Capturing Animals with a Game Camera

Spring may still be a ways away, but after plowing and shoveling what seems like the never ending snow storm here in upstate NY, I am writing this blog and testing the whole “Think Spring” theory out. The spring months are the perfect time to set up your scouting cameras and start getting some nice pictures of animals such as coyotes, grouse, pheasants, turkeys, and more.

Buck captured with my game camera

One animal I have yet to capture with my game camera is a bear. With all the state land and forest around our house, I refuse to believe that there aren’t any bears out here. Those that hunt bear find that it helps to set up a camera at one of their bait stations so that they can learn what baits are the most effective and, by using a bait drum, or other nearby object, they can also get an accurate assessment of the size of the bear.

One word of caution is that bears are known to wreck a game camera. For this reason it is generally a good idea to purchase a camera that offers a protective case that will help protect it from bears and other animals.

There is another to place your game camera at the bait station. If you set it up on a trail, you risk missing out on some of the action. Bears are smart and will often use a different route to get to the food each time. By setting up on the trail only, you will miss out on the big guys that find an alternate route to the food.

When you set up your camera near a bait station, you will want to adhere too many of the guidelines that are recommended for deer. Consider setting the timer delay to 5 minute intervals to help you avoid getting multiple images of the same animal.

Owning a good game or scouting camera as part of your hunting kit will help take a lot of the guess work out of your hunting. With tools such as this you can gain enough insight to be able to plan a better hunting strategy.

If you have any questions about this or any of the items that we have available for sale, you are always welcome to contact us - we will help you the best that we can. If you have any stories to share about your game cameras, please feel free to post them to our comments. We do love to swap good stories!

Considering a Spotting Scope? Read this First!

If you have a good, quality pair of binoculars, why in the world would you need to have a spotting scope? For one, a spotting scope is ideal anytime that you want more magnification than your binoculars can provide. They are virtually a small telescope that has been modified in such a way that it can be used during the day. It is mounted on a small, photo tripod, and is usually built to be both water and fog proof.

Spotting scopes are used often for bird watching, hunting, viewing landscapes and wildlife, and for surveillance. They are used frequently to score targets on archery, rifle and pistol ranges, and are also used with an assortment of cameras to take long distance photos.

As you browse through the spotting scopes on our site, you might be wondering what some of these numbers mean and what the difference is between them. One thing that you will notice that is common with nearly all of them is that they each have 3 numbers. The first set of numbers represents the range of the magnification, and the final number is the size of the lens in the front. Therefore, if you are looking at the Alpen Waterproof 15-45x60 spotting scope, that means that the zoom magnification features a range of 15-45x and the diameter of the front lens is 60mm.

Even with a spotting scope, heat waves, humidity, dust, wind, and other atmospheric conditions can limit your range of magnification leaving things looking blurry, no matter how much magnification you are using. On a clear, calm day you can see great distances and, at times, even tiny details such as facial features, up to a mile or more away.

There are advantages of using a spotting scope. One of the primary advantages is that it allows people to observe wildlife from an animal-friendly distance without causing any distress to the animals. You can use them to identify a specific bird in a large flock, distinguish one species of bird from another and spot birds in the distance.

When used to capture images, because of the higher magnification, a spotting scope can produce those brilliantly colored, high-contrast photos that we all love to look at. The optical design and stability make them comparable to, and in many cases, better than a high quality camera with a telephoto lens.

The purchase of a spotting scope is sure to open up a world of new opportunities for you. It will add a whole new dimension to everything you enjoy doing from bird watching, to hunting, and photography. It may take a bit to adjust to using the spotting scope versus your binoculars, but it will be well worth your efforts!

Additionally, each one of the Alpen Spotting Scopes ship for FREE from Milonajo Enterprises!