jrbsr

To use trail cameras, or not to use trail cameras.
Trail cameras are a tool, do you use a traditional bow or a compound bow.
It is just another hunting tool, JMHO

Double Naught Spy

Ah! Historical romanticism where everything and everyone in the good old days were better.

I am sure all the folks who support this position also have true native woodsman skills and do not use firearms or even bows and instead use bare hands and run down a deer barefoot in a loincloth. Of course, later came along the guys who used rocks and clubs and the bare handed people said it wasn't sporting. Then came the spear guys and the rock guys said it wasn't sporting...and so on until today when guys are often using sub MOA rifles, expanding ammo, and glass more than 100 times better refined than what Galileo used.

Everybody tends to make the best use of technology that they can and can appreciate. The woodsmen in the good old days were using the best technology they had. You can darn sure bet that if they had a way to use cameras, they would have. After all, most of them were subsistence hunting and not sport hunting.

I never really thought it "sporting" to be using a rifle. It isn't like the deer or other creature has any real defense against an incoming bullet fired at over 2000 fps, often from a threat that they can't see and from a distance where the threat may not even be considered a threat. If the idea is to be sporting, the one should attack the animal on a level at which the animal has a chance to defeat the attack instead of sniping it where then animal does not, but nobody really wants to do that.

Muley Hunter

I went to a meeting the DOW put on in my area. It was about all the deer we have in town that are destructive. Of course dummies feed them, so they have a reason to hang out in town. Some of them are almost pets.

So spokesman for the DOW told us that the best way to control the deer was to start a doe season since the majority of the deer in town were does. A woman stands up in a huff, and says she didn't want the deer killed. She was obviously a PETA member in good standing, and was determined to have the deer removed with harming them. She knew I was a hunter, and gave me a look that would melt ice while she was talking. I just smiled at her.

Finally, the officer had enough of her, and said to her that hunters are how herds are controlled. He went on the explain to her that without hunters the towns would be flooded with deer, elk, and bears. He went on the explain when herds get too big they suffer, and some die from starvation. Others are run over by cars. He continued to explain why keeping herds in control is so important. When he was done she was as quiet as a mouse. The last thing he said to her was that if she really cared about the animals she should thank every hunter she sees.

When the meeting ended, and we were all walking out of the building she stopped me. She thanked me, and said she was sorry for thinking as she did. I told her it's fine, and that we weren't the killers that non hunters thought we were. I went on to tell her i'm not a trophy hunter, but hunt for food, and for conservation. She seemed pleased, and said she would be telling her friends what she found out.

That was 3 years ago, and we've had a doe season since then with no complaints. Hunting won't go away if the public understands why it's necessary, and the consequences if it's stopped.

handles II

I can name a few. 1. deer drives. Takes no woodsmanship just more than one person. 2. Hunting over bait. Legal and used in many states by many hunters. Some of whom probably think cameras are an unfair advantage. 3. Hunting a field. Just sit and wait for the deer to come out in the evening. Zero woodsmanship needed.

If I hang a camera in a spot without using woodsmanship, guess what I get? Nothing.

Even if I get the same buck on camera three days in a row at the same time, the reality is that I had to walk into the woods, get my camera card, take it home and look on the computer at it, THEN attempt to go to that area if the wind and conditions are right (woodsmanship). And it is more often without a doubt that I won't see that buck (or perhaps any other). If cameras made it that easy, then everyone who had one would shoot the best buck they have pictures of. It doesn't happen, not even close.
The "tried and true" methods of hunting above all take far less effort and woodsmanship.
In addition, like others on here, getting some cool pictures of nature is great and only helps me hold my hunting area more dear to my heart. It has nothing to do with an expectation that I will shoot or even hunt what I get pictures of.

Muley Hunter

I'm not buying it. You can do it the old way by scouting, or you can just hang cameras.

Knowing animals are in an area you plan to hunt is always helpful.

troutbum

I don't think the OP was bashing the use of camera's. Some hunters use them some don't. I don't use them, I'm a traditional bow hunter, I rifle hunt , and use a BP rifle. No one is attacking the use of compounds, camera's. No one claimed to be nimrod the hunter or Frank Buck. But it was a great forum with a lot of different answers. Remember even if we think differantly on equipment, We are still all brother's that band together for a common interest: Hunting.

Muley Hunter

I don't care if they use them, but at least be honest enough to admit they help.

If you don't think they're helping you. maybe you're doing it wrong. Here's some info to help you.

http://trailcam.com/blogs/trail_came...l-cameras.aspx

iowa whitetail

ok if it helps your chances so much, out of all the deer i have on cam ive gotten 2 of them. Your theory is wrong

handles II

Yes, of course, which is exactly why a person would put a camera in a place that he knows has animals, just as you and/or he would hunt in an area that has animals. Hanging a camera in a parking lot will pretty much tell you what you already knew, just as will hanging one in a certain part of the woods.

That's fine, don't use cameras if you don't like. It certainly doesn't make you a better hunter than someone who does(no matter how hard you beat your chest), nor does it make them a better hunter than you because they use one. That's the point.

Timbrhuntr

I love these types of threads. A complete waste of space but yet still a fun compelling read on a boring morning. Thanks !