drones

[elkoholic]

How long before someone "hunts" with a drone?  We already have drone fishing.  Imagine sitting at home in your recliner, flying your drone over the landscape and spotting, then shooting, the buck of a lifetime.  You could follow it with the drone after the shot, take a followup shot if necessary, and there's no need to worry about finding it.  Maybe even gut it with surgical precision using a robotic arm and then, with the turbo unit,  transporting it to the butcher shop for processing.  Hmmm...........

What brought that on, you ask.  Well, people are already using drones to scout and drive (or try to) critters to ambush points.  That is not legal anywhere that I'm aware of, but that does not stop it from happening.  If you've read some of my previous post you are well aware of my stance on the overuse of technology and how it blurs the ethical/fair-chase issue.  When I start seeing advertisements pushing the use of drones for hunting/scouting it makes me question the thinking behind it.  Mostly money I suppose.  Sell us more stuff we don't need that only reduces the personal aspect of the endeavor. 

I believe, that we as a species have not reached the mental/emotional/ethical arena where we can properly handle the rate at which technology is expanding.  We as hunters just might want to decide where the use/abuse of technology should begin and end before it is decided for us.

I realize that even the most expensive drone is limited to flight time and lift capacity, but..... then some new technology kicks in.

[Trevor]

A friend used his drone to scout a new property last fall to see where to place stands and when he flew over a field to the tree line the drone scared about six deer that were in the field. As soon as the drone got close to the deer and they heard the drone all the deer scattered. Was pretty cool to see the property from above.


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[wtnhunt]

I wanted one Dave, to view our property in real time as it sits.  And seeing where the deer were coming from off our property would be a definite plus.  There are no accurate maps that would give the same perspective, but I definitely see where you are coming from.  Unfortunately we are to close to a small county airport and it would be a headache to even be able to use it.  

Using a drone like a dog in a deer drive would seem a bit over the top, but could see it happening in places where drives are legal.  Yeah, lines could be blurry there for sure, some could make a seemingly legitimate rationale for their use.  Personally I don't think driving deer would be for me, not legal here.  With that being said, if by chance a stray or wild dog  or coyote pushed a buck of a lifetime to me while I was sitting in my stand hunting for that deer, would I take the shot?  Me, yes I probably would, because it was not my influence that pushed the deer, different imo than using a drive situation. 

Some older members here may remember the controversy back 15 or so years ago about the robotic controlled guns that were being proposed and maybe even actually used to kill deer in Texas I believe.  That was nothing more than a video game taking a live animal, disgusting in my opinion.  I would liken that to your drone kill example, would be nothing more than a video game.  

Bottom line, I see no problem using a drone to get a better picture as a scouting tool, I think however a line is crossed when you put controls of a firearm in any kind of tech situation.

[Ultradog]

Minnesota passed premptive laws to stop most of that stuff about 8? years ago.

Technology had already reached a point where a guy could set up a remotely operated rifle and cameras and shoot a deer from his desk at work or couch at home.

I don't know how the law is worded but I suppose it could easily be ammended to include the use of drones which have come out since then.

Elkoholic, I know you and I do diverge a bit on what we consider acceptable while hunting (my heated deer blind for example) but I do say you have to be there in person to aim and pull the trigger .

I don't have a problem with using a drone to scout a property before season though. To me it would be no different than using trail cams to assist in determining the routes and patterns of deer - which I have no issue with.

[Rhino]

I pretty much agree with William.  It would be very useful for getting an aerial view of your property but as a hunting weapon...that crosses the line by a long shot!  That's why each state provides a list of legal weapons for specific seasons.  I don't see any state opening a "free for all" weapon season.

At the end of our season one of my hunting buddies had his drone with him.  He flew it around for ~30 minutes going out to about a 3/4 of a mile away.  Pretty cool aerial view now with no foliage.  They have their limitations though.  The drone needs to receive a signal and it was limited In our hilly terrain.  It needed to stay high when it got beyond 300 or so yards (best guess).  Details are hard to see too with the wide angle view at a distance.

Everyone I know that's ever had a drone fly over while hunting says deer are spooked off...BAD.  I know of 3 instances so far.  The drone's noise is apparently loud enough and such a strange noise to them that they come unglued getting out of there before the drone even got near them...high up too.

[elkoholic]

I really do not have an issue with the use of drones to scout an area prior to hunting season.  The overhead view can give one an idea for stand locations, but even then you really have to confirm with an actual physical inspection.  Also, what you see from the air can be very different from what you find once you are on the ground.  Personally, I use Google Earth to help zone in on elk feeding and bedding areas in places I have not explored before.

