Tips to Conceal your Game Camera in the Wild

With over 20 years experience of chasing elusive big bucks, I’ve learned a thing or two about tracking deer patterns and using my trail cams. Failure leads to learning experiences, and believe me, I’ve learned a lot!

Sometimes it’s the little things that can have a huge impact on the success of tracking the wildlife you seek. Just knowing where and how to mount the game camera can be the difference between snapping informative images to predict a deer route, or only seeing the faces of opossum and raccoons. Never mind the chance that a trespasser could interrupt your information-gathering process and steal your camera. Your investment of time and money is wasted. I’ve experienced that too, so take note of these tips.

Here are a few tricks for concealing your cameras in the wild:

Above the Eye - Avoid mounting a trail camera at eye level. Carry a light stepladder with you and mount the camera 10 feet above the ground. A thief looking for a game camera is more likely to scan the woods at eye level, and most cameras get mounted chest high on the trunk of a tree.

Strong Support - Look for opportunities to mount the camera on supporting branches rather than the main trunk of the tree. A thief is likely expecting to find cameras on the trunk. Ensure the branch is large enough to be stable in the wind in an effort to minimize false triggers.

Leaves & Vines - Utilize natural vegetation to your advantage. Nestle the camera into these areas to add natural cover.

Keep Clear – Be sure the lens and sensor are free from debris. Place the camera where it can sense the movement you want and not have branches blowing in the wind that trigger the sensor.

3D Camo -Incorporate leaves and twigs into pockets created by CAMBUSH for additional layers of camouflage. This technique is utilized by military snipers to blend with the terrain. The same tactics can be applied to your camera.

Messy Concealment -If you must place the camera on a tree trunk, pick a tree with a good amount of undergrowth rather than a plain, stark trunk. Trees with vines growing on them can work well to conceal the camera. Seek trees that are a layer deep off the trail.

Peek-a-boo - Whenever possible, mount the camera so that it peeks above or around the tree, pointed at the target area. The less of the camera that is exposed, the better chance it goes undetected.

Set Bait -If you've had problems with thieves in the past, try setting up a junk camera in an obvious location and then set up a CAMBUSH-covered camera watching it. The dummy camera should violate all the rules established above.

Mount it - Always use a camera mount rather than a belt or cable around a tree. The belt is too easy to spot from a distance and is visible from 360 degrees. It also prevents you from utilizing the peek-a-boo technique.

Trail cameras are a great asset to an avid hunter. Proper placement is the first step to capturing the big game images you dream about when you sit in your tree stand. These are incremental changes; a small amount of additional effort can make a big difference.