I've seen that here, in PA, it's illegal to use any kind of tracking device in your arrow. Now, I don't have any, or plan to use any, but wouldn't that be a good thing to have, for game recovery purposes? Are they legal in your state? What am I missing on this?

My state doesn't allow thermal tracking devices ,
you'd think that they would want you to make every possible effort to recover downed game .

Heck in missouri we couldnt use lazer sights that cast a beam of light on the game for hunting i dont understand why not. Wouldnt it be more ethical to hit the animal more accurately which creates a cleaner kill??? I dont understand some of these stupid rules like in I think kentucky they just rewrote the law that banned the use of turkey decoys, well they can use turkey decoys now. what it is, is Politicians right the rules not hunters. like your state of indiana not letting you use thermal trackin devices that rule stands probably because of some Liberal democrat woman who has no knowledge about hunting other then the libs view about it " OMG you hunt? you bambi murderer" So she why would a hunter need that kind of device she probably thinks why should anyone have that except maybe the military its idiotic how they think Its really idiotic that its people like that that pretty much run our country.

Well, you'd probably have dip@#ts that will just make an attempt to hit the animal, regardless of the shot opportunity just so they can get out of their tree and chase it afterwards. I think you would get too many people making marginal shots at animals because they can then track the animal with something other than good old fashioned tracking skills.

I honestly don't know the real reason for not allowing thermal tracking devices but the only thing I could guess would be that people would use them to locate deer and stalk them rather than use them after a shot. This would give the hunter too much of an advantage I guess. My father has one and we could never get the thing to work right anyway.

Aside from not being fair chase I can't see any other reasons.

A quote from the Pope & Young fair chase rules: The term "Fair Chase" shall not include the taking of animals under the following conditions:

7) By the use of electronic devices for attracting, locating, or pursuing game or guiding the hunter to such game, or by the use of a bow or arrow to which any electronic device is attached.

It is clear that to me it gives an unfair advantage to the hunter. I can certainly see the point about recovering game better but if the arrow is placed properly you'll get pass through rendering the tracking device useless. This is just another device that is on the market that pushes the limits of fair chase.

Ease up, HighDesertWolf. You need to step back from your paranoia and conspiracy theories long enough to think a bit. Next thing you know, you'll be griping about why hunting with a machine gun from the side door of a helicopter is illegal.

Lazer sights are most effective after dark. After legal hunting hours, in other words. Thermo trackers can help find downed game, for sure. But they can also be used to find game to shoot. Poachers would love 'em! I'd rather not have them than to make life easier for poachers, wouldn't you?

The ban on turkey decoys was a safety issue. Original thinking was that other hunters in the area would mistake the dekes for real turkeys and the guy using the dekes could get accidently shot. In fact, there have been a few cases of that actually happening.

There are always logical reasons for such regulations. There are also logical reasons to make them legal. That's why you should voice your opinions to your game commission. If you don't, and let the only public input the commissioners get come from "some Liberal democrat woman who has no knowledge about hunting other then the libs view about it", then you have absolutely NOTHING to gripe about.

Apathy, stupidity and laziness on our part, not the anti's, is our worst enemy.

Well there goes this years plan for an effective deer drive.[8D]

We already have such a devise.................

Its called practice

I`ve heard of jacklighters using thermal tracking devices to pin point deer in a field before turning their light on. Alot harder to get caught when the only time the light is used is for the shot. A tracking device in the arrow would never have done me any good on any of the deer I`ve shot because I`ve never had an arrow that didn`t passthrough or stay in long enough that something like that would help.