How to Get the Most from Cellular Trail Cams

Every year, new cellular trail cam models are introduced, with each iteration often more advanced than the last. These high-tech scouting tools offer hunters serious benefits. The most notable include receiving recent (or even real-time) intel, reducing human pressure and presence in an area and remote settings adjustments. Whether you’re considering your first cell camera, or you’ve already been dabbling with them, here are some things to consider.

UNIVERSAL SETUP TIPS

With any trail camera, proper placement, settings selection and framing are critical. To avoid washed-out images, never face a camera east or west, as both directions receive too much sunlight at times. Point cameras north (ideally) or south.

Position a camera roughly 3 to 4 feet off the ground and about 10 yards from where you expect deer to travel or congregate. Orient it so the ground meets the horizon at about the center, vertically, in the frame. Test framing by purposely triggering the camera, requesting an On-Demand image capture or using a built-in viewfinder. Some cellular cameras, like Moultrie Mobile’s Edge 2 Pro, offer Live Aim or a similar method of viewing your camera’s framing in real time on a smartphone app.

On public ground, hang a camera 10 feet up a tree so it’s less visible. Angle the camera down, and test framing. Secure it with a lock box or security cable. Some newer cellular trail cameras have GPS to track their whereabouts. The Edge 2 Pro has built-in GPS.

When placing cameras on trails, aim down the trail rather than perpendicular to it. You’ll capture more movement and see direction of travel. Hang cameras slightly higher or off trail to avoid detection.

Tailor camera settings to the given area, too. A longer delay (the time from when the camera takes an image to the time it is ready to detect motion and trigger another image) makes sense for areas where deer linger—feeders, food plots and ag fields. A minute to five-minute delay may work best. For scrapes and mock scrapes, a 15- or 30-second delay may be more appropriate. For trails, funnels or travel corridors, use no delay or employ burst mode.

Always clear branches, limbs, brush or grass that might sway in front of a camera. These can cause false triggers and block the camera’s view of deer. This close-up brush will also reflect the camera’s infrared flash making it hard or impossible to see animals behind it. Mount on sturdy trees that don’t sway heavily in the wind for this same reason.

Use manufacturer-recommended SD cards to avoid many unnecessary image-capturing issues, and format the card in the camera each time you add a new one. Moultrie Mobile’s Edge and Edge 2 series of cameras avoid this issue altogether with built-in memory, as well as unlimited cloud-based image storage. Update your camera’s firmware often, too.

Lastly, be scent-conscious when hanging trail cameras. Wear rubber boots, use scent-elimination tools, and set out cameras with ATVs, side-by-sides and e-bikes where possible.

CELLULAR SETUP TIPS

Contrary to some folks’ fears, activating and using cellular trail cameras is relatively easy. That said, do the initial activation process at home or someplace with strong cellular service. You’ll need it to set the camera up, and things go quicker if reception is strong.

When actually on property, hang cameras in areas with adequate cell signals. For cameras using a single SIM card for one network—Verizon or AT&T, for example—ensure service is offered in that spot. Many newer cameras can connect to AT&T or Verizon. Moultrie Mobile’s Edge and Edge 2 series go further, automatically connecting to the strongest available signal from multiple (four) major cellular network providers. With dual or multiple network options, you’re more likely to find a strong signal. Just turn the camera on and it does the rest.

A base level of cell reception is needed to transmit images, make settings changes and get the most from cellular trail cams. Generally, cameras display signal strength on the front during setup and/or within the app. Ensure sufficient service before leaving a camera.

Cellular cameras shine when they can be left to quietly gather intel for long periods without being revisited. If that’s your plan, utilize a lithium battery pack, solar battery pack or both. The camera will serve as a silent scouter for months. Mark Olis, Moultrie Mobile’s senior brand communications manager, once soaked a cellular trail cam outfitted with a lithium battery pack from October to April. When he retrieved it, he said it still had 79 percent of its battery life remaining. If using an external solar panel, hang it where it receives ample sunlight, but also try to place it on a separate plane from the camera itself so everything is less visible to deer and humans.

To conserve battery life, have cameras transmit images once or twice daily instead of instantly. Instantly receiving images may be exciting, but connecting to a network and transmitting after each capture is a power suck that drains battery. Capturing and transmitting videos is another one, though videos can offer valuable info about where deer are coming or going. In all these cases, external power sources prove helpful.

When buying a cellular camera or first activating one, consider available data plans (usually separate from your phone’s cellular provider). How many photos do you expect at that location? Are you utilizing multi-shot modes (which take more pictures)? Initially, err on the side of more photos to ensure you’re not missing anything. Tweak your plan later as needed.

