Game cams add new dimension to hunting

A new breed of hunter is capturing animals with nary a pop and no bows and arrows are involved.

Game cams have dropped in price along with other technological gadgets in today’s modern world. Their affordability and ease of operation has added a whole new dimension to hunting.

Becky Cottreau has hunted all her life. Some of her earliest, and most treasured memories are of going deer hunting with her father. She and her son Joshua regularly inspect several game cams he purchased and set up near their hunting sites. “Checking our game cameras is like opening a Christmas present from a favorite relative...you never know quite what you'll get but you know it will be good!” she said.

Josh Cottreau purchased his Moultrie GameSpyi50 camera at Cabelas in Scarborough, Maine.

The 5.0 mega pixel, motion-activated unit has an infrared illuminator as opposed to the traditional flash that most cameras have. The IR model doesn’t spook the game with a bright burst of light. Deer and most other animals don’t see light in the red spectrum very well so it is very difficult if not impossible for them to spot the camera in the dark, yet the IR illuminator allows the camera to take crisp clear black/white photos in the dead of night. The camera retails for around $260-$300 Canadian. “They are very simple to setup,” said Cottreau. “They attach to a tree or post overlooking either a bait site or a game trail. There is a nylon strap that runs around the back of the tree which adjusts very similar to a strap on a backpack.”

Aiming the unit properly is very important, he added. The unit should only be about waist high so that the trigger beam is at the same height as the animals.

The best location for a trail camera is low on the trunk of a tree at least a foot in diameter. The tree should be overlooking the bait site or trail but should be far enough away that the scent left on the camera will not spook the game.

Cottreau occasionally sprays down the camera with a scent-eliminating product to remove any human scent. “This is very important with bears as they have a nasty habit of eating plastic if they find it. You also want the camera placed in such a way that you do not need to cross the game trail to retrieve the pictures from the unit,” said Cottreau.

Mike Mercer, owner of the Yarmouth Canadian Tire store says his business has started selling a lot of game cams. “People are not only using them for deer, they’re now using them for security. You can hide them or just put them on the wall. I think that’s why they’re really taking off. It’s an affordable security feature, and you get great pictures. “It’s triggered by movement and there’s no flash. It’s great because you just pull the chip out and pop it into your computer (to view the pictures),” he said.

The units are battery-powered and the store sells them between $99 to $199.