There were a lot of great entries and choosing a winner was not easy for Mikey or myself.  Thank you to all who participated.  I’ll be contacting the winners for shipping information.

First Place and winner of the custom dustyvarmint woodworks turkey call is Tony from Fort Worth, TX.

Second Place and winner of the Up North Journal donated broadheads is Kent from Ava, IL.

Third Place and winner of the turkey decoy is Dave from Rapid City, SD.

thanks again, dv

This brings our contest to a close.  The winners will be announced Wednesday, December 30th.  You can find the original contest announcement with prizes, rules and how you could have entered here.

Andrew of Oxford, AL sent in these two pictures of some very nice bucks trying to rattle up some hunters.  

Dave of Rapid City, SD sent in these pics of a jewelry wearing kitty-cat. 

This itchy buck pic was submitted by Kurt from Washington, PA.

Steve of Whitney Point, NY submitted this photo of “old floppy ears” checking out what that funny noise is.

“Bears at the Spa” was submitted by DJ of Kalispell, MT.

Contestants in the “Next Top Predator Contest” entered by DJ of Kalispell, MT.

What is that guy doing?  Submitted by DJ of Kalispell, MT.

Where’d he go?  Also submitted by DJ of Kalispell, MT.

Thank you to everyone who submitted pictures.  Best of luck to you all.

happy hunting, dv

You can find the original contest announcement with prizes, rules and how to enter here.

This piebald doe pic was submitted by Brent from Remus, MI.

Brent also submitted this video clip of the same piebald – awesome!

Piebald Video (if you receive an error message at Photobucket click “Ignore”. 

Denny of Summerdale, AL submitted this cat photo.

These fine bucks as well as the next two photos were submitted by Greg of Rochester, NY.

Looks like this doe wants a piece of the licking branch.

“With my extraordinary ninja skills I can escape the infrared beam.”

Jeff submitted this photo of a doe with her udder full.

Matt of Ishpeming, MI titled this one, “Quick, hide, another trail camera.”

I think the camera might have had a few too many “D” cells…  Thanks to Shack from IA.

Steve from Cecil, MI provided the next three photos. 

Steve notes that the buck was hurt (see the neck) in this photo.

Here the wound looks like it has healed some.

The next four pictures were submitted by Tony from Fort Worth, TX.

The variety of wildlife at this one location is amazing.

And that doe thought she had her udder full – or- these little piggies went to the crockpot.

Nice buck.

Thanks to everyone for the great entries, dv

You can find the original contest announcement with prizes, rules and how to enter here.

Dave from Elk River, MN submitted these great wolf photos.

Dillon from Port Orange, FL sent in this great buck picture.

Greg in Rochester, NY sent in this great sequence of a buck eating an apple.

James from London, UK (Mostly Archery goes global, Yeah!) sent this picture of a fox from his garden.

This great buck was submitted by Jeff from NH.

Gender bending?  Thanks to Kent from Ava, IL.

Nice poody-tat.  Also thanks to Kent from Ava, IL.

Matt Block of the Up North Journal Field Staff (ineligible to win) shares these next four great photos.

Rick from Niceville, FL sent in this crazy buck photo.  He had one heck of a night!

These turkeys are courtesy of Rickey from Port Orange, FL.

These sparring bucks are also from Rickey in Port Orange, FL.

These antlerless deer pictures were submitted by Sherri from Port Orange, FL.

Thanks for all the great entries, dv

You can find the original contest announcement with the prizes, rules and how to enter here.

Taylor from Park Hill, OK sent in this cool photo. 

Judy from Washington, DC, sent in this photo – since it contains a human it doesn’t count for the contest, but it is cool none-the-less.

Greg from Rochester, New York sent in the next three entries. 

Thanks to everyone for their entries, dv

Prizes:

• First Prize is a custom made dustyvarmint woodworks 3 1/4″ sandblasted glass surface, cherry pot turkey call with cherry striker.

