Many of us know from experience how bad it is to find our game camera has been stolen.
The guys at Guardian Hunting had that same experience, so they invented the Cam-Guardian line.
I got a chance to test out the Cam-Guardian line, and here's what I found.
President of Guardian Hunting and residing in Ohio, Gary Ostoyic, started his business out of necessity. He was sick and tired of sticky fingered thieves stealing his game cameras. While chatting with a friend working at a local hunting shop he discussed his dilemma. His friend said, why not make one yourself and sell it? The seed was sown and after much research and torture testing the Cam-Guardian was born.
I got a chance to sit down with Guardian Hunting's company president Gary Ostoyic at his headquarters in the small town of Burton, Ohio. Mr. Ostoyic is a firm believer in his products. He has tested them thoroughly along with his other products to make sure they work and are not like the many made in China gimmicks that saturate the hunting market. He is not in it for the money but to address shortcomings in the hunting gear market. He is foremost an archery hunter who chases large game, turkeys and even bear across the U.S. and Canada. It is safe to say he is one of us after sharing many hunting stories. Mr. Ostoyic's products are best described in his quote:
"Cam Guardian: Because you want to keep your camera more than a thief wants to steal it."
The products I tested are the Cam-Guardian and the Cam-Guardian Max. The game camera is a Covert Red Maverick Scouting Camera that has the loops on the back of the case. Both the Cam-Guardian and the Cam-Guardian Max mount your game camera to a tree securely using those loops. Make sure your game camera has those loops and you are good to go. The Cam-Guardian is made out of heavy duty heat treated high tensile solid steel banding 1/2" wide and 23/1000" thick. It has a single screw that is not a standard hex or torx head as many would think. Looking closer, you will notice a post in the middle. A special key is needed to open that screw, and without it, the Cam-Guardian is not going anywhere.
Now the Cam-Guardian Max is an even more imposing anti-theft obstacle. That heat treated high tensile solid steel banding is 3/4" wide and 33/1000" thick that has two of those locking screws. Talk about overkill. In this case that is indeed a good thing when you are essentially strapping $100 bills to a tree way out in the woods. Maybe figure the Original Cam-Guardian is for your under $100 game cameras and the beefy Cam-Guardian Max is for the high end game camera protection.
Testing out both the Original Cam-Guardian and the Cam-Guardian Max I was thoroughly impressed. Slide the metal strap through your game camera strap hardware and pull it tight around the tree. While keeping tension I tightened down with hand pressure the screw or in the case of the Cam-Guardian Max two screws. Then I pushed the camera and strap downward onto the tree to give a tight fit. When done correctly that game camera and the strap will be very tight around the tree. It is that simple.
What could get it off without the proprietary key? Well I tried allen keys, torx and vortex bits. They were useless to get the screws to even start turning. Prying does absolutely nothing. A hacksaw can cut the screw heads off true but the threaded portions will still hold like a rabid pit bull. The angle when mounted on a tree is hard to get "teeth" into with a hack saw. Wire cutters are a no go too. Maybe a 12 gauge shotgun slug expertly fired through the band? Remember generally thieves afield will want to steal your game camera without destroying it to either use it themselves or sell it off. A busted game camera is not what they are after or they will destroy the camera itself while the Cam-Guardian still does it's job. Once you lock down the Cam-Guardian it will certainly still be there when you get back.
I am highly impressed with the made in the U.S.A. Cam-Guardian line. Such simple but tough products can save you lots of money and headaches in the long run and you support a great small business.
Be sure to drop by Guardian Hunting's website to check out their whole line of products specifically made for hunters by hunters.
NEXT: WE REVIEW CLENZOIL FIELD & RANGE, THE SHOOTING INDUSTRY'S SECRET SUPER-PRODUCT
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