Are scouting cameras ethical?

Quite a controversial topic I’m sure but I wondered what others thought.Is it really fair chase?I recently gave in and purchased a camera lately and really have a hard time getting into using it. I kinda like the thought of going on stand and “not knowing” and let nature show its course or use old fashioned scouting techniques. I am not a big fan of shining either at any hours.I have seen farmers upset on this and it opens the door to poaching plain and simple.

In my opinion yes. They do nothing to help you actually harvest the animals. With the amount of time, hunters get to spend in the field going down, they help out tremendously in narrowing down locations, but do nothing to actually harvest the animal. It still comes down to patience/luck and the right shot Good question, I guess I never even considered it not fair chase, if it wasn’t, I don’t think the Drurys would be doing so much of it…. Shining, I have another opinion, shining itself I don’t think is bad, but it makes it pretty hard to enforce who is just looking and who is looking for an easy kill.

big G

Until the deer politely ask me not to photograph them, I think it’ll be fine…

I guess I dont think this ones gonna be very controversial…

First time I have heard that question. I would say yes they are ethical. I have been useing them for about 10 years. I use them just to see the bucks that are out there. I have killed three bucks that I actually have gotten pictures of.

IMO they are ethical and don’t have any issues of using them. Are they considered Fair chase?? Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett only has made the ones that send photos to direct to your cell phone not P&Y or B&C Fair Chase. So that tells me right there in the hunting world they are not only ethical, but also viewed as Fair Chase.

If anything I think it helps the sport of hunting getting people more involved and I know my whole family and landowners where I hunt love seeing what is on the property and what is happening. Bringing people together and sharing this sport.

I bought 3 of them this year and the first thing my wife said was “Isn’t that kinda cheating?”. One of the main reasons I bought them is because the land I hunt is 50 miles from me and to drive out there and scout can get expensive. Now with the cameras I don’t second guess areas I want to hunt. The wife agreed that they could easily pay for themselves with the gas I’m not burning driving up there every evening. She also likes seeing what shows up in the pics now too. If fact I think she might be interested in coming along on a hunt sometime. Who knows maybe she’ll want to get a bow for herself soon.

Even though you get pictures of whats in your area or passing through you still have to hunt them. Camera or no camera you still have to look for trails, bedding spots and everything else that involves taking a deer. I don’t think kill ratios have gone up any with the use of trail cams because you still have to hunt them by what you see in the area with your eyes. Pictures just tell you whats around that area. It can narrow down an area where a buck does come through but chances are its a good trail anyway. I don’t think they boost kill ratio numbers at all, thier just a camera.

I would say they are a great QDM manager, without even trying to be. If you see a Big Buck on camera, that you have “put your name on” your apt to pass a buck that maybe, had you not seen the big boy, you would take.

big G

I agree 100 percent trail cams can be a great help in QDM when you see what you have for bucks on your property. If you have pics of a few big boys on your hunting land it will give you more will power to let the small bucks walk and that is a good thing.

Thanks for the input.I was just curious how others thought and was pretty much what I expected. They do help in making bucks walk,good point,and I see it as a tool for survelance for trespassing on your property but I cant agree in the statement that “they dont actually help harvest the deer”.They do help. I guess in my mind its a technology thing.Trappers will use them to monitor shorelines,goose hunters can watch fields etc etc.Kinda really taking away from the sport if you will.I’m not here to argue just my view thats all. Another technology question would be why not make crossbows legal or 80% let-off legal for books or how about those duck attractors with moving wings,are those legal? I know those were controversial at one time.

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80% let-off legal for books

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80% let off is now accepted by the P&Y books. They are denoted by having an asterisk next to it.

IMO Cross bows are not the same as Bow and Arrow and should not be viewed as the same. Do they have a place in hunting???? Yes, they most definitley do for those that are unable to draw a bow back due to medical reasons or personal limitations. Again just my opinion.

The moving battery operated duck wings are legal during certain times of the year, but not all. You need to check the regulations in the areas you hunt.

Rob,is that like the homerun asterisk in baseball? LOL… I do notice some states allow crossbows too,go figure.

Big G is dead on. They give you the confidence to pass a lot of deer and hold out for the big mature one that only shows up a night except for 2 times per year.

I’m still not sure cameras help me harvest anything. They let me see what’s in the area but my hunting land is not much of a holding property. Ours is more of a travel corridor and if all my big buck pics are in the dark, I’m still going to have to bag whatever gives me the chance. I mean, unless you have the same deer passing everyday, at the same time, I haven’t even gained any real predictability using mine. Again, I work a travel corridor so I’m at the mercy of whatever is happening around me. What crops are grown, when they’re harvested, good or bad acorn crop, wet or dry swamp…. there is so many factors. The only thing I gain by having cameras is that I get to see what caliber of game has used the old driveway or crossed at the corner in the past week….. Nocturnal bucks are never seen unless you go shine and they spend too much time roaming for does to be in the same spot night after night and scouting won’t necessarily give me anymore info either. Scrapes and rubs in a travel corridor are often never revisited and if so, in the dark. For me, a camera only entertains the idea of what might pass through…..but it doesn’t tell me where to stand or when to be there. Things change too much during each fall and each year can be different. No advantage found so I suggest you just stop beating yourself up and enjoy seeing the game your camera captures.

As far as geese and other more predictable game are concerned, maybe there’s a greater impact but even a flock of geese will just up and change it’s pattern without notice so…. maybe it’s an aid one day but it really doesn’t bring any guarantees.