By Trav Ferguson
August 15, 2014
Trail cams have exploded in usage, especially, in the past few years and the best part about them is, is they’ll gather all the intel you’ll ever need and keep your noisy, game spooking, fat ass out of the field! But before you lace up your boots and strike out on an epic adventure to set it up, first grab a few beers and familiarize yourself with the settings and general operation of your new found pride and joy, your trail camera.
I’d recommend trying it out in your yard for a bit and tinker with its placement, which should be about waist high, and talk your kids into walking past it at various speeds, distances and times of day and night. Now, once you’ve gotten this rudimentary crash course of trail camera fundamentals out of the way, it’s time to test it, and your skills, in the real world, the woods! So, by now you’ve found your prime location and you should place your camera about 8-to-12 feet from your general target area and avoid facing it due East or West in fear of sun glare, plus, always clear any and all debris that could ensue a false trigger. Light pruning and brush removal is usually required, and necessary, if you want great, consistent, results, so don’t be a schmuck and skip any part of the due process, alright! Well, now that that’s out of the way, it’s time for the fun part, collecting all of the management data, or pics, you’ve worked so hard for. But remember, when taking inventory of the game in a given location, for management purposes, it’s imperative that you formulate and structure, your plans from the information that you’ve gathered, thus far. Also, it’s critical, and almost taboo, to not consult your local Game Wardens and DNR officers and to take into account the overall health of the herds in the surrounding counties, their numbers, the ratio of bucks to does, available feed, etc. So prep, plan ahead, and may you reap bountiful harvests for years to come.
Hugs, Handshakes and Happy Hunting!
Trav
Travis Ferguson
Trav is a small town kid driven by hunting, fishing, rock/honky-tonk music, cold beer and his wife and kids. Being raised in a rural area surrounded by wildlife and lacking the luxurious amenities of big city life might be challenging to some; however, to Trav, it was an utter blessing. From his inception on, Trav has spent his life outdoors, he was taught at a very young age to hunt and fish and over the years these skills have molded him into a self-sufficient outdoorsman that strives to live a sustainable and God fearing lifestyle. When Trav isn’t behind the mic he’s either in the woods or on the water sharing his passion and love for the outdoors with his family and friends. So, don't bother searching for him online and you couldn’t pay him to own an iPhone, but let me reassure you of this: If there’s hunting and fishing, cold beer on tap and shaving isn’t required, he’s certainly not too far. What you see is what you get with Trav and to sum him up is simple, he doesn’t ask for a lot and he’ll never need much, a rifle, a bow, the love of his good looking wife and to be all that his children will ever need!