I'm buying a place that is currently hunted by some friends of the seller, who haven't been taking care of it as evidenced by the amount of discarded beercans sitting around each blind. Anyways, I don't want them hunting and have told the Seller he needs to remove them.

Anyways, I live about an hour from there and the hunters are in the area. While, I have hopes that they are upstanding guys and wont trespass/poach on my property, I'd like to get a game camera to put up more for security reasons than game.

Does anybody have a recommendation for a good camera? How about the ones with Cell service? Is it worth the expense? I've looked on Amazon and there are lots to choose from, but I'm having trouble trusting the cheap ones on there.

There are a lot of cameras out there nowadays that are pretty good for the money. I used to be a Cuddeback promoter, still think they are really good, but after using a few cheaper options, i don't think there is the need to drop extra change depending on your application.

Moultrie - pretty good little camera. The two I have we about $125/each. Good day and night pictures. Trigger speed is a little slow for my liking (ghost pictures) but it's serviceable.

Wild game - I have had 3 of these, one just broke after about 4 years in the field (taking pics year round). No idea what the models are but they have all been on sale and less than $90. Same issues as the mouktrie with the trigger speed and probably not as good night pictures. Still not bad for the money.

Cuddeback - when they are working, I still think it's the best camera out there. Problem with some of the new ones is the detection zone being too narrow. The older attacks I have had never had an issue with this apparently the new ones have a very focused sensor (I believe it can be adjusted). I haven't put my new one out yet to know for sure, it's actually still in the box on my desk. The best part about them is the super fast trigger speed. You just don't get a lot of ghost photos that you see with other cameras.

StealthCam - never been a fan of them less the ease of operation. Have seen a few guys on my lease struggle with them and I have never been a fan of the pictures their cameras take.

All of the cameras that have wifi/remote data capability are completely foreign to me. I am sure their are some good ones out there but we just don't have the cell service for them to work.

The place my FIL hunts they have a remote video system to monitor any gate activity. No idea the camera but knowing the owner of the ranch, no expense was spared. It sends email and or text when motion is trigger and then you can pull up live feed.

All that being said, I would be careful what cameras you put out. It sounds like there might be a good chance if you put them out and they are spotted, they will disappear or be vandalized.

You can get a bear/lock box and put them in there or try and conceal them as best as possible. I would go with the latter and put some cheap cameras out there until these guys are gone. Or put one good camera by the gate, possibly one with wifi/cell service to track everyone that comes in and out.

Good luck! Apologies for typos... Posting from iPhone

I've had good luck with Browning cameras. You can get some for pretty cheap if you catch them on sale.

"Best" trail cam vs. best for your use might be 2 very different things. Best is Reconyx. They go $400-800.

Best value cams (under $200) are probably Bushnell, Browning, Covert, Moultrie.

Some of the Primos Ultra Cams are pretty solid too and can be found for under $100 but the picture quality isn't as good in general.

I would suggest you might invest in 2 cameras. The cheapest one you can find, placed right out where it is easy to see, and then a good one, hidden well (high up if possible) pointing at the cheap one. If I'm reading your situation right the lazy F'ers are likely to steal any camera they see. So consider the first camera "bait" if you will.

I have no comment on the WiFi cams because I've never used them.

I gave my Dad a wireless Bushnell Trophy Cam as a gift, and it seems to be reliable for sending pictures by mobile connection. You can have the camera text you pictures and there is a mobile app to change settings remotely. The base plan is for 1000 pictures a month for $10.

Looking for a quality cam for my dad for Christmas that's <$150 and ideally $100.

Suggestions?

Mine are all Browning Strike Force HD and have held up well.

Perfect thank you