# Game Camera Recomendation



## lebowski (Dec 27, 2009)

I'm going to try setting out 2 game cameras this year and I was wondering if anyone had some advice on which models have worked for them. 
I'm not looking to break the bank, but I don't want to waste my time on the cheapo ones either. I read a bunch of reviews on various cameras and there always seems to be one part that breaks in a matter of weeks or months. I'd like whatever I buy to last for a couple of years at least. Thanks for any info!


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## Jbs8307 (Jun 29, 2009)

I have had alot of success with the moultrie 4.0 and 6.0 infared cameras. They are resonably priced 6.0 $200 4.0 $150. I have had a few friends have problems with the display screen going out after a year or too. I have been told its due to sun exposure. So i keep mine in the woods and take it back home after the season is over and put it back out in august. So far its performed flawlessly. They dont have a quick trigger though. 
I have hear alot of good things about the new bushnell 5.0 ir. I dont have any first hand knowledge about them though. If i had the money i would go with a cuddeback.


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## lebowski (Dec 27, 2009)

Thanks for the info. I've heard about the problems with the Moultrie display screens. Other than that I hear thay're pretty good units. Anyone want to chime in on the Bushnells?


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## Tripletime (Nov 2, 2005)

lebowski said:


> Thanks for the info. I've heard about the problems with the Moultrie display screens. Other than that I hear thay're pretty good units. Anyone want to chime in on the Bushnells?


I have had a Bushnell 3.0 for 3 years now... it is currently in use on my lease and I have never had a problem with it. All in all, I think it is a great camera. I paid about $130 for it. It uses 4 D batteries and they last from 5-6 weeks depending on the amount of pictures taken. A friend has the new Bushnell Trophy Cam and he loves it... says that the batteries last for 6 months. Hope this helps.


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## TXPalerider (May 21, 2004)

HCO Scoutguard


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## dmwz71 (Feb 5, 2010)

I bought a Bushnell Trophy Cam earlier this year and put it in operation in early April. I went back to the lease last week for the first time since I put it up. I had no problems at all (so far) and it will run on either four or eight AA batteries. Bushnell recommends using the lithium ion batteries, and stated in the manual that eight lithium ion batteries will last up to a year, depending on the settings you choose. I've only had experience with one other game camera, it was an off brand, ran on four D cell batteries, and the batteries lasted all of three weeks. I like the size of the Trophy Cam, and I like the fact that it operates on AA batteries. I will like it much, much more if the batteries do actually last for a year (lol). Hope this helps.....


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

One of the guys on our place bought a Wildgame Innovations IR cam year before last and it has held up great. Meanwhile, 2 of my 3 Moutrie IR's have the display problem. I think I'm going to buy the Wildgame one to replace the 2 Moultrie's. If Moultrie would extend their warranty out more than a year, I would replace them with the same. I think I have figured out why they don't though...


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## TxDuSlayer (Jun 24, 2006)

They all have issues whether cuddie backs or moultrie! I have the moultrie ISPY 40 when they work they are great cameras and take great pics! I heard that moultrie has fixed the problem with the boards going out. Whether or not those cameras have hit the stores I don't know. Just be careful when buying on-line some companies will not honor warranties if they are not bought from a authorized on-line dealer!!


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## RiverRat (Jun 30, 2005)

I've had display problems with 2 Moultrie cameras myself. Other than that, they took very good pictures. Cabela's has the SmartScouter cameras on sale now. They are usually $649 and they are on sale for $399. No sure about the cost of the cellular service though.....


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## txnitro (Jun 4, 2004)

Haute Pursuit said:


> If Moultrie would extend their warranty out more than a year, I would replace them with the same. I think I have figured out why they don't though...


i sent (4) Moultrie I-40 units (out of warranty) back in for repair last year.... cost per unit was $30-40?? plus a 1 year warranty and shipped back to me... they repaired (2) and replaced (2) with new units.... well, display's failed again after another season on (2) of the repaired and (2) additional units ... returned them all again just last month... (2) under warranty this time and am expecting them all back on Friday... we'll see how long they last this time... minus continuous display problem, units take lots of clear pics and run for a long time on a set of batteries... maybe the noted sun exposure is my problem... the units are out in the open 24/7 near feeder pens...


