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Starting to think cell cams….

Rous14

Rous14

PMA Member
….should be illegal. At least during season. I realize it’s probably an unpopular opinion as I love getting the pics as much as the next guy I really do. But, I’m seeing big buck after big buck being harvested that cell cams played a major major role in. I believe they’re the biggest “game changer” weve maybe ever seen in the industry. The ability to know where a deer is at in real time before you pick which stand you’re going to hunt as you walk out the door in the morning or evening is borderline cheating imo. I know of several 180”-200” deer taken in the last 3 weeks and almost everyone of them were in large part bc of the real time info.
Would these deer have been killed otherwise? Maybe. But from what I’ve seen this season it’s really changed my mind on it. Just too big of an advantage imo
Thoughts?
 
I've kinda had the same thought. If they had the money, there's nothing stopping a guy from having 2 cameras per acre on his 80 acre farm and literally watching the buck move through the property in real time. And the technology is only going to get better.

Don't get me wrong, they are interesting to me. I've looked into them a few different times but haven't pulled the trigger. Partly because of price, partly because I have feelings of it swinging the odds too far to my advantage. I'm conflicted for sure.
 
Rous14 said:
….should be illegal. At least during season. I realize it’s probably an unpopular opinion as I love getting the pics as much as the next guy I really do. But, I’m seeing big buck after big buck being harvested that cell cams played a major major role in. I believe they’re the biggest “game changer” weve maybe ever seen in the industry. The ability to know where a deer is at in real time before you pick which stand you’re going to hunt as you walk out the door in the morning or evening is borderline cheating imo. I know of several 180”-200” deer taken in the last 3 weeks and almost everyone of them were in large part bc of the real time info.
Would these deer have been killed otherwise? Maybe. But from what I’ve seen this season it’s really changed my mind on it. Just too big of an advantage imo
Thoughts?
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Well stated and agree 100%!
 
Rous14 said:
….should be illegal. At least during season. I realize it’s probably an unpopular opinion as I love getting the pics as much as the next guy I really do. But, I’m seeing big buck after big buck being harvested that cell cams played a major major role in. I believe they’re the biggest “game changer” weve maybe ever seen in the industry. The ability to know where a deer is at in real time before you pick which stand you’re going to hunt as you walk out the door in the morning or evening is borderline cheating imo. I know of several 180”-200” deer taken in the last 3 weeks and almost everyone of them were in large part bc of the real time info.
Would these deer have been killed otherwise? Maybe. But from what I’ve seen this season it’s really changed my mind on it. Just too big of an advantage imo
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Agree 100%. Understand though, that you may have just kicked a hornets nest. Many on here LOVE their cams.

It aggravates me when I'm scouting or hunting and look up to see a camera and know that I've just had my pic or video taken. Especially when it's in an area that I see good sign and think this is a good spot for a stand.
 
I see your point for sure and I agree it can be very advantagous. I stopped running any cams for probably 5 years until this year. I bough 2 tactacam cell cams. One property I am hunting is IMO to far to be checking sd cards, so I opted for the cell cam. Its the only cam on the property.

Other cam I put on an urban parcel in a city hunt that is 35ish acres. It can be a sketchy place, there were some homeless camped in these woods and shady characters hanging around the main parking lot. I half got the cam just to keep tabs in the area of the park I was hunting, in case if I see something weird on cam the night etc before Im not going in there the next morning.

Laregly though, I got the cams due to the conveince of not having to check cams. Gas is expensive, and I am able to not pressure the areas as much. Plus it is just a lot of fun to get pics sent to me daily. I have mine set to send me pics once a day. Just one cam on each property I dont feel gives me an advantage.

I can definitly see your point though if a guy had a dozen or more cell cams spread across a property and had it set to send pics instantly.
 