Most manufacturers offer different plans to fit various budgets. For example, Moultrie Mobile has Standard, Unlimited and Pro Series plans. Costlier plans typically offer more features and image and video captures, with some also allowing users to add additional cameras at a reduced price. Some in-app features may only be available with higher-priced subscriptions, too. Pick the plan that fits your needs. Those hunting areas with fewer deer may be fine with more restrictive plans, while those with food plots and feeders that draw in a lot of deer may be better served with unlimited plans.

Consider an app’s functionality and capabilities, too. The more you can do within an app, the more valuable it will be to your scouting efforts. At minimum, you should be able to adjust camera settings remotely and easily view, sort, filter and archive images. Moultrie Mobile’s app is one of the most intuitive and powerful I’ve seen. You can adjust settings remotely, filter images using Smart Tags (species-recognition software that scans images for specific species), chart activity based on past image captures, create deer movement forecasts based on local trail camera data (Unlimited and Pro Series plans only) and much more. Because Moultrie Mobile cameras utilize cloud-based storage, every image is also retained.

As with anything when it comes to hunting, follow the laws/regulations in the area(s) you’re hunting. Cellular trail cameras—or even standard trail cams for that matter—are not legal in all places. So, before hanging one, always know the legality of doing so.

CELL CAM STRATEGIES

A cellular trail camera works anywhere you’d hang a standard trail camera, provided there’s cell reception. So universal placements like water holes, food sources, trails connecting bedding areas and feed, funnels, pinch points, ridgelines, trails connecting ridges, scrapes and more are all applicable. However, there are some specific ways to use cellular game cameras that are a bit unique.

Sustained Soaks

As previously stated, a huge benefit of a cell cam is being able to hang it and leave it be. Because it’s transmitting images rather than storing them on an SD card, there’s no reason to revisit the area. Place cameras in sensitive areas—near beds, on trails near bedding areas, on hard-to-reach hardwood ridges, staging areas near food, etc.—and leave them alone. Take scent precautions when hanging, and hang cameras when deer are elsewhere. Turn off On-Demand capabilities, which use more battery, and set cameras to transmit once daily.

During the rut, cellular cameras placed near doe bedding areas shine. With standard trail cams, once activity hits a fever pitch, you may be tempted to pull SD cards more often than you should, resulting in undue scent and pressure. With a cell cam, you’re constantly in the loop without stepping foot in the area.

Soaking cell cams on small properties also works well. Disturbances here are often more noticeable, and it’s easier to bump deer off a small plot for good if you’re not careful. With cellular trail cameras, you can monitor your little oasis remotely, only getting into a stand when conditions are right for an ambush.

This approach shines for out-of-state hunters or those who hunt faraway properties, too. Place cameras well ahead of your hunt. They’ll silently scout for you, and then you’ll be informed and ready to go when you arrive. If on public land, hang cameras discreetly and properly secure or protect them against theft. If you start observing increased, regular activity around a camera, you can plan an impromptu trip out to the property.

For any long-term deployment of a cell cams, strongly consider pairing with lithium battery packs and/or external solar power packs.

Limited-Window Ambushes

To avoid leaving behind excess scent and/or pressuring deer, most hunters swap SD cards on traditional trail cameras less often than they would like. And because they’re not receiving daily intel about deer activity at their camera site, they may not recognize temporary movement patterns quickly enough to capitalize on them. For example, if a buck has entered an agricultural field from the exact same place the past two days, and weather and wind conditions remain the same, there’s a good chance he’ll do the same on day three. If you’re pulling cards every week or every couple of weeks, you may not pick up on this. A cell cam user, meanwhile, might tag that buck before he moves off that pattern.

Cell cams can similarly alert hunters more quickly to pattern changes. A prominent, perennial change in September and October occurs when some of the first acorns start to drop. A cell cam placed near a stand of white oaks loaded up with acorns can supply instant notice when deer shift their feeding habits to this preferred hard mast. The hunter plots a quick ambush before the bounty dries up, or before other nearby oaks start dropping their own acorns and feeding becomes scattered and less predictable.

Scrapes or mock scrapes in high-traffic areas are also great candidates for cell cameras. Mock scrapes especially afford hunters a bit of control in that you can choose where to place them. One placed on a trail between beds and a food source can work, but those made on field or food plot edges really shine, as these are open areas that generally offer stronger cell signal for cameras. Deer can also find and access them quickly.

