Calendar art features dazzling trail camera photos

I have a love-hate relationship with trail cameras. Checking their SD cards is like an early Christmas — opening those images on my point-and-shoot camera in a hunting blind brings the surprise gift of the local bucks, does and even an occasional coyote or raccoon that pass by.

I’ve had more than my share of issues with these magical little hunting tools. First, they suck batteries like Winnie the Pooh at his honey jar, especially when it’s cold. Second, some of them are so complex that they require an engineering degree to set properly.

I’ve only owned three brands of trail cams: Moultrie, Wildgame Technologies and Browning. The Moultrie was simple to use and took fairly good photos, but had a somewhat slow trigger speed (faster is better to avoid missing moving animals) and eventually stopped working. The Wildgame Technologies seems to work a little better, and I’ve had pretty good luck with it. The Browning has an amazing range of 100 feet, no-glow flash and a complex menu that I still haven’t mastered.

I set the Browning up once when we were on vacation and, when I got back, I had thousands of photos of a moving tree limb. Recently, I tried it in a deer woods and accidentally set it on time lapse (I still haven’t figured out the purpose for such a setting, unless you want photos of a melting iceberg) and got 2,500 photos, spaced a minute apart, of my ground blind and two photos of turkeys.

Seeing deer and other game moving through an area is useful to help you know what sort of bucks or does are there, but a beautiful buck photo taken at 2:35 a.m. doesn’t mean you will ever see that buck during legal shooting hours.

One man who knows trail cameras and has put them to work for him is Jim Schoenike, of rural Marion. He produces an annual wildlife calendar shot only with his trail cams. His tips on trail cam usage can help you use them more effectively, and might encourage you to use them during the off-season to get extraordinary shots of wildlife, just as he has.

The avid deer hunter and owner of about 200 acres of woods, swamp and farm fields in Waupaca County first started using basic trail cameras in the early 2000s, when they still used film. Like most of us deer hunters, he just wanted to know what bucks and does were roaming his hunting haunts.

Schoenike, president of Clintonville Bow Hunters and a columnist for the Wisconsin Bowhunters Association magazine, began to catalog his thousands of images, including raccoons, hawks, owls, foxes and even bears, bobcats and wolves.

Schoenike’s calendars, produced under his Big Oaks Products moniker (www.bigoakproducts.com), have amazingly sharp, clear photos that are so much better than any trail cam photos I’ve ever seen. In fact, many of the images rival those shot with professional cameras.

He offers many tips on using trail cams, but the keys are to position the camera properly (at the proper height for the animal you are trying to capture) and make sure the lighting is sufficient.

Placing the camera with the sun to the rear is obvious. Depending on the time of day you may expect the deer or other game to show, you may need more than one camera pointing in different directions for optimum results. In most cases, face your cameras to the northeast or northwest.

He uses a fully adjustable bracket that allows the camera to be positioned at almost any angle.

Practice good scent control around your trail cams, even wearing rubber gloves if possible.

He’s stuck with Cuddeback cameras because he knows how they work and because they have proven reliable. Cuddebacks have a fast ¼-second trigger when motion is detected, resulting in capturing more images than a slower trigger time. He may have up to two dozen cameras out at any time and uses them all year, not just during the deer season.

One thing I like about the Cuddebacks he showed me was that some models feature a dial setting, rather than an electronic menu. This means fast and simple settings that can be checked at a glance. I hate clicking through long menus and hoping they are set properly.

He agrees with the philosophy of the simpler, the better.

He never shoots video, saying video is less useful for determining a buck’s antlers than still photos. He’s not used any of the newer cameras that send images to a cell phone.

He powers his two dozen cameras with ordinary alkaline batteries, stocking up when they are on sale.

Trail cams aren’t just used by hunters. He encourages birdwatchers to set one up near the backyard bird feeder, or set one on a post frequented by hawks and owls. He built a box to protect a camera and make it easier to mount on a post. That’s how he got several of his most dramatic shots.

His photos also caught the attention of Fleet Farm, which has sold holiday gift tins of candy with his Big Oak Products images for many years.

If you are looking for a unique Christmas or birthday gift for a hunter or other wildlife lover, check out his 12-by-18-inch wall calendars at BigOakProducts.com. He also sells note cards and prints of his amazing photos.

Ross Bielema is a freelance writer from New London and owner of Wolf River Concealed Carry LLC. Contact him at Ross@wolfriverccw.com.