Game cameras during MT seasons?

[thecrittergitter]

If you really want to get holy, put limits on the "long range" shooting trend that's going on. A game cam does nothing to kill the animal. Shooting game at 1200 yards does.

What about 875.........or 1125??

Your saying to put a limit on someones shooting capabiliies? That would be like saying, well, jim bob missed shot and wounded an elk at 230 yards so everyones limit should be 200 yards?

I say, if you shoot a lot AND you have the right equipment, AND the confidence, AND conditions allow, you shoot whatever you feel good about and can go to sleep at night with.
This range is going to be different for every single person.

Crap, this is getting way off topic..

 

[thecrittergitter]

And by the way, for many years, I thought 300 yards was a long shot considering there are few places in western montana you can even see that far

 

[mtmiller]

What about 875.........or 1125??

Your saying to put a limit on someones shooting capabiliies?

Just take away his rangefinder.

 

[thecrittergitter]

Just take away his rangefinder.

Ah, yes, that will do it for sure................even at 50 yards Dammit, you got me

 

[SWMontana1]

Just take away his rangefinder.

How could live with yourself if you took away something that cost the guy $75,000 +/-

 

[Bambistew]

The question is:

1). Do they give you an unfair advantage over the animal your hunting?
2). Do they aid in the harvest of an animal?

1) Let me ask this... if you captured a picture of a giant buck, day, after day, after day... and knew he came by at say noon every day. How is that not an unfair advantage when you shoot him at noon the next day in the same spot you took a picture of him?

You can pin point the most active trails, and set up stands, accordingly.

2). Yes, see above.

What I don't understand, if the cameras do nothing for you, then why does it matter that you can't use them? It's pretty obvious that its more than just wanting to see what's in your area, just to see... I mean if the only thing that showed up was a bunch of dink animals (or none), I'd put $100 on the table that you'd look for someplace else to hunt.

I like your drunk driving logic though...

 

[shoots-straight]

What about 875.........or 1125??

Your saying to put a limit on someones shooting capabilities? That would be like saying, well, jim bob missed shot and wounded an elk at 230 yards so everyone's limit should be 200 yards?

I say, if you shoot a lot AND you have the right equipment, AND the confidence, AND conditions allow, you shoot whatever you feel good about and can go to sleep at night with.
This range is going to be different for every single person.

Crap, this is getting way off topic..

Your missing the point. People on here are saying game camera's give unfair advantages over game to people who use them, therefore they should be banned.

Do you think 1200 yrd shots at "game animals" are fair chase? How about compared to what advantage a game camera gives a guy. The game cam doesn't do the killing, the 1200 yrd shot does. Don't you think it's a fair question when we are discussing what's fair or not?

In the near future we might have a version of a rail gun, that can shoot miles accurately, and how about smart bullets that can steer themselves into a target? The technology is there, and the sport we now enjoy will be effected by it. So where do we draw the line? I think game cameras are insignificant compared to the other modern technological advances our sport is enduring.

Food for thought.

 

[Bambistew]

Do you think 1200 yrd shots at "game animals" are fair chase? How about compared to what advantage a game camera gives a guy. The game cam doesn't do the killing, the 1200 yrd shot does. Don't you think it's a fair question when we are discussing what's fair or not?

In that case, a high fence isn't an advange either, since it doesn't do the killing...

 

[shoots-straight]

1) Let me ask this... if you captured a picture of a giant buck, day, after day, after day... and knew he came by at say noon every day. How is that not an unfair advantage when you shoot him at noon the next day in the same spot you took a picture of him?

You can pin point the most active trails, and set up stands, accordingly.

2). Yes, see above.

What I don't understand, if the cameras do nothing for you, then why does it matter that you can't use them? It's pretty obvious that its more than just wanting to see what's in your area, just to see... I mean if the only thing that showed up was a bunch of dink animals (or none), I'd put $100 on the table that you'd look for someplace else to hunt.

I like your drunk driving logic though...

