KS HB 2423 Allow Hunters to use Drones to recover wounded or dead deer

[LFC911]

What are your thoughts on this new KS house bill to allow drones to recover dead/wounded deer?

 

[Gravel Road]

I'm not too enthusiastic about it since some will take advantage of using a drone for scouting/moving deer and say they are looking for a wounded deer. The way it is written doesn't make me think many people will take advantage of it since the hunter has to fly the drone rather than someone else, and they have to be licensed.
I wish they would have added that the land owner has to be notified.

 

[LFC911]

I'm not too enthusiastic about it since some will take advantage of using a drone for scouting/moving deer and say they are looking for a wounded deer. The way it is written doesn't make me think many people will take advantage of it since the hunter has to fly the drone rather than someone else, and they have to be licensed.
I wish they would have added that the land owner has to be notified.

line 28 says they have to get landowners permission

 

[Blowdowner]

I'd be ok but you'd have to punch your tag before you launch the drone. And if it's a state that allows multiple deer you can't hunt in that zone anymore.

 

[weekender7]

A drone is the most effective way to find a carcass in most cases. With extreme thick canopy early season, a dog may be better. There are a lot of tools that can be misused for illegal activity, but when used correctly, a drone is hard to beat where a hunter needs recovery assistance. I am all for it.

 

[Wagondriver]

Sounds like lots of potential for misuse. I'd rather it not be legal.

 

[weekender7]

Sounds like lots of potential for misuse. I'd rather it not be legal.

How do you feel about hunters that own a flashlight and a rifle?

 

[hibernation]

Assuming that new tech like this becomes the standard, is this what people want deer hunting to look like? Check your phone for new trailcam pics when you wake up, decide which stand to hit, arrow one but it runs out of sight, grab your thermal drone out of the truck...

This sounds less like concern over recovery rates and more like "how can Cabela's sell you another toy you don't need".

 

[ProRoad]

I am an FAA licensed drone pilot. It's a tough test and costs a lot. I noticed that the bill would require that, so as to add some extra legal "boundaries." I have thought about this quite a bit but I still lean to the no side. Even my lightest drone is loud enough to spook animals below. I know that a drone could be a good tool if it has infra red but those drones cost a lot more, upwards of 5k. I could see this used in some test cases but hopefully not anywhere that I hunt.

 

[CMF]

Supporting the ban of drones is like supporting the ban of firearms because of mass shooters.
How can you be for one and against the other?
Outlaws are going to outlaw.
I think we should have as many tools as possible to support the recovery of wounded game. I don't support the leash laws on dog recovery either.

I'll call a dog before I call a drone.

 

[Mtndawger]

How do you feel about hunters that own a flashlight and a rifle?

I reckon that argument falls under a false analogy. I have no problem with flashlights and rifle. I am opposed to drones. Are you saying because we allow some technology we should allow all technology? The two, while having similarities are not in any way equal. Which leads us to a false equivalence fallacy as well. Can we try to get on the same page at least? Using logical fallacies to support an argument only clouds the picture. Some ( many) among us want less technology in the forest instead of more. I hate drones with a passion. We’ve got enough $&?0@& going on out there already. In most cases I don’t support their use unless absolutely necessary. Why create another layer of regulations in the hunting space. My solution to not allowing drones is to employ better shot selection/shooting/hunting/tracking skills. If I still end up having difficulty finding or cannot find my animal then I guess i punch the tag. It’s not the end of the world. And the other wild critters will thank me for it.

 

[Mtndawger]

I am an FAA licensed drone pilot. It's a tough test and costs a lot. I noticed that the bill would require that, so as to add some extra legal "boundaries." I have thought about this quite a bit but I still lean to the no side. Even my lightest drone is loud enough to spook animals below. I know that a drone could be a good tool if it has infra red but those drones cost a lot more, upwards of 5k. I could see this used in some test cases but hopefully not anywhere that I hunt.

I wonder how many drone owners are actually licensed? As you point out use of drones for recovery isn’t as simple as it might look.

 

[CMF]

I reckon that argument falls under a false analogy. I have no problem with flashlights and rifle. I am opposed to drones. Are you saying because we allow some technology we should allow all technology? The two, while having similarities are not in any way equal. Which leads us to a false equivalence fallacy as well. Can we try to get on the same page at least? Using logical fallacies to support an argument only clouds the picture. Some ( many) among us want less technology in the forest instead of more. I hate drones with a passion. We’ve got enough $&?0@& going on out there already. In most cases I don’t support their use unless absolutely necessary. Why create another layer of regulations in the hunting space. My solution to not allowing drones is to employ better shot selection/shooting/hunting/tracking skills. If I still end up having difficulty finding or cannot find my animal then I guess i punch the tag. It’s not the end of the world. And the other wild critters will thank me for it.

