Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting drone use for recovery (after hunting actions have ceased)

2 days ago I bought my first drone. (Evo 2 Dual) Ive never flown a drone before and Prior to buying this drone had only watched my Nephew fly a drone a couple years ago. By the time I got most of what I wanted on top of the evo 2 Dual rugged, Ive bought some silent props, a couple more batteries, an Ipad, an AlienTech signal booster due to tree canopy, prop guards and I have modified the rugged case into a backpack. Im at about $12K into this investment. Im studying for the 107 pilots certification (since I will be using this drone in a commercial capacity) and have gotten insurance on the drone itself and im investigating liability insurance with my agent.

The reason for this investment is that I am starting another company under my parent company. This Division will focus on animal carcass recovery (and human search and rescue should the need present itself) As a traveling hunter that bowhunts all over the world. I will travel with this unit but when Im back home I will offer a service to people to locate big game animals they have hit but cant find/recover via conventional tracking by looking for the heat signature of the animal. If too many hours have passed, I will search for the heat signatures of the wolves, coyotes, bear, avian, etc, feasting on the carcass.

As I said, Ive never flown a drown before until today. I took the unit up for the first time today. I made a video of that maiden voyage . I did about a dozen manual take offs and landing and explored the regular and thermal cameras.

I will have many months to perfect the process of flying and filming. I plan to take the drone with me to Africa next fall for a bow hunt.

Legality: since there are many self appointed internet game wardens that dont know the law but will pretend they do (You know who you are)

Many states have prohibitions in place against using a UAS to hunt animals but after hunting has ceased and no weapons are present and people are employing a UAS in a search capacity for a carcass simply by flying over a property, there is no prohibition. The one person in WI that currently offers this service has already supplied me with the email from the WI DNR explaining this. This same person has even had WI DNR wardens accompany him on carcass locations. Should I locate a game animal that is wounded but still alive. I will cease any further drone activity and return the drone to home base. At that point, The client will be on their own to go and get a weapon to dispatch the animal (if its daylight) or let it be until morning .

This does not mean the self appointed internet game wardens here will accept that this is legal. I would expect them to ignore the facts and continue to pretend that this is illegal. (I will laugh)

Here is the very first flight as I learn the controls and play with both camera modes. I will have many months to get proficient flying and filming.



Because the thermal imaging drone and all the required gear like extra batteries, launch/landing pad, site lighting, Ipad, etc are approaching 30 pounds and Because deer and bear and other critter carcass locations (and human search and rescue efforts) will likely take place in very remote areas, I wanted a hands free way to transport all the gear in the very rugged case it came in so I added back pack straps so I can hike it in or carry it via ATV . I like the idea of being hands free or using trekking pole when walking the woods at night while wearing a head lamp. this case is very stout so even if I end up like a turtle on its back all the gear will be safe.











Im eager to do some carcass location (even if its not required and the animal can be found with usual blood tracking methods) just to understand the limitations and of the tool the lag time before a carcass is so cool that is doesnt put off enough heat to detect.

Im sure some might object to this (but then again this is the interweb and people will argue over the color of the sky) I wont care. The only other person in WI offering this service is swamped with requests and every state has a network of tracking dogs to aid in game recovery so clearly there is a need. I intend to travel with this drone to Africa next fall for a bow hunt im doing. I dont get on this site very often as I am usually out of state, bowhunting somewhere so if there are questions, I will only be as responsive as time allows. Many of the bowhunting destinations I enjoy come with the added bonus of little to no cell service.

Ive spoken with a friend that is a Captain with a local police force that said I should not be surprised if I am called upon . He said I should make other local police and sheriff offices aware that this could be of service.

Im in the process of drafting a list of specific questions I will conduct over the phone when a hunter contacts me to enlist my help using the drone for carcass location. When I eventually create a web space for this service such questions will be posted there. This is a living document that is not mature and a work in progress. Please suggest other questions I may ask as it relates to site specific data. I understand I will need to check sectional charts to understand the airspace I may be entering. Also, if you spot any errors in what Ive already written, mention them. Thank you.


