Although some hunters prefer to leave trail cameras in the woods to capture images all year long it is important to properly care for and protect your camera when you decide it is time to put it away for the year.
Neglecting your trail cameras after you pull them from the field can lead to a shorter life span and a variety of other quality issues. Let's take a look at a few things you can do to make sure you are properly caring for your trail cameras in the offseason.
Grade Condition of Trail Cameras
Whether you are running 1-2 trail cameras or have a large-scale fleet deployed each fall you should always take an assessment on the condition of your trail camera before putting it away in storage.
Harsh environmental conditions can expose weaknesses in both the battery connection and electronics. Here are a few things I look for when I decide if my camera is worth keeping around for another year:
Corrosion where batteries connect
All electronic functions are working properly
The seal around the camera door is air-tight
Damage around the camera lens or SD card port
Properly Store Your Batteries
The safe storage of your batteries is often one of the most overlooked things after you pull your trail camera out of the woods. The first thing you should understand is to never leave your batteries in your trail camera when not in use. This can cause corrosion which kills the battery and can even create issues for the camera.
After you have removed the batteries and determined which ones are worth putting into storage, it's best to stay organized. I like these plastic storage cases because they are easy to pack away and I can write on the case with a Sharpie marker.
Don't Forget the SD Card
Like trail cameras, your memory card can go bad from time to time and it is worth removing them from your camera at the end of the season and giving it an inspection before putting them away.
The last thing to note on our list of tips is to make sure to delete your images before putting your cards away. It can be a painful experience when you do your first camera pull of the new year expecting to look through plenty of new photos only to have your card filled with pictures from the previous season.