Cameras or No?

[Konrad]

I recently read an editorial concerning the use of technology in hunting.
This article was specifically related to the use of “trail cams” but also included mention of the Pope and Young Club’s restrictions on electrical devices mounted to a bow or arrow (i.e. rheostat adjustable sight lights, illuminated arrow nocks, bow mounted range finders, etc.).

We all agree Pope and Young was founded by Traditional Archers of the first magnitude and probably had no idea where American ingenuity would take the sport or the associated equipment; however, I wondered (I have this problem, you see) how Pope and Young would look upon digital trail cameras.

My personal opinion is they would frown on their use ether before or during hunting season. “Scouting” is properly done on foot with field glasses and eyeballs.

As to lighted arrow nocks: I have always wondered at folks’ fascination with these devices. For the average Joe, they would seem only to serve as a distraction, disturbing correct follow-through by wanting to see where the shot had gone. For video taping a hunt, they make it much easier for the audience to follow the arrow’s flight path and for the videographer to verify shot placement after the fact. I have no clue as to why they should be banned by the Club. It has no bearing on my life, I just wonder (here we go again), why the ban?

If someone were to say they wanted to mount a range finder on their bow, I believe I would direct them to the local Walmart gun department to just pick up a 30-06 (no disrespect to the’06). It strikes me that if a fellow feels so unsure of his archery/field skills as to require a bow mounted range finder, this would be the same sort who would use heat-seeking, variable pitch fletched arrows and he has taken up the wrong sport.  


To Cam or not to Cam?

That is the question.

What say you all?

[Biggie Hoffman]

I doubt it...Art Young was a naturalist of the 1st order. I say he would've been thrilled to be able to set out cameras and get pics of critters.

[VTer]

I have a trail camera and it only verifys what I already know. Deer make deer tracks, that's why my camera is there in the first place. I like looking at the pictures.

[michaelschwister]

Trail cams allow me to track the individaul deer and their health and activities.  We live in an area where far more deer are poached (many with dogs) than by all legal means combined.  The cameras let me know what is still out there, keeps poachers on edge, and helps me ID the dogs even though almost none wear collars. I am gone for work 16 hours a day/5 days a week.  I come and go in the dark, the cams let me keep an eye on stuff. Plus I really like seeing the pics, especially playful behavior, fawns, bluebirds, various other oddities etc. Art and Saxton made moving pictures and published books about bowhunting long before anyone else. They sat out all night over bait for griz, shot polars that were swimming.  I bet they would have used cams, at the least for their scientific value. They were both very inquisitive. As for the electronic bow and arrow junk/not so much.

[NorthernCaliforniaHunter]

To cut out "technology" completely one would have to drop out of a tree butt-neckid onto one's quarry and wrestle the life out of it with one's bare hands! We all use technology, even if that means the technique of shaping stones into knives.

I'd venture to say that with very little exception we all use an internal combustion engine to get to our "hunting grounds", wear synthetic fibers, use steel tools, modern food preservation, etc... You get the point.

A camera is a force multiplier. By that I mean a tool which multiplies your presence in the woods. In the days when hunters worked together to push game or used traps to ensnare them, different modes of force multiplication were used. Today the lone hunter relies on aerial photographs, GPS, vehicles, and game cameras to gain advantage.

Time is scarce; and even poorly grown, bacteria and hormone laden meat is expensive. That being said, if you can afford the camera but can't afford more than two weeks afield each year - get the camera.    

[JimB]

People who have never used trail cameras are the ones who think they give the hunter some technical advantage.I have used them for over 10 years and can tell you,they don't.

First,to get a picture of an animal,you have to scout sign so you can place the camera within 40'-50' of where the animal will pass.The scouting is already done.If you aren't a good hunter,you get no pictures.

Second,as far as time stamps go,it only tells you when it WAS there.If someone needs a trail camera to tell them that mornings and evenings are the best times to hunt in most areas,then they need more help than a trail camera can give.

Here,we can't use them during the season.In the areas that I have used them,none of the animals come through daily and most pictures are scattered throughout the day-any time of day and I'm talking whitetails,mule deer,black bears,elk,mountain lions,bobcats,coyotes and wolves.Random times and random days.That really narrows it down.

I have never taken a single animal due to the cameras,in 10 years.I have recognized an animal when I saw it miles from where it had gotten it's picture taken.

My number one reason for using the cameras is to photograph wildlife of all kinds and they are great for that.I truly love running the cameras as much as I do hunting and it gives me a reason and incentive to hike the hills during the off season.

Keep in mind,I'm only referring to those common cameras that take pictures and video,not the ones that pass on real time information,ie. telling you where the animal is right now.

[longbowben]

For some of us the cameras help to identify the bucks on our farms.And yes have many big bucks on them.Now killing them is another story.I guess some deer use the same paths almost every day or two,But never seen a mature 4 1/2 or older buck make that mistake.And most mature bucks are nocturnal until the rut.I love putting out cameras, and watching big bucks with binos in july, august then in september they change all their patterns.But by then i have my eyes on some of them that's when the real work starts.Put out one trail camera and you will learn things about your area that you never new.And we have never taken any bucks where we had pictures of him .But we have killed them in that 200 to 500 yard area.Its a great tool because i have no interest in killing any deer under 140 inches.Keeps me in the right areas.

