trailcam critters

mozey · Jul 18, 2008

Set my trailcam up last Saturday; went back in this morning to see how it was doing:

You have to look hard to see the bird:

What the crap?

Ten seconds later the culprit revealed:

I just may have to go purchase a tag and let this bear know I don't approve of jacking with my camera. Correction on the posted pic date: should be a "7" for July instead of "6"...

NMPaul · Jul 18, 2008

The bear on the log is great! Awesome pic quality as well.

nmelktrout · Jul 18, 2008

Cool watering hole, and I agree with Paul, that cinnamon on the log is great. Nice raptor on the water too...better get a bear tag man.

EdleBrock · Jul 18, 2008

I don't know why, but the first pic of the bear on the log makes me laugh...looks like he's just out for a stroll...

That looks like a great spot.

NMHUNTNUTTG · Jul 18, 2008

Very cool pics, thanks for sharing them...NM

crazeymaez · Jul 20, 2008

Nice pics Moz.Any bulls visiting that hole?

mozey · Jul 20, 2008

Yes, but so far nothing special:

Saturday morning there were some fresh tracks around the area. Had the bear not knocked the camera so that it was facing almost straight down, I think it would have got a few more pics. With all the rain, I really don't expect too much activity around the water. It's kind of a catch 22, we want the rain for the last few weeks of antler growing season, but that means they won't be congregating much around the water/trailcam...

vinihunt · Jul 23, 2008

mozey,

love it! I want to try trailcam and see what I can capture! awesome pictures and the bear on the log is way cool!

thanks for post! are those pic's in backyard of your house?

vinihunt

mozey · Jul 23, 2008

Closer to your backyard than mine... ;-)

This one is about an eight-mile hike from the road. I'm anxious to get a few more set up--one just doesn't seem to be enough!

Engy · Jul 23, 2008

What brand camera are you using. Those are some pretty clear pics.

mozey · Jul 23, 2008

Just posted this in this in General Hunting forum under "Best Trailcam for the $":

Last year, after reading all the info on http://chasingame.com/ and the Cabelas product ratings, I bought a Moultrie I40. After a year's worth of use, I believe it's still a very good value for the $$, but there are few issues that you may or may not want to put up with:

1. It weighs a bunch; if you're hiking it in more than a few miles, this may be an issue, especially if you compare it to the new Scoutguard 550 which cost about the same, has the same capabilities, but weighs only about a pound.

2. Whiteouts. I get at least one or two of these out of every 20 or so pics.

3. Three second trigger time, and an inability to program a follow-up pic for less than ten seconds later.

Otherwise, I think it takes great pictures; I've posted a few around here. The IR flash does not spook game at night. I've gotten as many as a dozen pictures from a four-minute period of the same bull elk. I'm going to buy another camera within in the next couple weeks. I'm still debating in my mind whether to go with another Moultrie I40, or to give the Scoutguard a try.

I'd be interested if any of you have some experience with the Scoutguard 550.

ICHABOD · Jul 24, 2008

Mozey,
After a lot of brain numbing research, I am buying a couple of Scoutguard 550's.
When I get them and set them up, I will let you know what I think. I was leaning toward the I40 or I60, and have heard about the white-outs, but that didnt bother me as much as the 3-3.5 trigger time... that just wont do, and that is what made up my mind.
Cya
Steve

------------------------------------------------------
By the way,
I live in UT.
There are a lot of UTARDS that live here.
I have also seen quite a few WYOMORONS, NEVADUHNS, COLORADORKS, ID-IOTS and AIRHEADZONANS in my travels.

mozey · Jul 25, 2008

Awesome, ICHABOD, much thanks. Bigbull48 picked up a Scoutguard as well, so I'll have a couple sources for feedback. The one thing holding me back from purchasing one right now is I'm still trying to figure out the best way to hang and aim one it if I do get it. The I-40 has a tripod mounting thread on the bottom of it, so combined with a Trail-pod mount, the set-up doesn't get much easier. If the 550 had a similar thread on the bottom, I'd have one ordered already.

mozey · Jul 26, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-08 AT 04:39PM (MST)[p]This time he came in within an hour and 15 minutes of my visit last Friday:

I think this one from yesterday is a different bear than the one above. Any opinions?

