This was on the news today. He uses drones for game recovery and could get a hefty fine & 3 months in jail.
https://www.wnep.com/article/news/l...521-001ae710-0f20-488e-88b2-baca39e45f36

Hunters are killing deer with drones ?? That's a bunch of bullzs-hit

God forbid some hunter does something ethical in an effort to not waste game....

And they wonder why there are poachers.

Just where in any of the above was it said that they were killing deer with drones? Reading and processing before you comment, try it out sometime.

I assumed Mike was being sarcastic.

Seems like a sensible way to recover injured deer. They can run a long way with a .30 hole in the lungs.

In fairness, his version is much more interesting haha

Claim under law is one cannot use drones to hunt or track deer. This sounded like a recovery effort. I would fight this one. Moreover, it stated in the article wardens are interpreting law which is not their job.

Tracking dogs aren’t legal either.


This state frequently puts you in the position of being illegal while you do the right thing.


Couple months ago,

I seen be a Possum Cop I would have been fined for,
Shooting from a road
Hunting out of season
Using a gun not legal for the game
Etc, Etc.


Because I put down a car hit doe.

Game laws once you get above the Mason Dixson line are plain stupid. I marvel at the stupidity while reading game laws in Illinois. Its not about sound game management, its about how much inconvenient we can place on sportsman while stealing as much money as we can get.

Actually tracking dogs are legal now in Pa, took a while to get it done but you can use them now. Only on a leash I think.

You guys have to remember this is Pa, this doesn't surprise me a bit.

I agree with that but if you're a game warden in the field, how do you distinguish between a guy using a drone to recover a possibly wounded animal, and a guy just looking for deer to kill?

Guaranteed, if it's legal to use for wounded deer some will stretch it and use it to find deer.

Got guns mounted on the drone??

#pew-pew

The question is when does the hunting end and the recovery begin. I think most states would define that line as when you tag it. As long as the tag's in your pocket, you're hunting. In Idaho, you can't use motor vehicles to hunt but you can to recover. A drone is defined as an aircraft and they can't be used to hunt.

This can easily lead to someone being arrested or fined because they might commit a crime or had the ability to commit a crime. A slippery slope but in my experience, one law enforcement would like to pursue. In a lot of minor incidences law enforcement over-exerts their authority.

Can't use them in AK either. Or helicopters.

There are always those who will test it for perceived loopholes tho, and sometimes they win.

Helicopters are illegal to use in any aspect of hunting, but some years ago a sheep guide used one to fly into a ridge-top and clear it of rocks sufficiently to land a Supercub there.

Got away with it, as who is to say what the strip is for- and it is usable by anyone.

^^^^^^^^^^^

To me it’s negligent to not do everything to recover a deer.



Caveat yes there is a risk of abuse but I don’t think restricting law abiding citizens because of what some MIGHT do is a valid argument.

Would you say that's like restricting everyone's guns because of what a few misfits MIGHT do? It's what liberals do.

Mmm recovery? I can see in season scouting via drone being an issue, but don't game wardens scout for hunters with drones?
Or am I thinking of them putting up game cams on private property?

My bet is that this guy will not be punished in the end, and the reg will get redefined in some sensible way. All in all, incidents like this usually occur in those jurisdictions where the G&F officers see their primary role as LEOs with too much authority to abuse (satisfaction to compensate for weak self-respect). In too may places they know, or exercise, very little knowledge and care about game management and service to those who pay their salaries. What % of people in this society are wannabee cops?

Keep drones out of all hunting

If a guy is only putting a .30 caliber hole through the lungs he may want to start using different bullets.

No wonder they're running a long way.

Very ironic that drones can't be used in regard to game but there's nothing wrong with someone hovering one over your wife when she's in the garden.

Sure. Let critters escape to die and not be recovered.

People have been recovering game long before drones came along. Get off your ass and find it.

Drones have no place in hunting unless to cull or control predators.

Requesting an exception for hogs....