Carcass Recovery Questionnaire

***At no time during this recovery effort is any member of the search party allowed to be in possession of a weapon (firearm, archery gear or crossbow) *** (exception for CC holders)

***If during the location process, the animal sought after is determined to be alive, Drone search efforts will immediately be terminated ***

***I cannot and will not fly in the following conditions: Rain, Snow, dense fog, or winds in excess of 15 miles per hour. If any of these conditions develop after the search has begun, the search will be terminated***


Name of person requesting carcass location service: ____________________

Phone Number of same person: __________________________________

County where carcass search will be conducted: ________________________

Nearest municipality (city/town/Village): _______________________________

Nearest intersection of 2 roads:______________

Will the search take place on private land or public land : ________

If public land, it the land county, state or federally controlled: ____

Is the property a military operations area? :____________

Do you anticipate that the animal remained on the property you have permission to search or do you think it may have crossed onto a neighboring
property? :________

If the animal crossed onto another property, do you have express written or verbal permission to enter that property to search? :______________

Does the property where the search will be conducted contain any of the following:

Power transmission lines, Cell or radio towers, Wind turbines? :_______________

Species of animal carcass to be located: _____________________________

Weapon used while hunting (firearm, archery gear or crossbow): ____________

If Firearm, what caliber: ______________

If archery or crossbow, what broadhead was used: _____________ F____ M____

did you get an arrow or bolt pass through or is it assumed, still in the animal: _____

What time and date was the animal hit: __________________

How far (in yards) have you already tracked the animal: ________________

How far (yards) from last tracking sign can a 4 x 4 truck be brought in:__________

Is the start point for the search accessible by 4 wheel drive truck:__________

If not accessible by truck, is the area accessible by ATV:_________________

Using the image below, give the number and letter intersection of the assumed impact: _____



Edit. Playing around more today.



And if Wisconsin ever gets pythons, I have another search to conduct.



Now, I fully expect an array of very ignorant comments to follow. I can even predict who the ignorant comments will come from (yes you have been patterned and it was very easy.) If Ive learned one thing in my time here its that the level of ignorance from many here is on a scale that could best be described as epic. There are many that dont have a clue as to what they are talking about yet they talk and talk. Its actually pretty entertaining. This topic will bring out those folks in short order. It will be funny. This thread will grow like wild fire (Like all my threads)

FYI, I did not purchase this drone to turn a profit. Truth be told, my accountant said I needed to spend some money to offset the fantastic year we had so I started a couple ventures under my parent company so I could have some capital expenditures in 2020. I am a traveling bowhunter and will use this device should the need arise but since I will have it, I will create an entity that provides this service. There is a real need for tracking dogs and this is the next evolution in game recovery so this enterprise was born. It need not be profitable. FAct is, I could stand to actually finally write off a loss for a change.

There are a lot of ways I can convert a FLIR Boson capable drone into a profit center on a year round basis as opposed to finding game animals 4 months of the year. I happen to hunt someplace in the world nearly year round and I do bowhunting product testing for companies so for my business I will have a lot of opportunity to use this but to the many dullards here that are simple workers/functionaries, they wont be able to comprehend this either. This will upset them so they will lash out and showcase their ignorance. (I will laugh) get ready to be entertained by some of the dumbest schidt you will ever read from these guys. They will pout and whine and piss and moan and manufacture stuff that is false but makes them feel good. Its will be funny. Jealousy does not wear well on them.

Sharp things: Good for you on offering to help the local law enforcement types.
I am NOT sure where you live but in the greatest state of them all (Montana) "retrieving Big Game" is part of "Hunting Big Game".
Electronic devices of some sorts (cell phones, walkie talkies etc) are NOT legal to be used to aid in Hunting Big Game.
If I were you (and I am not!) I would make double sure that your contention is legal regarding searching for Big Game (that you THINK may be dead!)!
Best of luck to you and with the drone, I watched the whole video - you did a good job of flying it (I am guessing at that) and filming.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Idaho regs are clear on HUNTING game with drones but they say nothing at all on recovering one. What they say is that if you locate game with one, you can't hunt it until the next day.