• Second prize is a package of broadheads donated by the Up North Journal.
• Third prize is a Flambeau Turkey Decoy.

Rules:

• Myself and Mike “Mikey” Adams from Up North Journal are the judges. Our decisions are final.
• mrs. dv, Lexus, Maggie and Up North Journal staff members are prohibited from entering.

Their lack of thumbs (and jobs to afford game cameras) prevent Lexus and Maggie from being real contenders…

• Entered photos are to be undoctored game/trail camera pictures of non-human animals from the field. Folks, this is for small stakes fun Mikey and I aren’t techno-wizards able to detect a ‘shopped photo – be honest. However, if we’re suspicious out it will go.
• You agree, by submitting the photo, to let dustyvarmint’s Mostly Archery and Up North Journal use the photo now and in the future for any tasteful purpose.
• Just one hint – If you’ve read dustyvarmint’s Mostly Archery for any length of time you know this isn’t about who has the biggest 200″ typical 8-pointer on camera.

Entry:

-Submit your photos to dustyvarmint@hotmail.com with your name, city and state.  I’ll post them weekly from now until December 26th, 2009 at which time we’ll choose a winner.

Good luck and start submitting your photos, dv

One serious game camera enclosure.

He says, “The camera frame is made out of 1/4″ x4″x4″ angle and the door is 2″x2″x1/4″ angle and a piece of 1/4″ plate to fill in the rest of the opening.  Two inch pipe forms the wiring tube.  Sixteen inch by 1/4″ pipe with 1/4″ plate for the top for the battery box.   Then I painted it with camouflage paint from Orshlens.   I think on the bottom of the battery box I will put some small expanded metal so nothing can get in.  It can stand alone or you can strap it to a tree.  I got it strapped and locked to a tree so no one can take the whole thing.  I can put on two locks; one on the camera box and one on the battery box.  I got some cable and braided some loops in it so I can lock the stand to the tree.”

Nice job brother!

happy hunting, dv

If you liked this blog you may like the following:

• Hamming With Game Cams
• A dv Gear Review – Moultrie D40 Game Camera
• A dv Gear Review – Scout Guard 550 Game Camera
• Hazards To Game Cameras

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.

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Shredded solar panel and battery pack cables.

The following sequence of pictures shows a rascally raccoon or raccoons pulling the D40 off the tree it was mounted on.  Although the camera was fixed to the tree with bungee cords and a Master Lock Python cable the raccoon’s weight was enough to dislodge it and ensure any future pictures would be of a single plant.

Several young raccoons approach a mineral block.

The raccoons abandon the mineral block and head towards the game camera.

A raccoon dislodges the game camera.

This next picture shows Camp Pug member Hunt Master’s game camera after the outer case was infested with ants.  The folks over at Chasingame have indicated that ants can sometimes get into the internal portions of the camera and ruin the electronics.  Luckily the ants stayed in the outer case.  I was able to brush them and their eggs out with fern fronds as I despise being bitten by these little Herculean pests.

Ants in a game camera – not your pants…

Two-legged scum bags and large predators pose a much greater threat to game cameras.  Below are security boxes I’ve made for my two cameras from relatively inexpensive materials.  First is a security box for a Moultrie D40 game camera (see my review here).  It is fashioned from a surplus 7.62 NATO ammunition box that cost about $5.00.  I chopped the box in the appropriate places using an angle grinder fitted with a metal cutting blade.  Two eye-bolts were added (the ends of the threads were “peened” over to prevent removal) for the addition of a chain or Master Lock Python cable and two riser blocks were added to the back for proper camera positioning.  I primer painted the box to mitigate rust and added camouflage tape.  I like the look of the tape, but over time it starts to peel off.  In the future I’ll stick to my “compost” camouflage shown below.  A major detriment to this arrangement is that the box must be removed from the tree to swap out SD cards.

A security box made for the Moultrie D40 game camera. 

The completed security box along with some un-shredded cables.

