Placing Trail Camera's on Public Land

     When other hunters learn I place trail camera's on Indiana's heavily hunted public lands there is always one question asked: 

     "Aren't you afraid your cameras will be stolen?"

     "Of course!"  I always reply.  "Anytime I put a trail camera on public land I know I may never see it again."  Then I add:  "But, I have developed a strategy for placing trail cameras on public land that has allowed me to go theft free for the past six years."

     For the past six years I have placed an average of ten cameras on Indiana public land including State Forest Land, Hoosier National Forests, and Wildlife Refuges open to hunting, without a single stolen camera.

     I learned the hard way about placing cameras on public land.  The first year I put them out I had two cameras stolen.  The next year I bought locking cables for my cameras thinking this feature would keep them safe.  Then I had two more cameras stolen and I realized even a heavy lock and cable wasn't going to be enough to keep my cameras safe.  When those camera were stolen I decided I could stop using trail cameras all together or I could change the way I placed my cameras.
    
     Fortunately, I chose to carefully evaluate the way I placed my cameras and made a few simple adjustments -- I have not lost a single camera since.  Making these simple adjustments to the way I place my cameras  -- techniques any hunter can use -- has allowed me to become virtually worry free about trail camera theft.

     Here is my strategy for placing trail cameras on Indiana's public lands:

1. Use Cheap 35 mm Cameras:  I know these cameras are the dinosaurs of trail cameras these days, but here is my case for them:

A.  Unless you are made of money and can afford to lose hundreds of dollars, don't put an expensive camera on public land in Indiana.  There is always the chance a thief will find your camera.

B.  When loaded with 800 speed film these cameras take great pictures.  Somewhere along the line I have heard it takes a sixteen mega pixel digital image to match the image quality of film.  I don't know if it's true or not, but, I know five and six mega pixel images don't match the quality of images from my film cameras.  Buy film in bulk online for $.50 a roll or on sale at a Walgreens.  Even at $2.00 -- $3.00 per roll from Walgreens that's a lot of burnt film in a $20.00 -- $40.00 camera when compared to an expensive digital.

C.  Don't pay to develop the film.  Go to Sam's Club and pay $2.50 to have the film transferred to a disc and then download the images onto your computer.

D.  These cameras fit the old adage of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid.)  There are only a few things that can go wrong with them when compared to all the features of the modern digitals.  I use cameras fifteen years old and sometimes leave them out all season through rain, sleet, snow, and freezing temperatures.  They are like an old Timex watch.  They take a lickin' and still keep on tickin'.  I still get great pictures with them.  I just don't know how reliable these modern cameras are going to be in a few years with all their wonderful features.

E.  Take the hit and buy rechargeable batteries.  Trust me on this one!

F.  These cameras are relatively small, even when compared to the compact digitals and thus are harder for a thief to spot.

2. Camera Placement:  The greater the distance from the road the safer your camera will be.  (This is where you need to hunt anyway.)

A.  If you have to climb a steep hill, or trudge through water and sucking mud, or battle thorny briers and whipping saplings to place your camera -- not many hunters are going to follow.  (Warning:  If you place a camera by a creek or river or in an area prone to flooding, keep an eye on the weather.)  If heavy rains are in the forecast get your camera out.  Trust me on this one!

B.  Hang cameras in thick cover -- the thicker the cover the harder your camera will be to see.  Just make sure you are absolutely sure you know where your camera is.  Trust me on this one!
A small clearing on a well used deer trail in a dense thicket is a perfect spot to hang a camera.  Likewise, a perennial rub or scrape in the same terrain is a diamond in the rough.

C.  Place cameras away from the rising sun and position the motion sensor somewhere between a parallel and a perpendicular to the area you want to cover, but more close to a parallel.  Bright sunlight triggers the sensor and these cameras react like cold molasses.  The parallel position helps to compensate for the slow trigger speed. 

3. Make the Camera Invisible:  Okay that's impossible, but you can make it hard to see, and if it can't be seen it can't be stolen!

A.  Replace wide straps with parachute cord or thin nylon shoe strings.  Replacing the manufactures straps with parachute cord not only reduces visibility, but also creates unlimited potential for hanging cameras.  Carry plenty of cord because when it comes to hanging a trail camera you are limited only by your imagination -- big trees, little trees, brush, rocks, logs -- with a little ingenuity just about anything you find in nature can have a trail camera tied to it.

B.  Cover your camera in camouflage duct tape to match the surroundings.  Utilize the tree-bark and leafy patterns available.

C.  Make the camera visible from only one angle.  Use natural camouflage, but don't go overboard.  Don't pile brush up on the side to hide the camera and make things look unnatural.  Use just enough to break up the boxy outline of the camera box.

     Over the years I have found almost as much enjoyment of placing trail cameras as actually hunting.  They simply give me another excuse to be in the woods.  I don't use them for scouting or trying to pattern a buck -- I simply don't have time for that.  They do, however, give me greater insight into the habits of whitetail deer and they give me a glimpse of animal behavior I might not otherwise see.  Simply put my trail cameras give me an added enjoyment in wildlife observation.

     Without a doubt though my cameras show me that even on highly pressured pieces of Indiana's public land there are big bucks that would make any hunters heart skip a beat.