Trail cameras are relatively new and seem to be catching on with Western deer hunters. Find an area that shows good deer activity, strap a camera to a nearby tree, and you can set the camera to snap a picture when movement occurs in front of its sensor, day or night.

When these cameras first came out, most of them were very expensive and their photos were grainy at best. But as with all technology, after the product was been out for a while, the price came down and the quality went up. Images from the most recent cameras are good enough to field-score. Advanced options let the operator set an automatic pause on the camera, so that if one deer remains in view for several minutes, it won’t use up all of the available images.

The last item for high-tech scouting is night-vision optics. Simply put, these “glasses” let you see things in the dark. This kind of high-tech equipment allows you to spot game at night or early morning, helping put together a pattern for your buck.

Obviously, you should check with your state fish and game department to make sure it’s legal to use night-vision equipment on scouting trips.

I’ve never used this type of equipment, and most likely never will. For one thing, it’s expensive. But more importantly, I like to think of myself as an old-fashioned kind of hunter who thinks the harder you hunt, the luckier you get.