MOTOWNHONKEY

I never have used one but if it is legal than go for it. I have enjoyed alot of the nice pictures you guys with game cameras have posted. I glass my hunting property well before season starts, I know what is there for early season. As we all know big bucks roam during the rut so you never know what might be heading your way. Since glassing gives me a mental picture than maybe it is unethical to.

Bill Yox

I think the cameras have helped guys better understand just how much a buck travels, and how its really NOT a done deal once the buck gets its picture recorded. To me, whether you see a bucks image on your camera, or a landowner calls you on the phone to say a big buck is out back, its still up to you to set up and do the rest. Trail cameras are a form of hunting all their own, as pictures are the trophy, without the buck ever having been "shot". I dont feel its unfair.

max the dog

My hunting property is a 3 hour drive away. How much scouting do you think I did when gas was at $2.95 a gallon?
Just because it's a camera that I don't have to be activly using doesn't mean I'm not using woodsmanship skills in using it. Anybody who's used one knows that you have to have it located pretty darn well to get any use out of it. I've had it over what I thought was an active trail only to find one picture of a fat racoon one week later. You still have to find a location that gets some traffic for it to get any pictures. I'll admit that getting no pictures out of a particular trail can tell you just as much as getting a lot of pictures out of another trail.

kevin1

For someone like me who's job keeps them out of the woods a lot they are a wonderful convenience and a great scouting tool . They are just a tool , and no more unethical than stringing lengths of sewing thread 3' off the ground over a game trail or making a muddy patch on it to check for hoof prints.

Rob/PA Bowyer

They are what one makes of them. Scouting cameras are enjoyable and most that have them say it's like Christmas morning when you get your pictures developed and anticipate what's on the film. If one were to use the cameras unethically, then yes they can be unethical but I can't imagine how that would be.

If one uses them to see what's out there, how can anyone see "unethical" or "unfair chase"? You can get pictures of animals that no one has seen and ones you won't ever see dispite having a picture. Having a picture is no guarantee that you'll score that animal. Having pictures doesn't mean success. Considering them "unfair chase"...[&:]

TeeJay

I dont have one, does that make them unethical....no! I dont use them I do it the old fashoned way. I have a min. of 3 pair of binos in my truck at all times. I scout year round, that includes during season.

atlasman

Most cameras have a time stamp on them if I am not mistaken. So when you can get pics of the same buck using the same trail at the same time it sure would be an advantage on knowing when and where to set up your stand.

Knowing when and where to set up is about 95% of the battle.


Is that "fair"???


Tough question.

GotstaHunt

If you look at it like another scouting tool or technique then yes,its totally fair. If you look at all the advances in bow hunting gear today,you could probally have this argument over many gadgets and bow refinements. For example,Range Finders, Release aids,scent eliminating clothes,Fast Compound bows that are quiet and compact, climbing treestands,synthetic scents,motion decoys ect ect ect........
None of the hunters just 15 years ago had any of these,and now alot of us can't imagine doing without at least one of these items.

tsoc

It is possible that technology can go to far.Everyone has to come to terms with their own sense of ethics as to how much is to much.Once you have an accecptable level of shooting skill the most difficult aspect of hunting is putting yourself at the right place at the right time.I can't imagine the proper use of trail camera's do not make that easier.If you are standing on a piece of plywood in a tree or the newest most advanced tree stand you are still up in the air,bows are quieter,draw cycles are smoother,let offs are higher but it is still a 30 yards and in proposition the lions share of the time.Any technology that allows us to pin point game and particular animals while providing the time that animals used the area trumps any technology relating to the equipment used to kill the animal.
I am not opposed to certain applications of their use,there are still enough variables that do not make killing animals through their use an absolute certainty,things like pressure,changing food sources,the rut etc..
I have to leave now it's 10:08 I have 34 minutes to get to my stand,If he is on schedule I will have 5 minutes to settle in before he hit's my first shooting lane.(only kidding!)

BOWFANATIC

Depends how you use it , and how you look at it I guess.

I use it to get pics of deer I may not have even known existed , and to see what survived after the season is over. I get enjoyment from the pics. As far as a scouting tool for mature bucks? I personally don't think it's a very good scouting tool for mature deer. I had a neighbor glassing a field for me every evening , watching a nice 10 pt come out every evening. When he told me the route the buck was taking I setup my cam and got one pic of him , after that he never used that route again.