Spartan Go Cam Smell or sound?

[roymunson]

I have several Spartan Go Cams I use as one offs to go with my Cuddelinks. Has anyone used them or had any issues with deer's reaction to them?
They take good pictures, but last evening I was hunting near one and just about every deer that entered the field past the camera (which is over 6' off the ground) came up behind the tree and as they passed the tree with the camera in it, looked right up at it.

I have another buck on the property that I've gotten 1 or 2 pictures of with the spartan, but every other picture has been over a cuddelink. Maybe a coincident, but I've had deer avoiding where the Spartans are at. Is there a wave or electrical pulse they're putting out? What's been your experience with them, or have you had other cameras do the same?

Maybe its nothing, I'm just trying to see if there's something to it. I've also witnessed deer duck off the trail behind the tree where a camera is at, and then re-enter the trail out of range of the cam.

Anecdotal evidence, but seeing if anyone has had similar issues.

Offline cams don't seem to be as much a problem, nor do the cuddelinks without the cell service.

 

[bwoods11]

MN Slick thinks so ? I don’t know if I have noticed anything too major .

 

[ruskbucks]

Yes . I have something going on with this now. I've had my go cams for years and really like them. I have one out now and it seems all the deer are walking out of the food plot and walking up to the tree it on and looking right at it. I wasn't careful like I am during hunting season. I usually wipe them down with scent killer's because of bears. I was also cutting wood that day, not sure if I got some oil or gas on my boots. Idk but they seem to look right at the camera.

 

[gjs4]

Not trying to derail your thread .....but I also feel the every popular TCs have something about them that allow deer to become keen to their presence, and subsequently avoid them, almost immediately.

Do you guys know why bears and coons attack so many cams? Most are made in China (in one of three factories) and they use fish oil for the (plastic) mold release.

 

[MN Slick]

Deer and coyotes absolutely get boogered by them but it only seems to be an issue in certain cam locations. Our Go Cams absolutely spooked bucks completely off scrape trees on plots on one farm. On a different farm they seem ok with it on a scrape tree. Interestingly, on that farm the signal is quite weak. I believe batch sending would mitigate it but Go Cams don't have that feature.

I set mine up with a 3 burst and 0 seconds between triggers. Very rarely, almost never, will I get deer "hanging" in front of the cams. Conversely, my Reconyx cell cams have deer getting their pics taken for long periods. Most coyote interactions with the Spartan Go Cam go like this: Pic 1 is a coyote going about his business, Pic 2 they are staring right at the cam, pic 3 is empty cuz they outa there!!

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Zero issues in 6 years of using them. All my mature bucks come by continuously if they have a reason to. Never had a deer only get his pic taken by another cameras and avoid Spartans. Wish it was the case that I had a whole herd of Vietcong deer that had the ability to hide from a certain brand of camera but it’s not the case.

 

[SWIFFY]

I have had 5 GoCams going for a few years now. I definitely agree there is something about them. I can never put my finger on it. Sometimes the big bucks are careless and it doesn’t bother them, often time they go and don’t come back. I think it’s the video mode that does it sometimes??? Like I’ll get 2 good pictures and when it turns to video, I’ve seen them freak. (I’ve also seen this with the Guardepros).

I enjoy the cell cams to much to quit them. I am hesitant. I don’t put them within shooting distance of stands anymore. I don’t believe they’ll scare a deer off a property… but may certainly change his movements. I too would love to here more on this, as I know something isn’t quite right.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I have had 5 GoCams going for a few years now. I definitely agree there is something about them. I can never put my finger on it. Sometimes the big bucks are careless and it doesn’t bother them, often time they go and don’t come back. I think it’s the video mode that does it sometimes??? Like I’ll get 2 good pictures and when it turns to video, I’ve seen them freak. (I’ve also seen this with the Guardepros).

I enjoy the cell cams to much to quit them. I am hesitant. I don’t put them within shooting distance of stands anymore. I don’t believe they’ll scare a deer off a property… but may certainly change his movements. I too would love to here more on this, as I know something isn’t quite right.

Full disclosure, I don't have any GoCams. But I am assuming the cell cameras are also recording a video? I think it has something to do with the video mode and I don't think it has as much to do with the manufacturer as it does whether or not the video is also recording audio. I have seen deer and coyotes walk around a tree with their back to the camera and as soon as the recording starts, you can see their head whip up and back to look at the camera directly 6-7 feet up in the tree. I don't believe it is because of the flash mode, as I have seen the same behavior in daylight too.