The ban of…

[BDS05]

Trail cams…

What would it really Negatively effect?

Would it really be a bad thing?

Could it benefit YOU and, more importantly the herd?

IMO, it's not comparable to the "crossbow" as it's a tool you use to monitor 24/7 while you're doing other things and probably plan your weekend around your survey. We could go on and on about "what's fair" but I'm not looking for that discussion.

I understand the use for the FEW here who actually do legitimate surveys and this is not geared towards that concept.

 

[rem270]

TWRA or any other states don't have the manpower to cover illegal stuff as it is so no way they'd be able to keep up with it.

I love running cams as much as I do hunting. It's just fun for me to see what shows up, what made it after season etc. I have got caught up in running cams over the years that I wouldn't hunt spots just because I wasn't getting good deer on cam. But I have been shown the last 2 years that cams are just a small snap shot of what can really be out there. Although I already knew that but was just too bullheaded.

Although there's one here there swears that mature bucks won't go in front of a camera I love seeing mature bucks on cam and don't plan to stop using them.

 

[TnKen]

Cams have saved some deer, because I know bigger ones are out there.

 

[Ski]

What reasonable purpose could banning cameras have?

 

[BDS05]

What reasonable purpose could banning cameras have?

Not just soloing you out, but I've located several deer I wouldn't have otherwise known about without a camera? Is that really fair?

Not legally, I'm guilty of getting too caught up in a "ghost" I have one picture of and forgetting about everything else. At the end of the season or two in search of such, you question whether it was really fun or not. Greed…

 

[TNGunsmoke]

It would hurt my enjoyment. I run my cams year round, just because I enjoy seeing pictures of the deer I have running around, fawns, yearling bucks, mature bucks, does, turkeys, and the occasional odd shot that is just cool to see.

 

[Ski]

Not just soloing you out, but I've located several deer I wouldn't have otherwise known about without a camera? Is that really fair?

Not legally, I'm guilty of getting too caught up in a "ghost" I have one picture of and forgetting about everything else. At the end of the season or two in search of such, you question whether it was really fun or not. Greed…

Those are not reasonable. Those pertain specifically to you. What's not fair is projecting your own personal hiccups with cameras on everyone else, then outlawing them for it. Your lack of self management is not the fault of the camera, and does not translate to everybody else having the same lack of self management.

IMO, reasonable would mean that they somehow adversely affect a majority of license holders in that state, are harmful to the environment, or something along those lines.

 

[BDS05]

Those are not reasonable. Those pertain specifically to you. What's not fair is projecting your own personal hiccups with cameras on everyone else, then outlawing them for it. Your lack of self management is not the fault of the camera, and does not translate to everybody else having the same lack of self management.

IMO, reasonable would mean that they somehow adversely affect a majority of license holders in that state, are harmful to the environment, or something along those lines.

How is it not reasonable if you locate a deer you otherwise had no chance of locating without a piece of technology sitting in the woods 24/7?

I don't know whether I'd be for or against the ban. It's a love/hate for me.

 

[Ski]

Before cameras nobody but deer farms knew all the deer on a property. I remember a time when we were happy to shoot fork horns and small 6 pointers because it was a big deal to get a buck. Big bucks were a once in a lifetime random thing.

As cameras became mainstream and people realized what deer could be on a regular basis, then people began letting young bucks walk. Now we're in an age of knowing how to age a buck, how to enhance his habitat, and protect him until he's a harvestable maturity. If anything cameras have been more than fair to deer as a whole.

 

[rem270]

How is it not reasonable if you locate a deer you otherwise had no chance of locating without a piece of technology sitting in the woods 24/7?

I don't know whether I'd be for or against the ban. It's a love/hate for me.

Speaking of reasonable and not reasonable the ban out west they did is imo reasonable. People putting cams up over the only possible water source the wildlife have there and pressuring them so much they don't come to it is a pretty reasonable situation to ban them. From what I've seen around these parts (TN, Ky, Bama, Mississippi, etc) there's no reasonable arguments to really ban them.

 

[TNTreeman]

I love planning and planting food plots, checking cameras, moving stands to better locations, and then the hunt. Probably in that order .

 

[Ski]

Speaking of reasonable and not reasonable the ban out west they did is imo reasonable. People putting cams up over the only possible water source the wildlife have there and pressuring them so much they don't come to it is a pretty reasonable situation to ban them.

