What Do Trail Cams and Trapping Have in Common?

Do you remember the phrase "camera trap"?

Back in the day there used to be a home-brew trail camera forum named cam trappers, or something like that...it's long gone now I believe.

Anyway I saw the term pop up somewhere recently and it got me thinking about when I used to trap raccoons, muskrats, mink, and coyotes as a kid from middle school through high school.

I sure miss those care free days and the excitement of checking traps after school!

But there were certainly challenges and frustration with some of those trap sets...if you don't do it right those critters will find out what you're up to...

Trap placement is KEY.

I mean think about it...you're trying to get an animal to place it's foot exactly on a 2" circle...you're competing with a lot of real estate!

Not only that but if you don't have that trap bedded rock solid those racoons and coyotes will happily dig it up and leave you with an EMPTY sprung trap...

Then it got me thinking about trail cameras and all the posts I see in Facebook groups where guys complain about missing pictures on their trail cams...

In most cases when they post a picture from the camera in question, the reason becomes apparent.

They're trying to cover a HUGE area or have it poorly positioned.

It's kinda like placing a trap in the middle of a field without any bait or scent and expecting to catch every coyote that crosses that field.

The odds aren't very good.

Now trail cameras certainly have a much larger detection area than a 2" trap pan BUT they still have limits.

In fact you would get much better results with your trail cameras if you thought of them as traps!

I mean they're essentially doing the same thing...trying to catch an animal right?

So the next time you're going to deploy another camera try to think of it as a trap.

Where is the pinch point?

A trail, creek crossing, fence crossing etc...

What scent or bait could I put out to entice that buck to step in front of that camera?

A mock scrape works great in areas you cannot bait!

Can they see it?

Some deer don't care but if you think they're noticing that camera on the tree you'll have to hide that camera (trap) better. Putting it up high, getting creative with your camo, or disguising it in something non threatening like a bird house might be an option.

Keep the trappers attention to detail in mind for this years trail cam deployment and I'm sure you'll get pictures of that buck you're after!

Hope this helps!