Never has your above fantasy scenario played out in my world. If that happened somewhere I would be surprised. Game animals (smart ones) tune into certain things that go on in their environment. It would be a rare Big Buck that continued his routine as you pointed out. In the real world in doesn't happen.

You don't need a trail cam to tell you if a trophy lives in a certain area. Whitetail give off lots of evidence of that. During season whitetail change their movements on a daily basis where I hunt. So a camera's not going to give you that smoking gun. I must of sat 50 days and nights so far, and moved stands almost as much.

I used mine for bear hunting the most. If no trophy sized bears used the site then it saved me time from sitting there. As you know most trophy sized bears using bait stations show up after dark. Did it give me an unfair advantage in killing a trophy bear? Well I hunted in Idaho for 10 years and never killed but one bear. The big guys have an uncanny ability to only show up when I wasn't there. BTW, you don't need a trail cam to tell you that a trophy bruin is using a bait. It just answered a couple of other questions.

I used them on elk wallows too!. Every try patterning a elk? Good luck with the unfair advantage part on them. As I said before your scenario it's a fantasy in my world!

I put them on critters I found dead, and enjoyed the pictures. You never know what will show up in the dark. Unfair advantage? I don't think so.

If your cam is capable of relaying pictures in real time, that would be "unfair" to the animals we hunt. Not ones that you have to go and gather the info from.

 

[shoots-straight]

In that case, a high fence isn't an advange either, since it doesn't do the killing...

It's physically responsible. A game camera takes a picture. The animal still has free will, and free range. Not even close Bambie.

 

[Bambistew]

Shoots... my fantasy hunt happens all the time. Whitetails are creatures of habit, it may change as the season’s progress, but it’s not hard to pattern a deer and kill it. Is it a guarantee? No, but you sure as hell know where to hang a stand, generally. If you had 5 cameras on a 100 acre farm, and only one of them was showing a big buck, where are you going to hang you stand?

It really doesn't matter one way or another it’s all a matter of opinion. I think trapping is gay, as is hunting bears over bait, shooting long range, hunting with dogs, hunting penned animals... did I forget to offend anyone?

I could care less one way or the other, if it’s legal have at it. I'm not the morality police. But to say that a camera doesn't offer you an advantage is silly.

 

[shoots-straight]

Trail Cams are no more unfair than most of the other modern equipment we use today. The ones that relay real time pics are the exception.

 

[ismith]

Maybe we need to go back to iron sights and traditional archery tackle only while we are at it? 80 yard bow shots and 1000 yard rifle shots do much more harm and are more unsporting than taking pictures of animals with a game camera, especially if its on your own property.

 

[thecrittergitter]

Maybe we need to go back to iron sights and traditional archery tackle only while we are at it? 80 yard bow shots and 1000 yard rifle shots do much more harm and are more unsporting than taking pictures of animals with a game camera, especially if its on your own property.

You think by doing that, you still won't have some dumbass that thinks he can shoot 5-600 with iron sights, or at least keep him from trying....

Your never going to eliminate the idiots by limiting shooting distance or weapon......Fact

 

[RobertR]

As usual the FWP regulations have a lot og gray areas so they can cover there own back side.

Yes they can be used when there is not a commissioned adopted hunting season. The specifics is the gray area, not to (relay on a game animals location or movement during a commissioned adopted season)

If you have a camera that gives you realtime images and or video (remotely) that is the gray area. To me if the camera has to be manually check it's does not fall into there description.

 

[ismith]

You think by doing that, you still won't have some dumbass that thinks he can shoot 5-600 with iron sights, or at least keep him from trying....

Your never going to eliminate the idiots by limiting shooting distance or weapon......Fact

I was just pointing out that this law makes little sense as it has been written, and I wonder how it came be. There is plenty of evidence about that you can't legislate common sense.

 

[drahthaar]

Hey, last night I fixed 3 cams that bears wrecked this summer. Just wish I could use them.

