anyone use gun mounted cameras?

[Underhammer]

I think I saw @sky hawk had a post on them once, but I was thinking of getting one for a bird hunting trip that maybe I could move to my deer hunting rifle.

What's the skinny? What should I be looking for as far as turning on recording, etc, depending on use situations i.e. birding over dogs versus head shooting deers.....

Is there a good one for both situations?

 

[nccatfisher]

Shot Cams work pretty good they are vibration activated and you can manually turn them on. That was the older ones, not familiar with the new generation. Some said in another thread you can get firearm mounts for GoPros, not familiar with those but the quality would be better I would assume.

 

[snakeskinner]

I think you would be better off mounting one to your head. It will capture the whole hunt.

 

[sky hawk]

I have two SkotKams (Gen 3/Gen4). The other major competitor is Tactacam which is a little cheaper. I can't speak to how well the Tactacams work - I have seen video from them, but I haven't used one.

The ShotKam's primary mode is to wake from sleep when it is bumped, then it will initiate video capture several seconds before and after it registers recoil. There are a few different settings to adjust how long you want it to record or how long you want the video clip to be. In addition, with two clicks of a button, you can put it into continuous record mode. The standard zoom is either 3x or 4x, but it can be adjusted up to 8x (Gen 4 only) with lower resolution. This camera works very well for ground game also but is going to give much better video at shorter ranges (<100 yards). It works great for turkey hunting. If you are wanting high zoom capability for longer ranges, a normal camcorder works better.

IMO, the ShotKam works very well for bird hunting, but there is a little bit of a learning curve. The benefit of this type of camera is you get a good view of the bird because of the zoom, and you can even see your shot pattern. If you miss, you know where. The video quality is very good (up to 4k). The alternative would be to use a GoPro type body mounted camera, which typically has no zoom, is wide-angled, and will capture the entire scene, but you often can barely see the bird at all.

 

[brownisdown]

kids got a shotkam and gopro for Christmas. hoping to put them in the field soon.

 

[cuppednlocked]

I have a Tactacam for turkey hunting and a Shotkam for wing shooting. Both do one thing well, but not the same thing.

 

[NCST8GUY]

I have multiple Tactacams, and a ShotKam. CuppednLocked is correct, both have advantages.

For bird shooting I'd prefer the shotkam because the bump to activate is the quickest way to start recording.

For deer and turkey hunting I prefer the Tactacams because there is often time to press the record button and the tactacams can have 5x power zoom.

I also loved using the "lidcam" which attached to my hat rim, required a touch button to start recording, but the mic is so close to my nose and mouth it sounds like I'm hyperventilating (which I ususally do when turkeys are coming to me).

Biggest issue for me with head mounted cameras are when I'm lining up the shot, all you see is part of my gun and the ground below me.

I have never tried a gopro in a hunting situation.

 

[ibgreen]

Here is the footage from my last hunt.

 

[minuteman]

No cameras. Don't want anybody witnessing my bad shooting.

 

[DRS]

Don't like the GoPro. Tactacam mounted on a scope, worked good but was mounted awkward. Not very good in low light. I liked the Lidcam best, but it kept pulling my hat down. Best videos we have gotten were those my wife gets with her phone.