Top 5 Wildgame Cameras For Your Next Trophy Deer Hunt

One of the keys to a successful trophy deer hunt is the ability of the hunter to scout the area he/she is planning to hunt. Technology has expanded the hunters ability to do this.

The foremost piece of equipMent available to the hunter for year round scouting is a wildgame camera. Trail camera technology continues to advance with each and every hunting season. The information that these scouting cameras provide, makes them one of the most important investMents an avid deer hunter can make.

Hunters who employ the use of wildgame cameras year round are given a unique insight into the happenings of the fields and woods which they hunt or manage. The ability to see the migration patterns of the whitetail and other animals at all hours of the day and during varied weather conditions can prove to be valuable when planning your next hunt.

This ability is thanks to the leaps in technology made by trail camera manufacturers each year. Advances such as picture centering technology, HD photos and videos along with the ability to view this information from anywhere in the world gives the hunter extreme flexibility and knowledge of his game.

There are a multitude of trail cameras available on the market today. They vary widely in price and capability. To help you sift through, we have listed what we consider to be the top five wildgame cameras for overall performance and affordability.

1. Bushnell- Bushnell is no stranger to the trail camera market. Its Trophy Cam line of scouting cameras can fit in the palm of your hand. They run on either 4 or 8 AA batteries and have varied picture resolution settings of 3, 5 and 8 megapixel. The Trophy Cam has infrared night vision LED's and can accept a 16-gigabyte memory card. The XLT version also includes a full color two inch Lcd display.

2. Cuddeback- The Capture line of trail cameras by Cuddeback touts their complete ease of use; after all they only have a rotary switch and two buttons. The enTire Capture line offers Cuddeback's HAir Trigger and Centered Subject Technology. They do offer standard and infrared options. The Capture standard can take 3-megapixel color photos, day & night up to 50 feet. The Capture IR can take 5-megapixel color photos during the day and 1.3-megapixel IR photos at night up to 40 feet.

3. Moultrie- Moutlrie offers the hunter a number of option in their trail camera technology. The Game Spy I-35 is their most cost-effective and it is compatible with their Game ManageMent System. Sporting a price TAG of about 0, the I-35 is capable of taking 4-megapixel photos and 30 second videos. The nighttime range is about 5 feet and the I-35 can accept a 16-gigabyte memory card. Moultrie also has the D-55 series. The IR model sports a 5-megapixel image, camo housing and more high end features than you can shake a stick at.

4. Spy Point- The Spy Point houses a internal 32-megabyte memory with an ability to accept an 8-gigabyte memory card. As if this were not enough, the Spy Point touts a 12-megapixel picture. The Pro-X version has the ability to attach a solar panel to the scouting camera. By placing rechargeable AA batteries into the camera, the camera has a near unlimited power source.

5. Smart Scouter- The Smart Scouter relies on cell phone technology to provide the ultimate in hunter convenience. It utilizes this service to send trail camera photos to the hunter on wither his cell phone or Computer. This provides the hunter with the ability to disturb the deer woods minimally and still obtain an enormous amount of information. This trail camera does come with a monthly fee to access the cell phone service and providers include AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. The Smart Scouter uses infrared lighting so not to spook the game and touts a battery life of up to six weeks.

The smart hunter is a prepared hunter. Utilizing wildgame cameras gives unparalleled information to the hunter when preparing for the next deer hunting trip.