I think they should be banned during season as well... or at least not have the ability to send real time. Just do a photo dump at midnight or something with them. One of my properties is 2 hours away, thats the only reason I have cell cams. Literally have not drove to the property this year (even when the action heated up)... but I do know a few deer, including 2 that are 190+ deer that have MANY cell cameras on them trying to get the hunters ahead of them, and I do not agree with that what so ever.
 
Agree 100%, not fair chase IMO. I don’t want the data, if I get a pic of a target buck while walking to one stand, I don’t want it changing where I go..

I don’t personally use them for this reason. We have a couple on the farm we use for security purposes that occasionally a deer will walk by, but never for hunting..
 
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Bassattackr said:
Agree 100%, not fair chase IMO. I don’t want the data, if I get a pic of a target buck while walking to one stand, I don’t want it changing where I go..

I don’t personally use them for this reason. We have a couple on the farm we use for security purposes that occasionally a deer will walk by, but never for hunting..
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Just set it to send you pics once a day instead of instant. Thats what I do.
 
I hope all of you guys that are against cell cam technology or any other form of technology for that matter are not using compound bows with sights, releases etc. That would be unfair to the deer. I also hope you aren't using a gun topped with the best 4-14 scope you can afford. That would also be unfair. The longbow with wood arrows and flint lock better be the only weapons you use to chase deer, because that would be the only fair way to chase deer.
 
I agree with the original post. Everyone wants it easy today. cell cams, bait, crossbows, etc...I think the one thing that could make the most difference of anything would be a 1 buck per season limit. People would really think hard before shooting that 130 inch 2 year old (or they would just start sneaking deer out).
 
GWB said:
I hope all of you guys that are against cell cam technology or any other form of technology for that matter are not using compound bows with sights, releases etc. That would be unfair to the deer. I also hope you aren't using a gun topped with the best 4-14 scope you can afford. That would also be unfair. The longbow with wood arrows and flint lock better be the only weapons you use to chase deer, because that would be the only fair way to chase deer.
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Somewhere there’s a line between fair chase and unfair chase. That line is different for everyone I suppose and clearly you’re ok w cell cams and that’s fine, I’m only recently starting to think they go too far.
You in favor of crossbows too then I assume?
How about hunting at night with thermal scopes like guys do for yotes but let’s do it for deer too.
How bout huge bait piles?

See what I mean? Just because I’m personally (and so far everyone else in the thread but you) beginning to feel like cell cams cross the line doesn’t mean I have to therefore use a recurve with wooden arrows.
 
Are cell cams cheating? In my opinion no. Are they a huge assistance and asset? Absolutely. You still have to kill the deer though and on the properties I hunt there are about 5 directions a deer can go after I get a cell pic, so all I get is a direction of travel and a time. In the areas I hunt most of the time a picture means you are a day late and a dollar short on that buck. Some buddies and I utilize them heavily and we still see deer on the hoof that we have no pics of at all.

I can see how on some properties they may provide an enormous advantage based on the habitat and layout of the property, but the last 3 weeks have also been the rut which is the most unpredictable time of year. If you ran ten cell cams on a property you might get one situation a year where the cell cam alerts you to a patternable buck that you can then go kill. I know a lot of guys that run cell cams, but situations where they move in and kill a buck right after a pic aren't as common as you'd think.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
meyeri said:
Are cell cams cheating? In my opinion no. Are they a huge assistance and asset? Absolutely. You still have to kill the deer though and on the properties I hunt there are about 5 directions a deer can go after I get a cell pic, so all I get is a direction of travel and a time. In the areas I hunt most of the time a picture means you are a day late and a dollar short on that buck. Some buddies and I utilize them heavily and we still see deer on the hoof that we have no pics of at all.