That is a huge investment ... hope it works out the way you’re thinking.

I personally am not a fan of drones ... especially flying over my property. About as annoying as my nosey neighbor who constantly flies his plane over my place! I’ve been told that you need permission to be under 500ft but don’t know if there’s any truth to it? I think you’re going to have a hard time with some folks so prepare yourself for confrontation and please realize not everyone has to approve just because you do.

Does Idaho allow broadcasting cracked corn using a drone, as long as you wait a day to hunt over it?

Sounds like the dumbest investment, let alone business idea of all time...

By the time you fill out the questionnaire, the animal will be coyote sh*t.

Not to mention these two gems:

1) "At no time during this recovery effort is any member of the search party allowed to be in possession of a weapon (firearm, archery gear or crossbow)"

and

2) "*If during the location process, the animal sought after is determined to be alive, Drone search efforts will immediately be terminated * .......at which time I'll bend over and you can kick me in the ass for making you leave your weapon in camp, and then I'll call the game warden and turn myself in for using a drone to locate a live animal." LOL, you can't make this schidt up.

It better be alive, doesn't he find it with thermals? You know how fast that heat signature is going away after a critter is dead when it's cold?

Lmao. I love his posts.

So the 2nd Amendment is out the window?

This guy may indeed laugh in the faces of game wardens, but that doesn't mean they won't confiscate his property and cite him if they feel like it....

I'm not sure exactly, except to say that if you don't spend at least that much time trying to find the animal before you "call in the drones" then you don't have a hair on your ass.

I'd also love to see him find a deer in an area of high deer densities and/or bedded. Epic. In some states it's likely be harassment of wildlife.

I'd pay to watch...

Sorry to post this cause I don't like the dude.

But animals retain heat a long time, hours, after death. We use and have used thermals to find them.

I MUCH prefer our dog. But thermals can work and hours later too.

That said lots of things block thermal from working too.

Down south I was amazed, that cactus flat block it. But after thinking, they are full of water that heats up during the day, it takes a long time to cool. Not even sure if cooled thermal could see through it.

Like I said not really relevant but there it is. Its how I find wounded hogs here at night to finish them off cause I ain't risking the dog on a live pig.

I understand all of it. So, bad hit. Leave for a few hours as an archer should to let animal expire or until next morning now knowing it's a bad hit. Can't find it after this period or bump it. They realize they need help. What if they actually missed?

They call Captain Jowels the next day at lunch after not finding anything, at the earliest. Money exchanged, his stupid paperwork etc. They go look at shot sight, etc. It's been 20 degrees. Animal may not be dead yet or even hit. It's now middle of next night. Best case scenario. Heavily wooded areas likely. Captain Jowels flying his drone around looking for a heat signature in the woods?

This isn't even accounted for dumbass hunter BS which his clientele will likely be as they called him. And can't shoot. Adds up to a chitshow. I've guided clients like Captain Jowels and he fits it to a "T". There are other layers of stupidity involved in this process somewhere I'm sure.

It's a disaster at best but I can't wait to hear about it....

.... in before jowels gets busted for searching for downed game in some second story bedroom window...

Hint: if you have not found the critter you are still "hunting" for it.

Shhh......grin...

Be interested in seeing him using the "system" in bear country...

Laughing!

A buddy wounded a bull moose in a ML hunt and when we found it the next day after better than a mile of heavy cover the bull charged us from close range.

Moose injure more people in AK every year than bears...

I'd wager the outfitter/farmer drops him off at the base of the stand or feed trough with a golf cart and picks him up afterward. There is no way is he doing much walking to track a deer either by the look of it. Find it with the drone right from the Bowhunting Aventure super truck and hire someone to go get it for him by the looks of it.