Use of 2 way radios while hunting?????

[rascal]

Ive used them for years, never to aid in the actual hunt mind you.  They are really good when my wife makes a kill (she wont dress a deer) or at the end of a morning hunt to notify party members you are going to be walking in. I find them great for the safety and general communication aspect. As mentioned before many states have laws governing the use of 2 way radios so make sure to check local regulations before considering their use.

I would never use them to aid in the hunt, personally I like to take my chances and pit my skills against the .

[VTer]

I use them. Back when I hunted with a buddy, we'd just check in every now and then at predetermined times, just to see how things were going or where are we going to meet for lunch. Now I hunt with my 13 year old son who is sitting in his own treestand away from mine and I want to make sure he's OK. We chat back and forth and tell each other what's going on around our stands. He got a deer last year with his bow and hearing him relay the excitement to me was priceless.

[Marvin M.]

I usually hunt alone.  My wife knows where I park.  I leave one in the Jeep and carry one with me.  She knows to look for that radio if I don't show up.  

Safety only for me, but on the rare occasions that I humt with others we sometimes use them to keep in touch.

Occaisionally someone will get on there with a comment like "two does coming your way", but usually they never make it to the other person, so I'm finding them not very useful in taking game.  

But I see them as invaluable as a safety tool.

Marvin

[Tom Leemans]

We seem to have gotten into whether it's legal or not and what would be legal vs illegal use. The question seemed to be more about fairness and ethics. I would say that if it is legal to use 2-way radios while hunting, you'd just have to ask yourself that question, and not base your ethics on other's opinions. It's what you do when nobody's watching, after all, isn't it?

That said, I'd have no problem using a GPS/radio like wingnut is talking about, if I were in unfamiliar elk country. Let me hunt quietly, but get ahold of me if you need help or something.

[Jeff Holchin]

I think we'll use the radios for safety and to check in at designated times, once we begin regularly hunting away from each other.  The GPS/radio combo seems perfect for such use, especially in big country.  

For the example I gave, we were hunting in Ohio, but I hunt enough states that such use would be legal in some and illegal in others.  Tom is right - I wouldn't even consider it if it was illegal, I was asking about "fairness".  As much as I want to help my son get his first bow kill, I wouldn't feel right or fair using the radios as I described.  I guess hand signals or a whistle could be used for the same purpose, but I wouldn't mind because of the lack of an electronic advantage.  A fine line, no doubt.

My son is learning that "hunting the hard way" often means lots of fun/close encounters and not a lot of killing.  At his age, I was more interested in a kill than the overall experience, to be honest.  Sooner or later, it will happen if we keep getting close encounters.

Thanks for the input.

[RC]

I use them when I hunt with my buddy John. If we go in an area pig hunting and we decide to go somewhere else it does`nt take an hour to find one another. Of course we hunt on the ground and cover a lot of ground.Also if one of us gets lucky during the hot months we can get back together to trail and dress the critter quickly to keep the meat from spoiling.RC

[RC]

Another thought. John and I also will hunt the swamp for pigs and deer. If we get to a cane thicket we`ll split it and owl hoot if we jump critters that are headed to the other side. Not a lot of difference in that owl talking and a radio.

[Kingstaken]

We use radios here in NY on drives for years and whle hunting all day with buddy on the other side of woods. Never gave it any thought till now and after reading reasons for being illegal in some states, hasn't changed my mind.
Hunting with my son this year for the first time u better believe we will have radios.
Anyway didn't Indians use sound to drive animals into netted traps?

[McGeeM]

The use of 2-way radios is not legal in Ohio for hunting. There is no mention of cell phones to my knowledge, though.

I carry my cell phone with me when I hunt, but have never used it in a hunting way.

I started carrying it when my wife was days away from giving birth, incase she went earlier than expected.

[Shovelbuck]

Not to hijack the post, but I'm wondering.
How many of you that use GMRS radios have the FCC licence that is required by law to use them for what ever reason?

[Dan Chamberlain]

We use them to keep each other awake!

Dan

[hunt it]

In Ontario we are allowed to party hunt. In other words if you have filled your tag you can hunt with me and fill my tag as long as we are out there in same vacinity and have direct communication. So, that law says we have to have radios or another direct means of communicating such as cell. We use them all the time for safety reasons and above.

[TRADITIONAL ONLY]

weve used them for YEARS! in the mountians of North Alabama its a lot easier to talk on radios than goin TO where the other person is.

i dont know WHY yall would think its unethical. is telling your buddy where a big _____ (insert animal you hunt here) is via mouth any different than on a radio?
we sue them in case someone kills a deer and needs help, or if one moves by one of us and towards another hunter we can give a heads up. and to see when you coming out, or what you want for breakfast, a number of possibilites for them...


to me, its just another tool that makes hunting easier, and safer.

one of our buddies has had a heart attack some years ago and in case he needs us, he can get a hold of somebody.
last year towards the end of the season we called for him, no answer. we had heard him shoot, but nothin else. me and dad sat at the truck for about 20 minutes before we wen to where he was hunting. when we got there he was looking for a deer and had left his radio in his pack that was in his pop up blind. he got a cussin over that. scared the hell out of us cause we thought somethin bad had happened.... (btw, he missed the deer)

[Yaak]

My hunting partner and I only use it when we want to meet up or if one us got one. Other than that, it's mostly for safety purposes.

-Yaak