I don't see any ethical issue with using drones to recover a dead animal. It must be legal here as I read about thermal drones being used in recovery. Sometimes they don't bleed enough to track effectively.

And they have been losing a lot of game as well.

Why not try to increase recovery rates?


Anyone who says they've never had a very difficult time recovering and animal at some point hasn't hunted much.

Why wait til morning or daylight to recover a deer that's hard to track because it left minimal or no blood when a drone can help find it in just a short matter of time??

There are some areas in this nation that if an animal isn't recovered in an hour or 2 it's going to be spoiled if you have to wait until the next day.

You are correct sir. You get the drone flying, scouting for deer to shoot and when the warden accosts you, just say you are looking for the deer that 'ol James wounded yesterday.
The no-drone law is a good law.

Because it’s opening a can of worms you don’t want opened. Enforcement would be a nightmare.

Thankfully AK banned drones from hunting.

I was using a 30-06 with Remington 180 gr. ammo. .30 entrance wound, .50 on the exit. 110 yard run guaranteed. Pretty good blood trail, however. I was shooting 12 whitetail a year so I got good at blood trailing.

Same could be said for modern optics. I can see well before/after legal shooting light if sitting at a fields edge.

Betting hole in lungs was .75 or so. 😎😎

The .50 round ball from my T/C Hawken killed 'em better than that damn Remington ammo in the Mauser.

Soft projectiles work wonders whether large or small diameter.

I agree with this.

If finding, shooting, and recovering game (i.e. hunting) is so hard for you that you need a remote controlled machine to do it, then keep your lazyazz on the couch.

JMHO

The .58 Minie ball from the Civil War Zouave was real good also.

Exactly. Should be very easy to fight in court. They can not interpret the law, anyway they see fit. Sounds like a bunch of fu cking democrat rat bastids, if that is the case..

Yes, but we should not give in to those mother fu ckers. Which it sounds like you are doing right now. I thought Idaho was better than that?

Not everywhere in this nation offers the ability to leave game overnight or is conducive to easy tracking even when it should be easy.

Leave one overnight in the south and he will be spoiled by the next morning, no need to even go look for it at that point.

Be handy to have a drone on a bad shot deer to see if it's still alive before you bump it and it heads to the next county to never be recovered.


Some of you all haven't been out in the world much.

Legal or not if I had the option to use one to recover an animal I would be using it. Don't care who knows or who likes it or not.

Agree with Calvin and others. This sounds more like a case of someone who had a drone and just wanted to use it. Kind of stupid

I wonder who thinks drones shouldn't be used for big game but use pointers or retrievers for waterfowl or gamebirds??

Should big game tracking dogs be outlawed as well?

Look at how many states have outlawed the use if hounds for mountain lions and probably bears. It's just a start.

It's very obvious in this case that the drone was being used to recover a wounded deer.

I wonder if PA has any applicable wanton waste or recovery effort laws.

The guy has a deer recovery business and even advertises his drone services. https://www.wingyds.com/

I have seen drone videos where a bad shot was made, animal left overnight and was still alive first the next day, let bed down for a while and finally died. Probably spoiled but at least a recovery was made.

Start tracking that deer and he is as good as gone.

The problem is if you make it legal for him, then it's legal for everyone. And then you get into the sticky situation where everyone can have a drone with them in the woods just in case they need it.

I would be very hesitant to introduce drone technology into hunting as it could have unintended consequences.

Exactly where I was going

Can't use drones to take or scout big game here in Oregon. Clearly spelled out in the regs.

How would most respond when sitting on their favorite stump and a drone sweeps by during season? I know what my inclination would be. I feel the same about 4-wheelers or bikes running cross country on public ground for retrievals. They don't make my day, but I have no issues with a hiker and his pack frame doing the same.

A buddy is a drone pilot. Without furnishing specifics, some creatures stand and stare while others clear the horizon. He is very careful with what he posts on the web.

I'd be fine with such on deeded property, but not public.

