I’m going to post the questions first and last. If you want to read my ramblings, you can, but the ramblings are not necessarily needed to address the specific questions posed at the end of my story: 1) How many of yuall immediately replace the stock straps before initially deploying a new camera and if so, what do you use? Ratchet straps? Regular cinch straps like what cams typically ship with but with metal buckles? Obviously, some of yuall use security cables and/or boxes also, but I assume you don’t necessarily use the security cable to fasten the cam to the tree as is no easy way to tighten the security cable, right? I’ve never used security cables. Most of my sets are on private property and I figure if someone wants the camera, they are going to get it off the tree one way or another probably by breaking the camera housing. 2) What tools, spare parts do you carry with you when running cams & placing new sets? Compared to a lot of yuall, I’m just a casual trail cam user… I just have 4 cams, 3 of them are on the same sets year round, so I am not moving them around a lot or setting new sets and don’t really have a cam check/deployment gear bag. The cam check/deployment gear bag list might include: Spare straps Spare SD cards Saw Hand cutters Minerals – if setting up a mineral site or re-freshing one 3) Obviously, if I had been carrying (or even owned) a stic-n-pic that would have been the easiest solution in this case – ground or tree mount would have been great for this new set! **************************************************************************** Last Friday, a buddy and I skipped out of work early and went fishing at a friend's pond that I have permission to fish. This is only relevant to the following story because it as a spur of the moment thing and not necessarily planned, although I did have my bass rod in the truck that day and a spare camera, but no other normal cam setting tools. I didn’t even have any hand trimmers in the truck that day although I normally carry a set. I had wanted to install a new camera set near this pond for some time and had a cam with fresh batteries with me, so it was a great opportunity. I just strapped the cam to my fishing shoulder pack and fished up the bank till water got too shallow and headed off looking for a good set location. Heavily used game trails exist on both sides of the pond, but the other side is owned by the neighbor, so I only fish (and hunt) the one side. I proceeded up the bank until the space between the pond and tree line/higher bank narrowed, found a good tree and strapped the cam on. As I am tightening the strap, I hear a pop and as I am trying to figure out what happened, I see and feel that the cam is flopping loose… the now brittle, plastic buckle broke when I tried to tighten it! Argh! So I spend the next 15 minutes tying a knot in the already short strap, and stuffing wood behind the strap and cam until it was in a decent position. Cleared a few tall weeds in front of the cam and turned it on & tested it. Here is the approximate view –the trail is in the knee-high weeds about 15 feet in front of the camera – just this side of the taller weeds. Yes, this pond is very low – we are currently 8” behind rainfall totals, just since January 2014 and have been in drought conditions in central OK for 3 years. This pond is about 8’-10’ down from normal and normal water level is just below/at this set . I’ll save the pond’s bass situation rant for another time. I’m hoping it will be a good set, although I don’t expect to be surprised. It’ll give up the usual suspects – yotes, turkeys and deer & coons unless the weeds are too high, but I expect mainly yotes based on last winters’ experience hunting it 4 times. So, now I need a new strap or this cam, but it makes me question the integrity of ALL my straps that are already in the field. This strap is only 3 years old, but has been in the woods year round since then except for the past several months since pulling it from a last fall scrape set in January. I know a potential replacement strap doesn’t necessarily need to be marketed for trail cams, but it will certainly need to fall within width & length requirements, but maybe NOT have a plastic quick release buckle. Sure I could get a new buckle, cut off the only sewed on part, sew the new buckle on, but that seems like a pain just to be able to re-use an already sometimes short strap and still end up with a plastic buckle that will only get brittle again over time. A typical ratchet strap would work and will certainly not have the plastic buckle that will only get brittle and potentially break, leaving one saying bad words and wasting time in the woods, especially with no spare parts on hand. Most ratchet straps have a free strap end on the hook section that could feed through the strap holes on the cam body. Obviously the length issues with stock camera straps could be solved by using aftermarket ratchet straps also. So… the questions are: 1) How many of yuall immediately replace the stock straps before initially deploying a new camera and what do you use? Ratchet straps? Regular cinch straps like what cams typically ship with but with metal buckles? Obviously, some of yuall use security cables also, but I assume you don’t necessarily use the security cable to fasten the cam to the tree as is no easy way to tighten the security cable, right? I’ve never used security cables. Most of my sets are on private property and I figure if someone wants the camera, they are going to get it off the tree one way or another probably by breaking the camera housing. 2) What tools, spare parts do you carry with you when running cams & placing new sets? Compared to a lot of yuall, I’m just a casual trail cam user… I just have 4 cams, 3 of them are on the same sets year round, so I am not moving them around a lot or setting new sets and don’t really have a cam check/deployment gear bag. The cam check/deployment gear bag list might include: Spare straps Spare SD cards Saw Hand cutters minerals - obviously if creating or freshing a mineral site 3) Obviously, if I had been carrying (or even owned) a stic-n-pic that would have been the easiest solution in this case – ground or tree mount would have been great for this new set! Thanks, as always, for your input!
I'm in the same situation as you, just a casual trail camera guy with 3 cameras. I swap out my SD cards each time out... I don't move my cams often... Don't carry any tools really... Do not like using the original straps all that much. I have been thinking of investing in a few stic-n-pics, but until that time comes I have found that using brown zip ties work pretty well.
Straps have worked fine for me. I did break a buckle the other week but i just tied it onto the tree and it was fine when i went to check it. But a saw, shovel, machete, batteries, cards, and viewer are what we have on us.
Yes! Who wants a big old dark black or green strap sticking out like a sore thumb!! I use a long boot shoe string and a cord lock. I only use these in very, very low to almost none existent traffic areas.
I use Python cables and stic-n-pics. I have used the stock strap once or twice until bought another python cable.
I never use the straps supplied with the cams. The picture you posted with the broken buckle is a big reason why. I always use python cables or lock boxes on all my sets. The tools I take are a set of hand shears, socket wrenches, those are for the lock boxes, weed whacker, at least one a year, and extra locks. Blessings........Pastorjim
