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  1. #1
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    Does game camera's scare deer?

    Ok guys, I am convinced I have one that does. I have been using an older Simmons camera for years and that thing has taken 10's of thousand pics and I had never thought it affected the deer any at all. Well last year I bought a new camera and placed in over a bait site (Baiting is legal here in NC) that I had the Simmons camera set up for weeks. On the Simmons camera I was getting 300 to 400 pics every 24 hour period mostly at night of bucks and does and they didn't seem to be bothered by the camera at all while eating the corn. When I put the new camera out and took old (Simmons) away the deer activity almost completely stopped when compared to before. I would get maybe 30 pics in a 24 hour period. I had both cameras set with the same delay at 1 minute. With the new camera you would get the first pic as the deer came into view and the next pic was with the deer looking straight into the camera then usually it would be another deer on the next picture with the same. At first I thought the deer had just moved or stopped coming into the corn but I noticed most of the pics I was getting was of deer looking at the camera. So I started another bait station about 100 yards away from the first one and put the Simmons camera over it and almost over night I started getting the normal 300 to 400 pics of the same deer that was eating the corn at the first site. Now keep in mind both bait sites are in view of a box stand that me and my 7 year old son hunt out of and we never fired a shot at any deer from either bait site all last year. (He was wanted to kill one of the bigger bucks we had on camera but that never happened.)
    So fast forward to this year and I have again been putting out corn at a different location under some apple trees and was just feeding heavy without using a camera and the deer was wearing it out. So I took the new camera and put it out and again within a day or two the deer stopped coming to the apple trees. So that got me to think something is up with the camera. I switched the new camera with the old one and in just a couple days the deer are back to wearing the corn and apples out.
    So I took both cameras and set them up in the yard yesterday and walked by them and even rode a 4 wheeler by them just to see if they were taking the same number of pics and both seemed to be getting just as my pics as each other. I had my son walk past them and I cant hear any noise from either one. It was getting close to dark while we where doing our experiment and I noticed the new camera has a bunch of red led lights that will light when it takes a pic and the Simmons does not have any. That is the only thing that I can see that is different. I really think the red lights are scaring the deer when they see them at night. The reason I'm sharing this is I bet there is a lot of people that are using a camera like this and it has changed the way the deer they are hunting.

  2. Member mrlawler1's Avatar
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    #2
    The red light doesn't bother em...doesn't where I'm at anyway...are you sure it isn't making a noise...I've had some that made pretty good click when taking a picture...what about smells...does it have a weird electrical smell to it...I had a wildgame innovations that almost smelled like a burnt circuit board... raccoon city....deer wouldn't get nowhere near it...
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  3. Member
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    Jul 2007
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    Hampden
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    #3
    Some of the older models do whir and click quite a bit but even those the deer seem to get used to. I have quite a few pics of eyeballs, single nostrils, and one deer tongue taken with the 8"x12"x4" Moultrie. Put it over a meat pile and it would scare off the foxes. Just catch a blur if anything at all.

  4. Banned
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    Jan 2011
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    #4
    My camera don't scare them.They stare at it then walk away. Couple times looks like they put there nose point blank with the camera.So close the picture was blurry.

  5. Member
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    Apr 2010
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    Baker, LA
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    #5
    By chance have acorns started falling yet? That’s when I notice a decline in activity around feeders. Happens every year. Never saw where the cameras bothered them.

  6. Banned
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    #6
    I am sure it is the camera and the red lights that are spooking them. This things really lights up at night and takes a really good pic but I sure the deer don't like it.

  7. Member mrlawler1's Avatar
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    #7
    If you think that's the issue then turn it to only day pics...or go buy another camera...I don't know what to tell you...my experience, all the UV cams that I have don't bother em... You could go buy one with a white flash..or spend the money on one with no flash...
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  8. Hunting & Gun Lodge Moderator Roddy's Avatar
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    #8
    I have noticed big bucks tend to not like glowing cameras. One good picture of them then if you get another they are in the background of the picture.
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  9. Banned
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    #9
    I turned all the lights off last night inside my garage and setup both camera's. It was dark as a coal mine and when the new camera would trigger it would light the garage up inside with the red lights. The older Simmons was barely noticeable. I'm going to put some old tint over the red lights to knock them down and try that as see what happens. Now this new camera does take a heck of a picture at night when compared to my other camera's though. I will keep you posted. The good thing about the new one it has a plot watch on it so I can just turn in on and it will take daytime pics all day even if the deer aint close enough to trigger the sensor.