption is about the same so when one cam starts getting down there, I know everything is about ready to need new batteries.

For year-around use, the Trophy Cam has been the recommended go-to for a long time because they are very good on battery consumption. Routinely I’ve read in forums where guys in the northern tier states are getting 4-5 months out of a set of lithium batteries in the dead of winter.

I put my cameras out in May with standard alkaline batteries and they only just started running dead when the real cold got here in October. I got at least 4 months and in some cams I got 5 months and thousands of pics out of 8 AA Rayovac batteries.

Cabelas has a deal going right now where a Trophy Cam 6 MP on sale and then there’s a $30 rebate making the final cost $99. That’s tough to beat.

The only problem I’ve had with any of the Trophy Cams was that the last on I bought earlier this year would lose the date/time setting if the cam was turned off. I finally got fed up and did a Google search, turns out this was a well-known issue and a simple firmware update fixed it in 5 minutes.

Grouse

I had good longevity with the 2 scoutguards I bought. Bought a 550 in 09 and a 570 in 2010. The 570 finally kicked the bucket this summer (it was having issues) and the 550 is still running, though I think its days are numbered. Biggest downfall with the units was the ir flash, kind of weak and tunnel vision.

I bought a Browning strike force at the beginning of this season and so far I am impressed. Good trigger speed, good ir flash, good enough image quality (infrared is a bit grainy, but so were the scoutguards). But its still in its first season so I can’t speak to the longevity. $130 buck got the camera and 2 memory cards for it though.

I read great things about Browning this year on Trail Cam Pro website and they seem to have really good cameras for the price.

I was about to pull the trigger on a Browning when the Bushnell’s went on sale and I couldn’t justify the hassle of running multiple brands for no cost savings.

Grouse

Thanks guys, I was thinking maybe try a newer Bushnell. Then I will have 4 that are the same. That is a great price Grouse, thanks

I have been using a Stealth Cam for 4 or 5 years. I just bought a Spy Point and a Moultrie and by far the Stealth Cam is the best camera. It is the oldest camera and has taken 1000’s of pics and it out takes the other 2 hands down. I am about to purchase a wireless trail camera does anybody have any in site on the goods ones? From all of the reading the Bushnell has the best reviews the the Spy Point comes in next.

I pulled my Browning Strike Force today while out at the farm. I put the camera out on September 13 with a fresh set of just typical Rayovac alkaline batteries and when I pulled it today it said 30% battery life when idle, I forced it to take a picture (with flash) and it dropped to about 15%, so the batteries were just about done. But that makes for 4 months of non stop use, the last month or so in some pretty cold temps. I didn’t keep track of a picture count but if I were to guess I’d say 2500 and likely more (ran it on video mode for about 3 weeks too).

I picked up a set of lithiums to try next in it, but at their price tag they need to outlast the el cheapo rayovacs by about 10X to justify the cost.

Really like the quality of the daytime pics. Night IR can be a little fuzzy, but still good considering the camera is only 130 bucks.

And don’t worry, bout 2400 of the pictures were either squirrels, coons or turkeys.

I have two old Wildgames, 4 Bushnell Trophy cams and a Stealth cam was purchased this year as that’s what was available on short notice at the nearest store when I gained access to a new property mid season this year. I like my Bushnell’s but have issues with them being triggered by blowing grass, rain, snow etc… as well as fogging/frosting up on the lenses.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Stealth Cam. Easy to use, affordable and decent pics with good battery life.

Some examples of each:

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Which moultries did you have? I just purchased the A-8 8mp from cabelas, I got a $50 gift card from the fiance she won at a raffle, and it was on sale in the bargain cave for 59.99 so at a total cost of $20 bucks when all said and done I figured why not.

I have 3 of the M-80’s a 990 and a 880. The 990 is sitting here at my desk waiting to go back it’s just under one year old and last fall it started with the run away trigger, now it won’t even turn on. Very frustrating!!! If they are going to make these things disposable they should price them that way!

For $20 you got a great deal and if it quits you can just toss it.

Dlc covert makes great cameras. I have had 3 of them for the 4 years and never had a problem. There battery life is good also. I use one set of 8 aa batteris (generic not the expensive lithium ones) and that normaly will last form may to December.

sticker wrote:

For $20 you got a great deal and if it quits you can just toss it.

Exactly what I thought and if I register it for warranty I am not out anything for the first repair shipping costs.

A question for you guys that have the Stealth Cams… Yesterday when in Academy Sports I was walking down the isle and they had a couple G30 cameras for $70 each and is seems like the original price was $129. Any way it seemed like a good deal.

Is it a good deal? I had a thief help himself to some of my tools in my shop and though these may help find him or them… That is if he comes back.

I have had bad experiences with cuddeback and Moultrie. The reconyx cams are excellent! The downside is the cost, but they have great battery life, excellent trigger speed as well as great customer service. The best part is they are MADE IN THE USA!

Check out Browning, I personally prefer the strike force and the dark ops. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed at all.

I just picked up a couple Exodus cams, pretty reasonable price and a 5 year warranty. I only had one of them out in the woods for a few days to see how it works and I’m impressed so far. New company out of Ohio I believe.

Stealth Cam all the way for this guy as well. I made the switch this year and without a doubt the best overall picture, takes excellent videos, and the battery life all say 100% still today. For the price, quality, and easy to use set up I would look no further. You will be very happy with them

@erick, what Stealth cams are you running?
DT

This is the unit I am running. I have picked mine up here at Scheel’s for around $139 a piece I believe? If you are serious about trying out something new I wouldn’t think twice about trying these out!

http://www.gsmoutdoors.com/shopping/stealth-cam/no-glo-scouting-cameras/stc-g42ng.aspx