Should have read the regs before his first launch, so pinch him.

Just because a technology exist does not mean it should be included in fair chase.

Had an acquaintance that thought he should be allowed to pack his rifle while tracking a bull he wounded on the last evening of the season. Warden said, "season's over dude."

Having a history in research, I've seen IR drone images where one can spot nesting sparrows and mice along with coordinates in the dead of night. Great tool, but I speculate such would be abused. I could sure save a lot of leg work if such were legal in Or/Id,s Snake River Canyon.

We hunters are our Own worst enemies. Seems like a lot of people projecting here.

In most states you CANNOT cross a property line. If your deer crosses1 or multiple properties he is lost.

If you can find the deer laying in farmer joes woodlot, you can go right to his door and ask permission to recover a deer that would 100% rot otherwise.


It’s no wonder our country is where it is .

BINGO! I have a close friend that was a commissioner on our Pa. Game Commission. It is a 9 member panel for about a 10 year stint. He did a lot a of good things for us, for being a city boy, but he probably hunts more days than a lot of us do. Avid deer hunter, a rabid pheasant hunter, & keeps two Brittany's. From what he saw in the new day game warden is that they all want to be cops.

dog = remote controlled machine ?

Ah, no they can't !

We have fewer and fewer judges who would agree the burden of proof should be on law enforcement and if they can’t prove beyond reasonable doubt the decision should favor the citizen. January 6 and game recovery using drones comes to mind.

both lungs, more like 40-60 yards,

Possibly 100 -150 for 1 lung & liver.

More, if gut shot & pushed.

But, we are using the far superior, .243, 25-06 & 7mm-08.

Dude has a legit biz helping ppl I see nothing wrong

Bingo. Half the hunters will carry drones into the woods, and most of them will use the drone to scout for new deer to shoot.

Maybe require that the drone operator call the F&W cops before searching. He can give them a description of where the animal was shot and last seen, and the license number of the hunter. They then can tell him area allowed to search and times.

Wouldn't work in remote areas where cell coverage is spotty. Probably not allowed in wilderness areas.

You obviously have not done much deer hunting.

Even that .243 is putting more than a .30 caliber hole in lungs.

Recovery isn't scouting or taking.

Bwhahahaha !

Really ?



That would make 1 of us !

Recovery? How does one know it's dead if he can't find it.

Being a true woodman is a lost art. Now days it’s take the easy way out.

I was hunting with a Mauser in .30-06, shooting Remington Core-Lokt 180 grain. I was shooting for the middle of the lungs, like the book said.
I have had more than 25 Georgia whitetail run well over 100 yards hit like that. Not big deer, maybe 110- 140 pounds.

Since I had a scope, having gotten tired of long range blood tracking, I began going for the neck shot. Middle of the neck, Dead Right There. But, the neck is a much smaller target than the lungs.
I also shot quite a few with the muzzleloader, and the .50 round ball would drop a whitetail on a lung shot in less than 50 yards. I killed several dozen with my 2 muzzleloaders and none made over 50 yards on a lung shot.

Since y'all Yankees are dropping them in their tracks on a lung shot, I guess our Georgia deer are nuclear-powered.

So you're saying true woodmen never lost a critter?

Track and jump a gut shot deer versus using a drone to confirm if he is still alive or dead greatly increases odds of losing that deer.

Yeah, I know, but he is talking about a 30 caliber, shooting 180gr projectiles.

If that deer runs 110 yards, it was not shot through the heart lungs.

At least you know, we do shoot our share of deer, Brian !

My longest tracking job, was on a doe which my son misjudged the angle, qtring too, rather than broadside.

Shot behind the shoulder, nicked 1 lung, liver, & exited behind the diaphragm.

Bumped bedded deer @ about 150 yards & backed out for 2 hours.

Found her, dead in bed, an additional 100 yards.

Thems deers must be tougher'n hell to need a 180 out of an '06.