I can see how on some properties they may provide an enormous advantage based on the habitat and layout of the property, but the last 3 weeks have also been the rut which is the most unpredictable time of year. If you ran ten cell cams on a property you might get one situation a year where the cell cam alerts you to a patternable buck that you can then go kill. I know a lot of guys that run cell cams, but situations where they move in and kill a buck right after a pic aren't as common as you'd think.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
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We’d have to agree to disagree as my experience in the last few weeks has been different than yours. Think about guys that have multiple properties. Which one do I sit today?… and then at one hour before you want to be in a stand in the morning you get a pic of the big one at property number 2 in the general vicinity of tree stand number 4 out of the 8 different sets you have on that farm. Every one of us would go to stand 4 or maybe the stand he is headed for. i agree with you that by no means does this gaurentee you’re gonna kill him or even see him for that matter. But it definitely increases the odds significantly imo

Or let’s say a guy doesn’t have multiple farms, just one that’s 350 acres. Knowing when the big one is on the farm and exactly where is a tremendous advantage. Sooner or later you’re gonna catch up to him with that kind of real time info compared to not having any idea like 10 years ago.
 
Cells cams are more of a game changer for reducing pressure/intrusion than for real time, instant decision making IMO. They save me a lot of time and gas money as well.

I bet less than 1% of cell cam users are even attempting to abuse the real time data like you're describing, let alone actually accomplish it. I'd even argue that the instant knowledge of a targets location has persuaded a lot of guys to force the issue and educate/save a deer that otherwise may have not been hunted unless wind/conditions were right. I have several buddies with shaky discipline that have done that exact thing.

If you are ethically conflicted, just set yours to send its pics once a day. Problem solved.

The crossbow kills WAY more bucks that otherwise wouldn't have been killed than any cell cam. That is FACT.
 
Somewhere there’s a line between fair chase and unfair chase. That line is different for everyone I suppose and clearly you’re ok w cell cams and that’s fine, I’m only recently starting to think they go too far.
You in favor of crossbows too then I assume?
How about hunting at night with thermal scopes like guys do for yotes but let’s do it for deer too.
How bout huge bait piles?

Not sure how my post has anything to do with illegal activities? How do huge bait piles have anything to do with technology? If someone is older or has a shoulder injury etc. then yes to crossbow permit. Thermal scopes? Really? Another example of something illegal. As far as I know cell cams are not illegal here in Iowa. Cell cams do not kill deer. Do they aid the hunter in knowing what is happening in real time? Yes, but unless you are sitting in your truck/cabin/house or whatever waiting for your cell cam to go off then how are they any different than normal cell cams? They are a tool used for scouting your property just like regular cams. What if you have a farm several hours away and you want to monitor what is going on before making plans to take a trip to your farm? Are they ok for that purpose? Lots of scenarios that come in play here. I'm sure some have numerous cell cams running and use them to their advantage in finding where to go to find a certain deer, but does that guarantee success? Doubt it. Does a smokeless McWhorter's topped with Swarovski give the hunter an unfair advantage? I would think you can see what I'm saying about unfair advantages. If someone doesn't like cell cams then don't use them. If someone does then use them. Pretty simple.
 
In my most extremely humble opinion, cell cams are clearly illegal already. From the IDNR...

You may not use dogs, domestic animals, bait, radios, handguns, rifles and crossbows (except as described on p. 38), automobiles, aircraft, drones, electronic calls or any mechanical conveyance or device to hunt deer.

Unless I'm reading this wrong (I do think it's poorly written) it says no radios. Cell phones are radios that use microwave. I also read this as saying no electronic devices. What am I missing???
 
GWB said:
The longbow with wood arrows and flint lock better be the only weapons you use to chase deer, because that would be the only fair way to chase deer.
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No sir. I have seen deer killed with a well thrown spear, but it was probably unfair because he was hunting from an elevated platform.

Look, we all have to decide where our own line is, and where the crossover from hunting becomes just shooting deer. I had a guy in my area tell me that if I wasn't harvesting a 160" buck every year then I was doing something wrong. Turns out this guy was way over my line. I didn't feel he was "hunting" by getting a truck ride to and from his heated, enclosed stand, with TV, internet, shooting windows, and probably 3 square meals a day. Am I hunting if I open the back door and kill something? Seriously, what's the difference?
 
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