Do you take in your trail cameras over the winter?

[Dan Maranto]

I've had the same cameras out for over 10 years. After a few years I have to remove them and reset them because the tree growing pushes the angle of the camera. I've actually had to cut some out of the tree in the past because it grew over the mounting tab.

What brand are those! The longest I’ve been able to get is maybe 5 years and I bring them in from march-July

 

[Prairie Acres]

What's the latest you have seen a buck hold on to his antlers? This one on camera is March 16, 2024 in southern Wisconsin. I've read some bucks not shedding until April?

 

[Hoytvectrix]

April 16th 2 or 3 years ago in northern MO. It was a 2.5 year old 8 pointer.

 

[Telemark]

I bring mine in and remove the batteries. I put them back out in June.

 

[Bill]

What brand are those! The longest I’ve been able to get is maybe 5 years and I bring them in from march-July

Buckeye cams. At the time I started buying them they were the only reliable option for transmitting pictures remotely. Today there are other options but longevity is still yet to be seen. Buckeye camera's are expensive. I have had issues but unless it's a board failure I can usually get parts from the company and fix them myself. If it is a board failure Buckeye will fix them for me. (only happened twice in about 15 years). Believe it or not the part that goes out the most is the LED flash array's. LED's do dim over time and the flash distance reduces eventually to nothing. I can swap out an array in about 5 minutes.

 

[Ruttin1]

I move all mine to my logging road so I can access them if needed and to watch for trespassers. But, I leave them out year round.

 

[PatinPA]

What brand are those! The longest I’ve been able to get is maybe 5 years and I bring them in from march-July

I have few old cuddeback C series that are 10 years old. The only thing that goes wrong is there is a rubber flap that protects the internals and the edges of the flaps dry rot and break apart and they don't stay tight anymore. Which then lets moisture get into them. I've been taping them shut but it doesn't help that much.

 

[356]

I run mine year around. I've lost two cameras (Moultrie) due to weather, and stopped using that system (to be fair, it was the older Moultrie Mobile system, not the current one).
I had to replace the battery box on one Cuddeback (J-version). The Cuddeback's have been out three to four years, I have several SpyPoints that have been out two plus years.
While the batteries go dead due to snow accumulation on the cameras, but they tend to recharge in good sunlight. Occasionally I have had to bring a camera in to charge the battery (more common on the StealthCams).
I do an annual "replace/charge/check/clean each spring" for all cameras.

Rationale: I like to get data year round, plus it provides some level of security on the property. Knowing what predators, deer and general conditions on the property are a plus.

 

[Catscratch]

^^^ I'm the same in that I want year round information.

 

[West_Fork]

Buckeye cams. At the time I started buying them they were the only reliable option for transmitting pictures remotely. Today there are other options but longevity is still yet to be seen. Buckeye camera's are expensive. I have had issues but unless it's a board failure I can usually get parts from the company and fix them myself. If it is a board failure Buckeye will fix them for me. (only happened twice in about 15 years). Believe it or not the part that goes out the most is the LED flash array's. LED's do dim over time and the flash distance reduces eventually to nothing. I can swap out an array in about 5 minutes.

Holy cow!

 

[Bill]

Holy cow!
View attachment 72404

Yeah price is up since I’ve bought one. Last one I bought was about $1100 for a camera, battery with box and solar charger.

For my cams that are 15 years old that’s $74/year and counting because they are still clicking away. I’ll have to look at the total pic count later. Has to be 100’s of thousands.