Are trail cams ethical?

[big drift]

In the context of fair chase.

I have been watching the ads now for cameras that can direct transmit live feed from trail cams.

That started a discussion is using trail cams ethical?

Imagine getting up at 4 am tuning your computer or monitors to your land and seeing the buck on one. Pretty simple to figure out where to sit.

In MN baiting is illegal as is spotlighting to locate deer during the early morning hours why then do we allow trail cams to give an unfair advantage.

On the opposite side there is the use of them to monitor your deer from trespass or poachers.

So at what point does all this technology bypass fair chase?

Not looking for an argument but rather your thoughts.

[Gissert]

I love my trail cams to see what is out there over the course of a year - but I personally have no interest in a live feed.

I like swapping chips, and seeing what appears when I check them. Kinda like Christmas sometimes.

[Brownie77]

I have used them to determine when and where animals are going, but the live feed, that sure does not seem to be fair chase.

[Mark Christianson]

Well, this trail cam nut has had dozens and dozens of different bucks on film over the last 3 years, and I have eaten my buck tags in each of those seasons.

I know they are around, but they are free ranging and have the upper hand on us still.

I dont think live feed would give me any better chance. If I am home at 4am, its not as if that deer is going to sit and wait for me. He'll be 2 farms over by the time I get there anyway.

[harvey lee]

I have hunted whitetails for 40 years and harvested deer every single year I have hunted without a camera. In the last few years I have started to use cameras to simply see what is out there for deer and if the buck I'm looking for is in the area. Is this cheating, I would say no as I have always harvested a deer and still do.

It's always fun and exciting to plug a chip in and see what one has on camera. From fox and coyote to raccoon to deer to turkey. Just like a zoo.

[bigbluepirahna]

We have been using trail cameras on our land for the past 5 years or so. I wouldn't say it has helped us bag more or bigger deer.

The best part of them for me is that is helps hunter morale. When you go our day after day and never see bucks big enough to shoot, and then plug the chip in and there they are, it really has a way of keeping a guy going.

The more technology the better for me. Everyone can choose whether or not they want to use it. Compound bows are available, but some people still prefer recurve.

[BigWadeS]

very good points, but you can also get night vision built into your binoculars and scopes too....technology aint it great.

[Boar]

With all the electronics out there for ice fishing, camras, sonar, gps, even artifical habitat, its still wont make the fish bite. I just bought a trail cam for bear season an cant wait to use it, but it wont make a bear hit the pile when I want him too an it will give a good idea whats out there an when he's coming in. cameras are an aid in the feild not a sure thing, you still have to out smart an animals defensives an no electronics out there can do that. Boar

[candiru]

I don't have a problem now. But, I am sure that the day is coming when a live feed camera is going to be hooked up to a rifle that will be fired from a remote location. If it hasn't happened already.

[B. Amish]

I don't have a problem now. But, I am sure that the day is coming when a live feed camera is going to be hooked up to a rifle that will be fired from a remote location. If it hasn't happened already.

didn't this happen a few years ago. i wanna say it was in texas. you could book a hunt and hunt from your computer. shoot a deer by using your mouse.

[big drift]

Hunting is different then fishing on many levels however looking at the use of the trail cams allows people top pattern the animal and with satelite feeds you can get a email on your phone showing the animal there.

I do not think that many would pass an opportunity to go after a monster deer if they knew it was there.

Imagine deer opener and the nubmer of drives that would occur.

I could see some regulations coming restricting placement of cams for a time period prior to the season.

[96trigger]

I'm kind of new to the trail cam thing. So far I don't see any advantage to having one except to know that there may or may not be a big guy in my area. the nice bucks I see are there one day, and not the next. Once at 2 a.m, then at noon. I can't be in the stand all the time, every day. So I guess, I would say that no, I don't think that it is giving me any advantage, yet. If I was able to use the camera to pattern a deer, then it might be different story, in that case, the camera did the scouting for me, and it might encroach a little bit on fair chase.

