Trail Cams: Tools or Torture?

Could the days of not knowing the animals on your property be over? With the modern technological evolution of the trail camera, it’s almost an obsession to see what actually is lurking the woods of your property. It really has been an amazing revolution since the first cameras hit the market. The days of developing 8mm film with 200 pictures of the same deer are over, thank goodness! Current models include such functions as having email notifications of photos, online viewing through websites, wireless “low impact” scouting where you can be within a certain range of the camera and see the photos on a viewer instead of walking to the camera. Is all this smart or are we just simply getting lazier?

The flip side of having a scouting system using cameras is one that I’m not sure I’ve formed a solid opinion on as of yet. I love seeing the photos and what has traveled by the cameras, but are we as hunter relying on these things too much? Are we not hunting good spots just because we didn’t get a pic of a “shooter” buck? Granted if all of the photos you are getting are at night, you may not want to hunt that location during day light hours. It would seem logical that the day activity is not worth the time. Over my last 10 to 20 years of hunting and using cameras, I have noticed one thing here in the Southeast–you don’t get those mature bucks on camera very often. These dudes seem to have a sixth sense when they get their picture taken. I’ve seen 1.5–3.5 year old bucks that have become famous on trail cameras, but those older guys seem to steer clear sometimes.

Regardless of how you use your cameras, one thing is for sure, when you do get that photo of a stud buck on your property, your excitement level kicks up a notch! It’s almost like you think, “wow, I’ve got him now!” We all know that until that tag is filled, it’s like chasing a ghost, but it does make getting up in the morning or putting those few extra hours in the stand a lot easier knowing that he may walk by at any minute.

Backwoods Life

Since 2004, Michael Lee and Kevin Knighton have been blessed enough to bring outdoor television into the homes of millions of viewers each week. The guys work hard to bring their life, personalities, and experiences to the viewers that show what the average person goes through each year in search of the next adrenaline rush in the outdoors. Starting out as Southern Backwoods Adventures, the team has evolved the award winning SBA show into a new era, a new breed, a new creation in outdoor television with the launch of The Backwoods Life. In 2011, Michael and Kevin added their new co-host, Woody Sullivan to the mix for an even more entertaining cast. The new Backwoods Life shows even more of an inside look into who Michael, Kevin, and Woody are on a more personal level all while showing the great hunts they journey into each year. Working with some of the largest names in the outdoor industry has molded the three hosts into some of the most entertaining and marketable faces out there. The guys have grown to new levels over the past years and are proud to say they are average folks living a dream. Welcome to a new show, a new adventure, and a new life...........the Backwoods Life!