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

txnitro said:


> i sent (4) Moultrie I-40 units (out of warranty) back in for repair last year.... cost per unit was $30-40?? plus a 1 year warranty and shipped back to me... they repaired (2) and replaced (2) with new units.... well, display's failed again after another season on (2) of the repaired and (2) additional units ... returned them all again just last month... (2) under warranty this time and am expecting them all back on Friday... we'll see how long they last this time... minus continuous display problem, units take lots of clear pics and run for a long time on a set of batteries... maybe the noted sun exposure is my problem... the units are out in the open 24/7 near feeder pens...


That is a new one on me. I called them last year and they told me mine could not be repaired??? Maybe they have changed their minds since then. I'll call again... it's worth a shot!


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## lebowski (Dec 27, 2009)

Thanks for all the great info guys. I'll let yall know what I end up with.


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## Too Tall (May 21, 2004)

Haute Pursuit said:


> That is a new one on me. I called them last year and they told me mine could not be repaired??? Maybe they have changed their minds since then. I'll call again... it's worth a shot!


Let me know what you find out Blake. Mine needs to get repaired or thrown out.


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

Too Tall said:


> Let me know what you find out Blake. Mine needs to get repaired or thrown out.


will do!


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## StinkBait (May 31, 2004)

I had a Moultrie I40 with the bad screen after 8 mos. Took it back to Academy and they told me just go back and get a new one so they could do an exchange, no questions asked. And that is why I will continue to exclusively spend my money at Academy as long as they have what I need.


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## slippinaround (Sep 13, 2006)

I have 2 moultrie I40's that have been through 3 seasons (from Aug until Jan each season) and I've had no mechanical problems with them. I heard about the display problems and so I made sure I have them pointed North or South, or they are shaded from direct sun light. Battery life has been great on both of them. My only complaint would be the trigger speed and you can hear a light mechanical "clunk" when it takes a picture.

This website www.chasingame.com field test many models. Lots of good info there. Chasingame says moultrie has fixed the noisy "clunk" problem on the newer models by adding a second filter.

I got my dad 2 wildgame Innovation cameras this past Christmas (don't remember the model) and both started taking blank pics after 2 weeks. We returned both of them and got 2 of the moultrie I40's. He's been running both since April and has had no problems.

Hope this helps.


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## asolde (May 22, 2004)

I got a cuddeback 3.0 capture this year and I am not to happy with it yet! The first time it was checked I had 50 pictures although the guy that check it didn't follow the instructions when removing the card so I think he lost some pics.My brother is going to check it to for the second time and we will see what the results are later. But if I were looking again for a camera I would look at the Bushnell trophy cam or the scoutguard. The main reason that I would go with them is the battery life.


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## Quackerbox (Feb 6, 2006)

Im going through the same thing and have pretty much settled on the new 2010 bushnell trophy cam. Good reviews on battery life and pic quality. Fair on price as well. Lots of reading here..

http://www.chasingame.com/

Pretty good price here

http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&prodID=BH119405&src=tpSlrHm


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## bmc4041 (Apr 12, 2006)

Quackerbox said:


> Im going through the same thing and have pretty much settled on the new 2010 bushnell trophy cam. Good reviews on battery life and pic quality. Fair on price as well. Lots of reading here..
> 
> http://www.chasingame.com/
> 
> ...


Been doing some research myself and think I have narrowed it down to Bushnell Trophy cam as well. Battery life, reliability, and relatively faster trigger speed. I know they all have problems and often due to user error. Hopefully one day I can afford a Reconyx.


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## Sea-Slug (May 28, 2004)

Me and all my hunting buddies use Moultree D-40's. I have 3 of them. My other friends have 5 or 6 more of them. Between us we have 10 or so, most are 2 or 3 years old, they are out mostly year round, and we never had problems with the D-40. Great Camera's.
We got a few I-(Infared) models and they are good cams but we had display problems like everybody else. The D-40 is a reliable warhorse camera if you can do without the infared and dont mind the flash. They go 2 months on a set of batteries. Our average is about 200 pics a week or so year round for 3 years and still working like new. And with 10 of them it aint just luck, they are solid cameras and cheap also, only 99 bucks, plus about 15 for a SD Card, and 10 bucks every 2 months for batteries.


