I have always considered myself a traditionalist, but my next statement will probably make some of my contemporaries scratch their  heads in disbelief. I believe the game cam is the single most advantageous hunting tool since the portable tree stand... if used properly. I have collected several over the past few years & they are the only hunting products I own that never come out of the woods. I use them year-round & I run them like my dad runs his trout-lines... religiously. In late Summer & early Fall I use them to help select optimum stand locations. I hang them over a trail or creek crossing to see the amount of activity in a particular area. Once my stand is hung, they continue to assist me. It's easier to get out of bed or sit in the tree longer if I know there is a quality buck frequenting the area. Game cams have also improved my success rate as I know what time of day (or night) deer are passing through. I will also hang them in oak flats or over food plots to show me when the deer start & stop using seasonal food sources. I use this technique all season long. In the Winter I love using cameras during pre, prime, & post rut. They show me when my herd is transitioning from pre to prime rut by the increase in buck photos in the daytime & the increase in yearlings on their own without mature does. I then move the game cams & my stands over scrape-lines. I have been pleasantly surprised with some of my best buck pictures during this highly active time of year. My cameras also tell me when to stop hunting scrape-lines... an overlooked tip that eludes most hunting whitetails late in the season. In the Spring & early Summer they help me find sheds. It's not uncommon to have several pictures of the same buck on one roll of film, & when I see a buck with a full rack & the very next day there's another picture of him with one side missing. It makes for a more aggressive & passionate shed hunt. I now enter the woods this time of year with an expectation of success instead of a hope of stumbling across a shed. There are many more uses for this wonderful invention, but I will limit my experiences to the wonderful world of whitetails. I have used them to scout for turkeys, catch poachers, & even identify a predator that was killing my neighbors chickens... I don't sell game cams, so like every product I write about,

I use it, endorse it, & can afford it. I hope more of you will use this fairly inexpensive & highly effective tool.