I voted for flash. I like the color pictures. To see the reaction of the deer to the camera and the flash, during the last 2 days of our muzzleloading season, I set up a camera while I was on stand. This camera was set over bait. This was the 1st time, I had a camera in this location. The deer never were disturbed by the camera. And during the last half hour of light, when the flash was turning on, the deer never even looked at the camera. Of course, there was not a mature buck there during this time only does and young bucks.

However, when a deer comes to the feeder (spin cast) for the 1st time and it turns on, the deer take off like they were shot from a cannon.

I also voted white flash because of the better picture.
I don't think deer care either way. If one doesn't like an Ir flash, then it probably wont like a white flash. But I like the fact that folks cant see those emitters from a long way off and maybe steal my camera.

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Always believe you will see a tremendous buck when you go hunting..sooner or later, you'll kill one...

3 Reconyx Hyperfire HC600 (1 on Texas road patrol)
1 Browning Recon Force
1 Browning Special Ops
1 Moultrie M-990I
1 Moultrie Panoramic 150 (on order)
1 Ltl Acorn 5210A
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1 Sony S600 Homebrew

i have both flash (stealth wd2) and IR camera(i40).

I love the stealth for quailty flash pictures at night. You can really see everything in color.

The Ir isnt as picture perfect as a flash, but i like it.

Spooking deer- both do. I get alot of IR pictures of deer looking at the camera.

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Pro-Staff member for:
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2013 Covert Mp6 Black
2012 Covert Black 60
2011- Moultrie M80 (updated)
2007- Moultrie i-40
2006- Stealth Cam WD2

I've got a Leaf River IR and I may have had 2 pictures in a year that I would say deer "spooked".

The vast majority I would say the deer stared at it or were curious and walked to it. In some cases right up to it.

I've also got a flash Cuddeback that they either ignor completely or a few have looked at.

My preference beween the two is probably the flash for picture quality.

The biggest fear I have with putting cameras directly where I'm considering placing stands is to nudge mature bucks away from the flash, from the stand site.

I've got so few mature deer it's hard to answer that question.

I will say the P&Y bucks I have pictures of in the last year were not spooked by either.

I perfer Ir as I have did my own testing at the feeder behind my house. I am not sure if flash scares deer more than Ir or not but I do know I get more pictures at the same feeder using IR everything else being equal. I have seen wild hogs run up to a feeder and the camera White flash and they ran off That happened last fall while I was hunting on a feeder with a WD2 camera mounted there. I watched a big buck jump when he saw the red leds of my I-40 go off at dusk on a feeder this fall. Overall I give the advange to the Ir because 1# the deer has to be looking right at the camera to see the leds light up and a flash can been seen a hundred yards away at night and the stray light from any angle if the deer are close by the camera. Ii don't think one flash is a big deal I think on a feeder the camera flashing every few minutes drives some deer crazy and some leave some don't mind at all. The big plus for me with Ir is people don't see it as easy that keeps my cams safe. Two years ago I saw a flash at dusk about 200 yards away checked it out and found my buddys camera!

I have a Bushnell 11-9203 that has both white flash and infared- You need to set the clock for sunrise and sunset to get the camera to switch over. I also have a Cuddeyback no Flash.
In October I made an error on the Bushnell sunrise setting. At 5 AM I made my way up the logging road to my tree stand. As I approched the camera was taking white flash pictures every 30 seconds. "Spooky, was the camera broke?" I thought. When I passed the camera it took my picture with the white flash. I set up in my tree stand and hunted until 10 AM. As I left I switched cards and reviewed the time settings. User Error again.
When I reviewed the pictures there was a mature 8 point at my stand at 5 am setting off the camera. The white flash did not phase him a bit.
From the thousands of pictures I have most every deer looks up to check out the red infared glow as the picture is taken. This causes a blur of the head about 30% of the time.
The big bucks that get caught for the first time on IR freeze and are gone in the next picture. The do come around in a few weeks and get used to the IR.
To sum up:
1) IR is good to conceal the camera from the public eye. Even though I have private, posted land I would not want to set white flash anywhere near the property line or public road.
2) The yearlings think the IR is a natural thing. How would they know any differance.
3) The white flash is considered natural lightening.
4) If you are putting the camera out in an area for the first time in a new area, you will alert deer that something is up with IR. White flash at a higher camera placement may be more natural for them but you may draw people to your camera.
5) I am taking 30 sec IR videos lately and one or two deer out of 6 may bolt and get excited about the new longer red light. It is comical at times.