I believe that the use of drones (and trail cameras) during an open hunting season should be illegal.  Some states have already addressed the issue of drones, although enforcement is problematic.  There is a segment of the population that will use any form of technology inappropriately and just because they can, not because they should.

8 hours ago, Ultradog said:

Elkoholic, I know you and I do diverge a bit on what we consider acceptable while hunting (my heated deer blind for example)

Yeah, we made up for the deer having a thicker, better insulated, skin by creating state of the art clothes and yet we need to have an artificial heat source to keep us "comfy".  If it keeps you out there enjoying the hunting experience, then, I say it is a good thing.  I spend very little time "on stand" and should I try to sit all day in sub-freezing temperatures, I just might opt for a little extra heat.  The problem with that is, I'm not a fan of enclosed blinds, so I guess Hothands heat packs will have to do.

[wtnhunt]

1 hour ago, elkoholic said:

I believe that the use of drones (and trail cameras) during an open hunting season should be illegal. 

I would disagree on trail cams, at least on normal trail cams that require the hunter to go into his hunting area and recover his cards.  I would agree with you however on the trail cams that give instant email or cell phone delivery.  Been waaaay too many times we have been able to use trail cameras to discover a buck that we never knew was around outside of season, helps motivate staying after one.  Reality is most the trail cam pics we get of mature bucks during season show NO pattern and often times are active around our cameras outside legal hunting hours.  Just another scouting tool imo.  

[Ultradog]

It's always interesting to read topics like this.

For the most part I see a consensus that drones as a hunting tool should be illegal. Good. I also think we all agree there is a big difference between hunting and scouting and different tools and rules apply.

Maybe we're all old enough to remember the days when being caught with a walkie talkie while hunting was a big no no. Here we couldn't even have one in our possesion.

Now look how it is with cell phones everywhere. 

Things change. How do we adapt?

My hunting friend and I do a lot of texting in the stand. A lot of it just bs, out of boredom.

What does a guy do when you hear a bang that you know is him then a few munutes later get a text that reads:

"8 pt. Knocked him down. 2 mins later he got up and slowly walked N."

 I'm north of him. Do I NOT look for the buck to come my way because it's still illegal for him to warn me via a 2 way device? 

But, but, but... I naturally would watch his direction if I heard a shot. Wouldn't need a text to warn me.

A guy can get his head spinning with this stuff.

Ultimately, I think each of us knows what is ethical and right.

It says so in Romans 2:12

"Those who have heard the law will be judged according to the law. Those who have not heard the law will be judged according to their conscience."

I say hunt so your conscience is clear. Doing so makes the joy of bagging  your deer all the more fulfilling.

Sorry this got so long.

 

[elkoholic]

10 hours ago, Ultradog said:

I say hunt so your conscience is clear. Doing so makes the joy of bagging  your deer all the more fulfilling.

Good words to live by.

Unfortunately, knowing what is ethical and right does not stop one from attaining "success" by any means available.  This is obvious in all walks of life.  People lie and cheat all the time to achieve their "goals", be it graduation from (or getting into) school, getting a job, or just getting what they want.  The question would be, can one look in the mirror and like the person staring back at them?  Does the end justify the means?  For some, the desired result is all that matters.

On 2/7/2019 at 3:44 PM, wtnhunt said:

Reality is most the trail cam pics we get of mature bucks during season show NO pattern and often times are active around our cameras outside legal hunting hours.

When it comes to mature bucks,  I never got one picture during daylight hours all year long and there was no pattern at all.  It would depend on the property.  I do know that on certain properties there is an overuse of trail cameras to pattern deer.  The Drury brothers may be a prime example of that.  Very few of us will ever own large pieces of property to manage for large antlered deer, but I'm not sure if that is what hunting is all about anyway.

[Rhino]

On 2/9/2019 at 4:24 AM, Ultradog said:

I say hunt so your conscience is clear. Doing so makes the joy of bagging  your deer all the more fulfilling.

 

DITTO!!!  That same attitude about your conscience applies to a lot more than just hunting too.

I agree with William about his opinion on trail cams.  They are mainly best for letting you know what's out there to watch for.  Not just shooters but younger bucks we want to pass up until they're mature.  Sometimes there's only a matter of a few seconds to make a decision when you're hunting for mature bucks.  They can show you a general area that a buck may confine most of his movement to (outside the rut), but I've noticed from running them for a long time now, that area is far bigger than most hunters realize during open hunting seasons.  This past season I caught the same buck on 2 cams (about a mile apart) within a 6 hour time frame.  As far as daylight pics vs. night...I'd say less than 10% of the mature buck pics occur in daylight in Mississippi and most of that is during the chase phase of the rut.  In Missouri daylight pics on average are a lot higher (~25%) probably due to lower hunting pressure in the area over the past 8 years since we've been there.