“trail cameras”

Contributor Frank Melloni tests out two trail cameras from Browning, with both scouting and property security in mind.

On June 11, 2021, the Arizona Game and Fish Department Commission voted unanimously to ban trail cameras “for the purpose of taking or aiding in the take of wildlife, or locating wildlife for the purpose of taking or aiding in the take of wildlife.”

We put some of the industry's latest and greatest trail cameras to the test. Here's how they each fared.

The changes in trail cameras over the past decade are the stuff of Star Wars. Today’s units are smaller, lighter, have longer battery life, can take incredible high-resolution video and digital photos, and can easily swap data to computers or smart phones.

These three, field-tested trail cams are perfect for game surveillance without having to loosen the purse strings.

All I want a trail camera to do for me is take a decent picture of critters that walk in front of it. I want to know when they came by, and don’t really care about video. If it tells me the barometric pressure and moon phase that’s cool, but not essential. I want it to be reliable and, after working with cameras for a while, I know I prefer an infrared camera over those with a white flash because the flash will scare the dickens out of any self-respecting mature buck.

Stealth Cam has unveiled the Sol-Pak battery pack, a solar battery pack that can extend the operating life of trail cameras.

Trail cameras and other innovations have made patterning a buck easier than ever.