4 Ways To Watch Football At Deer Camp

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Unfortunately, for deer hunters, college football season falls smack dab in the middle of deer season.

In the past, football fans had an either-or decision to make on football weekends. You could either go to deer camp, or watch football, but not both.

Thanks to most games being televised, combined with the fact that there are various ways to watch games, hunting doesn’t have to interfere with football. Below are all the ways you can catch your favorite teams, even while at deer camp.

Basically, you’re going to need internet of some sort, or satellite, or a broadcast tv antenna. Let’s see what might be the best alternative for you.

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1. Stream Football Games On Your Smartphone

One of the most common ways to get football coverage at deer camp is to stream it from your mobile phone. That’s of course assuming you have a good enough signal to do so.

Watch Football In The Deer Stand!

By using your phone, you can even watch tv in the deer stand, while hunting. I’ve done this many times, and it works great.

Ditch the wires, and use wireless Bluetooth earbuds, like the Tozo’s linked below. This will give you a better sound experience without spooking deer. You are more likely to accidentally yank wired earbuds out of your ears, causing deer-spooking noise. So, wireless is better for hunting.

Obviously, a larger tablet screen, such as an iPad, results in a better viewing experience, but I just happily watch games directly from my iPhone.

You’ll need a very good cell signal to watch from your phone. I actually made sure I had good cell reception on my deer hunting property before I even bought it 😉 Something to think about.

Streaming Services That Offer Live College Football

Below are the internet streaming packages that currently offer ESPN, the SEC Network, and other premium sports packages that you may need.

Using SlingTV on my iPhone is my preferred method of watching college football at deer camp. Honestly, that’s because, as of this writing, Sling was the cheapest option. Sling is easy to use, and is easily turned on and off as needed (by the month).

You May Have To Use A Cell Phone Booster

Cell Booster devices are good for when you need a stronger cell signal than you currently have. They are good for remote areas with poor reception.

Cell boosters are also good at getting a signal from under a metal roof, such as a trailer or shed cover.

Cell boosters use an external antenna to grab any available signal. It then sends the “weak” signal to an amplifier that “boosts” it a bit. So you are introducing a middle man, of sorts, that shouts the signal back and forth between your mobile phone and the cell tower.

If you can’t currently stream from your phone at deer camp, a cell booster may be an option.

Tap In To A Different Cell Phone Carrier

If you have a cell signal at your deer camp, but it’s just not strong enough to stream football games, consider checking into other carriers.

If a different carrier gets a better signal at your camp, you might purchase a hotspot from that carrier. That way, you don’t necessarily even have to swap your cell phone provider.

Aside from football season, I don’t watch a lot of other sports throughout the year. I typically only activate a streaming package during college football season, and then I turn it back off as soon as it’s over. This makes Sling, in particular, a very affordable deer camp option.

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2. Use Satellite TV To Watch Football At Deer Camp

If you don’t have an adequate cellular signal, or some other form of quality internet, a satellite dish is your next best option.

Investing in a satellite dish can bring football to the remotest of deer camps, even when there are no utilities available. People do it all the time when tailgating football games. Why not do the same at deer camp?

With any satellite, you’re going to need a clear line of sight to the sky. So, you may have to mount the dish up on a pole. Also, signal issues can arise in heavy storms. You may lose your signal for a period of time, until the worst of a storm passes through.

All in all, satellite can be a bit pricey to initially set up, but it is a great option.

Perhaps you don’t feel the need to actually watch football in the deer stand. At least with satellite, you can watch the game back at the camper or cabin after your hunt.

1. Direct TV For Deer Camp

Direct TV has fallen behind DISH in this space. It’s more complex to set up, there is no month to month option, and there is more complexity around whether you’ll actually get high definition or not.

Direct TV, Meh…

Simply put, I wouldn’t choose to go with Direct TV at deer camp, unless you already have the service at home.

Going into 2023, I just don’t see what they have to offer over DISH when it comes to a 2nd location viewing.

In the past, a major draw to Direct TV was NFL Sunday Ticket, which was only available through Direct TV. However, it’s my understanding that contract expires after the 2022 season. I believe Youtube TV is picking it up.

Consider Direct TV Only If You Already Have It At Home

With all that said, Direct TV can be an option for those that already have it at their home.

Using DirectTV at deer camp involves unhooking your home receiver box, and taking it to deer camp, along with another traveling satellite dish setup. Then, you’ll need to manually position things so that you get a good signal.

You should know that it’s against the terms of service to watch your Direct TV service in 2 separate locations at the same time. Meaning, when you take your receiver to deer camp, your significant other can’t also watch it at home on a different receiver.

You should also know that not all portable dish setups support high definition for Direct TV. So, you’ll need to be careful when choosing a dish, if HD is important to you.

Here’s a link that may help you decide to go with Direct or not.

