What kind of Trail Cam?

Jnew3

Guest
I am looking at getting a couple trail cams. I had some of the cheap $59 ones at walmart and dicks but now am becoming serious about hunting more and want quality products. Any ideas on really good trail cams that are not $225 and up like the ones ive read about in field and stream?
 

Jlewis74

Old Mossy Horns
With all trail cams you are going to get a bad one from time to time. I like Moultrie, Browning, and Bushnell the best.
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
look at reviews and find ones that are rated well. I look for ones that have been out a couple of years. With online sales, you can find cams that havent been discontinued for a couple years. Discontinued in the cam world isnt that big of a deal, they hardly carry warranties anyway.

i like the moultrie m80xt cams.
 

Jlewis74

Old Mossy Horns
This is why I like Covert, quality camera with even better customer service in my experience.

Some of the guys on here have been having issues with them. I know its great to have good customer service but I would rather have a product that works, I have very little issues with the ones I mentioned.
 

mjbrady

Twelve Pointer
I have more trail cams than most guys and have used 1 of almost every model made. Short of Reconyx(best made) Covert is second in dependability and battery life.
My list would be:
1. Reconyx
2. Covert
3. Bushnell
4. Cuddeback (warranty would drop them, but picture quality/speed make up for some of the warranty hang-ups they have)
5. Moultrie
6. Spypoint
7. Browning
8. Plot Watcher (no nighttime pics)
9. Primos
10. Stealth cam
11. Hunten
12. Big Game
13. Wildgame Innovations (don't buy these, just don't, you will thank me later)

These are what I have experienced and my rankings based on that.
 

hrcarver

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Reconyx is at the top, the rest of them are a crap shoot. For chinese (the rest of the) cams go with who has the best service. I've had decent luck with bushnells, coverts, and moultries. Cuddeback service sucks. I also bought a couple dozen brownings this year. Time will tell. Except for cuddeback, I like mjbrady's list.
 

cummins59

Eight Pointer
I've had excellent results and reliability with the covert line. I have about 8 of them now without a single issue so far.
 

Billy

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I have more trail cams than most guys and have used 1 of almost every model made. Short of Reconyx(best made) Covert is second in dependability and battery life.
My list would be:
1. Reconyx
2. Covert
3. Bushnell
4. Cuddeback (warranty would drop them, but picture quality/speed make up for some of the warranty hang-ups they have)
5. Moultrie
6. Spypoint
7. Browning
8. Plot Watcher (no nighttime pics)
9. Primos
10. Stealth cam
11. Hunten
12. Big Game
13. Wildgame Innovations (don't buy these, just don't, you will thank me later)

These are what I have experienced and my rankings based on that.

Mark, has Bushnell solved the water damage problem? I bought a few early on and they all leaked. Other than that, I was pleased with them.
 

Gilly

Ten Pointer
I use bushnell. 2yr warranty is worth it's weight in gold. If something is going to malfunction its gonna happen in the first two years. Send them the cam and $10 they give you a brand new replacement.
 

seminolewind

Guest
covert e? are supposed to be good. think they run around 70.00?
 

catfishrus

Twelve Pointer
I use bushnell. 2yr warranty is worth it's weight in gold. If something is going to malfunction its gonna happen in the first two years. Send them the cam and $10 they give you a brand new replacement.

I have 7-8 of them. I had to send one back two years ago as you stated....$10 and a new replacement was sent. Some of mine are going on 5-6 years old this year. Good cameras.
 

dirtdigger1

Guest
I need to buy a couple of good ones but not expensive ones. I need 1 to watch the other one to find out who keeps borrowing mine but on SSI i can't drop a bunch into one.
 

30/06

Twelve Pointer
Love my coverts, for the $ you can't beat em. I even had some older (several years) 4.0s that the switch broke and when I complained to covert they gave me a great deal on a new cam. Awesome battery life and day time photo quality.

I've seen the pics the Wildgame Innovations cams take, crap! I can't stand the family or TV show either. I used to love Cuddeback until their customer service went downhill and while I own several Primos cams every single one is a replacement, they've all been sent back. Primos is using their name to sell junk. I could buy a Covert for all the $ I spent shipping cams back to them. Never again.
 
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Southside

Ten Pointer
Several years ago I bought one of the cheap wild game innovation cameras. Never had any problem and the pics were good. A bear destroyed it though. Just recently I got a moultrie a-8. So far I'm not impressed with it. As long as it will hold up and continue to work it will be fine I assume. These I know are the cheap ones so I will be OK with it as long I can get a few seasons out of it. There must be a problem with the wgi's as they have been mentioned here a several times but mine did fine.
 

Black Jack

Four Pointer
I just bought 4 Primos Truth Cam 35 Ultra’s to test. I had the old, big 35’s and when they worked they were good (not great). Please note that they were kept out all year and 2 were pointed in the direction of the sun’s travel. (I keep these “cheaper” units in the spots that they will probably get stolen or on areas that you wouldn’t want to put a very good cam in, like direct facing sun.) The 4 plus years they worked I never had any issues due to the sun, just moisture. There were a few design flaws with the old, big 35’s that let moisture in, especially the card reader slot at the bottom. The 35 Ultra has the card slot inside the door. It also has a different seal design.

Needless to say I was a little torn on getting the same brand but after some research I found the improvements had been made. Not to mention Primos was bought by Bushnell back in 2012. As far as price, I got them for $69.99 each from Natchez. Also, right now until April 30th Primos has a $30 mail in rebate on several models including the ones I bought. For $40 each, if I can get 4 years out of them I will be satisfied.
 
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