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Trail cam location

Diablo54

Senior Member
7,082
126
Outside
Wha t are your favorite locations to set your cameras? This may seem like a common sense thread but maybe a few of us can let out a few tips to help each other.

Summer time for me is typically a good food source. Beans..food plots. When it's as dry as it was a few weeks ago finding a good spot in a creek can also be good as well as mineral licks.

Fall-scrapes are my favorite place because you know the bucks will be visiting. Also good pinch points are nice places.

December January- bait/food plots like turnips.

That seems pretty self explanatory to me but I'd like to see any other ideas the toozers might have
 

moundhill

Senior Member
Supporting Member
5,327
103
Hebbardsville..
I dont know why, but I always set up on feild edges during the summer. In the fall i look for scrapes like you said, or trail intersections. As for the winter..wherever there's food.
 

Fluteman

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,094
146
Southeast Ohio
I have always liked field edges, setting up on the trails coming out to a field. Come October, I like to hang cameras in spots that deer make scrapes year after year. Late season, I run cameras over corn to keep inventory on what is out there.

Lately though, I have been cutting and painting stakes out of 2x2's and carrying them with me when I go to hang a camera. If I find a spot that isn't ideal for a camera, or there is nothing around to hang it on, I drive the stake in the ground and set the camera up by using zip-ties to secure it to the stake. I've got several cameras set up in bean fields right now using this method, and you would be surprised how well they actually blend in. Trouble is, if someone finds them, they are gone! It really is an easy way to make sure you have the right angle or view you want.
 

moundhill

Senior Member
Supporting Member
5,327
103
Hebbardsville..
I have always liked field edges, setting up on the trails coming out to a field. Come October, I like to hang cameras in spots that deer make scrapes year after year. Late season, I run cameras over corn to keep inventory on what is out there.

Lately though, I have been cutting and painting stakes out of 2x2's and carrying them with me when I go to hang a camera. If I find a spot that isn't ideal for a camera, or there is nothing around to hang it on, I drive the stake in the ground and set the camera up by using zip-ties to secure it to the stake. I've got several cameras set up in bean fields right now using this method, and you would be surprised how well they actually blend in. Trouble is, if someone finds them, they are gone! It really is an easy way to make sure you have the right angle or view you want.

I was watching an episode of heartland and they ran a short shovel In the ground and set up their cam on that. I don't understand why people would buy a trail camera tripod.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Great idea for a thread. Might be one on here similar, but this is am awesome idea worth revisiting every year or so Diablo!

Pinch points. I have a couple in permanent places over minerals that have been proven winner spots. Field edges where there is generally a trail entering some woods. Intersecting trails. Never had a good creek crossing location. Tried one once. Never realized how high the water could rise there in a short time. Watered out a camera so I am done trying creeks. Lol

This year I am changing up a bit. Less cameras. Cameras hung are only in places with quick and easy access. I am trying for minimal disturbances this year. Seems to be keeping deer on more of a reliable pattern so far. Only checking every 2-4wks and in the rain or with rain on the way.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
I run them over salt until about mid September. Then switch to trails entering fields. Then over scrapes in late October. Pull them for the orange army season. Then over bait in late December.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
I have always liked field edges, setting up on the trails coming out to a field. Come October, I like to hang cameras in spots that deer make scrapes year after year. Late season, I run cameras over corn to keep inventory on what is out there.

Lately though, I have been cutting and painting stakes out of 2x2's and carrying them with me when I go to hang a camera. If I find a spot that isn't ideal for a camera, or there is nothing around to hang it on, I drive the stake in the ground and set the camera up by using zip-ties to secure it to the stake. I've got several cameras set up in bean fields right now using this method, and you would be surprised how well they actually blend in. Trouble is, if someone finds them, they are gone! It really is an easy way to make sure you have the right angle or view you want.

Last season two of my best trail cam sets were done this way. Sometimes those spots without good trees just seem to be the best spot to hang a camera.

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Late spring to early summer I like to hang them over salt and/or mineral sites. During the late summer, I don't think there's any better spot than under a fruit-filled apple or pear tree. During hunting season I typically just hang cams over heavy-use trails and scrapes, and I'll usually keep one over my main food plot just to keep a handle on overall movement in the area.
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
I always hang on the field edges early season for a couple reasons.
1) ease of access. Get in and out quickly with little disruption and noise.
2) less skeeters to deal with. Nothing sucks more then sweating to death to get to a cam and while checking and swapping cards get eaten alive by skeeters.

Start of the hunting season I like to watch trails in the woods leading to field edges and also scrapes. See if I can find where they may stage on these trails before coming out into the fields.
Like Jackalope, I TOO take my cams out a week before gun season and then put them back over bait to get inventory like Fluteman.
 

JOHNROHIO

Participation Trophy Winner
2,824
136
In the early part of the year I like to find field edge corners that have intersecting trails it's like a big intersection. After the rut and summer patterns change it seems that I will always move them in a carpet bombing style to areas, trails that I believe they have moved to till I find them. Then on some properties in late season I will put them on corn piles or that last place that I can find a food source.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,944
139
This year I jumped around a lot.

I love having them shoot over small plots, just to see how much time they are grazing, things like that.

I also love having them over bait in the winter, you can not beat getting great pictures of bucks youve never seen before over bait. I do not like to kill over bait personally, but I love taking pictures over it.

This year I had a watering hole I put in that was doing a great job of holding water in the drought, that was another great oppurtunity for me to get some cool pictures.

I really play around with my cameras just to see where i get the best pictures. I even hung them in the front yard before to get pictures of deer hahah.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Spring/Summer for me is all about minerals, water, and bait. Come fall, I will still have a bait site or two for inventory purposes, but will start moving them around to cover trails near my stands, oak flats, and scrapes. As the season progresses, I will often hang on or around fresh sign. Late season for me is all about golden acorns. My best pics year in and year out come from corn piles...