Hey, I happened to come cross the Brodie Swisher article https://www.bowhunting.com/article/utah-bans-trail-cameras-for-hunters/ and first thought was, this is the dumbest *bleep* I have ever heard come out of a red state in a long time. But then I thought more broadly that we need a sticky forum thread dedicated to pending hunting/outdoor sports legislation nationally, where we as sportsmen and women can debate here internally but also link to specific public comments sections pertaining to the specific proposals to help move the needle; since most proposed legislation requires public comment availability. Whattya think, Mods and Admins? Can we make this a sticky? @LittleChief @Justin thanks
One sticky is going to get stale after a period of time. We should really have separate threads going for every important issue. Otherwise, they risk getting lost in the noise. Also, if you haven't joined the Sportmen's Alliance already I would encourage everyone to do so. IMO they are at the forefront of knowing what's going on and helping defend our hunting and fishing rights. https://www.sportsmensalliance.org/
I came here to say essentially what Justin already said - great minds and all right brother? LOL As for the game cameras specifically....I'm mixed on it personally, but personal feelings on it doesn't matter and I see it as overreach for sure. When cell cameras began to become popular and now cheaper I've waffled hard internally on them. I have countless trespassing issues and for those purposes they attract me greatly....but from a hunting aspect something just doesn't sit right with me about getting a ping to my phone and knowing within moments of a target buck walking by a camera that I can make a move and even within reason roughly know options as to where he could have made it since then. Again that's me personally...just not sure I'm for that for me. Same thing with baiting, I cannot bait in my state, but I've hunted states where it was and discovered for me I have zero desire to do it when hunting for bucks...now if I was freezer filling give me the button for the feeder and I'll drop some does as quick as I can. I think the vast majority of hunters today are desiring to cross a line I myself cannot find the comfort to do....they want it much easier, they want to shoot farther (with any chosen weapon)...they just want a shot instead of the shot....they care more about the ability to share/brag about things on social media than enjoy the hunt.... Sorry I'm rambling at this point off topic LOL...
Personally, I like the Utah move if it only applies public lands. One of the issues that I have followed with hunting in Utah is the horrible competition between outfitters to “lay claim” to public land and keep out both other outfitters and unguided hunters. I think this move in Utah is good for hunting overall in that state. It may not be appropriate in other states. Private landowners should be able to run cameras to their heart’s content in their own land or leased private lands.
Man i agree with alot of this. Laziness and the desire to show off on social media. The only argument for cameras i have is that it is a TIME saver which is something the vast majority of people just do not have today. When i was younger i remember tagging along with my uncles and gpa. Not only hunting but all the prep work/scouting/building stands. Even he my uncle complains about the lack of time nowadays. The negative is that the scouting info that cams can give you become relied upon as a crutch. Good and bad. With such limited time would i rather go scouting again or teach my kid how to ride their bike or throw a baseball? Glass a field or go help my grandparents with chores they cant do anymore. Those are the situational decisions i find myself in. One could argue that if you dont have the time then tough luck, just go out when you can. Ok but these days we are supposed to keep more hunters interested. Unless society ever slows down like it was 30-40+ years ago, im for cameras. Now maybe splitting hairs and separating cell cams from regular cameras could be a line in the sand. Yea you can collect days worth of intel but you have to sneak out there to get the card. Not have your phone ding while you are at the hockey game. That i agree with you on….. even though i still have a couple cell cams haha. Hmmm. They are at properties far away so maybe they do have a hint of validity to them. What a rabbit hole.
I am not a big fan of using cameras myself, but have no problem with anyone else using them. Just like forward facing fishing sonars. I am not a fan of those either, but they are not going away. I enjoy the excitement of not knowing what each hunt will bring. Each day is different. I will probably have a camera out over a spot or two this year, just to enjoy the off season.
back when they were know as the WLFA (Wildlife Legislative Fund of America) I went to a training seminar put on by them over in Ohio at their headquarters ... Two days on public and media relations when dealing with local governments and the Media, I learned quite a bit and was worth the weekend .. my local archery club footed the bill, that was back when I was in a fight against HSUS/deer contraception and getting a local urban hunt established ... it is a very good organization and worth being a part of ..
far as that law is concerned, I just think it's stupid because regular cams don't really give anyone a decisive advantage. The exception I guess being with cell cams especially with herd animals like elk- you could in theory be in a general area waiting for the herd to come in to water or something like that, then soon as the cam lights up and starts sending you pics, you start the stalk. So I can appreciate and would even probably support a ban on cell cams, at least on public land.
Agree with the ban. Makes sense in arid areas like Utah , AZ and Nevada Ect… the use of them is out of control at this this point.
Furthermore on the public /private What other laws do people not have to follow because they are on private property? Can you use rifle during the archery season? What if baiting is illegal, if you’re on private property does not apply to you? What about bag limits? In states like Utah land owners are already given a big slice of the publics wildlife. Now they get Exemptions from fish and game laws too? Sorry I think that’s bullshit. The ban should extend to all use during the period that the law specifies
I think we have ourselves to blame. Lack of discretion and indiscriminate use of every type of technological advancements that we could get our hands on makes us look like greedy saps. Trail cams, 1000 yard long range rifles, 100 yard archery shots, crossbows that resembles rifles more then archery equipment, 500 yard smokeless muzzleloaders, carbon suits, ozone machines… you flipping name it and hunters will use it. Game farms, exclusive ranches that cost more to hunt in a week that some people make in a year. And all while we clamor for more opportunity’s and longer seasons. Add to that there are a lot of hunters that by their actions show that quite frankly they can give two ****s about the animals they hunt, never mind conservation and environment… I am not particularly sympathetic.
We’ve been watching this since last year when it came up as a proposal. I will be honest I should’ve kept on top of this better. I really thought we had till April before it came before the board for some reason. There were a few of us and understood it was just for cell cams. We were wrong. I will be honest I’ve seen a lot more trail cameras in the last few years. I Will usually put out 3 to 4 trail cams a year. I’ve always enjoyed hiking in and checking the cams to see what his come in. I have enjoyed it. The night vision scopes I didn’t even realize people used them for hunting. I was a little shocked people did. So the night vision scope issue I’m all for not having Them used during the hunt. The cell cameras made sense to me also. Just your standard trail cams surprised me a little bit. The bull elk you see in the summer on them or not there in September. They leave their bachelor groups and go seek out cows. As far is mule deer I’ve never been able to pattern one. I used Cams mostly to let me know what was in the area. It was fun to see bears, mountain lions, coyotes and bobcats and of course the deer and elk. With all that said I have seen some water holes were there are four or five cameras on it. I have never witnessed it but I’ve heard of outfitters and guides that will put out 100 to 200 cams. Whether that is true or not I don’t know. On one hand I guess it’ll be nice to not see cameras out there while hunting. You can still put them out in the summer tell August 1st. Most years we cannot get up to the top of the mountains where we hunt till the middle of June. So I don’t know if I will put any out. So instead of checking trail cams this summer I will pack in with a fishing pole and fish the small streams for wild Cutts