Because deer often interact with scrapes for some time, an intermediate delay of 15 or 30 seconds usually works fine. You’ll likely get enough photos to determine whether a buck might be a shooter without being inundated with too many redundant images. If a buck starts regularly hitting the scrape multiple times during the day within a relatively short period, it’s time to hunt around that area. With a cell camera, you’re notified of that temporary pattern and can strike before it changes. In an area where scent is a huge factor, you’re also not leaving a bunch of yours behind by repeatedly swapping out SD cards.

Scrapes are highly important sites when hunting big-woods areas, whether public or private, too. Place cell cameras on prominent scrape lines in October to get a sense of the deer using the area. Many encounters may be at night, which is fine. But, when you start seeing a buck consistently hitting those scrapes in, or closer to, daylight, make your move. Without the immediate intel of a cellular trail camera, you might be too late.

Confirming Historical Pattern Shifts

This strategy capitalizes on a cellular trail camera’s ability to transmit the most recent intel possible while also using past data to predict deer movement. Many deer experts have observed that—barring significant changes—mature bucks can and will repeat similar patterns on a year-to-year basis. This requires a year, or preferably two-plus years of historical trail cam data. But, if you know that a buck uses an area consistently within a certain weeklong period or so each year, you can hang a cell camera there a few weeks before. Then, when the buck shows up on camera, you know it’s game time. Here again, this uses the recent information the cellular camera transmits to help hunters take advantage of a brief window of opportunity.

Cellular trail camera manufacturers have made gathering this intelligence, and using it, easier than ever. The Moultrie Mobile app, for example, has a built-in (and free) activity charting feature. It automatically logs the important information that you might otherwise have entered manually—things like date, time of day, temperature, moon phase—and you can see historical activity data for a given date range. You can filter by some of these same factors to see when deer are moving most at a certain time of year, and you can view results from individual cameras or for all your Moultrie Mobile cameras.

Meanwhile, Smart Tags (which utilize AI to recognize certain species and filter accordingly) let you limit results based on what you want to see—for instance, bucks or does. This can be an effective option during the rut, for example, when you’re looking for historical data on where to find the highest concentrations of does.

You can also create custom tags for individual target bucks. This way, you can track when, where and under what conditions a specific buck moves during a given range of days each year. A cell cam placed in the area a couple of weeks before can then alert you when he returns to this established, yet brief pattern.

The app’s Game Plan feature (available only for those with Unlimited or Pro Series subscriptions) takes things a step (or a few steps) further. It uses anonymous data collected from other local Moultrie Mobile trail cams—and weather forecasts—to create localized, real-time deer movement forecasts. Through its Peak Buck Movement Forecast it also predicts—again, based on historical data from local trail cameras—when deer movement will be elevated at a specific location (though only in areas where enough data is available). It recommends a first peak and second peak window where activity will be highest for an area you select either by dropping a pin, entering a city or zip code or using your phone’s current location.

Miscellaneous Uses

Because they send you images so quickly—at least daily, but potentially within minutes—cellular trail cameras are also effective at quickly confirming activity in an area. Public land hunters on an out-of-state trip can rapidly determine whether scrapes or rub lines are being used regularly. If so, they can drill down on that area; if not, they know relatively soon that they need to explore other options.

This similarly applies to hunting any new property. Pick out a few areas that seem ripe for deer travel—funnels, pinch points, saddles, inside field corners, etc.—and you’ll soon see which are most frequently used. In the off-season or early season, cell cameras also help you more quickly pin down core areas that deer are using while eliminating unused garholes. Instead of waiting a week, or weeks, to pull cards, you’re building an understanding of the property with each passing day and can adjust cameras and place stands accordingly.

A lesser-used cell cam application is security. If you do have a camera set to transmit images instantly, and it snaps a photo of a trespasser on a property, you can either alert the landowner immediately or drive out yourself if the parcel is close.

Cellular cameras equipped with On-Demand photo or video capabilities can also be used to check entry and exit routes when walking to or leaving a stand. If you have a cell cam placed on a field you must cross after leaving your stand, you can request a photo or video through your app, and you’ll instantly know whether you can keep moving without bumping deer.

The bottom line is that cellular trail cameras offer hunters more flexibility and possibilities than standard trail cameras alone. While regular SD card cameras still have their place—the most logical being bottoms, saddles and thick timber where cell service is non-existent—cellular game cameras and their corresponding smartphone apps are putting more power than ever before into the hands of hunters. And this is changing how we all approach off-season and in-season scouting.