Game Finder

[Bird Dog]

Has anyone ever tried one of these infared heat sensing devices for finding downed animals and do they work at finding downed birds

Thanks Bird Dog

[Slugo]

I've often wondered the same thing..is there enough of a heat signature on that small of a critter?

[Guest]

I have never heard of such a thing, who makes it?

[Bird Dog]

I know one brand is called Game finder
I have seen them on the internet and HSOList
I am not sure what stores carry them.But they sound interesting.theres gotta be somebody out there that has used one

Bird Dog

[Chev_trucks501]

Hey Guys,

I don't own one but I used one once... Don't waste your money. Unless you have a massive blood trail (which a blind man could follow anyway) does it really pick up things. Although it is cool to see the stuff. But in my opinion it probably won't work for birds based on the application of the unit. There is just not enough blood in 1 drop to pick up with the unit. Again this is my opinion but I would stick to the good ole, Eyes and DOG!

Good Luck

[Guest]

But lets say you're looking for a bird. and not depending on the blood trail. Will it pick up the actual bird 20 yards ahead of you in the brush?

[Chev_trucks501]

Bigguns,

Hum, an interesting question. I have never used it like that so I guess I'm not entirely sure. Like I said only tried one once. If I had to take a guess in theory I would imagine it would work but depends on cover and conditions, i suppose. Sorry wish I had more info for ya.

Good Luck

[Guest]

I bought one once upon a time. All I could say is I returned it within a week. It isn't worth the money or the extra load in the field. Not to mention, it doesn't work.

[Guest]

do you remember what brand it was? And when exactly did you have it?

[Sarge]

All this talk got me curious about game finders. I do some raccon hunting, and wondered if it would help determine if the dog had false treed or if the coon jumped to a different tree, in the occasions where I can't locate the animal. So I started hitting news groups and doing searches, and didn't find nearly as much info as I would like.

But from the groups I learned that most of the people who were disappointed were those who didn't fully understand the capabilities and limitations of the equipment. I found a site which compared the game finder to its brother unit used by law enforcement. Lots of similar capabilities. And the ones used by law enforcement were pretty impressive, they can actually detect heat through walls and under soil.

But like a good metal detector, you need to understand how to calibrate it properly to get the best results. So I think I will have to buy one, and give it a whirl, I got a few chickens running around the yard I can try it with, that should give similar results as pheasants, and my cat should be close enough to raccons, and if I don't think it works I will return it.