Nope, never ever, had a DRT, except for CNS.

Unlike Brian, we are not even high shoulder shot takers.

All our deer run, just not as far as your smaller, but obviously bionic deer.

Maybe, big gun compensating for small dick ?

I wonder how many of these guys use only a longbow or other primitive weapon.

No modern coated optics to maximize light gathering ability or compounds with fiber optic sight to do the same.

Also no flashlights to recover deer shot at dark. Leave em overnight they won't be spoiled or eaten up by the coyotes, wolves or bears.

Lots of his YouTube videos are Amish folk shootin the deer

Or a guy hunting thick swamps.

Different areas and tactics change.

Some of these guys are comfortable with what works in their area.

The shoe doesn't always fit.

Yep, use the drone to confirm where deer is or confirm its dead instead of jumping a live deer that crosses property you have no access to or runs clear out of the county before bedding up again to only be lost.

I will use whatever I can to maximize recovery.

We owe that to the animal.

Some have an ego to feed though.

common sense should be used for a recovery of a deer or what ever other animal that has been shot .yes drones should probably be used ,i see very little difference in what / when people use a bunch a game cameras to hunt with that show day and time on goes right away to your phone.

This^^

Why would a hunter with even a little experience jump a gut shot deer? Ya knew ya gut shot it.

Technology is the easy way out and understandable why some choose it.

Not every gut shot deer is dead within 12+ hours/overnight.

So many here think their experience(s) are the only ones valid, or that all are the same.

I've certainly seen lunged deer go 100 yards.
PRB lunged deer have went quite a bit farther, 100 without a drop of blood.

Or dropped within feet.

Body shots are like rolling dice. (If you don't take out structure)
Good shot, round, bullet....you will get a 1-6. Sometimes the damn thing rolls off the table!

There are 2 bullets my experience has been opposite from what others
here get. One I found hard for the application and not very effective, the other
was opposite. Very hard on meat, but very quick killing.

The guys who have posted opposite seem experienced and honest, so
my conclusion is a particular batch or some other factor affected my results.
I'm certainly not wasting my time losing game or meat to research it farther,
there are too many good choices today.

Nor am I going to jump up and scream to the world that So and So is a dumb, lying,
Poser because we get different results.




As to drones being abused?

Get real.

The laws on hunting are so varied that establishing what's actually the hard and fast moral rules is impossible.

Was going to post that pretty much everything possible was legal somewhere, sometime, with the exception that paying The Man to pursue God's creatures was ubiquitous. Then I remembered that some landowners don't have to buy license!😵‍💫😵‍💫

Tech?
Ain't no one chases tech more that Traditional🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 "Bowhunters".


Outlaws will outlaw, you ain't gonna stop it.
Others will break laws occasionally, either purposely or accidently.

Following the outlaw it so it can't be used wrongly?

Ho Li Fuuuuuudge.
Outlaw carrying a flashlight because you could use it to roadhunt,

Outlaw driving a vehicle while possessing a gun because folks "might" roadhunt.
(Oh [bleep], that's not always illegal)


Oh wait.

Outlaw what I don't use,
Don't have,
Don't want someone to use!



PGC is a King in the "Make it illegal because someone might do something illegal with it" game.

Either now or until recently we couldn't,
Carry a handgun while primitive hunting.
Use dogs to track wounded deer.
Hunt deer and anything else during the same dates. (Except for primitive seasons)
Hunt small game with a centerline.
It goes on.


Ironically, we can spotlight. Just to look for deer.
In recent times we can even posses a handgun while doing it. But you gotta be careful. A 9mm is OK, probably. If they determine its more a deer killing gun than a defense gun...it's illegal. If your carry gun is a 6" M19, who knows until they tell you.

But, we can't spotlight during deer season!😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

Looks like Dillon is into the Old Crow and drunk posting.

