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B&C label cell cams unethical

Jammintree

Jammintree

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Recent announcements that the state of Delaware is banning trail camera use on public land cite the Boone and Crocket clubs ethical stance
Regarding cell cams. Apparently the organization will no longer score bucks killed with the aid of cellular trail cams. So apparently they have drawn a line in the sand differentiating cell cams from other trail cameras. Here is a brief overview, though I’d like to find statements from B and C elaborating their position.

They have also added several other technologies to their ban list including scopes with built on range finders and thermal imaging.

https://www.carolinasportsman.com/hunting/deer-Huntington/boone-hand-crockett-
 
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BTaylor said:
Not sure how I feel about that. I have no issue with B&C setting their standards where they feel appropriate. I dont really have an issue with a state banning cell cam or even all trail cams on public lands. Not sure I like seeing a state cite B&C as a reason for a change or ruling like this.
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It's probably because B&C pioneered the Fair Chase concept. The history of B&C is rooted in conservation as much as a record books.

If it's the state saying....we want fair chase hunting, we've reviewed the arguments for and against trail camera usage, and the current B&C fair chase principals are aligned with our view on the issue...amongst other arguments against cameras...I guess I get that.

But, if it's more the tail waging the dog...idk. I definitely don't like it if it's about record books.


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BTaylor said:
Not sure how I feel about that. I have no issue with B&C setting their standards where they feel appropriate. I dont really have an issue with a state banning cell cam or even all trail cams on public lands. Not sure I like seeing a state cite B&C as a reason for a change or ruling like this.
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I'm guessing that's just a private site, your government sites will have a .org, .gov, etc. attached I do believe.
 
"As for cameras that require hunters to physically check the photos from trail cams, the Club has no specific policy. The Club requires a hunter to follow state regulations, which are aimed at maintaining wildlife health and hunter safety."
 
CZMark said:
How would they ever know if a cell cam was used in the killing of a deer?
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Polygraph I would assume and a deep dive into your online history. One thing we love is self promotion on the on line. There will be evidence of cell cam use. We can’t help it.
 
Yeah, either people will tell on themselves of someone close enough to the situation will tell on them. If having bucks in the B&C record books is important enough to someone the possibility of being publicly humiliated by having one (or all) of their bucks unceremoniously dumped for unethical behavior would be a pretty good deterrent.
 
NMSbowhunter said:
Yeah, either people will tell on themselves of someone close enough to the situation will tell on them. If having bucks in the B&C record books is important enough to someone the possibility of being publicly humiliated by having one (or all) of their bucks unceremoniously dumped for unethical behavior would be a pretty good deterrent.
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But where is the line drawn? If you have 2 pics of the buck on a cell cam and 1000 on a regular cam. Is it still unethical. Thats crazy to me. Yeah if he is on cell cam right now and you sneak up on him and kill him as your camera is continuing to send you pics maybe. But just because you got a pic of a buck on a cell cam 2 years ago and you finally kill him does that count against you? way to gray of an area.
 
My guess it will be on a case by case basis. It won't be like they will have to prove it in a court of law or anything.

Its up to them really to set their own standards. I would not be at all surprised to see Pope & Young follow. I can see it to a point. I have friends and know guys who have cell cameras set over corn feeders and they will leave work at a moment's notice if they get their target buck on camera in daylight. They run out, sneak up and shoot the buck, take plenty of picture for Farcebook, then go back to work.
 
NMSbowhunter said:
My guess it will be on a case by case basis. It won't be like they will have to prove it in a court of law or anything.

Its up to them really to set their own standards. I would not be at all surprised to see Pope & Young follow. I can see it to a point. I have friends and know guys who have cell cameras set over corn feeders and they will leave work at a moment's notice if they get their target buck on camera in daylight. They run out, sneak up and shoot the buck, take plenty of picture for Farcebook, then go back to work.
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Yes I'm against that. But that's not how I use my cell cams.
 
Bigterp said:
Man I sure hope to have this dilemma!! Cause he’s on my wall…….. ain’t worried about that book or how much letoff I have….. i know there are ways that you could have an unethical advantage with technology but it’s all a slippery slope at this point
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Easy to fix. Ban cell cams, centerfire rifles, scoped ML's and crossbows. :p
 
I'm all for it and frankly hope PA follows suit. You can watch infinite spots from your phone all week then chose where you're going to hunt without setting foot in the woods. Sure it may be efficient but that's not how I want to hunt. Nothing against guys that do it, I'm sure there are plenty of 'good' hunters that were 'good' before cell cams and are now just 'better' but I really don't like the real-time monitoring. Maybe I'm being selfish, but there's nothing worse than spending years learning a spot through actual success and failure, working your butt off to get up that hill, hunting/scouting different times of the year/season, putting the pieces together, and then one year there's 5 cell cams spread out over every obvious crossing, streaming your presence live to the new dude on the block that thinks he's going to master the area by monitoring cameras. At least if I find a regular cam I know somebody has to put in some effort to retrieve the information.
 
THill202 said:
I'm all for it and frankly hope PA follows suit. You can watch infinite spots from your phone all week then chose where you're going to hunt without setting foot in the woods. Sure it may be efficient but that's not how I want to hunt. Nothing against guys that do it, I'm sure there are plenty of 'good' hunters that were 'good' before cell cams and are now just 'better' but I really don't like the real-time monitoring. Maybe I'm being selfish, but there's nothing worse than spending years learning a spot through actual success and failure, working your butt off to get up that hill, hunting/scouting different times of the year/season, putting the pieces together, and then one year there's 5 cell cams spread out over every obvious crossing, streaming your presence live to the new dude on the block that thinks he's going to master the area by monitoring cameras. At least if I find a regular cam I know somebody has to put in some effort to retrieve the information.
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I'm also in Pa and know of several guys who have shot buck because they received a pic on opening morning of rifle and was able to move locations to set up on them in the direction they were heading. Now having cameras out of the woods 7 days before archery season opens, smiliar to feed regulations and mineral block regulations, I am a fan of.
 
Tknapp said:
I'm also in Pa and know of several guys who have shot buck because they received a pic on opening morning of rifle and was able to move locations to set up on them in the direction they were heading. Now having cameras out of the woods 7 days before archery season opens, smiliar to feed regulations and mineral block regulations, I am a fan of.
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Out before season starts would work fine for me too.
 
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