Agreed. The story I heard was that ranch hands and guides would chase elk off of water sources to prevent anybody from shooting them, so they could save them for their own clients. It apparently was causing a lot of conflict.

 

[DoubleRidge]

I spend WAY more time and money on habitat improvements & food plots than I do on actuality hunting...I truly do enjoy working on the land...and "running cameras" to see what deer are around is a nice way to see the "fruits of our labor". Also enjoy seeing turkeys and other critters as well.
Honestly....cameras have saved a bunch of deers lives on our place because we've had the opportunity to study different bucks and decide in advance not to shoot particular bucks verses trying to decide in a rush when or if a shot opportunity presents itself....But I will admit.... pictures have made me more patient... knowing a mature buck is using the area motivates me to sit longer and hunt harder....which in turn improves my overall hunting & land management experience.

 

[UCStandSitter]

I'll not take down cams. Can't tell a man he can't monitor his property. Do harvest numbers back up that the introduction of cams have led to an increase in harvest numbers? I'm guessing no. Arbitrary bans… Typical government regulation. Let's do SOMETHING! But it's not logical Bill. Yeah I know but… it's SOMETHING!

 

[Boone25/06]

At this point in time why would anyone wish or consider more state regulations on how you can hunt. I don't know why so many get caught up in "what I think is right and everyone else needs to do it too". If someone thinks cams are not fair then don't use them but that's not your neighbor's problem. Not everything needs to be a debate do what makes you happy. Cameras in my opinion have helped kill many good deer but they have saved way more smaller bucks in the process.

 

[redblood]

I own the farms i hunt on. No way they can tell me i cant strap a camera to a tree i own. No way

 

[younggun308]

I own the farms i hunt on. No way they can tell me i cant strap a camera to a tree i own. No way

Yes, they can. That ship sailed a long time ago—Alexis d'Tocqueville was talking about soft despotism in America in the 1830s.
They might not have the manpower to prevent people from hunting deer over corn on private, but they sure sniff out dove fields on private. About takes a degree in metaphysics to understand what is and isn't baiting, there. Either way, anticipating potential perceived violations stifles an owner's action on their property with fear. Maybe it's a good thing. Maybe not.

 

[redblood]

Yes, they can. That ship sailed a long time ago—Alexis d'Tocqueville was talking about soft despotism in America in the 1830s.
They might not have the manpower to prevent people from hunting deer over corn on private, but they sure sniff out dove fields on private. About takes a degree in metaphysics to understand what is and isn't baiting, there. Either way, anticipating potential perceived violations stifles an owner's action on their property with fear. Maybe it's a good thing. Maybe not.

I disagree. I do not see them going down the rd to enforce and unenforceable law

 

[Popcorn]

I understand the use for the FEW here who actually do legitimate surveys and this is not geared towards that concept.

Define legitimate.
Camera surveys indicate populations, ratios, overall health, individual health, food plot usage, travel corridors, bedding areas, fawn recruitment, predator presence and numbers, sanctuary use for value & location, trespassers, rogue users interloping and general property security. So for a farm manager, property manager, lessor, lessee, which of these are legitimate??
Our circumstances are far from those of the northwest and there is no comparison and that to me, makes your query illegit.

There are many reasons to keep and use these cameras, statistical surveys are the least of them statistically speaking. I am certain they have contributed vastly to the knowledge of wildlife by those most involved. I am certain they have reduced wounded and lost animals by aiding in hunter placement and I am certain that users in this region use them far more often in a broad sense as mentioned above rather than the narrow minded one you compare it to in which trophy hunting is the only legit reason to consider such an intrusion onto liberty.

 

[DC219]

Are they talking about banning them here?

 

[chris1976]

Not just soloing you out, but I've located several deer I wouldn't have otherwise known about without a camera? Is that really fair?

Not legally, I'm guilty of getting too caught up in a "ghost" I have one picture of and forgetting about everything else. At the end of the season or two in search of such, you question whether it was really fun or not. Greed…

So, let me get this straight. You located a ghost buck with your trail camera, spent two or more years trying to kill this buck with no success. Realized you were not having fun and now want to ban trail cams for everyone. How about you give up using them and let everyone else make their own decisions.

 

[AT Hiker]

Trail cams…

What would it really Negatively effect?

