2012 Murphy Metal Art (www.murphymetalart.com) camera mounting brackets review

As we normally do we look at all things trail cam and here is just another example. Know around here for the past few years as “T-Post”, he has been a steady supporter and good friend to the industry. Here is a series of four pictures of the first of several we are going to mention. Shown first is just the bracket that screws into the tree and allows small cameras like the Moultrie M-80 that has strap loops to just slip over this assembly and hold the camera in place. It has a locking hole in the end to prevent the camera from being removed unless the thief decides to break the loops off. We thought up another alternative to this setup using a couple of solid rings from Home Depot costing 80 cents. Probably a D ring from Tractor supply would be a better choice and would fit closer to the bend in the assembly. The hole in the bracket had some rough edges so I took a bit the same size and rocked it back and fourth in my drill and this removed the roughness and allowed the Python cable to slide through. With the double ring set up the front of the camera would remain secure and the whole assembly could not be unscrewed off the tree. Of course the degree of security in this type of setup would depend on the aggressiveness of the would-be taker. A good chain saw or heavy duty cutter could defeat most trail cam security measures. This very cool setup and design should be a big plus for most anyone who has relative safe areas to deploy their cameras and it is simple to install at most angles and on trees that are not exactly strait enough for a standard mount. 

Note: click pictures below to get a larger version

The next bracket is adjustable and has a set of accessories that can be had to match the type of setup you wish to have. The extra accessory brackets can allow for tri pod inserts to be utilized if available on the camera. These include the bottom located and the back located. They even have the proper screw for that dumb millimeter insert chosen by Moultrie on their mini cameras like the M-80. This set of accessory brackets also includes the through the loop mini cam type which utilizes the strap loops to hold the camera and will allow the tilting and aiming as needed. Larger heavy cams like the Primos cameras that have the rear inserts can also be supported by this angle bracket. These must be mounted (adjusted) closer to the tree in order to insure that there is not chatter from wind that may affect PIR function. 

The final item in a long list is the T post bracket which was the item that started all this business. It is a plate about a foot tall and nine inches wide with an array of holes and cut outs that match a long list of past and present cameras. The rear has bend outs that fit up to 1 1/2 inch posts and there are top and bottom holes for U bolts to secure it to the chosen type of post may have. There are openings that line up with the strap loops on some cameras that allow a supplied plate to be pushed through the loops on the back of the plate and secure the camera to the plate. Other openings utilize bolts screws or bungee/strap holders. The edge has V notches cut in so things do not slip down. The accessory angle brackets used on the other screw in type of mounts can also be adapted to this plate for those who utilize the bottom tri pod inserts to mount. This multi purpose plate can be mounted on a variety of poles like the T post and square or round metal pipes. The cool thing about this is you could go inside a large evergreen bush and drive your post in and attach this plate to mount your camera. This sneaky way your camera would be looking out through the foliage (a little hole to prevent false PIR triggers) and would be very hard to see. Or for those time laps users where the appropriate tree just did not grow in the exact area needed to cover the target area this would fit that situation fine. The application of this system can give 360 degree mounting at most any angle and most every location if a post can be put in the ground.

The holes and openings are listed on the package and include past and present cameras from the following companies.

• Stealth

• WGI

• Moultrie

• Cudde

• Bushnell

• HCO

• DLC

• Primos

• Homebrew (Just think what you could do with this)

This concludes this report