[Thumper Dunker]

Do whats fun for you.

[Rusty in Fla.]

Man down on trail cams???

  Next thing I know they'll be slamming my heat seeking broadheads.

  In a society where we work more and more hours a week with less and less leisure time I don't think a trail cam is a big deal. It's nice to be able to see all the picture they catch when you can't be there.

[Konrad]

By no means am I “down” on trail cameras.
My mind has already been made up.
I have a trail cam on my back porch to track the opossums, cats and hope fully someday a cougar that come to eat my kitchen scraps. That would also classify as “baiting” wouldn’t it?
The article’s subject was one that had never occurred to me and thought it would be good to kick around the campfire, so to speak.

It was a question I had for the rest of the archery intelligencia.

I am looking for an opinion from you.

I won't knock your heat-seeking broadheads as long as they were American made.

[Bjorn]

I have a couple of trail cams-got lights on my truck too. To each his own I say.

[BOWMARKS]

Just set my camera up yesterday,I know they are there but I want to see how many and how often.

[Jock Whisky]

I'd like to hunt 24/7 but obviously I can't. So while I'm cutting the lawn, maintaining my home, and doing day to day stuff I use a trail cam. I've already spent days or weeks stomping the ground trying to put the puzzle together. The camera just confirms or denies my theories.

I have learned some things because of the cam.

Some seemingly well used trails have very little traffic. (go figure)

Deer are moving at all times of the day.

Some trails are used by does and fawns only, an important bit of knowledge where I hunt as it's a buck only area.

In some areas bucks show up in mid Oct or later (rut obviously)

The last item drove me to find out where they are at other times of the year. After all they don't evaporate when the rut is over. This taught me more about local bucks...but I had to go look for them.

Looking for a good camera site is the same as looking for a good stand site (ground or tree). You gotta put the miles on or you're just taking snapshots.

I also get incidental pics of other animals, a bonus in my eyes.

The trail cam helps me learn. It doesn't carry me into the woods, make my bow easier to shoot or track and pack my deer for me. I still have to do all the work. If I could hunt 24/7 I wouldn't use it. The one thing it does is replace me when I have to do the other less desirable tasks such as paint the house. It also gives me one more excuse to get out in the woods, the best place in the world.

JW

[Fletcher]

Lighted nocks are an electronic device and are therefore not acceptable within the P&Y Rules of Fair Chase.  The bow mounted range finder would fall under the same exclusion.

 http://www.pope-young.org/bowhunting_fairchase.asp

[The Butcher]

I guess I feel a little like Jock Whisky, in the respect if I hunted 24/7, I may not need a cam.
Fortunately for me, I do have a job.  Like it or not, I have to get up every morning 5-6 days a week, and go there. A cam, lets me know if I picked a good locatation, or a dead spot.  Time is valuable, I have sat days in a treestand, to see nothing.  A cam keeps me from wasting that time.  As for lighted nocks, an arrow tells you lots.  I have a lighted nock in my quiver for evening hunts.  Not all shots are perfect, and finding an arrow, or an animal that would have been otherwise lost, is a plus.  A range finder, is good to shoot a stump, and know it is 27 yds.  My limit is 25 yds, I don't shoot well beyond that.  So I guess each individual has their own thoughts.  Like another said, do what is fun for you.  On P&Y, and B&C, if you only hunt trophy class animals then it matters.  If you hunt, because you enjoy the sport, it does not matter as much.  Everyone would like to kill P&Y deer, but I get enjoyment from driving an arrow through a doe. So again, do what makes the sport enjoyable to you.

[Shaun]

I get by without trailcams - just my personal approach. I kinda like the full surprise of eyeball only and fear the disappointment of not seeing some critter that I have a picture of. May change my practice any time, but that's it for me now.

[Breakfast Boy]

I personally don't use 'em.  Of course, I personally don't kill many deer either.  For me, the price of a trail cam would be better spent on more arrows or something.  I'm cheap.

[Don Stokes]

My trail cameras have at least tripled my enjoyment of the outdoors. I've gotten pictures of nearly every type of sizable animal that roams these woods. Nothing but fun!

[Konrad]

Tally mark.

[Mitch-In-NJ]

I am all for them.  I own my own business and you'd think I could scout any time I wanted.  The truth is quite the opposite.  After everyone else is done for the day I still have work to do.

Even if that weren't the case, I live in a part of NJ that is mostly farms and most people who live here commute an hour or more to work.

My point is that I don't always have the time I feel I need to properly scout.  If a trail cam helps me I will take the help.

And this is why I don't begrudge guys who shoot wheels.  They may only be able to hunt once a week because of work, family, etc.  And if a compound is what it takes to help them be effective hunters and capitalize on their limited hunting time, so be it.