Trail camera question

This will be my first year running regular trail cameras and I do intend to put them at head height and angle them slightly down. I also made some plastic enclosures for them to shield them from rain and try to keep the cmeras and lenses clean and dry.

When I put them out I'll carry some wooden shims with me as well as a card reader....make sure they are covering what I want them to cover before leaving them out.

Had to do some playing with the enclosures to get them just right...if they shielded the infrared flash too much it washed out the night pictures.

I also use Browning cams and have wondered if they're getting spooked by them. Video and images are great though. I think I'm going to try putting them up higher next year as well. Not sure if they sense something with them or if it's a visual thing.

I have had a trail cam in the woods every year since 1999. If your camera runs quality video, then I suggest you use it. I will never run photos again. Run lithium batteries (buy them online, you can usually find deals around $1 a piece or less instead of $4 dollars a piece like on the shelf.) This past season I ran 14 cameras. All Brownings running 20 second videos (day and night). I do not use mineral sites. All my cameras are on trails or scrapes. I get around 150 videos max in a week during the peak rut Usually each camera has around 10-30 videos per week outside the rut. I run 32G cards in them, which can handle 260 videos.

I set up all my camera's around waist high pointing level. If you are on a trail you will get a lot of coons, squirrels, etc.. pointing at the ground.

As to the spooking the deer question. My experience with the mature bucks is 90% of the time they don't notice the camera. Occasionally one will be alarmed by it. Occasionally if they see it they will come over and sniff it then go on their way. Overall I feel the risk is worth the reward of knowing what's out there. Coyote's have the most negative reaction to the camera...especially at night.

This past season during October/November I had zero mature bucks on camera during daylight hours outside of the first week of November.

I could see where a trail cam with a conventional (white) strobe flash could spook a deer. But studies show deer can only sense colors toward the violet end of the spectrum, so they can see blues and probably even ultraviolet (UV) light. The same studies say that while deer show a slight sensitivity to yellow, tests indicate that green, orange, and red appear to them as shades of gray. So they shouldn't be able to detect a true infrared flash since it is even lower in the color spectrum than visible red.

The cheaper infrared trail cams give off a very dim red glow that we as humans can perceive, but I doubt a deer would be able to see it. Even if they could, it would probably appear to be a very dim grey light. Honestly I think what impacts the deer more is human activity near the trail cam. I've got several night trail cam photos showing deer "playing" in front of the trail cam. Apparently the infrared flash didn't bother them. (Full disclosure: I only visit these trail cams once every couple of months to read the memory cards.)

That being said, I think the reason why deer go nocturnal once hunting season starts is because of the increased human presence. I don't care what you shower with or what kind of masking scents you bathe in before hitting the woods - deer are going to know something else (besides other deer) have been in there. And the more you visit your stand, the bigger presence you are going to impress upon the deer.

Something else to ponder: there is a nature preserve (no hunting allowed) near one of the lakes I frequently visit and you can spot deer on it day and night, year-round. During hunting season, I usually see MORE deer on it than any other time of the year. It is like they "know" they are safe on that property and won't be hunted.

i spent a lot of time thinking and observing this very issue this year. observations:

1. trail cams draw a LOT of negative attention so hide them super high (8' plus) and brush them in.

a. videos draw less negative reponse because they only "click" once to turn on, camera clicking is super loud to deer. use videos for less negative reaction from deer.

b. during the season only check sim cards the morning you hunt. i was checking mine too often and i noticed every time after i checked sims, no pics of deer on my cams for the next 2 weeks.

i use moultrie cams fwiw.

I only use them on private property and have not had any issues with deer avoiding them. I have many pictures of deer a few hours after I hung the camera, and MANY pictures of deer noses and eyeballs in the camera lens. I guess since I'm hunting property where deer smell humans, and hear farm equipment, they aren't spooked. I have mine about 30"-36" off the ground.

Only one time have I had a picture of a deer that was spooked by the camera and that was either a Moultrie or spy point that took a 3 picture burst. I run black flash Cuddieback cameras.

This year I think I will try hanging them higher and not check them but maybe once a month before the season and maybe only during times when it is raining to wash scent away. Do any of you think it is better to check the cams using an ATV or is it better sneaking in and checking them on foot?

That high enough the flood waters won't get them?