Son-of-a-gun...got out of the water and smacked my camera again... :-(

Guess it wasn't too threatening; back in the water he went:

mozey · Jul 26, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-08 AT 04:49PM (MST)[p]Also, the little bull above's opposite twin dropped by. At first I thought this was the same bull, but when I looked closer, this ones left matches that ones right, and vice versa:

I also picked up about six pictures of a crow and another six of the hawk. The hawk is definitely a regular customer...

mozey · Jul 26, 2008

Oh, and today I reprogrammed the date from "06" to "07"...

mozey · Jul 30, 2008

The latest. This is the direction the camera was pointed when I left it on Saturday:

On Monday, the moment something is knocking it off aim again, there's also a bear cub in the shot:

I know this has got to be a bear, but I'm having difficulty making head or tails...

...and then they were gone. Nothing left but muddy water...

mozey · Aug 2, 2008

The latest bear. This one left the camera alone. Maybe they're starting to get used to it...

mozey · Aug 2, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Aug-02-08 AT 10:24PM (MST)[p]Took me a long time before I finally saw the owl in this picture...

By the way, all those "leaves" in the water are actually a mass suicide committed by moths of apparently less than average intelligence. Maybe they're just now getting word of the Hale-Bopp... ;-)

NMPaul · Aug 3, 2008

Mozey, glad I came back and checked your post. Your are getting some great pics.

I love that submerged bear on his back with only his feet sticking up.

Great spot.

Never found the owl.

nmelktrout · Aug 3, 2008

Really cool trailcam pics man. Pretty funny that the bears are smacking your camera housing! Loud shutter/triggering mechanism? Keep postin. It's pretty neat to spy on your water hole.

mozey · Aug 3, 2008

Much thanks guys. The owl is sitting behind the rock, staring straight at the camera. You can only see the outline of his head, eyes, and beak.

lve2143 · Aug 3, 2008

Beyond Cool.
Thanks.

Larry

mozey · Aug 8, 2008

The latest pictures. Some pretty good ones. Also, when I left my truck at 7:00 a.m. this morning, I left my GPS on top of the cab. I was parked next to two vehicles and also by a major road and didn't return until 4:30. To my pleasant surprise, the GPS was still sitting right where I left it. Thanks, NM. Here we go:

mozey · Aug 9, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Aug-09-08 AT 11:48AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Aug-09-08 AT 11:18 AM (MST)

Yesterday, I also checked BIGBULL48's new trail camera, which we just hung over a newly discovered (for us) water hole on Aug. 2. Right away I knew there was going to be some interesting pics on it as it was hanging upside down and pointed the opposite direction from when we left it. The trail-pod mount was obviously bent from something heavy hanging on it. Here's the pic that it took of me as I first approached:

In hindsight, I should have took a pic of how it appeared when I first walked up. As an after thought, I did take a picture of the claw marks in the tree leading up to the hole where the mount was screwed in:

For those that have ever been curious about what the inside of a bear's mouth looks like as it's biting your face, here ya go:

The next shot is too close for the camera's focus, but I think I can make out his eyes and snout:

Amazingly, the camera is none the worse for the episode. Here are some of the other pics it took before the bear tried to eat it:

mozey · Aug 15, 2008

Got to the trailcam at 5:00 p.m. this evening; missed this one by two and a half hours:

Find the bear. Missed this one by only one and a half hours:

At around 5:15 p.m. this evening, while looking for previously stashed replacement batteries that a bear apparently needed more than I did, I heard a large animal crash through some brush about 30 yards to the right of this pond. I was about ten yards behind and to the left of this camera. I whipped out my Bowie knife and grabbed the nearest softball sized rock and turned to face my attacker, making a bunch of noise while doing so. Whatever it was slowly moved off back the direction it initially came from, and I never did actually see it. Didn't feel much like going an looking for it neither... ;-)

NMPaul · Aug 16, 2008

Place is filthy with bears. How many different bears do you think you have gotten their pics taken??

Do they hunt dogs in that area?

mozey · Aug 16, 2008

I stopped counting after the first ten. Dogs are allowed after Sept. 23. Do you have dogs?

WapitiBob · Aug 16, 2008

Mozey, can the bears hear the camera clicking?

I would like to get a camera but noise won't work, somebody will hear it and steal it.

Beautiful pics by the way.

mozey · Aug 16, 2008

There is a barely audible (to human ears) click on this Moultrie I-40, so I'm sure the bears and elk can hear it. I can still hear it out to about 15 feet. BIGBULL48'S (the one the bear tried to eat) is a Scoutguard. I can't hear that one at all. Not sure if animals can or not. I also bought a Stealthcam Prowler that I couldn't hear, but I had to send that one back to factory before I fielded it, because the sensing mechanism was out of whack: starting clicking off pictures after the one-minute sleep mode whether there was motion or not.