Leaving Trail Cameras over the Summer

[OkiechasingElk]

I am taking my 2 boys up Memorial weekend to the unit I plan to hunt for a 3 day camping/scouting trip. I am entertaining the idea of putting out 2-3 Trail Cameras in a specific drainage with the plan to collect them in September. (0PP Archery Draw)

I live in OK, but hunt in CO. This will be my first opportunity to scout my unit outside of the season. I have a specific drainage/mountainside in mind that I intend to hunt this fall and dedicate much of my scouting time.

No cell service in that area, so I intend to use some older cameras that I no longer use on my Whitetail Lease (I use 4 cell cameras there). Any drawback other than the potential loss of my camera?

Also, any feedback on best camera locations? Pros/Cons on Wallows, Trails, Meadows, etc... Thanks in Advance.

 

[Jaquomo]

Lots of hunters do that in elk country. Don't worry about wallows - they won't be relevant in summer. Instead, focus on transition/travel routes between feeding and bedding areas. Edges of clear-cuts, edges of burns, edges of wet meadows are all good choices, as are well used waterholes.

If you're worried about theft you could do what a lot of us do and hide some inexpensive cameras to watch your good cameras, but the chances of LE catching someone you have clear pics of stealing are slim to none. Maybe cnelk will post the pics of the guy teaching his 10 year old daughter how to steal trail cams. Disgusting.

 

[Dakota Dude]

Just a pro tip-hang them up relatively high so bulls don't rake them and bears don't get curious and gnaw on them. Its always a bummer when you leave them up for months and find them destroyed on the ground when you return.

 

[cnelk]

Maybe cnelk will post the pics of the guy teaching his 10 year old daughter how to steal trail cams. Disgusting.

Yep. Here ya go

 

[cnelk]

I typically set put some cams around June/July.

Dont go too early or you might not get to where you want to go due to snow/mud/downed trees.

 

[cnelk]

May 26 2022 - 10,000’

 

[cnelk]

Same day

 

[Laramie]

Pretty rare we have had a camera stolen but we have had several memory cards removed. We have also had cameras just turned off.

I view summer time trail cameras as entertainment more than a valuable scouting tool unless you will be hunting the archery opener trying to catch them on summer range.

The only value I see towards hunting is we use them to inventory bulls right before and during the hunt and occasionally to see wallow activity times. Some wallows are frequented more in the mornings while others are in the evening.

 

[Next Ridge]

If May is when you’re going then go for it. As others have said, May not be able to access your spot. Where I go in CO it is typically mid June before it’s worth trying. But maybe this year is different. Check forest service for road closures and snotel for snow data.

I like putting them up on trails if I know of a reliable one or meadows. If there is a reliable water source those have been good.

I wouldn’t expect them to pattern elk though. I find them useful to just get a feel for “There is probably 5 elk around or 25 elk around”. And that will only be useful in the 2 or so weeks before you hunt.

 

[go_deep]

I use lithium batteries, they will last all summer.

 

[OkiechasingElk]

Thanks for the input everyone.

Memorial weekend is my only window. Between my daughter’s travel softball, my oldest son’s work schedule, and me being on an island with my wife for 10 days mid-July for our 20th. We’re making the trip happen that weekend! Lol

Camping spot I’m aiming for is at 11k, so we’ll prepare a backup plan at a lower elev. But we’ll also take a chainsaw in case it’s just a few down trees on the road between us and our objective instead of full blown snowpack.

I’ll have a backup spot at lower elevation in mind.

Focus cameras on well established/used trails and wet meadows. Lithium Batteries so they last until I return. I’m mostly putting them out to see what’s around and if there are herds or just a few elk in this particular drainage.

 

[OkiechasingElk]

@Next Ridge thanks for the Snotel reference. Led me to NWCC basin charts which show that particular area is below average in snow fall this year and on track for clearing up in May. Gives a little hope, as long as downfall isn’t considerate.

 

[wytx]

I wouldn't count on getting up there in May regardless of what Snotel says right now. Check on that right before you go.

 

[Still Hunter]

Suggest putting your cameras up higher, looking down. Most people do not look up. Rubber door stops help angle the camera or you can use broken sticks. Home Depots carry them really cheap.

 

[Huntnnw]

make sure cams are up high or securely mounted. Elk seem to love to mess with cams alot

 

[spike camp]

If you know elk are in the area, cams aren’t particularly useful.
Especially if you’re not going to be closely monitoring them.

Elk are either there, will be, or are somewhere else.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I have some but am going towards only using them to scout new country. Left a camera on a known to me wallow last September, muzzleloader hunters found it, camped the wallow all week and took my sd card… I know there were a nice bull or two on it, but so do those guys now too, would they have known if I didn’t have the camera up… maybe or maybe not. Most of my cameras are pretty off the beaten path and at a minimum a mile from a road, but the woods get busy in Co these days….

 

[OkiechasingElk]

Suggest putting your cameras up higher, looking down. Most people do not look up. Rubber door stops help angle the camera or you can use broken sticks. Home Depots carry them really cheap.

View attachment 678992

Not a bad idea. I use broken sticks all the time at home in the whitetail woods to adjust the angle.

I'm 6'5", so can probably can get them up around 7' with no issues, the rubber door stops might come in pretty handy.

 

[Silveroddo]

I have some but am going towards only using them to scout new country. Left a camera on a known to me wallow last September, muzzleloader hunters found it, camped the wallow all week and took my sd card… I know there were a nice bull or two on it, but so do those guys now too, would they have known if I didn’t have the camera up… maybe or maybe not. Most of my cameras are pretty off the beaten path and at a minimum a mile from a road, but the woods get busy in Co these days….

That’s been my concern, I want to throw a few out this summer but I also don’t want to tip off anyone or lose the intel to someone else.

 

[Hnthrdr]

That’s been my concern, I want to throw a few out this summer but I also don’t want to tip off anyone or lose the intel to someone else.

Yep it’s a gamble. Not saying other folks wouldn’t find the wallow, but those pics on the SD card definitely tipped them off big time… which is why from now on I’ll only put them in areas I know nothing about, I don’t need to be helping guys scout my known areas. I mean if they had checked the card and left it I would have cared a lot less, but taking the card kind of pissed me off