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## bctrapper (May 6, 2010)

*Stealth Cam*

Last year I used a Stealth Cam 1540IR and got some great pictures of the hogs and racoons that were tearing up my feeder and the ground around my blind. I am going to set it up next week with a 12 volt battery system by Stealth Cam and see if we can get even more pictures.


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## killintime (Aug 15, 2005)

I have 2 of the Bushnell Trophy cams and so far so good great battery life and can use a card up to 16gb. You can literally set it out and not touch it for 6 months if you wanted to


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## asolde (May 22, 2004)

asolde said:


> I got a cuddeback 3.0 capture this year and I am not to happy with it yet! The first time it was checked I had 50 pictures although the guy that check it didn't follow the instructions when removing the card so I think he lost some pics.My brother is going to check it to for the second time and we will see what the results are later. But if I were looking again for a camera I would look at the Bushnell trophy cam or the scoutguard. The main reason that I would go with them is the battery life.


 My brother went and check the camera and we ended up with 280 pictures and still going strong after a month. We have a problem with the time stamp and will send the camera back to cuddeback to get repaired.


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## TXDRAKE (Jun 24, 2004)

killintime said:


> I have 2 of the Bushnell Trophy cams and so far so good great battery life and can use a card up to 16gb. You can literally set it out and not touch it for 6 months if you wanted to





bmc4041 said:


> Been doing some research myself and think I have narrowed it down to Bushnell Trophy cam as well. Battery life, reliability, and relatively faster trigger speed. I know they all have problems and often due to user error. Hopefully one day I can afford a Reconyx.





Quackerbox said:


> Im going through the same thing and have pretty much settled on the new 2010 bushnell trophy cam. Good reviews on battery life and pic quality. Fair on price as well. Lots of reading here..
> 
> http://www.chasingame.com/
> 
> ...





dmwz71 said:


> I bought a Bushnell Trophy Cam earlier this year and put it in operation in early April. I went back to the lease last week for the first time since I put it up. I had no problems at all (so far) and it will run on either four or eight AA batteries. Bushnell recommends using the lithium ion batteries, and stated in the manual that eight lithium ion batteries will last up to a year, depending on the settings you choose. I've only had experience with one other game camera, it was an off brand, ran on four D cell batteries, and the batteries lasted all of three weeks. I like the size of the Trophy Cam, and I like the fact that it operates on AA batteries. I will like it much, much more if the batteries do actually last for a year (lol). Hope this helps.....





Tripletime said:


> I have had a Bushnell 3.0 for 3 years now... it is currently in use on my lease and I have never had a problem with it. All in all, I think it is a great camera. I paid about $130 for it. It uses 4 D batteries and they last from 5-6 weeks depending on the amount of pictures taken. A friend has the new Bushnell Trophy Cam and he loves it... says that the batteries last for 6 months. Hope this helps.


Bushnell Trophy Cam, will be the one I go with also after doing the research!


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## edavis (Jun 24, 2009)

i bought the trophy cam a while back for 149 off of natchez. not sure if they still have that special going. anyway i put mine up at the end of may, checked it this past weekend and had 2,163 pictures and the (8) batteries indicator still had 2 bars out of 3. As far as trigger speed goes i had it set up for 2 pictures per trigger and when a dove flew by it took the picture right in front of the camera and 1 second later it was still in the frame a little to the left! day time pictures are bad***, but the nightime pics could be a little better. this being my first camera and first time checking it i was quite pleased.


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## bmc4041 (Apr 12, 2006)

Just a heads up but they upgraded the flash on this year's model to 32 bulbs. Make sure you are getting the new one if paying full price somewhere.


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## TXDRAKE (Jun 24, 2004)

bmc4041 said:


> Just a heads up but they upgraded the flash on this year's model to 32 bulbs. Make sure you are getting the new one if paying full price somewhere.


What he said, X2!


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## edavis (Jun 24, 2009)

bmc4041 said:


> Just a heads up but they upgraded the flash on this year's model to 32 bulbs. Make sure you are getting the new one if paying full price somewhere.


ya i guess i bought the '09 model on sale. good to know if i get another


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## Raven (Jan 22, 2009)

My 1-year warranty on my I-40 is up on the 23rd-- next Friday. Went up to check it today; sure enough, the second line of the display was illegible.