The diminutive size of the HCO ScoutGuard 550 (see my review here) required a much smaller box than that of the D40.  I modified an air conditioner electrical cut-out switch box to fit this camera.  A Dremel tool was used to cut and grind the opening, hardware cloth was wired in to position the camera correctly and an eye bolt was installed to aid security with a chain or Python cable.  Foam buttons and a small bungee applied to the camera also helped position it correctly.  I also pop-riveted some small “L” brackets to the sides for use with bungee cords.  I primer painted the box and used sticks and grass from my compost pile along with three colors of paint for camouflage.  This set up allows me to swap out SD cards without removing the box from the camera.

A security box made for the SG550 game camera.

A close up of the foam buttons and hardware cloth.

The finished security box.

I am sure I haven’t encountered all the things that pose hazards to game cameras, but I’ll tell you I enjoy this hobby very much.

happy hunting, dv

If you liked this blog you may like the following:

• Hamming With Game Cams
• A dv Gear Review – Moultrie D40 Game Camera
• A dv Gear Review – Scout Guard 550 Game Camera

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

Product:  The Scout Guard 550 Game Camera

Overall Rating:  ****+ (4.5 stars)

Specifications:

- Extra small size 5 1/4″ H x 3 1/4″ W x 2 1/8″ D
- Motion Sensor with adjustable sensitivity
- 1.2 second trigger speed
- 3MP or 5MP picture size
- Up to 2GB SD card
- 1 second – 60 minutes programmable delay
- 1 – 60 second programmable video length
- Stand-by mode to preserve battery life
- 8 AA batteries – extra long battery life
- Wired remote control for easy programming and compact size
- Operates from -20c to 60c
- Available in camouflage for added concealment
- 1 year limited warranty   

Cost:  ***** (4 stars).  $199.95 including free shipping.  Compare its features and performance to comparable models and this is an excellent value.  I just hate spending this much for a camera. 

Performance:  ****** (5 stars).  I don’t ask a lot from my game cameras.  Take pictures or videos reliably and I’m set.  Trigger time is nice compared to my 3 second Moultrie D40.   

Battery life:  Outstanding.  Utilizing the camera on still picture mode with a single picture and one minute delay I put in a set of batteries on September 15th, 2008.  The batteries were still showing two-thirds battery life on January 3rd, 2009 after taking hundreds of photos. 

Picture quality:  Day time pictures and video are clear and some are so nice I want to frame them.  Night time infrared pictures and videos are a little grainy, but discernible.

Set up:  Set up is easy even without reading the manual.

Security:  Camera includes an integral groove for use with a cinch-able lock like the Master Lock Python series.  However, this is easily overcome by sliding the camera up the tree to a smaller diameter.  I recommend the use of a security box which I’ll feature in a future DIY blog.

Manufacturer’s Customer Service:  Not rated, not used.

Source:  Bee Busy Outdoors.  Ordering and shipping went smoothly.

General notes:  This is a great little game camera.  Easily concealable, well functioning.  I have to make one note about viewing pictures from it on common game camera viewers, digital picture frames or point-and-shoot cameras.  There are two common File Allocation Table (FAT) formats for removable media like SD cards, FAT 12 and FAT 16.  The SGs are FAT 16 which is the opposite of most devices.  This creates problems when trying to find a suitable field reader.  Your desktop or laptop PC will have no problems.  Just be aware of this going into a purchase.      

happy hunting, dv

If you liked this blog you may like the following:

• Hamming With Game Cams
• JD Welding Arrow Spin Testing – A dv Gear Review
• The Magnet Gun Caddy – A dv Gear Review
• A dv Gear Review – Moultrie D40 Game Camera

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

While it may not be all that exciting to most, this is our first bear picture from Camp Pug and is right behind the cabin.     

A bear crosses approximately 70 yards behind the cabin in the background.

happy hunting, dv

If you liked this blog you may like the following:

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I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.  

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