Should trail cams be legal?

[Bonasababy]

The biggest danger to hunting isn't anti hunters...it's losing the support from non hunters when we allow fair chase to go out the window.

 

[DHoldmeyer]

I'm OK with their use, just not to the extent they take away from the hunt.
Ex, the cell notification from the camera shouldn't wake you up to harvest the animal.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

I see trail cams no different than treestands left so long the tree is overlapping straps and chains. Someone is staking a claim on a specific public land area for their own use. Both create conflict on public land. Don't tell me you can't kill bucks on ground. I do it no problem and not in a pop up blind. On public land. Shooters know immediately of a camera or a stand, they're not looking at the camera to pose. On public land it doesn't take much to get a buck to change their movement. On ground you move with the deer and they can't pattern you easily if you just hunt. JMO, not right, not wrong, but its mine. My biggest on heavily hunted Michigan public land is 156 7/8 shot on ground. That is another story of course.

 

[whatnot]

What's the difference in leaving beer cans in the forest and trail cams?

 

[Stone_Ice_1]

What's the difference in leaving beer cans in the forest and trail cams?

Depends on if the beer cans are full or not!

 

[MTGomer]

I'm about tired of them. Like @brymoore, I jumped out of the truck this fall and offloaded some coffee, only to look up and see a camera staring back at me. Found one in AZ in December that looked like it might have been hanging there 10 years.

I did spot this one before it spotted me while elk hunting....

View attachment 361365

View attachment 361364

That’s mine. The stickers do wonders to deter vandalism.

 

[DP_PublicLands]

I was surprised to see that people are saying they are okay on private land but not public. The comments are also leaning toward that its not fair chase. Its not fair chase on public land but it is on private land? Weird.

 

[LopeHunter]

I think trail cams are a great tool but when used improperly they can actually hinder a hunter more than help. I own a land consulting business so maybe i am a little biased but the trail cam is probably my biggest tool. it can be used for herd management , stock and inventory ,and as a scouting tool to help with patterns and locating active areas while keeping human intrusion low. I cant say much for public land as most of my experience is on private , but i would say that its a great tool there also , just have to avoid the normal riff-raff that would steal or destroy someone else's property .

and to touch on how they can hinder hunters when used improperly, they can make a hunter feel like he is chasing his tail. When cell cams came out back in the late 2000s we used our first cell cams and we would get quick immediate info for scouting, which is great until you start chasing your tail trying to go where the deer were instead of where they are going. you would see a big buck at spot A in the morning then hunt spot A in the evening , Only for the buck to show up at Spot B in the evening. Then you would alternate spot A and B for 3 days Only to see Said buck at Spot C. It was a major pain and we had to put more effort into understanding what the deer were doing instead of where they were. We quickly learned that whitetail behavior and biology were much more important than where they were showing on camera .

You knew the buck existed. Not sure why that reduces your odds of a harvest. That is very useful information. You might note patterns re time of day or night for buck activity. You eliminate quadrants, perhaps miles apart, where game cams are showing minimal activity of mature bucks. Public land deserves some respect when personal property is placed there. Abandoned items are an eyesore as are chairs chained to trees “saving” waterholes as if that land is now private use 24/7. Trailers left for weeks on public land are eyesores as well as people attempt to exclude convenient access and shared use.

I support passing the pirate law for unattended equipment on public lands.

 

[LopeHunter]

I was surprised to see that people are saying they are okay on private land but not public. The comments are also leaning toward that it’s not fair chase. It’s not fair chase on public land but it is on private land? Weird.

No opinion on fair chase. Strong opinion on desecrating and littering on public land. Game cams, stands, etc are left to rot in some cases. If is sunset on public land, pirate law is a way to get rid of trash.

 

[Life by the Horns]

I have no problem with them personally. Hunting has evolved (some would argue for the worse) and trail cams are a fun part of the process to a lot of guys. For me, they don't really help me in killing a buck (i.e. I need to hunt at a specific time or place, etc) but they are really useful in getting an inventory of what is in my area. I simply don't have the time to go to my spot and spend evening after evening glassing the fields to see what's there. But, I can throw up multiples trail cams and check them every so often to see if there are any bucks I should be targeting. To each their own, but a guy still has to be a decent woodsman and put in the effort even with trail cams. JMO

 

[TrapperJ]

As someone who sucks using cameras it don't matter much to me but I could see one issue and that's other people stealing your SD cards or stealing the camera in total also I find it fun to guess what anmials I have then have a whole 100 photos of every single breathing anmial from bird to bear to a random stranger just my 2 cents

 

[Gellar]

Iowa tried to do away with cell cameras on public ground last year but the rule change was rescinded. That is another story. The reasons the C.Os wanted the law enacted were numerous but the one I talked to specifically stated that most cameras he encounters on public land are baited and lead to fights between hunters be one person thinks the camera claims their spot on public land.

 

[Irishman]

Last year I was hunting on public land that surrounded a section of private land. I mistakenly ended up on the private land - no fences or any signs. On my way out to the public land I see a salt block, so I look up and see a treestand, and across I see a game camera. The deer that I was trying to hunt on public land were going in to the salt block on the private land. This is an example of some of the crap that goes on in private land, so I'm not that worried if people on public land put up game cameras. I'd be more worried about the unchecked activities that happen on private land.

 

[rjthehunter]

Private land whitetail, sure.

I didn't know I had the buck in my profile pic around until he showed up on camera. Then I passed 6 other bucks waiting for the biggest and most mature one to show up.

Like most things, there's a time and place for it.