I acquired a StealthCam Nomad IR (model I-530) today for testing.  I have received questions about this game camera over the last couple of months, and decided that it was time to get some personal experience with it.  I know that sometimes first impressions can be deceiving, but for the $149.00 price tag, it appears to be an attractive package.

I say 'package', because StealthCam has bundled everything you need in one kit to head straight to the woods and set the I-530 up.

Included in this package is the following:

• The StealthCam Nomad IR game camera
• A heavy duty security cable and locking bracket
• A 2 GB SDRAM memory card
• A strap for affixing the Nomad to a tree
• Six Energizer C-cell batteries
• A USB cable
• A user manual

I like the fact that StealthCam often includes security brackets with their camera kits.  After being the victim of game camera theft in the past, I always purchase security lock boxes for my game cameras.  StealthCam has already taken care of this for me, and this is something that I wish more game camera manufacturers would include in their packages.

This game camera has the same look and feel of previous generation Stealthcam models, but sports a new camouflage pattern; the NEXT G-1 Camouflage microprint.  This is a welcome change from the drab olive green color of past models.  This should help to make the Nomad a little more difficult to spot by would-be thieves.

The jury is still out on this trail camera's performance, until I get it in the woods to see how it performs.

Check back in the near future for all the test results and a video review demonstrating the features and capabilities of the I-530!

I think I may have found the next game camera that I need to test.  The Stealth Cam Prowler HD.  Let me tell you why I'm drawn to this camera...

Check out the following link that has an example video from this game camera:  Prowler HD Video (link will open in a new window).  This is a 1280 x 760 HD video of a little buck in velvet pawing at a doe and ends up bumping the camera.  I was definitely struck by the quality of the video.  The incredible detail, the color, and the clarity of the video from the Prowler HD beats out the video from any other game camera that I have seen to date.  Add the recorded audio to the equation, and you end up with a realism that makes you feel like you are in a blind, watching the action unfold in front of you.  The H.264 video compression gives you this widescreen format at 30 frames per second for a fluid video.

A few other features caught my eye while looking at the specs.  The video length is adjustable like with many other game cameras on the market, but this one can shoot videos from 5 seconds to 300 seconds (5 minutes).  It accepts a memory card of up to 16 GB, so a large number of videos (even long ones) can be stored to the memory card.  It can shoot  8 megapixel still pictures as well, giving you high definition quality stills, but lower resolutions can be set too.  It has all the other standard features that you are used to seeing from Stealth Cam.  The Burst Mode allows you to fire off multiple still pictures when the PIR is actived, and this one will let you take between one to nine images.  You get the Date, Time, Moon Phase, and Temperature stamping on images and video files.  This information remains visible on the bottom of the screen though, as opposed to just being displayed in the first frame like other digital game cameras.  That is a welcome change.

What don't I like is that some of the advertising details from Stealth Cam conflict.  For example, this link says that the 54 infrared emitters have a range of 30 feet.  But look at the Stealth Cam Product Specification Chart says that it is 40 feet.  I'd like to think that it is the 40 feet, as many other game camera manufacturers have been increasing their ranges with HO (high output) infrared emitters.  I'll tell you one other thing that bugs me is the built-in 64 MB of RAM.  Seriously?  What I would love to see is a game camera manufacturer placing 16 GigaBytes of built-in memory in their cameras.  Why do these trail cam manufacturers even put such a small amount of memory in a game cam?  And the 64 MB is generous compared to what some game cams have built-in.  Such a limited amount of memory is not usable.  I mean, does anyone reading this post actually make use of internal memory, or are you like everyone else I know, who swaps external memory cards in and out of the cam?

I think those issues are minor compared to the benefits offered by this trail cam.  The Stealth Cam website has this camera for sale for $309.00.  I have found this camera selling elsewhere for less, and in some cases as much as $60.00 less.  That's about 20% less, at a price of around $249.00 with free shipping.  You can see those deals here:

The popularity of game cameras has increased throughout the years which indicates they are fun to use and they give hunters an upper hand in the woods.  Game cameras a fun to use in the off season, and give hunters a good excuse to spend more time in the woods.  The edge a hunter gets comes from having an extra set of eyes in the woods to help you hone in on active trails and determine the routes that better quality deer are using.  I use my game cameras to fine tune my stand locations and put me on good deer.  Even if you can't determine the locations or movement patterns of that trophy buck you are after, you should be able to pattern the movement of the does on your property.  Get on the does, and the bucks will be following when the rut comes in.