Although I like the color pictures, I will stick with IR so I will not need to put a lock on the cameras.

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(1) 06 Cudde No Flash red
(1) 09 Bushnell Trophy Cam red
(1) 08 WGI S-1.3 white
(2) 10-11 Uway NT 50 B -Invisible Flash BF
(1) 11Truth 60 Black Out BF
(1) 11-M80 red
(1) 12-M80 BLX BF
(1) 12-Primos BlackOut CR BF
(1) 12 WGI Red 4 4NE
990I

I agree with the above post. I have 1000's of pix from both flash & IR. I have pix of deer spooked from both cams. But the 1st set of pix I have off my IR's of very good bucks of them being spooked, I never got another picture of them on any of my 9 cams after that, so I don't know if they took a different route or vamoosed out of the area. On the other hand, on my flash cams I have several nice bucks and repeat appearances. SO I dunno. I can sure tell you, coons are not camera shy no matter where your geographically located!

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waiting for Nov. 3rd Pike County, IL!

When this post started I voted for the IR. I have the I-60 and was just starting to fool around with the homebrew camera's. Now that I have a few built and had them out in the woods, I haven't really noticed the deer spooking here to either IR or the white flash. If I could vote again it would be for the white flash. I like the pic quality better at night more than the IR. I still feel the IR camera has a place and best served if in a area where there is a likely hood of people being around

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Dave,
NRA Life Member
Outdoor-Talk
BlackHillsDave Trail Cam Photos
My Best Buddy,

I say white flash also for the color nite pics.

To keep the thievin P.O.S. from taking them ir all the way. I had a big deer last year (I posted his pic in the pic/video section) that I did seem to get more pics with my cudde no flash as opposed to the excite I hung in the same spot. I had to find out for myself. I will say that when I put my no-flash on video mode though he absolutely did not like the ir staying on. Spooked him away for a few days.

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Joe Thompson

For Deer. I believe they both can be seen by the animals, ie deer. I also believe that animals get used to seeing these "flashes" from both cams. I've had many great pix from IR and from White Flash cameras at night, some spooking and some not. In my experience though, (oh boy here we go) it seems when ever I have a nice buck get "caught" from the White Flash Camera, I won't see that buck again for awhile, or ever again. Coincidence??? I dunno. Could have been, but not so much for the IR cam. Many bucks, same bucks, over and over bucks......(may be one camera smelled funny.... )

Now in saying that I know deer change their patterns throughout the year because of food, hormones, and pressure etc.. So I can't base my answer soley on the pic's.... though I do. I will use my IR in an area that I am trying to catch a certain Buck....during hunting season, and use the White Flash any other times, Especially for turkey. So I'm voting IR.......even though I own both....

Oh yeah, I won't use the White Flash ANYWHERE near public land or close to a road and what not..... lots of honest people out there, and some not so much. We were coon hunting some public land and the dogs had a coon tree'd and about every minute this white flash would appear in the woods (middle of the winter) and could be seen for ever. Needless to say, we gathered the dogs up and got a few more poses of us and the dogs b4 we left!!! Priceless, I just wonder if the guy is on this site........hmmm

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The Rich have Therapy, the rest of us have hunting!
SG550-I40-M60-Wildview

I voted for white flash simply because I have no experience with an IR cam. I am seriously considering getting one though. I also like the color nighttime photos, and I have been more than happy with my I450 since I got the external battery kit. But I would like to do my own test to compare an IR and the flash cameras, and the prices have come down to the point where that is an option.

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Live to hunt, hunt to live.

I did not vote. The reason is that I have a white flash and now have a black flash. I am sure that the blackflash cause less fear than the white flash to the deer. If anyone feels different than please post your experiences.. I know that the black flash is fairly new technology.... I just love all these little devices...

There is not doubt that the black flash (XIR in my case) has had an amazing positive effect on my deer behavior around my cameras.

Thanks,

Jack

I agree 1000% with anyone who said that IR will spook deer. This is why I went with flash. Deer do see shades of colors that we do not see and the red from IR is certainly one of them. I have a set of pictures from my new game cam with some deer that started feeding around 7PM and they were still on the camera at 3AM and none of the pictures show any sign of these deer being spooked by the flash, which is white light, they obviously have little conception of white shades.

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