Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Drones used for scouting?

I was reading a traditional bowhunting rag today and a person wrote in and was complaining about guides using drones to scout for elk. This is the first I've heard of this and was just wondering if this is actually going on or is this some sort of tin hat paranoia. All I have to say is if I were out elk hunting and a drone flew over me there would be some impromptu wing shooting going on.

I don't know if its being done in Idaho but there's nothing illegal about it as long as the elk aren't harassed. The FAA might have other rules, though. I'm talking about game regulations.

I don't know if people are using drones for scouting or not. But I doubt it because at this time they are just toys. There are several drones/quad-copters for sale on Amazon.com. They're not that expensive. They are also not very practical for scouting since the little electric motors must run off of batteries and the battery life limits flight time to about twenty minutes. I suppose that you might get a little scouting done in that time, but not much.

KC

I attended a presentation where the speaker said that in one Colorado County they had passed legislation making it legal to hunt the drone.

Use of drones for scouting is illegal in CO.

http://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Commission/2014/Jan/Jan2014PWCSummary.pdf#search=drones

Good.

Since when did an RC plane/helicopter with a camera become a drone. Jesus I'm so tired of the media...

I flew model planes 30 years ago and we put camera's on them then (film of course). Cripes....

Most of this footage was shot with a drone, and while this is a several thousand dollar piece of equipment today, it is very likely this technology will be accessible to many more users in just a few years.

Think cell phones...or more closely related to hunting, ATVs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywFCttiHcwQ&list=UUHwik5ZoKVWEJruAr8Xn5ow

Personally, I don't think a drone is any good without infrared imaging.

Good thing they're being prohibited.

The use of drones should, at a minimum, be regulated like the use of aircraft.

In Colorado it is a felony to:
"Use aircraft to hunt, to direct hunters on the
ground or to hunt the same day or day after a
flight was made to find wildlife."

If it can be done, rest assured that some will.

Don't worry about it. Quail season is coming and with my failing eyesight .. anything could happen. Easy to pluck but kind of tough chewing.

Tom

They are getting better. However, even this one has a range of 300 meters. Not very far to scout in the mountains

http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2-vision

Give 'em a year or two- battery life and range will undoubtedly improve dramatically.

Is anyone making them with RC fueled engines yet? That would give them a whole lot more range although they'd sure be noisy.

Yes. And with LiPoly batteries you can get 20-30 minutes of flight time. Be tough to exceed 30-40 minutes with a glow engine as fuel is heavy and heavy things don't fly well.

An electric powered glider would be idea as you could fly for a couple hours assume you can fly and learn how to ride the wind/thermals - but you'd have to know how to fly - it's not a beginners machine.

the range needs to improve. I would most likely have to do it from top of a butte or what ever so I don't loose visual and get it back safely.

Drone apparently have other uses.

Seattle woman sees drone peeping into her apartment window
Published June 24, 2014
Associated Press

Seattle Police are investigating a report of a drone peeping into a woman�s apartment window.

Police were called to the downtown Seattle apartment complex on Sunday morning after she spied an unmanned aerial vehicle hovering outside the building. The woman said she was concerned the drone was looking into her apartment.

After calling police, an employee of her apartment building says he went outside and saw two men piloting the drone. They packed up their gear, which included a video camera, and drove off before police arrived. Authorities say they are checking for surveillance video that may help identify the men.

Drones and what role they should play in society have been a hot item in Seattle for quite some time. Last year, former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn ordered the Seattle Police Department to abandon its plan to use drones after an uproar from citizens and privacy advocates.

Traditional Bowhunter is not a "rag".