On my property we are surrounded by public land, unfortunately because of this I cannot run the amount of cameras I would like to, do to theft. Besides getting lock boxes what are some other options you guys might have tried to keep your cameras from coming up missing?
Luckily I've never had a camera stolen, but if I ever did I would probably hang them higher so they aren't at eye level and angle them down. Maybe put an old non-working out as a bait camera.
Hang 'em high and put them in places which are unlikely to see human traffic. Never had a squirrel steal one of my cams yet! Blessings..........Pastorjim Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk
Totally agree. Out of the way spots are the ticket. I've hung cams on public land for the last 14 years, sometimes 2 or 3 cams at a time, and haven't had one taken YET. Use your creativity when placing them.
In 8-9 years we've not lost any cameras but have had a couple cards taken. Plus you can see where people have pulled cards and then put them back. I also write "you and your vehicle are probably on 3+ more cameras" as a deterrent on the inside of my cams in case someone cracks them open. It's probably true, too. I think it was the Public Land Hunting guys(?) who were going over ideas on how to prevent theft? Anyway, they actually glue strips of bark to the housing of their cameras. Does an awesome job of camo-ing them.
^THIS^ I do it with almost all my cameras now. Very few people look up when they walk and you will be amazed how many people never see them. It makes for some really cool pics too.
Regardless of how high you hang them you have to stop using straps. The horizontal line of the strap on a vertical tree makes them stick out like a sore thumb and is the number one reason that cameras are found by others. You can buy about $2.50 worth of hardware and make your own screw in mount (see attached photo). Camo paint it and voila... you have an easy way to disguise your cameras better and you can make them tilt adjustable so that hanging higher is even easier. You can now hang on horizontal limbs and crooked trees too. I hang 100% of my cameras this way now unless the camera has to go on a camera stand due to no available tree (ie weedy or open area). Good luck.
I started having cams stolen a lot on one end of one of the properties on the ranch, still haven't caught the sob's doing it. What is the exact recipe for that screw in mount?
Covey - I’ll take one apart at work tomorrow and send you a pic of components and a few more details. Obviously you need a 1/4 - 20 eye bolt to screw the camera onto and the wing nut as a jam nut. The length of the eye bolt is optional but 2-3” seems to make the most sense. The screw eye part is probably 5” long. Other than that you are looking at a short bolt (with nut), a few washers and lock washers and one Teflon washer in the middle of the system. The Teflon washer is important because it allows you to make the thing plenty tight but it will still rotate without the metal on metal binding up. Wait... should I have patented this...?
Here you go. The pen is pointing to the Teflon washer. Another washer between the Teflon washer and the eye bolt is even better. I think I was running low on washers when I made this batch.
I had my only trail camera stolen last fall right before deer season. I think a lock box would be the way to go.
Lockboxes draw attention and a decent set of loppers will cut thru most cable locks that will fit in the back of a camera lock box. Plus the same kind of people that steal stands carry lithium-powered angle grinders or bolt cutters. I do have my one Spartan wireless cam in a lock box but that's on private land and there's more valuable things up there than that camera.
Good question. I think my answer is ... they’d just have to catch me. I mean these go into the tree less than an inch. The hole is pretty small. You aren’t likely to leave it there as long as a screw in step might be left. There is only one in a given tree. Yep I’m sure of it... they’d just have to catch me.
That's great, thanks so much for doing that! I'd never have known one of the washers were teflon from the first pic the other day if you hadn't posted this view. What size bolt/nut/washers did you use? I can't tell from a pic if it's 1/4", 5/16"or 3/8".
I think the bolt is 5/8 - 1.5”. Best thing to do is just get to the hardware section and start piecing things together. I think the concept will work with various sizes being used.
I'd imagine so, I just figured it'd save a lot of time if I knew what it was to start with...no biggie. Thanks.
no issues here; I'm just curious. I always engrave my name/email address in mine so if a crickdick found mine and it were illegal; I'd be up...well, Crap Crick.
Yea I think the odds of an officer finding your camera (that you purposely have made harder to see) are pretty remote. In the end if I got caught I’d accept my punishment and move on. To me though this would be like worrying about getting a ticket for going 55.5 mph in a 55 zone.
I know this is an older post, but I recently had a camera stolen off my lease. Never had an issue in 4+years I've been on the lease. I am going to try and hide mine a little higher like you guys are recommending. How high are you guys going? Would a 6' ladder be good along with with my height of 6'5 be suffice you think?
