Electronics and hunting.

[pitw]

What role should electronics play in the enjoyment of our sport of hunting? Personally I can see no use for them what so ever am dismayed at the amount of them I see. I always looked on hunting as a way to test myself against the outside world and if I needed electronic help I felt I was a failure in my quest to be the best I could be. Just how much help has the game we are after get from new and improved devices that we feel the need to spend big$$$ to harvest them?

[Ormachek]

I have 2 electronic devices I carry in my pack when hunting. A cell phone and a flashlight.

I always carry a laser range finder and of course a flashlight...lol

I occasionally carry a telephone and GPS.

[sheepguide]

Only electronic device's I carry are a S.P.O.T, a rangefinder, a flashlight and a camera!

[GFORCE]

Rangefinder, GPS and flashlight. But I am going to try electronic coyote calls from my iphone.

[winged1]

I use a gps, but still carry a compass for backup. I also use a couple of trailcams, and will be adding to that inventory for pre season scouting. Trying to find a workable cam system to mount on rifle/bow as well.

[Sputnik]

I'm pretty sure I've seen this question before, but here goes. Just for the record I'm not new to the game, and I take each advance in technology with a suspicious eye.

Depends on what you mean by electronics & hunting.

GPS is a tool, just like a map and compass are tools, and I know how to use both very well. I take a GPS hunting to find my way back and forth to my truck/camp and/or kill site if lucky. The GPS does nothing to help me find animals or give me advantage during the hunt. It does allow me to wander with a little more confidence that I can find my way back even after dark, and by the most direct route in case of an emergency.

Laser Rangefinders are another "electronic" that people tout as providing advantage. All they do is tell me exactly how far away a target is. This allows me to make the best descion on a shot depending on the firearm I am carrying. I could do it the old fashion way with the Mark One Eyeball, but as time progresses the calibration on that device is fading, and truth be told was never all that accurate in the first place... The range finder does not help me find game, still have to do that the old fashioned way, hard work, knowledge and skill.

Radios, this one can be controversial. I use them to contact my hunting partners to set up a meeting, lunch or return to the camp/truck. I also use it to inform the party a kill has been made and where it is so I can get help if need be to handle it. Radio has yet to lead me to game, but when I am successful it saves a lot of time in recovery and helps to answer the question of where is everyone and are they OK. I'll bet people use their cell phones for the same purpose if they hunt in a service area. I suppose a radio could be used to advantage if driving game, or spotting from a high feature and guiding a hunter in, but I think those hunters would be in the minority and the practice iffy on the success side at best.

Game Calls are another one, personally I find this one like baiting, and have some pretty strong negative feelings on that subject. I don't want to get into a debate on the merits of baiting, but I think in this case electronics provide an unfair advantage. If it is for vermin control, by a proffessional hired to remove a problem, different story, but for the "recreational" hunter, I think they are a step in the wrong direction in advantage.

Night Vision Goggles, another grey area. This one could be seen as an advantage, follow the animal until legal light and then shoot. I think this could be hunting by the definition in the book, and hunting after last light is against the law. Which brings me to the next subject.

Trail Cams, these provide entertaining pictures and could be one of the "electonics" devices that take away from the traditional effort of the hunt by allowing the user to check on game activity by remote control. But they are here to stay and still a crap shoot if you put them up in the wrong spot as well. I know of "old timer" tricks like smoothing out the dirt or putting down flour to check what has passed a point on a trail so the concept is not new, just the tool.

Heat sensor for tracking, used by bow hunters to find downed game are another electronic toy, that if used in the manner intented helps with the recovery of game, always a good thing. Never tried one so I don't know how effective they are, blood trailing and tracking always worked for me.

Well that about exhausts my list of "electronics" that I can think of, anyone else have any.

pitw? any others that get your goat?

[Austin]

I am so directionally challenged that I need a GPS / compass or I would be lost in the bush every year. Flashlight comes in second and is the final e-gadget I carry.

[Mhunter51]

I always find this topic of hunting " aids " very interesting. We all have different cut-offs as far as the helpful aids we use. Some complain when another uses an electronic aid such as range finder, cell or sat phone, hand held radios etc. but that same person has the latest high power rifle with high power scope. HMMMMM !!! I use what I like as long as it is legal and I think the item can help me, be that for safety or success. If you don't want electronics then don't use them but that does not make it less satisfying for the next person who chooses to use them. We could go back to the long bow with no binos and no scope and hand made cedar shafts.

[Tundra Monkey]

Sat phone (no cell coverage) / gps / flashlight / rangefinder.

First three are safety. Rangefinder....my internet answer is that it is out of respect for the animal so I can make an ethical kill.

tm

[pitw]

Originally Posted by Sputnik

pitw? any others that get your goat?

