I gave up on a camera that lasts more than 16 months. I keep them out looking for neighbors cattle, varmints, other livestock, the odd critter(badger a while back). As Gary said, surveillance. I'll not likely quit them altogether.

I have 5 Barn Owl cameras that keep tabs on the only entry gate and other critical areas of the ranch. With as many "Bail Outs" etc. that are happening with illegals these days, one can't be too careful.

Frio

As said above, those pics of wildlife, wheat patches with cams, stock tank , etc get loaded up on my annual wildlife exemption document. Without an exemption, I would have to sell the place.

I generally keep 5 or 6 going to watch wildlife but also to identify “visitors”. In one case, I had one that transmitted pics to my home computer. It caught someone that shouldn’t have been there around the house area. I had a kinda rude talk with the guy and told him if it happened again, I would call the law and file charges.

Dave, I think I recall you have some sort of residence on the place. Leave a radio on and a "fake TV" (Amazon) going pointed at a curtained/shaded window, if you don't already. Lamps on timers, etc. 'Not fool-proof, but makes the bastards think a little.

Yes, had one leave IH 35 just north of Moore and headed through several ranches including mine. For some strange reason, they cut the lock on my gate rather than just running through it. I am guessing that their vehicle was still in good shape so that decided to reduce the damage.
Adios,
Gary

Yes, had one leave IH 35 just north of Moore and headed through several ranches including mine. For some strange reason, they cut the lock on my gate rather than just running through it. I am guessing that their vehicle was still in good shape so that decided to reduce the damage.
Adios,
Gary

I like cameras because it can help prevent a young deer getting shot and let you know what’s in the area.

Not I. On a new lease this year and just put the first feeder and camera out to see what's out there. Gonna add more cameras and feeders as it dries out.

I use mine mostly to pattern the pigs. It helps to target them when they start showing up regularly. We also have some volunteer exotics that pass through from time to time which is a nice distraction. I've used Reconyx for 20 years with great success. My 1st one bit the bullet 15 years into it's service.

Same.

I completely understand the part about wanting to be surprised. But to me it is COMPLETELY overcome by other factors. Managing the deer and especially having time to study and discuss among others towards the goal of aging the deer is so important(assuming managing the deer is a goal.) This may not be a big deal if you hunt alone or just have one or two feeders. We have 4 guys and 11 feeders now and used to have 19 guys and 25 feeders on my old lease. We have more bucks than I want to say and we track them from year to year.
Besides the information it gives towards management, it is just very enjoyable to deal with all the pics. Just this morning one of our guys sent me a pic he got off our cell cam. Theres not really enough horn growth yet to tell much but hes trying to figure out which deer it is from previous years. I went back and looked at old pics and then we talked back and forth. That whole process is just enjoyable and adds an entire extra element to the hunt experience. It enables the hunt experience to go on all year instead of just when you are afield. Sharing and discussing this info among lease mates also helps develop a bond and encourages trust which helps in other areas of hunting together.
I dont allow the hunters to use "real time" information to make immediate hunting decisions but we dont apologize for hunting an area that a big mature buck is frequenting. Yall can do what you want but Im not giving up my cameras.

^^^^^

So if you get a real time pic of a big buck at a feeder and you know you sneak up to him and kill him you won’t? That’s some serious restraint lol

I understand your thoughts about making hunting decision in "real time." Its my unwritten policy I tell the guys I hunt with. Its what I tell myself I should do. Its never happened so Im not sure about my restraint. Everyone has a different line they draw for personal ethics and this is where I try to draw mine. Some think using game cameras at all is unethical or at least it takes away from the challenge. Others think a modern scoped rifle is unsporting/unethical/unchallenging. Long range hunting, bow hunting etc etc etc.
What I find hard to believe is some of the guys(some I respect) on here that say they use cameras but say they dont use to alter how they hunt. To those I would ask...if you see a monster mature buck every day on a camera and none of your many other cameras have any bucks at all on them, would you actually not go hunt the area with the big buck???? Im really curious about an answer to that. Make a poll. I guess the other side of that coin would be if you were in camp at lunch and got a pic of a huge mature buck at a feeder would you not go after him right then(like I said I would not).
Once again, I worry where we are going with technology in hunting but Im not ready to give up my cameras.

Free, I honestly purely use those pics to see what is coming through, little to no hard hunting deer tactics or hunting decisions made off them. Of course my ranchito is < 75 acres so not many decisions to be had while hunting it, lol...

Similar boat. We don’t do cell cams and aren’t checking cams multiple times a trip so no “real time” knowledge gained outside of in person observation. Check cams when we get to the ranch and make decisions based on that and the conditions

They usually quit on me! Between batteries going out because we can't seem to get the settings right so it doesn't take a 1000 pics of one night and then something breaking one -- not sure if a kid came by with a bb gun or something but one looked like the camera got shot out.

All that said...no haven't given up, will be putting new ones up when I get back out to fill feeders next.

Woodpeckers can be hell on those things.

I have six feeders and six cameras. I use them just to see if any shooters are visiting but the biggest deer we have shot on our property never showed up on cameras. We were surprised to see them.

Funny to read these responses. I use cameras and have killed 170” deer at a feeder I watched for years on camera. I have also killed 3 other 150-165” deer that I killed away from feeders and never or only rarely showed up on camera. I personally think they are helpful to know what’s around but believe a surprise is always possible.