Would it really be a bad thing?

Could it benefit YOU and, more importantly the herd?

IMO, it's not comparable to the "crossbow" as it's a tool you use to monitor 24/7 while you're doing other things and probably plan your weekend around your survey. We could go on and on about "what's fair" but I'm not looking for that discussion.

I understand the use for the FEW here who actually do legitimate surveys and this is not geared towards that concept.

1.)Banning trail cams here would not negatively impact me or anything I can think of for that matter, from a hunting stand point. We got along just fine without them.
2.)I don't think it would be a bad thing, or that it's needed here. The bad might be the divide it causes between hunters and state game managers.
3.)Banning trail cams would have a positive impact on one place I hunt, my two goof ball hunting buddies spend more time stomping around the property checking cameras and blowing out deer than they do actually hunting and fine tuning their woodsman ship.
Banning them would have a negative impact on the herd at that place, because deer would actually use our property and I would end up killing more

I think the only debate with trail cameras here is the internal one with your self ethics, policing ethics is a lost cause.
Once it has a negative effect on the wildlife then I'll be on board with regulations.

I do enjoy the discussions though. Technology is advancing at a crazy rate. Its best to acknowledge that now before it's too far gone. Like wildcats Wild description of the Jetsons hunting with drones, as wild as it is it's not beyond of the realm of being a possibility.
Aerial scouting with drones is real, not sure of the legality here but I would be 100% behind a ban on them during Spring Turkey season.

 

[BSK]

I understand the use for the FEW here who actually do legitimate surveys and this is not geared towards that concept.

How do you define "legitimate" surveys? I'm actually curious.

 

[DeerCamp]

Looking at trail cam pics are a big part of what get my wife and daughters excited to hunt.

Hopefully they leave this goofiness out west.

 

[backyardtndeer]

There is no sound reason for banning trail cams. That said, nothing the game commission in this state does really surprises me anymore.

 

[themanpcl]

Disclaimer, only MY opinion: I LOVE setting out trail cams. I use for inventory and because I f'ng LOVE seeing deer. I have never placed cams (cell or other) in hopes of being able to "go get that deer" when I see a pic because I am over an hour from the property I hunt. I dont even have the pic alerts set on my phone. Banning cams would accomplish what exactly? If you have only 2 tags (TN), what does it matter how you "find" your deer? Is it any different from the neighbor on a tractor telling you where he saw a "big one"? Riding the roads to see where the deer are? Spotlighting a field at night? Who is hurt by you running cams even if you use it to go after a particular deer? A cam is placed to monitor a spot. You find the spot and gamble that something will cross the cam. Before cams, you did the same thing when you just placed a stand in a good location you found. Things some would say should be banned: When you plant a food plot and put a stand there? When you put a stand next to ag? When you run minerals/attractant/food outside of the season and stop filling right before season but hunt over it? Many have opinions on these too. Just one mans opinion.

 

[BDS05]

So, let me get this straight. You located a ghost buck with your trail camera, spent two or more years trying to kill this buck with no success. Realized you were not having fun and now want to ban trail cams for everyone. How about you give up using them and let everyone else make their own decisions.

You should read everything again with a level head. Discussion is good.

 

[BDS05]

I think the only debate with trail cameras here is the internal one with your self ethics

I do enjoy the discussions though.

 

[sneakybow]

I grew up in TN, lived in Utah for 5 years, now live in Idaho. Until you see why they banned them out here you're comparing apples to oranges. 40-50 cameras on one water tank, with people constantly and DELIBERATELY checking cams during prime hunting hours to spoil others hunts and keep animals off the water forced the DNR's hand. Guides and outfitters are the worst. They'll run animals away from someone who spent 25 years waiting on a tag just so their clients can kill it. Guides have been knocked unconscious over behavior like this, well deserved.

 

[DayDay]

I grew up in TN, lived in Utah for 5 years, now live in Idaho. Until you see why they banned them out here you're comparing apples to oranges. 40-50 cameras on one water tank, with people constantly and DELIBERATELY checking cams during prime hunting hours to spoil others hunts and keep animals off the water forced the DNR's hand. Guides and outfitters are the worst. They'll run animals away from someone who spent 25 years waiting on a tag just so their clients can kill it. Guides have been knocked unconscious over behavior like this, well deserved.

Are they banned on private land?