Few years ago i seen a buck get hit in front of me, it broke is back, I dragged the deer to the side of the road sat on it and called the game warden, took that prick almost 2 hours to get there, he was eating breakfast, alot of people stopped to see if I needed help, they seen I had a glock on and said why don't you just shoot it, well because if I did the prick that was eating donuts would of fined me

I agree, as long as Joe Blow the hunter is not the Joe Blow drone-driver. Drone recovery by someone who hires out that service is fine IMO, as long as he isn't also the shooter. I'd restrict it to "for hire" , not Joes's good buddy doing him a favor. No different than hiring a tracking dog, if dog-use is not otherise allowed in that hunting .t


There has to be a line, and I think that one is reasonable.

👍👍

Since I'm accused of being drunk ill be brief!


Overheard a warden on the phone telling someone to shoot a hit deer.

I ask about it, and he told me,

"If we get called out after hours to shoot a deer, we get a couple hours overtime. Some guys want that money, bad. So they won't let you do it. I've already gotten them pissed at me when I've been called about a deer in their area and I was told it was mine."



Just saw you are in The Hillbilly.
This may not apply.
I'd bet it does though.

If someone has a drone but has to pay $300-500 for someone else to recover their deer they are most likely going to do it themselves or say phuu.ck that deer and leave it to go to waste.

I kinda doubt an hour of drone time cost that much. Maybe if it is a thermal drone .

Maybe not if someone is local but if you have to have someone drive from an hour or 2 away cost may get steep pretty quick.

Especially if one has to have a license or be registered to do such a thing. Going to cover the cost of travel and equipment for sure.

Easier to keep your yapper shut and if you know someone who has a drone let them do it.

It is

Maybe same operator.

$450 plus $100 if recovered plus mileage.

https://www.lancasterfarming.com/co...553a24e-88a3-11ee-b39a-6ffcf2f9dbeb.html

Wonder if its something to do with FAA??

Interesting views here. There are no wanton waste laws in Pa Paul, you can shoot a buck n cut it's head off and let it lay. They don't GAF..... but don't you dare find your dead deer with a drone!

I could see a drone season, shotgun only.

Sorry, no.

If its legal for someone's business it should be legal for me to do for myself. How about personal, individual deer butchering be banned and have all butchering go through a licensed pro?


How about no firearm's present for recovery? Seems like thats a clear line between hunting/pursuit and recovery. Unload and put it in the car. Now go drone.

Or screw the drones altogether and hunt like my grandfather did.

Well, I wouldn’t call them unless it was a wall hanger.

Bobby Joe in Spring Creek Holler isn’t spending $400 on a doe recovery . He’s getting ready for tomorrow.

I've not read through all of the comments but I'm curious if anyone has shown outrage or fully agreed with the game wardens on this one yet?

You'll have to read thru the thread to find all of that out.

On thinking about it over the day, I don't fault the warden. Either way. "Recovery" can be interpreted as part of "hunting". Or not. Probably depends on wording of state law involved ,unless better defined.

Let the judge sort it out. It's not the warden's job, tho he can use discretion in gray (or other) areas. Or define it in law. Wardens have a fair bit of discretion - he chose to cover his butt. I've been given the benefit of the doubt at least once in marginal situation. co-incidently enough, the issue was defined by the next season ( and I would have been wrong, then - but I was going by the letter of the law - not my fault if it is ill defined and ambiguous). Meat in the freezer is meat in the freezer.

In another case, the Fed. USFW officer walked into ADF&G with my moose rack, and the biologist- before Fed could say anything - said "LAS took that - it's legal" I had cleared it (scouted moose) with ADFG prior...by the letter of the law. But it was a wierdy!

Locally, we have a "personal use" gill net fishery for a week in June, for salmon. One of the regs is nets must be 100' apart. if they aren't, the officer cites both of them and lets the judge figure it out, if they choose to fight the fine.

Here in Alaska, if you shoot and lose (or just non-fatally wound) an animal, you are technically done. You have "taken" your critter. I don't know how well enforced that is.

