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B&C label cell cams unethical

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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Yep, if I was into that sort of thing, I'd put the setup somewhere where you could easily sneak up slowly. In certain conditions, you could easily get within bow range. Gun range is obviously no issue.
 
woodsdog2 said:
The extremes notwithstanding. I just think we need to be careful how much we just allow to be taken away.
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Maybe its because I'm a "good old days" old guy but I'm not sure I see it this way. For me its more of a where do we draw the line for emerging technology. As the available technology increases its uses to make hunting simpler will be exploited. Today its cell cameras or maybe thermal imaging drones. Who knows what the next great leap is going to be to make hunting easier. Unfortunately all possible evolutions can't be predicted so the only way to address these "innovations" is after the fact. So maybe its not taking away, but rather deciding where the line should be drawn and limiting the technology as it comes out. My point is cell cameras are a relatively new innovation and maybe its time to make this consideration now.

Now I fully admit that its not up to me individually to make that call for others but more as a community of hunters to come to a consensus. However there will always be those who disagree and think any new technology should be acceptable for use. Although I could care less what B&C of P&Y rules are (I hunt for me, not recognition), these are the types of organizations we as hunters should be providing feed back to as to where that technological line in the sand should be drawn to assure fair chase and ban technologies that cross it. Unfortunately it will only be able to be evaluated and eliminated after the fact since there is its pretty difficult to ban something that hasn't been developed yet.
 
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I'm fairly neutral as to the use of cell cams, if not used "un-ethically" (which by definition is technically open to interpretation)... I have used cell cams during the season for the previous 3 years, but I also have never harvested "because" of one of these cameras. I have my cameras set to connect once daily (to save battery life, primarily), and my primary goal is to determine the "type" of patterns the deer are adhering to and the increase of rut activity. Rarely do I "hunt" my actual physical camera location. They do allow me to stay out of the woods more during hunting season, which I do see as a benefit! Before cell cams, I would do a midnight run once or twice a week to pull/exchange cards. I feel way stronger on the baiting subject. Also, anytime something becomes illegal, it just means that the "normal" guy trying to do things "right" won't be participating in that activity; but they'll still be used by those that "don't care". It's like gun control; you're limiting and controlling the people that should not need to be restricted. You think bad guys care what the law says?

All that aside, I grew up hunting without cameras and bait, and relying more on actual "woodsmanship". This is something I still pride myself on, but I have way less time to spend in the woods than previously. Cameras to allow me to make more efficient use of my time, not necessarily more efficient location placement or increased harvest success rates.
 
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I am more of a spoon & crockpot hunter (lol, we'll see if that changes if I ever shoot a booner) but my main takeaway is that I agree that we "live online" too much. I know I do and have been working on decreasing. Thankfully my cell camera posts are limited to "I suck at hanging them in good spots and don't get photos of bucks" but still, I agree with the people that are saying that unplugging is the solution. Not on topic totally, but I'm coming around to the "hunt quietly" idea. I might buy a shirt/hat... I do enjoy the dichotomy of advertising for a movement that is all about not advertising your activities...
 
My buddy gave me a brand new cell cam that he got from work - I haven't used it yet.

Honestly, I'm thinking about ditching trail cams all together. Especially since I mostly hunt private land that I know. At this point I get a little more fulfillment by going into the season without knowing all the different deer on the property.

I don't think cell cams are necessarily unethical but I do think that it is good for B&C to restrict their use.
 
This statement was well thought out and almost ridiculous lmao.
people carry smart phones everywhere. Crap! The whole news media gets most of their footage and news from people with smart phones.
the statement near the middle or the end of this clowns so called reasonig for the ban is just dumb lmao. So whats next ? Outlawing smart phones in public because someone may feel a certain way?
lmso. Msn these people have zero clue on how snd why things are used lol.
here is this guy’s one of several reasons why Delaware is banning trail cameras lmao.
Delaware DNREC rep states -:
"We started getting some complaints from some of the other hunters out there and individuals who are out there just enjoying and non-consumptive users just enjoying wildlife areas about ownership and exclusive use. They felt there were privacy issues when they're out walking and see these cameras up, and then there was other ones who felt somewhat intimidated when they go into a wooded area or forest area for hunting purposes and planned on going to a certain area for whatever reason and they started seeing a lot of different cameras in different locations," said Emory.
 
Robert loper said:
Delaware DNREC rep states -:
"We started getting some complaints from some of the other hunters out there and individuals who are out there just enjoying and non-consumptive users just enjoying wildlife areas about ownership and exclusive use. They felt there were privacy issues when they're out walking and see these cameras up, and then there was other ones who felt somewhat intimidated when they go into a wooded area or forest area for hunting purposes and planned on going to a certain area for whatever reason and they started seeing a lot of different cameras in different locations," said Emory.
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I caught that one too. Are they going to ban all photography on public land because of privacy concerns? Even if you're on a parcel covered with cell cameras, you're less likely to be captured on camera than you are driving your car, or using an ATM, or shopping in a store. I'm a private person by nature, but I recognize that by existing in the world and interacting with other humans I give up some of my privacy.

The idea that a would-be hunter would see a camera and feel that another hunter had "dibs" on that spot which pre-empts him from hunting there... yeah, I can see that. Maybe I wouldn't hunt that spot. Maybe I'll hang my hat on the camera or schlorp some mud on the lens and enjoy a solitary mid-week hunt right next to that tree. Public land means I get to use it, too.
 
kbetts said:
You guys that are using cameras and telling us it's not helping your success are either full of $#!+, or you aren't using them correctly.
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Cameras obviously help stack the odds in your favor, or people wouldn't care. Given physical time in the woods OR cameras, though, I would choose actual scouting/hunting time. Cameras allow me to be more efficient BUT I personally use my cell cams on the same schedule as my regular cams, so there is no real advantage (cell vs. regular) other than minimizing the frequency of my human footprint in the woods. Any intelligent being could utilize cameras to be a way more effective hunter, but [to a point] that in-and-of-itself MAY require resources outside of someone's current disposal.
 
While it'd be amazing to have a big chunk of public all to myself, I'm not for driving folks away from enjoying hunting and the outdoors. (I do wish many would clean up their act though.)

However, anyone who quits hunting public land because of a camera ban doesn't seem that interested in the public resource or the activity, imo.

You want pictures, take em with a camera...or an iPhone @Robert loper, lol.

I'm not a hardliner on this. But we shoot ourselves in the foot on these issues, because of the same crap that makes a "rules for me, not for thee" thread go round and round.

Lack of respect for each other, the game, our resources. Tunnel vision.

I know of a lot of public hunting areas, not public hunting preserves. We're lucky to be able to hunt on public land at all. It's not an entitelment.

We wouldn't need half the ordnances at public venues (parks, beaches, etc.) if people were a bit more thoughtful and openminded.

Trail camera bans isn't a big picture issue.
 
I think that anyone that wants to ban cell cams should be required to kill their deer with just a rock or stick that they picked up in the woods. After all, isn't your compound, your platform, your camo etc. etc. etc. an unfair advantage?
 
DroptineKrazy said:
I think that anyone that wants to ban cell cams should be required to kill their deer with just a rock or stick that they picked up in the woods. After all, isn't your compound, your platform, your camo etc. etc. etc. an unfair advantage?
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You don't really think that.

But this reasoning may be strongly supported by non-hunting parties.
 
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