As hunters and outdoorsmen, we enjoy observing wildlife almost as much as harvesting those favorite species for the table. Trail cameras have certainly expanded our ability to see wildlife activity when we’re not on the ground, and we’re fortunate to have at our disposal a new generation of cameras that take that opportunity to unprecedented levels.

If you’re like me, you appreciate any technology that maximizes the effectiveness of our pursuit — whether that means inventorying resident game animals, identifying the annual crop of bucks, or patterning deer for optimal hunting times and stand locations. And if it makes life easier and saves time in the process, so much the better.

The newest, most advanced trail cameras available today offer many improved features and benefits compared to the previous generation cameras. The quality of images and videos are now super clear, sharp, and bright, and cellular-based cameras can even load image and video captures instantaneously to your phone. They are also faster and work at greater distances. No more blurry, out of focus, and grainy images of deer, bear, elk and other animals we study prior to and during hunting season.

The key to maximizing your trail camera during the summer and pre-season months is actually getting the camera and the animals in the same place. One way to help do that is by employing the same trick most of us use during hunting season — using attracting or curiosity scents. Sound crazy? It’s not, if you select the right scent. You certainly wouldn’t want to employ “sex” scents this early in the year, but curiosity scents that are not based on whitetail mating scents are perfectly suited for getting animals in front of your cameras this time of year.

We started using Wildlife Research Center’s Active-Cam last year and began seeing more animals around our cameras than we used to by simply setting up in “most likely” areas. Active-Cam is an attractant/curiosity scent that seems to pull in deer long enough to capture good stills and video, and it keeps them coming back until the next application.

We apply the lure on wicks in mid-summer, when deer movements and patterns are still somewhat unpredictable, and usually several different animals to our setups in short order. Simply saturate a wick with Active-Cam and hang it 4–6 feet high and about 10 feet in front of the camera. The scent of the lure works its magic by stimulating the olfactory interests of any wildlife in the area, including bobcats, foxes, raccoons, deer, coyotes and more. It’s not a urine-based scent but rather a special blend of ingredients that works throughout the year.

I like using this as a curiosity scent in areas I haven’t spent a lot of time studying or hunting, making Active-Cam, along with a trail camera, an effective combination for scouting a new area where you’re not exactly sure of the resident game patterns. You can cover new territory more quickly this way without worrying about spooking any big bucks by using intrusive scents.

Not knowing what will be on the SD card is part of the excitement of downloading and reviewing images for the first time. At my house, pulling and reviewing camera cards is a family event. Each of my four kids share the excitement of discovering what’s in the unknown image files. We typically gather around the screen and start clicking, tallying all the different species we find and voting on which ones are our favorites.

Sure, finding a big drop point buck or a solid, uniform eight-point buck is a perk to the trail camera collection, but drawing more wildlife to the camera is the real value. Furthermore, the effort spent now will pay off later in the year when the “real” hunting season rolls around.

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