Cams are going to be one of those things that are eternally divisive. Yes, they have a time stamp. But I still don't believe for one second you can pattern one of these timber whities in Oct and Nov when they are chasing does. They will be on the valley floor one day, and in the south fork the next. Elk? Even a longer shot. On another site, I challenged anyone to put a sequence of pics showing a "patterned" buck. Then an argument ensued about what a pattern was. Consecutive days? Every Monday? Same time of day for how many days? I said show me within 4 hours(the amount of time my ass can stand to sit in a tree stand at one time) on any 3 days resembling a pattern during Oct and Nov. Never saw it. I never got any type of pattern ever. Maybe, MAYBE, in August with a bachelor group of bucks. But when they shed that velvet, they were all gone. And only buck I ever got again during hunting season, didn't show again on that cam until Thanksgiving. Good Luck trying to pattern a rutting buck.

If cams do anything, they may show you an animal that you like, giving you a reason to put a little extra time into an area that you wouldn't have otherwise. Is that not fair chase?

I will concede that cams may increase some bad behavior, such as baiting, salting, etc. But those activities were going on long before cams. The south fork of the flathead, should be renamed, the salt fork of the flathead.

I think, cams could be beneficial to get kids involved with hunting. Everyone talks about youth this, youth that. Let kids dump cows and does all over the state. WTF is that! You put all the emphasis on just killing crap. What I personally see happening more and more, and that is Dad just driving around all day trying to let Jr. shoot something out the window. Let them see some deer in an area, and learn to hunt them. You learn some hunting methods, looking at sign, etc, in just determining where to put a cam to get some pics. You have to "hunt" for a good spot to put a cam. You just can't throw one up anywhere and expect anything good. By God, they will have to actually set foot off a road to go check the damned thing! Cams will get people in the woods.



Personally, I like to try to set cams to get just good pics. Griz, wolves, lions, bobcats, etc. Deer and Elk are "ho hum" to me. I hunt for deer and elk in the same areas every year regardless, cams or no cams, pics or no pics. Sheesh, its fun to see what is even roaming around my freakin house. Pretty cool stuff happens around here. Plus I have shared a ton of info with the local bios. Numbers of wolf pups, collared griz, etc.

Cams are just like anything else. They can be beneficial or abused, but outright banning them, I disagree with. I ain't gonna lose any sleep over though. It is, what it is.

 

[shoots-straight]

You think by doing that, you still won't have some dumbass that thinks he can shoot 5-600 with iron sights, or at least keep him from trying....

Your never going to eliminate the idiots by limiting shooting distance or weapon......Fact

You will however diminish the amount of wounded, and dead animals by limiting range. If everyone takes any animal they want, then you've got a problem. There's not enough game for that. Something will have to give. It's either the equipment, or the hunters. Coming to a thread near you!

Stalking game, isn't it easier to get within 1200 yrds than 500, right, so more leads thrown by idiots at those ranges, especially if they think they can hit. FACT

 

[thecrittergitter]

You will however diminish the amount of wounded, and dead animals by limiting range. If everyone takes any animal they want, then you've got a problem. There's not enough game for that. Something will have to give. It's either the equipment, or the hunters. Coming to a thread near you!

Stalking game, isn't it easier to get within 1200 yrds than 500, right, so more leads thrown by idiots at those ranges, especially if they think they can hit. FACT

I guess my point is that some regulation should never govern shooting distance. Common sense and ability should.......

 

[Horn Seeker]

I love putting the cams out and I'd say its generally about a 50/50 deal whether I'm using it for scouting or just "for fun...to get pics of animals when I can't be there... ) which is most the time.

The law clearly states that its only illegal if you are using them for the purpose of scouting/hunting. I can pass the red face test when having cams out during the season... I just want some dang pics of elk! On the other hand...if an unusually large antlered critter does pass by my cam, during an established season, I'd likely spend more time in that area. Dont think it gave me an unfair advantage over the animal, but technically... it was "scouting" for me...

Hmmm...

The long range shooting is something I struggle with... I can't make my mind up on that one so will hold no judgement on the LR guys... I do admire their skills... the ones that practice and are confident and only shoot when they know things are going to go right just as much as if they were shooting 200 yards.