Scouting cameras can offer a hunter the following advantages:

1. Pattern general movement of deer on your property.
   A hunter can learn how deer are using the property.  By taking note of the sightings of deer within your property boundaries, you can determine their movement patterns, the times they are moving through specific areas, where they are bedding, where they are feeding, etc.
2. Patterning individual bucks.
   I have been fortunate enough to pattern some individual bucks over the years.  By determining the direction of travel in the mornings and evenings, you can figure out where to locate your stand to optimize your chances of getting that shot of a lifetime.
3. Eliminating the guesswork.
   Game cameras can be ideal for sampling the quality of the land you choose to hunt.  I have placed game cameras on multiple farms leading up to opening day.  By reviewing the images and videos from these game cameras, I have been able to determine which pieces of property are holding better quality deer, and have made decisions on which land to hunt based on this data.  It is all about being in the right place at the right time.
4. Building Confidence.
   A hunter that has seen images of good quality deer is much more likely to be able to remain in the stand longer, and have much more confidence in the location they have chosen for their stand.  It can be tough to stick it out and stay in the stand as it gets later in the morning.  By analyzing the images from game cameras, I have seen deer utilizing specific trails later in the morning or early afternoon.  A hunter armed with this knowledge will have more drive to stay on stand longer and increase the chances of harvesting deer during these secondary movement times.
5. A Major time saver.
   Scouting cameras can be major time savers.  I can remember back when I first started bow hunting.  This was back in the days prior to game cameras being such a common commodity.  Me and my hunting buddy would drag our climbers into the woods prior to the season, and prior to daylight.  We would sit in the stands on different locations of the property and note the number of deer that we saw, their direction of travel, and the times that we saw them.  We would do this for many days prior to the season opener.  Armed with this knowledge, we would determine our stand locations for the opening day, and fine tune these locations if necessary after each hunt.  Now, we can have our game cameras do this work for us, and we can reclaim some of that scouting time.

If you have never used or owned a scouting camera, you don't know what you are missing.  Things have changed a lot since the days of 35MM film game cameras, and advancements in game camera technology have definitely given hunters a decided edge.  I have to warn you though... game cameras can be an addictive hobby.  I now own 10 game cameras, and will soon be purchasing another.  And I'm sure that won't be the last.

Using a game camera to scout for turkeys can be more difficult that using a game camera for deer.  Deer are a lot more predictable when it comes to following defined trails or returning to a scrape.  Turkeys tend to wander more across a wide area, so game camera placement can be difficult when seeking out turkeys.

I like to use a game camera to scout for turkeys when I'm hunting a new piece of property or an area that I am unfamiliar with.  I will do this in the months prior to the season coming in.  I don't like disturbing any areas that I actually plan to turkey hunt as the opening day draws near.  Here are a couple of tips that you can use to help use your game camera to check for the existence of turkeys.

1. Mount your game camera a little closer to the ground than you would if you were scouting for deer.  Turkey are obviously not as tall as deer, and this can help to keep your scouting camera's passive infrared sensor from overshooting a turkey that passes near your camera location.
2. Try placing your camera in the woods in areas that contain a good amount of red and white oaks.  Turkeys love acorns, in addition to various insects, grasses, other nuts, seeds and clover.  You will often see leaves in the area turned up as a result of turkeys 'scratching'  in search of food.  You can often capture good pictures and videos in these areas as turkeys come to forage.  Good mature trees with lots of horizontal limbs are also prime areas for turkeys to roost at night.
3. Try placing your game camera on trees or fence posts on the edges of fields that contain clover.  This is another prime foraging area, but fields are also a big draw for strutting gobblers.  More often than not, these gobblers will head to the highest point in a field to do their strutting.  This may even be just a slight rise or mound.  A game camera post mount is ideal for covering these type of areas in an open field.