In fact, if you look at the definition of "take" in our regulations, if you think about going out hunting and pick up a gun, you are done hunting... Lawyer speak..... providing LEO with discretion.

And yeah, wardens ARE cops. Everywhere. Here in AK, Troopers and Protection Officers are one and the same- just wear different uniforms. Way understaffed, too.

When does hunting end and recovery begin? I'm betting that most states define it as when you tag the deer. If you're out with a gun in hand and a tag in your pocket, you're hunting.

10 ga. - warden was wrong. Packing a gun doesn't mean one is hunting, even if season is over. 2A

Not gonna fly up here in bear country, anyway. I pack a gun walking the dogs. And I ain't worried about bears. We got good bears. People, not so much.

Exactly. From the comments here and on other subjects it seems like woodsmanship is a thing of the past. Drones, long range sniping at game at 900 plus yards, 200 yard plus shooting with muzzleloaders, but let me use a drone when I gut shoot a critter. etc. Have at it, whatever.

I had my very first drone recovery on Thanksgiving evening this year. Never seen a drone fly ever. I hit a very nice ten pointer a tad low. My drop tables (425 yds) were a little off from the real world results. I used the Berger ballistics program and BC supplied by Hammer bullets. After checking and rechecking things numerous times I tend to believe the Hammer supplied BC was way too optimistic.

The guy came out at 10:30 PM and got to work. I was his second client that evening. In ten words or less, I was astonished at what the drone showed us. He told me his rig was right at $20,000 . He flew the entire farm (275 acres) in minutes. His screen on an iPad looking device showed every single living thing with a pulse out there. He had the thermal camera of course. He also had a black and white camera for zooming in and checking things out via spotlight. We spotted possums and armadillos as if we were standing right over them….the camera zoomed in that close and the image was crystal clear. Watched deer in my food plot. None were the least but alarmed! It was hovering 250 feet above them making no noise. He then moved to my swamp to check things out and we counted ducks roosting there. Counted more deer here and there including a huge eight pointer no one had seen before. Just bedded down. Zoomed in for detail…watched his ears twitch, watched him look around. Get up, check out does bedded near him. Bed down again. At that point I felt if the wrong person had wanted to kill that buck it would have been ridiculously easy. Leave the drone hovering over him, sneak to the drone, shoot him at 50-75 yards with a thermal scoped rifle.

We found my buck after about 45 minutes of detailed searching. In a spot I would have never dreamed he had traveled to. The deer were never disturbed. It only took 45 minutes. A dog and a handler would have had to look all night long, buggering up the entire farm and probably never found him. As it was, we hunted the farm the very next day and saw deer. That would probably have not happened if the dog and its handler had walked all over the place.

Heck of an experience. $250

A dog would surprise you.

Bet he would have gone straight to the deer. That is if he was a good experienced dog.

Scenario.

#1- 10 year old kid gut shoots a doe with his bow, first deer ever. Way back above the flank. Deer runs 200 yards and beds up.

Dad sees the shot and confirms bad hit way back in the guts. Arrow indicates the same. Dad is a seasoned hunter and has been in on several hard tracking jobs and a 12 hour or so wait and slow track resulted in a dead deer at the end of the trail.

Dad says let's wait overnight and she will be dead in the AM.

Go in as light permits the next AM to take up the trail, over 12 hours. Start trailing and get to a bed 200 yards up the trail but no deer, look the rest of the day and never find that deer. Kid is disappointed and decides hinting may not be everything dad has said it is.

In this scenario they were hunting a 600 acre farm but are unable to get to neighboring property for whatever reason.

#2- All of the above but they get a drone to find the deer which shows she is alive but from her slow head movements, tries to get up but only moves a few yards then beds up again and other actions that indicate she is very sick that if they wait a few more hours she may be dead.

Wait 4 more hours, fly the drone in and see a dead deer. Recovery is made and the kid while disappointed is still a hunter and has his first deer.