As for the people that may eventually shoot deer from their computer. They are soarly missing the reason we hunt, the geese flying over at sunrise. The crows cawing first, then the tweety birds, then the squirrels start running. Its what makes sitting in stand for hours seem like minutes.

[harvey lee]

I can say that we have patterned bucks fairly well with our cameras.

[96trigger]

Last year I had one out, and I thought the pictures were a lot of fun. This year I have two out, maybe with all the bluffs and trails its harder to pattern them down here. I have found that down here, the deer will pop out of the woods to feed in the fields just about any where. There are few locations where they tend to come out, but not one specific area.

[BLACKJACK]

The best part of them for me is that is helps hunter morale. When you go our day after day and never see bucks big enough to shoot, and then plug the chip in and there they are, it really has a way of keeping a guy going.

I think you hit it right on the head, knowing that there is a big buck around helps you get up in the morning and keeps you on stand longer. Plus as others have said, its neat plugging that chip in and seeing what kind of picturs you've got.

[BobT]

Quote:

I would say that no, I don't think that it is giving me any advantage,

I don't know if I could agree that it doesn't give you any advantage. Anything that we can do to get a peek into their world before season gives us a little added advantage including trail cams or pre-season scouting.

Without doing these things you don't know if there are even deer in the area until opening day and then what?

Covering our scent, using stealthy tactics, blinds, stands, foodplots, mineral blocks, camo, grunt calls, antler rattling, or any of the other tactics we use give us just a little more advantage that we wouldn't have if we didn't use them.

I think the question is just how far should we allow ourselves to go?

I know I don't know.

Bob

[harvey lee]

When one talks about newer equipment, I would say its up to the hunter what he would like to use a long as its legal. If one is ok with using cameras and such, then fine. If one would rather use a long bow and not get into the newer stuff and other gear, then that also is good.

[matthothand]

I think trail cams definately help us as hunters to be more effective in the field, but I don't think they cross the boundaries of 'fair chase'. Whether or not they are ethical is a matter to be determined by individuals just as a scope on a rifle. To be technical, the use of trail cameras is acceptable by fair chase hunters. If it were not, then B&C and P&Y wouldn't allow any entries or measurement of animals taken by hunters with trail cameras.

[SDbowhunter]

Originally Posted By: candiru

I don't have a problem now. But, I am sure that the day is coming when a live feed camera is going to be hooked up to a rifle that will be fired from a remote location. If it hasn't happened already.

didn't this happen a few years ago. i wanna say it was in texas. you could book a hunt and hunt from your computer. shoot a deer by using your mouse.

While shooting a deer from your computer cant possibly be considered hunting/ethical. It could be a way for disabled hunters to aim and fire a rifle. There could be great potential for this technology in the instance of a paraplegic.

As far as trail cams... I think they can help bag game but its not a standalone technology that will ensure a big buck. Even live feeds are useless unless being watched, and just because you a know a deer is in a certain area doesnt mean you are going to get him.

[harvey lee]

There are disabled archers now hunting with a computor screen for an aiming device to harvest deer now. Its very expensive for the hunter but with alot of time and effort it can be done.

[mrklean]

I really see no problem with this, like they said before when your sitting at a computer or something like that shooting at deer thats way over the line. Just remember, as our technology gets better i still think the deer are getting smarter learning our patterns etc.

[candiru]

I think that technology is something that really needs to be watched. If something does go too far it is a whole lot easier to nip it in the bud than to try and reign it in after many people are using it. In my opinion we should be thanking the DNR for doing this with deer baiting before it got out of hand.

[big drift]

Then we have this issue in MN it is illegal to use electronics in the taking of wild game.

Is the use of game cameras to pattern big game then not illegal?

I did some digging around and there apparently a new camera system that takes video uploads to a satellite then retransmits it a persons cell phone.

This issue is intriging to me.

[jbell1981]

I think any type of live feed camera should be illegal during the season (and maybe 10 days before like bait). The only cameras that should be allowed are ones the you have to go to and take out a memory card or roll of film.

[candiru]

I know radios are illegal. If that live feed then illegal because it is essentially a radio signal?