Electronic deer decoys and other electronics???

[Hardcorehunter]

Two questions:
1. How do you feel about these, is it cheating? For the most part I think that they may be an unfair advantage but the other part of me feels that game cameras, range finders, releases, these high tech compound bows we are shooting, the new camos and other new age hunting tools have gotten us away from the original sport of archery any way. I know when these 1st came out for the waterfowl hunter that most states laws cried foul but for the most part I believe they are allowed and used widely by waterfowl hunters now. How about it; good or bad?
2. How about electronic rangefinders and electronic trail cameras; are these cheating too and where do you draw the line of "unfair"? BTW; are these legal in IA. The regs say no to electronic calls or electronic conveyance. Is this an electronic conveyance and if it is how about a rangefinder?

Here is the Mojo brand.

 

[bowmaker]

I don't know if they are legal or not here, but I vote no way. In post a couple years ago I talked about the downward slide we have hit in our unending quest for MR BIG and said it would not be long until we had Robo Buck. In my view most of the modern inovations are things to make hunting both easier and quicker for those people not willing to put in the time to gain knowledge and skill to be sucessful. We have technology that could do lots of things and if this kind of decoy were allowed how long before one would walk, talk, pee, poop, and fight just to lure MR BIG into bow range for someone with out the heart and soul of a deer hunter. Lots of duck hunters have moved away from the Robo Ducks for some of these same reasons.

Every group with in our ranks have their own goals and "ethics" and thoughts on what should and should not be allowed. Traditional bow hunters look down on compound users, who are adamantly opposed to crossbow use, and so on and so on. Some where we need to draw a line like has been done with explosive and posion or drugged broadheads and lazer bow sights. Just because we can build it dosen't mean we should or that we should use it.

 

[TimberPig]

Rangefinders? Love 'em. I think they are a fantastic invention, both for hunters and for wildlife. I would guess that when used correctly they help prevent alot of wounded animals. They dont help with poor aim, but at least they tell you how far your aiming poorly.

Trail cams? Love 'em. They entertain the heck out of me and have taught me a few minor things. Mostly they tell me whats out there and what I can hope to see if I play my cards right. They have never shown me when and where I can see them 2 weeks later though. The biggest thing they have done for me is to show me that there are better bucks to be had than the dink under my stand. You'd have to have a BUNCH of them to nail down a kill with pics. I have killed 3 bucks so far that I have trail cam pics of. NONE of them were killed closer than 300 yards from where I got the pic, and two were over a half mile away. One of those was 3 & 1/2 months after the pic was taken, another was over a month. All the pics really told me was that the bucks existed a while ago.

Electronic decoys? I dont have much opinion there, since I dont use them.

It does seem that somewhere there should be a limit to the technology allowed, but so far nothing I have seen is the magic bean to killing a big one.

By the way, a conveyance is something that transports people or equipment. I dont think a rangefinder would be considered conveyance in any way.

 

[Kansasdeerslayer]

I see a big danger to a hunter near his "moving decoy" as it could likely fool the ultra-intelligent road hunters/trespassers/poachers out there and put the bowhunter in the line of fire.

 

[BW]

We as hunters must each decide what we are wanting out of our hunting. I think some folks love playing with toys. My hunting partner has most of them and few leave the shed because they are not the ultimate hunting adventure guarantee. My own preferences are keep it cost effective, simple and make it a challenge for me. If getting the game is all our experience is about, then we could just poisen waterholes or stick the high power out the window with a flashlight......It just comes down to why we hunt as each individual and what our priorities may be.

I'm ok with the laws in Iowa as they are now and lean towards keeping things steady unless we are such poor hunters that we cannot manage the resources effectively.

I think mechanical decoys are allowed in the poacher hunting seasons.