Trail Cams

When I was trapping feral hogs on Ft Ord we used 'em quite a bit. Mainly we'd just put them inside the cage traps so that we could see when the pigs were entering the trap (we'd set it that afternoon and always had a pig or two the next morning). I just picked one up last night and am going to go and set it in a yard tonight to see what is digging up the sod.


Question I have for you guys is do you use 'em and if so, do you have a brand/model that you prefer?

I use them fairly often. Clients love seeing the pics...especially videos of critters in their attics etc. Looking forward to seeing what others recommend. I recently threw 5 in the trash that had quit working. Picked up two $79 Primos Truth Cam 35s at Academy Sports. I haven't had them long enough to recommend but so far so good. There is a website called chasingame.com that rates and reviews trail cams.

I have several trail cameras including Reconyx but now just use the Covert Black Ops model as it can send images to up to 4 phones and 4 emails. Another camera that is very similar is the HCO Panda. Both cameras take still images and video and can handle up to a 32 GB SD card. I've got some great photos of coyotes checking out the collarum this fall.

What is really nice with the newer Black Ops model and the Panda is that you can dial the camera and take a picture, add/remove a phone number or email, or turn the camera on/off. No having to go and retrieve SD cards or wondering if the SIMM card isn't working or the network is down (e.g., SmartScouter issues). Just text the phone number for the camera and enter the proper numbers to get immediate feedback. Both cameras run around $350 and work off of the AT&T data plans which on the cheap end is $10 for 1000 text or two months (whichever comes first) or you can do unlimited texts for $20 and both plans have autorenew options if you want. Yes, they are a bit more than most trail cameras (except for Reconyx) but if you look at the time savings you get by not having to drive and check traps or pull SD cards from trail cameras to see what you were missing, they end up being cheaper in the long run. I'll be running an article on them shortly in WCT Magazine.

You can get the Covert Black Ops from Wildlife Control Supplies and the HCO Panda from Rob Erickson.

Well I guess I know what I'm purchasing next.

Have had good luck with my Spypoint cameras but they will not send a picture to you. After the WCT event I started looking into the Covert Black Ops and will be purchasing one soon.

In case some of you are considering the Covert Black Ops I found a much better deal than the $350 Wildlife Control Supplies option. I ordered this last week and it comes with an 8GB SD and free shipping for $230. Mine arrived yesterday and activated it today at AT&T. FYI, they said the $10/month plan doesnt exist, so i had no choice but to go with the $25 unlimited plan.

http://www.vergonaoutdoors.com/product/dlc-covert-special-ops-code-black-12mp-game-camera-328/

Hope this saves some of you the hassle of searching for a better deal. I wish we could go to Alan for everything but $120 is $120.

Jacob

The $10/month plan does exist but you have to go to an AT&T corporate store to get it. Supposedly, you can get the AT&T data plan at Wal-Mart as well, but I'm guessing that will depend on how knowledgeable the Wal-Mart employee is.

After speaking with Covert, these are the 2013 cameras that they had a closeout deal going on with. A new 2014 version should be available in March 2014, but they didn't give me any info on what was upgraded as they aren't marketing that version yet.

FYI - http://www.trailcampro.com/covertspecialopscodeblackreview.aspx Good place to compare other cameras as well. Located in Springfield, MO.