Trail cams being outlawed, thoughts?

[North Idaho Stickbow]

I’ve always said that in order to maintain successful management and hunting, you have to either limit opportunity, or increase difficulty. Pick one. In this case, these states have elected to increase difficulty. It’s just part of trying to keep things in check.

 

[FlyingRhino]

I think regular cameras are fine as they only show previous activity. I've already heard several stories of harvests that only happened because the person received a picture of a buck from a cell cam and they went rushing in and made a stalk and made it happen. I feel like this hardly qualifies as fair chase.

 

[HuntHarder]

Sure that's what they said. I am just asking who gets to decide if your camera is there to "take wildlife" or to watch your property/ag fields? I also know that the burdon of proof should be on the division, but how does that saying go...you can beat the rap but can't beat the ride...I would bet money that if your trail cameras are up along the borders of BLM lands (like mine are) and a warden sees them, they are going to start walking around your property using their probable cause to do whatever they want and it will be their mind reading ability that is going to tell them if someone set the cameras up to watch game or watch for people. I don't have a problem with this rule on public land. Private is a whole different thing.

The same person that ultimately decides when EVERY law is broken. The judge or jury.

 

[Rich M]

Id be all for this. Woods are getting crowded with all the guys that have every “game changing” electronic device available hanging off them but can’t quarter a deer or change a tire for that matter without looking it up on Youtube. If getting rid of electronics causes them to quit hunting than i guess they weren’t really cut out for it in the first place? Hunting isn’t for everyone and i’d bet it’s why most who TRULY enjoy it do enjoy it. Seems city slickers are more comfortable around crowds and overly reliant on technology whereas i hunt to get AWAY from crowds and technology. Maybe they can take up a less rigorous hobby perhaps.

FYI, sorta weird to lump things like Binoculars in with Cell Cams sending real time images to your phone while you’re sitting on the couch watching Youtube dont ya think. I don’t really see those two things in the same light AT ALL.

The indians and Daniel Boone didn't have em, so they are an unfair advantage in the pursuit of game. I just have a habit of painting with a wide brush.

I have a couple gam cams but not cell cams - no experience with them at all. Can see why folks are irate about some guys seeing the critters in real time.

I’ve always said that in order to maintain successful management and hunting, you have to either limit opportunity, or increase difficulty. Pick one. In this case, these states have elected to increase difficulty. It’s just part of trying to keep things in check.

Excellent comment - I work with a USF&G wildlife refuge as a hunter advocate. they opened up a series of 3-day archery hunts and I made the comment that a week would be better for the hunters. Was told that they were in the business of providing an opportunity to hunt, not for us to kill critters. Made a lot of sense.

Here in FL we get 3-5, sometimes 7-day quota hunts - it is all about letting folks hunt a long weekend, not about getting deer or even really even seeing deer. I hunted 5 days over 3 of these short hunts (3 on my permit and as a guest on 2 other hunts) and seen a deer on the first and third days. Not another deer after that. Did good to see the 2 I saw.

 

[HuntHarder]

I keep seeing guys saying stuff like this.

They use OnX, Go Hunt, cell phone, gps, in-reach, range finders, flashlights, video recorders, scopes on rifles, compound bows & xbows, binoculars, spotting scopes, etc. And a game camera is a big deal.

I'm surprised at the number of guys against cell cams.
With that sentiment, I'd really like to see a rule that says no electronic devices can be used in conjunction with hunting. Nothing that uses a battery (even a solar-powered light in camp for the back-country camp out hunters). Let the men be men and the other dudes whine & cry about it.

The difference for me is, you actually have to be in the field to use just about every thing you listed. Setting 30 game cameras out all year long to see where animals are is lazy. It would take much, much more time in the field to gather the same intelligence a camera can give you if you did not have cameras. It has unfortunately evolved into the lazy man's way of scouting.

 

[Rich M]

The difference for me is, you actually have to be in the field to use just about every thing you listed. Setting 30 game cameras out all year long to see where animals are is lazy. It would take much, much more time in the field to gather the same intelligence a camera can give you if you did not have cameras. It has unfortunately evolved into the lazy man's way of scouting.

The quest for the almighty trophy seems to be the main focus and if those 30 game cams gives an advantage in finding & killing a "trophy", haven't they done their job?

Then enters the hunters who like to hunt but feel trophies are unfairly being taken from them. They feel they deserve the trophy animal cause they spent X days afield and the guys with the cams have an unfair advantage.

It's all about the killing of trophy animals. Nothing more or less. At least IMO. If a guy just liked hunting and was happy shooting a young buck/bull for the table, he'd not care and be happy just getting out, enjoying the hunt and the game he took.

 

[EJDXT21]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I've never had any experience with trail cams out west. I'm in Texas and have 10 acres. I use a SD trail cam at a feeder to keep track of the does and look for any bucks that meet the antler restrictions, (inside spread must be 13" or greater). I like keeping track of the does to make sure I am only taking the mature ones that have had a chance to produce fawns for several years. And if a legal buck shows up, of course I'm going to hunt him. Now if TPWD banned trail cams, for me it wouldn't be a big deal. I'm still going to get my deer and maybe it will be a good excuse to go out to the property more often to sit and just watch the animals. Following the discussions on these bans is the first time I'm getting to see how cams have been used out West and how the bans are affecting everyone. It seems most would agree that a camera that gives you instant notifications, especially during a season, and maybe even the use of standard trail cameras during the season are the biggest concern. I think it's really stretching it to ban cameras on private land simply because you can't ever really know whether or not someone is using a trail cam for security or to keep track of animals. And honestly you should be able to do what you want on your land, within reason of course. If you want to use cameras to keep track of game so you can put some meat on the table I think that should be ok. I feel the problems arise when you have money being exchanged for that intel so that more money can be made off people in search of a trophy or guaranteed kill. But again, on private, kind of hard to tell people how they can make a living. Just throwing some thoughts around but I do feel that it wouldn't be a bad idea to ban cellular cams from public lands completely. Maybe allow regular cams for scouting, but only during specified period(s), and they must be pulled before the season opens, so no cams of any kind during the season. And what about taking that one step further and requiring a permit and tag with owner information on the camera, similar to traps. It seems if you want to make things more fair, it would almost make more sense to ban ATVs, side by sides and dirt bikes.