I think that most of us want less technology in the effort to hunt an animal. Drone recovery is after the fact. The usual argument is that people will go beyond recovery in the use of the drone, the same as you could use a flashlight to shoot a deer on the hike out. So in that sense, the analogy makes sense to me.
I think it would be fair to have to wait until after shooting hours to do recovery to avoid interfering with other hunters during legal hunting time, at least on public.

 

[hibernation]

The usual argument is that people will go beyond recovery in the use of the drone, the same as you could use a flashlight to shoot a deer on the hike out. So in that sense, the analogy makes sense to me.

Some of it's inevitable just while you're using it for recovery. You're searching for a wounded buck but happen to see a pile of does just over the hill, and you've still got an unfilled antlerless tag. Can you shoot one of those does?

Or you find your wounded deer but it's not dead. Can you take a finishing shot on it?

 

[hibernation]

I wonder how many drone owners are actually licensed?

Not the majority.

 

[Laramie]

For those of you not aware, there are a lot of states that allow this and there are deer finder services for sale in many of those states. I think most are licensed drone pilots looking to make extra cash outside of the normal gig they use the drones for. I have been hunting for 40 years and I can only think of one occasion where a drone may have helped. I really don't care and think it is a nothing burger in general. If it helps a guy find a dead deer that would have otherwise gone to waste, and it punches his tag so he doesn't shoot another one, I guess I would vote yes.

 

[JakeMcCandles]

I think this bill is poorly crafted, and more likely to lead to problems than the recovery of a lot of wounded whitetails that otherwise would not be found. The FAA licensure is a big point, as only a small percentage of operators are licensed, so I expect people would get confused on that point and get tripped up. Also, the way I read it, it has to be the hunter themselves operating the drone, so no calling in a buddy or a third party service.

My biggest 2 concerns with the use of drones are that people will use them improperly to move deer and that, even if they don’t have bad intent, people will learn way more than constitutes fair chase as they fly a drone with a thermal camera up and down the draw looking for the deer they think they hit.

 

[ProRoad]

Not many drone owners are licensed. Most of my competition in the real estate or builders space just fly illegally anyway. I'm not the drone police so I don't lose sleep over it. The biggest issue of being licensed is that every time we fly, we have to get FAA approval with an app on the phone. If we are denied, we can put in a written which can take about 6 weeks. Those mini drones (sub 250 grams) are exempt if just flown for fun but for a larger drone, flown commercially, the rules are strict. This is a regulatory nightmare and most people wont jump thru these hoops. These bills have a long way to go in order to work out the kinks in our system.

 

[CMF]

Some of it's inevitable just while you're using it for recovery. You're searching for a wounded buck but happen to see a pile of does just over the hill, and you've still got an unfilled antlerless tag. Can you shoot one of those does?

Not legally, I'm pretty sure that's already in most laws. Will people do it, yea, the same ones that will shoot deer walking out with a flashlight.

Or you find your wounded deer but it's not dead. Can you take a finishing shot on it?

I don't know the legality of it, but I would. Some state laws regarding that are clear that you can finish it off when recovered with dogs. Regardless of the law, it's ethical to finish it off.(clearly wounded and not running off)

people will learn way more than constitutes fair chase as they fly a drone with a thermal camera up and down the draw looking for the deer they think they hit.

Stopping drone recovery won't stop this. If you wanted to use it for scouting, it seems legal in most places, but it just restricts how long before you can hunt.

 

[Mtndawger]

I think that most of us want less technology in the effort to hunt an animal. Drone recovery is after the fact. The usual argument is that people will go beyond recovery in the use of the drone, the same as you could use a flashlight to shoot a deer on the hike out. So in that sense, the analogy makes sense to me.
I think it would be fair to have to wait until after shooting hours to do recovery to avoid interfering with other hunters during legal hunting time, at least on public.

Fair point. How would you search after hours? In many cases would we be searching in the dark? My main objection to use of drones is the sound disturbance/ disruption for other hunters. That might not apply everywhere they would be employed though, but if one is used near me you bet it would annoy me.