Good budget trail cam?
New Mexico
I wanted to ask on below thread but I did not want to hijack his thread as he asked for a specific camera info. However I am wanting to buy possibly 2 budget but quality ( I know sounds ridiculous) trail cams to put in my sons elk area. I am worried of thief stories but think we found an area during turkey season that might not have as much hiker traffic. I would love to start enjoying the trail cam pics that many do but have very little knowledge of them. Any advice good or bad is appreciated.
I just buy whatever Walmart has in the $30 range. Last year I had 3 cameras stolen so I'm no going to invest more than I have to.
JRABQ , your story is one I have read over and over and worries me. I just cannot understand sportsmen stealing from one another , so many trail cams stolen!!! I hate this , I have a buddy from NV and he said they have/put cams in UT and CO and have never had them stolen. Is NM REALLY THAT BAD??
I've had several stolen over the years also. I can't imagine hanging $200-$500 cams anywhere in NM...
I don't know if it's mainly hunters, antis, or random people who steal them. However, a couple of years ago I was sitting water at a location where someone else had a camera locked to a tree. 2 hunters walked up to it and looked at it briefly, I didn't alert them to my presence and honestly didn't think much of it but when I walked past the camera later I noticed the lock had been broken off (it was only through the cheap plastic tab), so in that case at least the vandalism was by hunters...
Flyfishfreek, I had those stolen in Colorado, so A-holes are everywhere.
I have several Tasco 6MP from Walmart. I would also look at the Primos Proof cameras. I like the Browning cameras I have also.
As far as being stolen, this will help but is not fool proof. Keep them off water but put them down trails to water, 100-200 yards. Put them about 10 ft. off the ground aimed downward, a single climbing stick can do this. Try to use a lockbox that doesn't use a strap for the tree. The strap is a dead giveaway for finding cameras from a distance. Luckily I haven't had one stolen but have seen where others have had the lock boxes broken into and cameras taken.
Thank you all who replied , I actually got a couple and will head up mid July to hang and start getting an idea if anything is around ...Pretty excited to get into the trail cam thing ...
Keep an eye out for Trail Cam Tuesday on Camofire. I've purchased a number of Stealthcam remanufactured cameras on there for between $36-45. I've had really good luck with them and use them in the places where I can get by with a low end camera or where theft is an issue.
I've pretty much given up on the newer Moultree's. They just don't seem as good as they used to be.
Another good one that can be purchased new for $55 from Amazon is the Victure. It seems to be really good for the money.
What a sad situation, people stealing game cameras. I’ve been lucky so far.
Muddy are my choice round $60
Might be able to get some good pricing from the UT boyz with the recent change in game camera regulation...
I posted this question on main forums under whitetail deer, got a lot of good intel FYI. Below is what I got I have been very happy with them. On Amazon $35
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B099KBCNPQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Zhuta
Trail Camera 20MP 1080P Waterproof Game Hunting Cam with 3 Infrared Sensors Motion Activated Night Vision for Wildlife Monitoring