So, I tried to call Moultrie Customer Service. First time, went through the motions, got a message that I was #7 in the queue & had a 63 minute wait. Tried this afternoon, was #11 with a 105 minute wait. (or similar numbers). 3rd try was equally disappointing. 

Went to their web site to try communicating that way. Found a notice that they were so busy that there was a 3-5 day delay answering e-mails. 

If Customer Service is important to you (especially in view of the display problems), you might want to look at something other than a Moultrie. 

But maybe all their reps called in sick this week to take advantage of all those free diagnostic checks. or maybe not.

We'll see when & how they answer my e-mail.


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

Raven said:


> My 1-year warranty on my I-40 is up on the 23rd-- next Friday. Went up to check it today; sure enough, the second line of the display was illegible.
> 
> *So, I tried to call Moultrie Customer Service. First time, went through the motions, got a message that I was #7 in the queue & had a 63 minute wait. Tried this afternoon, was #11 with a 105 minute wait. (or similar numbers). 3rd try was equally disappointing.*
> 
> ...


Same story here... very disappointing to say the least.


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## great white fisherman (Jun 24, 2008)

Man, a couple of years ago I worked a fall hunting show at a Bass Pro as a Pro-staffer and I thought the guy at the Moultre booth was going to get run out of town.
Screen problems and battery problems is all I heard about. There is a reason they are so cheap and I think they are ruening there reputation. I was told they are made in China.


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## Raven (Jan 22, 2009)

*UPDATE*



Raven said:


> My 1-year warranty on my I-40 is up on the 23rd-- next Friday. Went up to check it today; sure enough, the second line of the display was illegible.
> So, I tried to call Moultrie Customer Service. First time, went through the motions, got a message that I was #7 in the queue & had a 63 minute wait. Tried this afternoon, was #11 with a 105 minute wait. (or similar numbers). 3rd try was equally disappointing.
> Went to their web site to try communicating that way. Found a notice that they were so busy that there was a 3-5 day delay answering e-mails.
> 
> ...


Got an answer back on Thursday. Here is an excerpt: 
Don't worry about that just follow the directions below and send it in to us and we will take care of for you no problems and no charge.
 We apologize that you have experienced a problem with your Moultrie product. It is covered under a one year warranty from the date it was purchased and during that time we ask that you get the product to us for testing; if the problem can be duplicated then from there we will repair/replace, renew the warranty for another year and pay the return shipping to get it back to you. Please see the following instructions on how to return your product:

Hopefully, the problem is resolved. I sent it to them priority mail today. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.


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## lebowski (Dec 27, 2009)

Well, I wound up with two Wildgame Innovations cameras. I got an IR2 and an S4. The IR2 two worked well. 1/2 charge left on batteries after two weeks. It takes pretty good pics too. The S4 showed pictures of me setting it up and the batteries were dead two weeks later. No deer pics from the S4. It doesn't really look like the deer have been hitting the feeder that its set up on though. The S4 has 3 small watch batteries that supposedly help to keep the time and date. I don't know if they were dead or the 4 C cells are dead. I took it home to play with this week. Hopefully I'll get it to act right and I'll put it back out next weekend. I teied to post a couple pics, but I don't know how to resize them...


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## Law Dog (Jul 27, 2010)

Bushnell Trophy Cam


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## lebowski (Dec 27, 2009)

figured it out


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## Lonestar Light (Jul 5, 2006)

Okay, I have to tell you my experience with Moultrie...

I bought an i40 last year and sometime around january/feb the camera had water in it. I have no idea how but I assume the seal failed or I had some sort of debris when I set it locked the cover down. From that point on, the screen only read "Low Battery" Anyhow, being the professional procrastinator that I am, I waited until two weeks ago to send it in for warranty.

The serial number was May of 09, and I did not have the receipt although it was purchased in Sep or Oct of last year. I did write a letter stating the problem that I was having and was very courteous and stated that I realized that I didn't have the receipt but that I would really appreciate them honoring the warranty.

I got a package from Moultrie yesterday... with a brand new i40. Needless to say I am very pleased to have them take care of the problem so promptly. 

I also have a Cuddeback IR Capture that I purchased a couple of weeks ago. So far so good on that one. I am going to check it again this weekend.


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## Troutfisch (Jun 19, 2005)

TXDRAKE said:


> Bushnell Trophy Cam, will be the one I go with also after doing the research!


OK I'm sold - where can I pick one up?


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