Two of the most mature deer I had on camera last season were spooked due to the light or click my camera makes when taking a video. Just wondering if they're any affordable trail cams that don't click or have a red light come on when triggered at night. If not I guess I'll just start hanging them higher. I took screen shots of these videos, but both these deer disappeared after these videos. The 10 was making a scrape and when the camera went on took two huge bounds back.
You can get black flash cameras, but I would not be so quick to blame the camera for only getting 1 picture of those bucks.
I wouldn't necessarily say that they look spooked from the camera. Heck back 10-15 years ago when I first started with trail cameras, all I had were flash cameras and they still managed to get deer on them. So if you are using the IR cameras you should be ok. Otherwise if you think it is a problem you can always set the camera to just day time pics if it has that mode.
Infrared red lights WILL spook deer; I've got WAY too much proof of it on video!! Those in the industry working for the manufacturers themselves will tell you the same thing. Yes, you definitely need blackout cameras... I've had good luck with Covert Black Ops cameras, am about to pick up some Brownings, and have heard some really good stuff about a new company out there called USA Trail Cameras.
Yes...deer do see infrared. I use infrared cameras on the corner of food plots or fields where the camera isn't right on top of them or they'll have their heads down. I use black flash on mock scrapes or trails where deer are moving right into the camera. I use Browning Trail Cameras. The two invisible flash cameras are the Spec Ops and the Dark Ops. I use the Spec Ops for video and the Dark Ops for photos. The infrared cameras are the Recon Force, the Strike Force and the Command Ops. I generally use all of these on photo mode because the infrared flash stays on for 10 secs on video mode which gives them more time to spot it.
I run 5 cameras during season and I think every deer is different. I can honestly say that I've only had a few instances where you could tell the deer definitely did not like the red glow and that they left the area. All other times the deer are mostly curious or they just look at the camera and then go about their business. I get deer that come back to get their picture taken multiple of times so I don't think it really bothers them that much. Like I said before though, every deer has a different personality just like us humans do so yes, you might get that 1 deer every so often who just does not like that camera glow ect. I would check out Game & Trail Camera Reviews and Buying Guides: TrailCamPro – Trailcampro.com and check out some of their black flash cams. I have 1 that is a bushnell trophy cam and it works great. Also the Spec Ops and Dark Ops like DD/MO mentioned above are good cams as well. I would just move the camera a little higher on the tree and point it slightly downward. This gets it up out of their line of sight so you could try that as well. I know a bunch of guys who do that when they put the camera on a scrape.
Thanks for the responses and info it's very helpful. I hunt public land and it seems the older deer are a little more spooky towards the camera. Although I do agree that deer have different personalities. I had one mature buck hit the scrape multiple times and not give a hoot about the camera.
I consider a buck that's 3.5 years or older to be mature for the public woods that I hunt. Last season I got numerous cam pics of one particular buck on 4 different days and 3 nights during a one week span. Some days he came by more than once, so this buck didn't care about my cam's presence.
My Covert MP8 black doesn't spook deer like the other trail cameras do. I think the Covert MP6 will work just as well.
I don't think that I will ever buy another black flash camera regardless of the company (except for property surveillance) - not due to bad CS or lack there of, but more to the fact that they don't take nearly the same quality pictures as IR. With that said, I run cameras on both, IR and white flash (Covert Illuminator) and neither seems to bother them a bit. Typically, when the second picture from the Illuminator flashes, they will look at it, and then go back to eating, walking, whatever, but they don't pay any mind at all to the IR, at least in the areas that I hunt.
25 pictures of this guy the other night, found one of his sheds last year. A very social buck so far into his life last two septembers and octobers he shows up before dark. He has only had the red lights of a moultie flashing at him
The biggest buck I am currently after does not like the clicking noise of any camera I use. He will go in front of the IR camera and eat before he goes to the black flash. In daylight it doesn't seem to bother him as much. He still prefers the IR cameras.
Actually that is out of my newest Moultrie A-5 the date is not set up properly those picture are from the last week.
That buck has had his picture taken at my place 100's of times in the past 2-3 years, the light and sound don't bother him.
OK... Thought I'd share these. You make your own decisions based on your own goals and what you're willing to settle for. I personally hunt HIGHLY pressured public land, and it only takes one instance like this before you never see a particular buck again. Will there be some -- maybe many -- which will tolerate it? Sure... but when I plan my whole year around getting that ONE shot at that ONE buck that I deem worthy of putting on my wall -- well, I don't want that one opportunity to be one that WOULD have been if the buck hadn't already been spooked by a red camera. http://vid31.photobucket.com/albums/c373/MQ1shooter/IMAG0027 2_zpsyvwsayc0.mp4 Watch this one close and be quick. It was the above buck coming back a few nights later to the same scrape -- except this time he didn't give it as much time as he did the first time. I never saw him again -- ever. http://vid31.photobucket.com/albums/c373/MQ1shooter/IMAG0033_zpshf2penvh.mp4 It's not just mature bucks which spook at the red lights... If you're like me and view does as some of the best "bait" you can have around your stand come Nov. 3-12, you don't want them shying away from your core area. http://vid31.photobucket.com/albums/c373/MQ1shooter/IMAG0255_zpscjngfhhm.mp4 http://vid31.photobucket.com/albums/c373/MQ1shooter/IMAG0027_zpsxv0dbjri.mp4 Have I mentioned I don't run infrared red cameras for deer anymore? I've still got a couple that take incredible daylight footage that I use for turkey scouting. For deer scouting in the future? It'll be Browning Spec Ops or Dark Ops for me.
I've had deer look at a camera, but never spook. I have moultries, bushnells, simmons, and coverts. Never had a flash camera, all infrared. My covert black ops is black infrared. They do look at it sometimes, but never spook.
A red or IR light cannot be seen by deer. It could be they see the camera. If deer see this box on a tree, studies show they spook. I would put it up head high and aim it down and see your results. They won't see it this way. Also, if they can hear it taking a picture this could draw their attention to it. Sight is tied closely to vision. Here is a video that may give you some further thoughts.. Trail Camera Tips - YouTube