You covered a few and very well I might add. Electric socks also get my goat as I think people should be able to dress themselves but I see lot's of different items for that purpose. My telephone stays in the truck and a .couple of my favorite memory's came from not finding my way back to camp in the daylight so I had to spend the night in the bush[glad I didn't have a GPS to screw that up for me]. I realize that radio's make it easier and my point is, should it be easy or should we have to know how to make things work.
Spot lights have a tendency to irritate me a might and flashlights could fit in that category[I carry a flashlight in my truck]. Most of you already know my thoughts on Ecallers so I don't need to add to that. Personally if I'm going to die out in the wild I don't want anyone finding me until the coyotes [I've hunted pretty much my entire life] get some good out of me[so anything that can locate me electronically is out of the question].
I have read where people use a motion sensor to let them know there is something at their bait pile. Is this a measure of the hunting ethics we are to come accept?
Everyone has the right to do it anyway they choose I agree. If everyone was to jump off a bridge does that make it right. Seems like a lot of people are led down the path of least resistance and that leads to less actual knowledge in my less than humble opinion.
I can see the day coming[if it isn't already here] where a person will be able to point and shoot a rifle from there laptop and if you think, that I think this is a good think, then you have another think coming..
Barry

[pitw]

Sputnik I gotta ask, were you born in '57?

[Sputnik]

Pitw,

You were close, 1956.

Like you I am a traditionalist, my family (father's side) logged in the summer and trapped/hunted in the winter. So I also like the "old fashioned" way of doing things.

I can fend for myself in the bush and know enough about back country living etc to keep me alive, but bad things happen and that does not mean I want to die out there if there is a tool to get me back alive, radio, SPOT etc.

I would rather not use devices that provide an unfair advantage over game, but like modern rifles and scopes I will use the latest tools to assist me in the hunt to make it safe and enjoyable.

I spent 20 years in the military and have done the "living in a hole" program with a plastic sheet for a roof. I have also done enough back country camping with the bare essentials, but as the days/years go by, I have learned to appreciate getting up in a warm room and porcelain facility. I know I can do the rough stuff, but why?

Maybe I'm lazy, or maybe I just don't have anything to prove. Don't know but I know that if/when this world finally implodes, I can take care of me and mine if need be.

I can see the day coming[if it isn't already here] where a person will be able to point and shoot a rifle from there laptop

Already here!

[pitw]

Originally Posted by Sputnik

Pitw,

You were close, 1956.

Just wondered cause my ma called me "Sputnik" since I can remember.

Originally Posted by Sputnik

I know I can do the rough stuff, but why?

I find when I do things the easy way my mind doesn't stay as sharp. Like for instance if I used the phone to remember numbers I need, I'd need the phone for the numbers[screwed if I don't got the phone kinda/sorta] so I just remember everything.

Originally Posted by Sputnik

Maybe I'm lazy, or maybe I just don't have anything to prove. Don't know but I know that if/when this world finally implodes, I can take care of me and mine if need be.

I highly doubt you are lazy and all of us only have to prove what we can do, to ourselves.

Originally Posted by sheephunter

Already here!

Man would that be a fun hunt eh.

[Redfrog]

Originally Posted by Mhunter51

I always find this topic of hunting " aids " very interesting. We all have different cut-offs as far as the helpful aids we use. Some complain when another uses an electronic aid such as range finder, cell or sat phone, hand held radios etc. but that same person has the latest high power rifle with high power scope. HMMMMM !!! I use what I like as long as it is legal and I think the item can help me, be that for safety or success. If you don't want electronics then don't use them but that does not make it less satisfying for the next person who chooses to use them. We could go back to the long bow with no binos and no scope and hand made cedar shafts.

Wow! a wise man from Saskatoon.
I agree. If it's legal and you want to use it go ahead. If you don't then don't.

Some get on their high horse and preach what is right and good for others, all the while very comfortable in making up their own mind about what is best for them.

[Sputnik]

I had the nickname Sputnik applied to me years ago by an Army buddy of mine. Bear in mind this was back in the mid 70's and the Cold War was very much in effect.

I mentioned one day I have some Russian heritage in the bloodline and this guy nicknamed me Sputnik after the USSR satellite.

It stuck until I moved away from that unit. Only those few who were there at the time ever used it. I always thought it was a good one and figured would be a good moniker for this forum.

I also agree it is better to remember stuff (like your phone example) but the new tech sure makes it easy does it not.

[pitw]

Originally Posted by Sputnik

I also agree it is better to remember stuff (like your phone example) but the new tech sure makes it easy does it not.

Not for me it doesn't I find if I don't use my body[instead of a radio] it don't remember how to move either. If electronics make it so easy we don't have to move what's next? A brain in a bell jar could possibly get the job done but I think there may be something missing.
Then again we milk our own cow instead of going to the Minimart everyday.

Originally Posted by pitw

Man would that be a fun hunt eh.

Not sure I'd really call it a hunt.

[Stop Staring at my Rack]

I feel that if you think you need to use them, by all means go ahead.
We have our cell phones, and a camera. We always have a flashlight in in the truck.

