It’s bear hunting season, and while setting up your game and trail cameras can provide invaluable insights on the comings and goings of black bears, brown bears, and grizzly bears—it's not uncommon for our furry friends to spot them and be interested in what is going on behind the lens. Here are some of the best ways to bear-proof your trail cameras this bear hunting season.
(Photo credit: Brandon Cottrell)
(Photo credit: Tony Morin)
1. Hang the trail camera up high
While many bears are great climbers, placing your trail camera high off the ground can help to keep it out of direct sight and deter curious cubs from gnawing on it. Aim for about six feet or higher and angle the camera downwards using the SPYPOINT adjustable mounting arm. To deter persistent climbers, you can try mounting your trail camera on something harder to climb such as a thinner tree or metal pole.
(Photo credit: Floor Terpstra)
(Photo credit: Randy Kyrk)
2. Use a trail camera security box
If you’re a trail camera user who lives in a bear hunting zone, finding the right security boxes to add to your bear hunting gear kit is important. SPYPOINT offers a variety of trail camera security boxes made of 16-gauge steel that can be used as another layer of protection. These security boxes camouflage the main body of the camera and make it harder to access. The important thing when buying a trail camera security box is choosing one that is compatible with your trail cam:
The SB-500S: compatible with all FLEX series cellular trail cameras except the FLEX-PLUS
The SB-400: compatible with all 48 LED trail cameras, such as the FORCE-48, FORCE-20, and FORCE-PRO
The SB-200: compatible with all 42 LED cameras, such as the FORCE-DARK, SOLAR-DARK, LINK-EVO, LINK-S, and LINK-DARK
The SB-300S: compatible with the LINK-MICRO series of cameras, such as the LM2, LINK-MICRO, LINK-MICRO-LTE, and LINK-MICRO-S-LTE
(Photo credit: Randy Kyrk)
(Photo credit: Randy Kyrk)
3. Lock the trail camera security box down
Even if you box up your trail camera and hang it super high, a bear may still be able to shimmy up a tree and quite easily pull it down. For stronger fastening, lock your game camera in place with a strong combo lock or the SPYPOINT six-foot cable lock.
4. Don’t leave a scent
Make it a habit to set your trail cameras up before handling any type of food, bait, or scented products that could leave a residue on them. Use gloves or unscented field wipes to wipe the game cameras down after setup to remove as much scent as possible.
(Photo credit: Trevor Boyd)
(Photo credit: Trevor Boyd)
5. Get creative
If you’ve tried the other methods of bear-proofing suggested, and you are still having a problem with losing your cameras to curious black bears, brown bears, or grizzlies, our SPYPOINT pro-staff and influencers have a creative solution to share.
“I put mine about seven feet up, take a few two-by-fours about four feet long, put three-inch nails through the boards, and screw them around the tree about a foot below the game camera,” says Steven Elliot.
Elie Desgagné, host of ROADHUNT.TV, mounts his trail cam on a wood board before attaching it to the tree and drills long screws all around it to deter prying paws.
In both scenarios, the nails and screws point outward, creating a physical barrier. Using this type of solution should not hurt a curious bear trying to get at your trail cameras, only poke them hard enough to think twice about touching them again.
Article by Cara Fox