I like to try to find areas that the turkeys are going to roost in on the evenings prior to the hunt.  A gobble tube is ideal for making a male 'shock gobble' and give up his location.  Unfortunately, these gobble tubes often fool other hunters, so I will either not use them (or use the sparingly) during morning hunts when other hunters may be in the area.  I'll never enter the woods when trying to locate birds heading to roost.  I'll stick to the outer edges of the fields.  The sound from a gobble tube will carry a long distance, and even a mature bird often can't resist gobbling back at them.  Once you locate turkeys in an area heading to roost, it's just a matter of quietly slipping into the woods before sun-up the following morning.  By doing this, you can cut the distance between you and a roosting bird, and the sound of your hen calls can be the first thing they hear when they hit the ground.  For this, I prefer a mouth call, as they require no movement and will lessen the chances of you being busted by their keen vision.  The only part of your body that should move is your finger as you pull the trigger and put that bird down.

I hope these tips help.  Best of luck this season, and let me know how you do!

PS.  Check out this link of some scratching turkeys that I caught on my Bushnell Trophy Cam.  I had to reduce the quality in order to upload it, but hopefully you enjoy.

Have you updated the firmware on your Reconyx game camera? If not, you will want to head on over to Reconyx.com and download it. Their latest firmware update can unlock many new and beneficial features.

So how do you know if you need the firmware update? Access the "Camera Info" option on your game camera. The top line of this display will list a series of numbers. This is your currently installed firmware version. The latest shipping version is V:3.0.0.20091014. You will notice that the last 8 digits of this number represent a date format. If you have an earlier version listed, you will want to download and install the new firmware. This will contain all of the cumulative updates since the Reconyx scouting cameras were originally released.
By installing the new firmware, you can gain access to these features:

1. 1080p Widescreen HD Mode
   On the RC55, RC60, PC85 and PC90 trail cameras, you will have access to this HD widescreen mode that is perfect for viewing images on the newer HD TVs and widescreen monitors.  After updating the firmware on the RC55 and RC60, this mode will be set to the new default mode of operation.  The 1080p widescreen mode will become a selectable option on the PC85 and PC90.
2. Night Mode Settings
   The new night mode settings are a welcome addition.  They allow you to have better control over the quality of your night time images, the range, and the camera's shutter speed.  There are four night mode settings.  Default mode offers a good balance between infrared range, the speed of the shutter, and the quality of the images.  The High Quality mode will produce a higher quality image, but will sacrifice some of the infrared range.  The Fast Shutter option is great for reducing blur with fast moving game, but again will sacrifice some of your infrared range.  The Max Range option will increase the IR range, but will sacrifice some quality and you may have more grainy images.  Each of these options can have great applications depending upon the conditions that your camera is placed in.
3. New Quick Settings
   The Trail Setting is the default.  This mode will fire off 3 pictures  upon each activation of the passive infrared sensor.  After a 1 second delay, an additional 3 pictures will be taken.  No delay is set on the trigger.  This will provide you multiple images of an animal moving along a trail.
   The Scrape Setting will fire off 5 pictures upon activation of the PIR with no delay on the trigger.  This mode will ensure that you capture all of the activity of that big buck that shows up to work that scrape.
   The Feeder Setting is designed for scenarios where your game may linger for a period of time.  This is designed to ensure that you capture a good amount of activity without filling up your CF memory card too quickly.  With the feeder setting, 3 pictures will be taken upon activation of the PIR, with a 5 second delay between each picture.  Then a 15 second delay will be incurred before the sensor will trigger again.

Updating the firmware on your Reconyx camera is a breeze.  All you need to do is take a blank CF memory card, download the firmware update, and place it on the memory card.  Turn your Reconyx camera off, and insert the card.  Power on the camera, and it will read the firmware update file from the memory card and automatically start the update process.  Once the update is complete, the camera will delete the firmware update file from the memory card, and will boot up like normal.

I love how easy Reconyx has made this firmware update process, and how they continue to enhance the quality and features of their existing line of scouting cameras.   So check your firmware and update it if necessary to unlock these features and get even more out of your Reconyx camera.

I was chasing a 10 point buck through the Kentucky bow season, and although I did see him from my stand, he never got close enough for the shot. I've been hoping that no one else on surrounding properties had harvested him this year, and my most recent game camera pics have given me some good news. He's been by within the past week, so he made it through the season. So hopefully I'll have another chance to hunt him when the bow season returns this fall.

Buck on a Bushnell Trophy Cam