 

[Billy Goat]

I gave this a lot of thought today. I think the idea that trail cams improve hunter success is bullchit.


We would have stacks of sasquatches by now if that were the case. Just like old cagey bucks, they know how to avoid them.

 

[Cowbell]

No, outfitters are just getting better and better at it. Are you positive the once in a while hunter that hires an outfitter even fills out their harvest report? G & F records often show a percentage of hunters that don't report in.

Everybody is an outfitter these days and the hills are plagued with them that still have milk on their chins...

In my opinion, outfitting on public land should be looked at hard with the ever increasing amount of people wanting to draw tags. Is it really fair that some of the population gets to profit off of the public resource that is in high demand?

 

[Cowbell]

I gave this a lot of thought today. I think the idea that trail cams improve hunter success is bullchit.


We would have stacks of sasquatches by now if that were the case. Just like old cagey bucks, they know how to avoid them.

My wall says otherwise....

 

[KoolBreeze]

I gave this a lot of thought today. I think the idea that trail cams improve hunter success is bullchit.


We would have stacks of sasquatches by now if that were the case. Just like old cagey bucks, they know how to avoid them.

I agree. I’ve been using them for 6 or 8 years now and haven’t killed anymore deer than I did before. In fact, I’ve killed less just because I’ve chosen to let most walk by. Beyond actually giving me a look at some of the bucks in the area that I might not have saw otherwise, they haven’t told me much I didn’t already know. But then again I’m on private land, hunting the same spots year after year, and not having to deal with a dozen cameras watching the same trail.

 

[Billy Goat]

My wall says otherwise....

Cockalorum.

 

[Cowbell]

I’ve always said that in order to maintain successful management and hunting, you have to either limit opportunity, or increase difficulty. Pick one. In this case, these states have elected to increase difficulty. It’s just part of trying to keep things in check.

The clear way to view this

 

[Cowbell]

Cockalorum.

If that makes you feel like a big man.... All of the big whitetails on my wall were taken by my wife - all deer that I patterned with a trail camera so that she could kill the best deer on the place with limited days in the woods (babies).

 

[MuleyFever]

So first things first, I’m not posting this to turn it into a fight. I’m just curious of peoples opinions on the topic. Utah and Arizona just passed trail cam ban laws. Maybe others already have, im not sure. As a Midwest whitetail hunter that heads west when I can, trail cams have been pretty widely accepted but the hunting dynamics and styles are very different. I was curious what people that live and hunt in these western states think of the trail cam usage.

I quoted the OP because the question had nothing to do with Midwestern/Eastern whitetail hunters. If you are not familiar with hunting in the arid states you have no idea. I am very happy with these new laws.

 

[camping1601]

Here in the Whitetail states I think we'd have a percentage of drop out hunters if they were banned. There's entire generations of hunters that cut their teeth with trailcams and know no other way to hunt.

 

[NYyotekiller]

For me personally, the cell cams have been more of a management tool than a harvesting tool. My main reason for using them is to limit my activity in their habitat and to keep the pressure down on my farms that I hunt. I have my cell cams set so that they only send the triggered photos once per day so that battery life is extended to limiti my exposures within my farms.

I can't speak for how the cameras are being used out west but if they are being used in an unfair way than they need to be banned/limited. Receiving an instant trigger to your cell phone, then running out with your 7 Mag in tote falls into that category. My experience with them have only been with whitetails and turkeys in New York and Kansas FWIW.

 

[fatlander]

All of the biggest whitetails I’ve killed have been because of trail cameras. I wouldn’t have been hunting those farms at the time if I didn’t know those deer were there. I quit using them a few years ago, and I honestly enjoy hunting more. With that said, I don’t care if others use them or not.

What does bother me is cell cameras. Just this past season, the first bull elk killed in Virginia in a very long time was killed because of a cell cam. The guy that killed him was on the other side of his farm when he got the update on his cell. He got down and ran to where the bull was. Killed him within 15 minutes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[roadrunner]

Is it really fair that some of the population gets to profit off of the public resource that is in high demand?

Nope, especially when the requirements to be able to do it are dumb. In NM, a guide has to work for an outfitter for 3 years before they can even apply for an outfitters license. The hilarious thing is, a 50 year guy cannot outfit a hunt because he hasn't guided for three years, but a 23 year old man-child can because he started guiding out of high school...

 

[Life_Feeds_On_Life]

They use OnX, Go Hunt, cell phone, gps, in-reach, range finders, flashlights, video recorders, scopes on rifles, compound bows & xbows, binoculars, spotting scopes, etc. And a game camera is a big deal.

Kind of a lame argument in my opinion. None of those things actually find animals. They may help you select an area but no promises anything will be there.

I quoted the OP because the question had nothing to do with Midwestern/Eastern whitetail hunters. If you are not familiar with hunting in the arid states you have no idea. I am very happy with these new laws.

Exactly this. Like I mentioned previously when you have the majority of water sources in an area covered cams will show you the the area to focus on. Again I'm not for an all out ban but a season is a good idea.