[pitw]

Originally Posted by sheephunter

Not sure I'd really call it a hunt.

What is it called then?

Originally Posted by pitw

What is it called then?

Well I know what I'd call it. I'm not really sure what it was called by those involved. I received an e-mail a while back from a company in Texas trying to launch a company offering the virtual/real experience. While I'm a big one on supporting a wide variety of hunting methods, I would think that one needs to at least actually go out in the field to be considered hunting. I'm not sure if the company ever took off...I know there were many legal issues.

[pitw]

Originally Posted by sheephunter

Well I know what I'd call it.

So can we have that name or is it possibly going to have a problem getting by some filters

Originally Posted by pitw

So can we have that name or is it possibly going to have a problem getting by some filters

Some things are best left unsaid...

[sheepguide]

Originally Posted by pitw

You covered a few and very well I might add. Electric socks also get my goat as I think people should be able to dress themselves but I see lot's of different items for that purpose. My telephone stays in the truck and a .couple of my favorite memory's came from not finding my way back to camp in the daylight so I had to spend the night in the bush[glad I didn't have a GPS to screw that up for me]. I realize that radio's make it easier and my point is, should it be easy or should we have to know how to make things work.
Spot lights have a tendency to irritate me a might and flashlights could fit in that category[I carry a flashlight in my truck]. Most of you already know my thoughts on Ecallers so I don't need to add to that. Personally if I'm going to die out in the wild I don't want anyone finding me until the coyotes [I've hunted pretty much my entire life] get some good out of me[so anything that can locate me electronically is out of the question].

Everyone has the right to do it anyway they choose I agree. If everyone was to jump off a bridge does that make it right. Seems like a lot of people are led down the path of least resistance and that leads to less actual knowledge in my less than humble opinion.

Barry

You seem to leave alot of stuff in the truck! Hope your not using the Electronic mono pod atatched to the door!

As far as you not liking electronic personal locators well you cover that topic in the last paragraph in this post. Just cause you dont carry one doesnt make you right. Id rather if something happened to me out where I hunt that id be found for rescue so I can venture out again or for burial to give my family closure!!! Be pretty awful for my wife and my two young boys to never know what happened to "DAD". Because alot of the places that I hunt the chances of someone finding me without a S.P.O.T or simular device would be next to impossible.

As far as not carrying a flashlight while in the bush... well thats just stupid kinda like not having matches or a lighter. Other than if your near the "TRUCK" in a field near people!

SG

[HaMeR]

I carry my cell phone per Diane's request. She gives me the freedom to hunt anytime I want & I promised her in the beginning I would do anything she asked of me. I just bought a GPS for hog sign in an area I've never been. Sure will be nice to log the active spots & return to them since it will be about 2 hours from home. I just got a small handheld weather unit I will start carrying. I like to hunt just before a front moves in & I don't like being in the woods in high winds. I use an FX3 for crows. Some days I do better with the hand calls tho. The FX3 goes coyote hunting with me too. I can only blow a hand call for so long & I start coughing uncontrollably. But I use both calls as I see fit.

I'm off my high horse & done preaching now!!

[209x50]

electric socks also get my goat as i think people should be able to dress themselves but i see lot's of different items for that purpose.

lol!!!

[catnthehat]

It's a bit strange, but if i am hunting with my Hawken, I use a very old set of Austrian binoculars my father gave me.
With one of my long range rifles I have a set of Geovids, and sometimes even a Barr and Stroud rangefinder!
GPS is a given, for a log of what my boat is doing as well as finding derection.
camera, and phone go in my bag as well.
That's it however, but I have been know to take the lap top to the Ouutpost of the Empire - but that is for target shooting, not critters!
Cat

[Sputnik]

I hear ya Pitw,

Only ever milked cows a couple of times and that was a long time ago. Don't really missed ducking the sh***ty tail either.

Live in the city now so I've taken up the modern ways, and working in a high tech company gets me the opportunity to see what can be done, especially by the younger engineers I work with, they can do magic.

But I agree, if we take every convience that comes along we may as well be living in a bubble, or bell jar. You have to get outside and experience life to be living it.

Seems your thread has gathered some attention.

PS, to all, I would never have thought of a flashlight as an electronic device...good one. And yes I carry one or two and there is always another in the truck along with my spot light.

[rugatika]

Deer got sense of smell, speed, hearing etc etc...we got opposable thumbs and giant brains. Some people want to use technology...fine...some people want to challenge themselves with a bow or other limited technology...also fine. But what gets my goat is when someone starts saying they are superior to someone because they hunt with a bow instead of a rifle or they don't use a range finder, or a scope or gps or whatever...well...that's when I have to wonder where the boundaries of hypocrisy are drawn. If you want to feel superior for eschewing technology then you better start hunting in a loin cloth with your bare hands and feet because everything from the spear to the atl atl to the bow to the rifle to the rangefinding scope is modern technology developed to give humans an edge over the prey they hunt.