I have been in on some rodeo track jobs and if there would have been a way to speed the process up and end the animals suffering I would have done it.

Some people's egos are outweighing the true respect for the animal.

If we all really want quick death and less suffering or want to make sure more game is recovered from something going wrong at the shot why not use that advantage??

All the woodsmanship in the world won't do any good if an animal leaves no blood along the trail, gets into a cattail swamp or standing cornfield and and/or gets bumped because the supposed 12 hour/overnight wait wasn't enough.

I cannot imagine a harder place to try to bloodtrail a bad shot deer than a huge cattail marsh of several hundred acres.

Tons of equipment we use everyday gives us a huge edge but I don't see many saying it should be illegal. Look at the modern rifle scope with its multi coated lenses and high dollar glass. I bet it gets a guy 15 minutes more shooting light on both sides of the day but we all want it.

More. X on the dial, more sleek bullets for the long range crowd but no chatter of that stuff needing to be outlawed.

Some of you all need to realize it's about the respect for the animals, not your woodsmanship egos. If we didn't allow advances in hunting we would all be using matchlocks and flintlock shooting a PRB or using a longbow with cedar arrows and glue on points.

I am sure there were old timers 75-80 years ago that raised hell at the idea of a telescopic sight on a hunting rifle. Same with lighted rocks on an arrow, helps to see the hit or locate the arrow after the shot to see where an animal may be hit to aid in recovery but some states held on forever not allowing them.

Dad says he remembers back in the '50s hearing old bass fishermen saying the rubber worm was going to ruin bass fishing. Probably the same for using electronics on boats.

I don't like it for reasons already stated. Thermal imaging, etc, nothing can escape detection if used and abused.

That said, many don't have a leg to stand on as far as griping. It's a slippery slope that's been happening for yrs. Range finders that are accurate down to a couple feet, scopes that are dialed to exact yardage. Game camera's that show you most everything that's out there and where and when they're travelling.

Game camera's now you don't even have to get off your butt and pull a card from something that already did your scouting for you. Was hunting last yr with a gang and the one guy left early because he was getting a bunch of pictures sent to his phone from deer that were moving early back home at his one stand. Knew before he left, which stand he was going to, and how he needed to approach it since deer were already out.

It all continues to get more and more ridiculous and cheapens hunting IMO, but have at it. For the record I have yet to own a single game camera. I've thought about it, but at the end of the day I enjoy doing it by learning and I also enjoy seeing a deer coming and having no idea what it is until I look it over. Not immediately saying oh that's so and so deer, that I've already seen 47 times from my living room.

Abuser's will use for hunting and locating an animal to kill whether legal or illegal for recovery of an already shot critter. Making it illegal won't slow the poachers, rule benders one bit.

Main point here is for recovery which we should all strive for 100% recovery. If it takes tech to achieve near that I am all for it if one has the means.

Been on many trailing jobs with good experienced dogs. They are a sight to see indeed. But….you have a dog and its handler, probably a hunter too, moving through the brush, all over the place…it’s just less impact on the property with a drone.

It is indeed effective, but the drone doesn’t bugger up the property like dogs and people can. The last dog trailing job I was in on, the dog was turned loose on the buck and chased it all over the farm. Pushed it into a swamp and then rather than letting it bed up and expire or a finishing shot put in him, pushed it onto another property. 160+” buck lost forever. I don’t fault the dog…I fault the handler for allowing him to run all over hell’s half acre. He wasn’t experienced as you stated. Drone would have negated all that and some taxidermist would have some work.

The drone guy told me he has a greater than 90% record on recoveries. Unreal, but I see how that’s possible.

You’re exactly right. It could certainly be abused by wrong type of hunter. That’s all I could think about looking at that big eight pointer that night. But those guys (and girls) are always looking for the next best trick to spoil our sport.

I live about 10 mins away from where this guy got caught and it doesn’t surprise me one bit. Our warden in this area is a real A**hole.

I couldn't agree more

That's what courts are for.