Game cam

[Girvin]

Hey guys, I just bought my first game cam and I'm curious of a few things:

1) will alkaline batteries survive 4 days of -20 and colder? ( I'm putting a lithium pack in when I go to check it monday)

2) when setting it up, do my tracks put the deer off if I cross their well-beaten trail? ( I hiked in over a km to the spot but bushwhacked through the deer trail a bit ) How ninja-like should I be?

I'm new to hunting big game and I know it's late in the season for setting up a camera but I figure it's better late than never. After finding a whole pile of fresh buck tracks in the spot i've scouted, I couldn't help myself Tonnes of massive wolf tracks as well. I'd be just as happy to take a timber wolf this year too, after seeing the inordinate ratio of predator vs prey tracks.

Any other tips on setting up game cams are greatly appreciated!

-Megan

[Dick284]

The batteries will last.
Your camera will be slower than molasses in 20 below.
A lot of the cheaper cameras say they only work at warmer than -20.

As for your crossing the deer trail... What sort of scent discipline do you maintain?

How pressured are these deer?

How many deer?

Try it and see is all one can do... Learn from your mistakes.

[58thecat]

The batteries will last a week or so at extreme cold temperatures but minus 10 or warmer you should get a few weeks out of them, myself I check the cameras weekly and change out the batteries too just to be on the safe side. As for you walking in you will be o.k. not disturbing the area too much but don't go in there everyday as the critters will vacate, if you find a scrape line set up the most active one that has a licking stick above it and you will get awesome pictures of deer, yotes, wolves even moose visit these areas as my cameras have detected over the years. Oh yeah well off the beaten path is the best as I have had my cameras stolen!

[Girvin]

Originally Posted by Dick284

As for your crossing the deer trail... What sort of scent discipline do you maintain?

How pressured are these deer?

How many deer?

Try it and see is all one can do... Learn from your mistakes.

I eat clean and wash my gear with hunting detergent. Should I use some of that deer pee scent on my boots?

The area has become very quiet since the cold snap and snow. Only one set of quad tracks in the past 10 days so the most pressure they have is from wolves I'm thinking.

There aren't MANY deer. Looks like a handful of doe and 2 bucks. I chose the area for a few reasons: One being the area is not accessible by truck. Two, there is a nice ridge-line with mixed forest and alders - I have a good vantage point. But the truth is, I'm just winging it and as you say; learning from my mistakes and taking mental notes as I go.

[Girvin]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

f you find a scrape line set up the most active one that has a licking stick above it and you will get awesome pictures of deer, yotes, wolves even moose visit these areas as my cameras have detected over the years. Oh yeah well off the beaten path is the best as I have had my cameras stolen!

A licking stick is a great idea! I'm excited to see what I can capture. I bushwhacked into the spot so hopefully the cam is safe there...

[huntinalberta]

I just bought my first cam and set it out and got pictures of 7 nice bucks.i took it out and whent back the next day and they're were lots of fresh tracks. I put it back out and will take it out in December. Hopefully it won't get wrecked.