2. Dish Network Is Usually The Better Satellite Option For Deer Camp

Add-On RV Option

Dish has a cheap add-on RV option for those of you with an existing plan. They also have a pay as you go plan that you can turn on and off as needed. With either option, you’ll have to purchase equipment, so the upfront expense will sting a bit.

Dish Network Equipment Costs

• Dome-Style Satellite Antenna
• Wally Receiver
• Tripod For Mounting

You’ll have to have the satellite antenna, a Wally receiver, and a tripod to mount the dish on. Upfront equipment costs can run over $400. If you’re an existing DISH customer, adding a Wally receiver is only $7 a month extra per receiver.

DISH Options

When going with Dish, the Tailgater satellite antenna is a popular choice, but there are others to choose from, depending on what you want.

There are 2 basic dome style satellite dish options, as well as different configurations of each – the King Tailgater and the Wineguard Playmaker.

Get The DISH App

You’ll want to download the MyDish app on your phone, as it gives you the ability to do helpful things, such as managing local channels without having to call Dish.

The DISH Tailgater Is A Great Option!

With a Tailgater or Playmaker satellite from DISH Network, you can watch the games anywhere you can get a good satellite signal. No Wi-Fi is required. After purchasing the equipment, you’re able to add the “outdoors” service to your existing DISH package at a reduced rate. Check out this link for more info about this option dish.com/outdoor-tv-for-rv.

3. Use Starlink If You Need Internet, And Not Just TV

Starlink is Elon Musk’s high speed satellite internet network taking the world by storm. By all accounts, Starlink is a winner amongst all available satellite internet options.

Many hunters are beginning to take advantage of this new kid on the block to stream football games in remote areas.

Starlink *For RV* Is What You Want

While the “normal” residential Starlink service isn’t yet fully available everywhere, they have another version that will work in remote areas where residential is not available. It’s called “Starlink for RV’s”, and while it’s not cheap at $135/month, it can be purchased for a month at a time.

The speeds of the RV version are slower, but still plenty fast enough to stream college football games.

Starlink Setup Costs

Starlink can be a good option for deer hunters that don’t already have a satellite plan with Dish or Direct TV. If you have one of those, you’re likely better off getting a travel add-on to your existing service for around $7/mo.

The initial hardware cost for Starlink is pricey at $599, but being able to turn the service off and back on as needed can help you recover some of that cost.

The disadvantage of Starlink satellite over DISH is that you must also purchase a streaming package to watch sports.

While I do prefer to have the high speed internet at deer camp that Starlink offers, you have the added cost of a streaming service, such as SlingTV, YoutubeTV or Hulu Live. For me, I’m already paying for SlingTV, so that’s not a big deal. Maybe you aren’t though.

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3. Use A TV Antenna To Get Network Channels

In many areas you can pick up the network tv channels with the use of a digital antennae. With NBC, ABC and Fox, you’ll at least have some games to choose from.

You can pick up a really good indoor or outdoor antenna from either Amazon or Walmart. Stick it somewhere up high for best reception.

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4. Stream Football Games From A Hotspot Device

With certain cellular plans, you can use your cell phone as a wireless hotspot. Or, you can purchase a separate mobile hot spot and add it to your plan. This is assuming you have good enough cell service at your hunting camp.

With a hotspot, you can stream football from one of the popular streaming packages already listed above.

You can connect a smart TV to a mobile hotspot! Just be mindful of any data limits on your plan. Obviously, streaming video quickly eats into your data limit.

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Instead Of Watching, Just Listen To The Game

If all else fails, you can usually find a way to listen to the game over the radio waves. Satellite radio is another option that allows you to listen in to your favorite sports team while at hunting camp.

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How To Decide Which Option Is Best For You?

To recap, your decision process should go something like this.

• Do you need internet or just TV?
  1. If you only need TV
     • do you already have a Direct TV or DISH service at home?
       • If you have DISH, in particular, the monthly add-on RV option is very affordable
       • If you don’t already have a satellite plan at home, do you have a strong cell signal at your deer camp?
         • With a strong cell signal, you can just stream games from a phone or hotspot
  2. If you need high speed internet at deer camp
     • Do you have a strong cellular connection?
       • With a strong cell connection, you can stream from your phone or a hotspot
       • If cellular isn’t an option, “Starlink RV” internet is well worth it
  3. If neither cellular or satellite works for you
     • stick an outdoor digital tv antenna way up in the sky to hopefully get some of the network stations.

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Conclusion

Some purists may argue that you should just forget about TV, and enjoy your time in the outdoors. Personally, I can’t think of a better combination than deer hunting and college football. Regardless, when it gets dark, what else are you gonna do? That’s when it’s especially nice to have access to the evening’s football games.

If you enjoyed this article, you might be interested in other ways you might want to use your cell phone when deer hunting.

Happy hunting (and watching)
Augustus Clay