Using drones to scout / hunt game

[H&Hhunter]

Horizontal property lines are pretty cut and dried, but what about vertical?

Jason,

That is a really good question with some very shady legal definitions and case law.

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/08/land-much-really-right/

A friend of mine here in Colorado is a big time RC/Quadcopter "drone" guy with all the toys. The general belief is that here in Colorado as long as you or the device in your control is above 50' over the ground you are not trespassing. Whether or not that has any legal teeth remains to be seen I'm guessing.

The whole subject of UAV 's and proper use and airspace integration is a huge hot button issue with the FAA at the moment and will continue to be a headache with much legal wrangling for years to come. But make no mistake they are coming.

 

[Jason_W]

Jason,

That is a really good question with some very shady legal definitions and case law.

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/08/land-much-really-right/

A friend of mine here in Colorado is a big time RC/Quadcopter "drone" guy with all the toys. The general belief is that here in Colorado as long as you or the device in your control is above 50' over the ground you are not trespassing. Whether or not that has any legal teeth remains to be seen I'm guessing.

The whole subject of UAV 's and proper use and airspace integration is a huge hot button issue with the FAA at the moment and will continue to be a headache with much legal wrangling for years to come. But make no mistake they are coming.

I would personally be pretty upset if a camera equipped drone was circling 50 or even 100 feet above my house.

In terms of outdoor recreation especially concerning state or federal land, this is going to be yet another front in the clash between what I call quiet enjoyment folk (hikers, canoeists, bird watchers, etc.) vs. loud enjoyment folk (ATV/dirtbike enthusiasts, jet ski owners, etc.).

 

[H&Hhunter]

I would personally be pretty upset if a camera equipped drone was circling 50 or even 100 feet above my house.

I don't think that you are alone with that sentiment...

 

[Art Eatman]

"It looked like a hawk, going after my chickens..."

 

[SleazyRider]

Worth a look!

Here's some exciting drone footage that demonstrates their efficacy in combat:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/eBEU-OiEvII .

 

[yzguy87]

I wouldn't use one to hunt game animals but I would use one to cull invasive species like coyote and hogs

 

[H&Hhunter]

Here's some exciting drone footage that demonstrates their efficacy in combat:

Sleazy,

That is IR footage from an Apache Attack helicopter not a drone.

Besides that fact that we are talking about little unarmed civilian RC aircraft in this thread, not military weaponized multimillion dollar, secure satellite controlled drones.

 

[oneounceload]

Horizontal property lines are pretty cut and dried, but what about vertical?

At one time I worked for a utility out West and our transmission lines from a power plant crossed over the UP tracks and yes, we paid rent for vertical space. (And it was not cheap)

 

[jmorris]

My first time to post a NY times link.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/us/13ttporkchopper.html

 

[Flintknapper]

A friend of mine here in Colorado is a big time RC/Quadcopter "drone" guy with all the toys. The general belief is that here in Colorado as long as you or the device in your control is above 50' over the ground you are not trespassing.

I suspect in 'real life' anything out of shotgun range is probably a safer bet.

(It would be around my house anyway).

 

[Andrew Leigh]

I suppose the results of google earth are not too dissimilar from what you would get from a drone, you simply would get better detail with a drone as you can employ it to specific tasks.

Privacy as we knew it is dead and buried.

I suppose the bottom line is that like with many technologies they have the capacity to be both good and evil depending on the user and the desired outcome. The drone fits this bill well and that is why legislation will be required to control the use of drones.

 

[jmorris]

I went to a friends place over the weekend and snapped this photo.

You might have to zoom in the center to see it but there was a helicopter flying under 100', in some cases well under.



Had every animal running around over 2100 acres in less than a half hour with a few passes.

 

[3212]

I hate the whole idea and one hovering over my property is going to be mistaken for a crow.

 

[Art Eatman]

Are we done with the issue of scouting/hunting?

 

[H&Hhunter]

Are we done with the issue of scouting/hunting?

I used to have a Scout International truck?

But I reckon the fat lady has just about sung on this Art.....

 

[Officers'Wife]

We have one batch of "sportsmen" in the area that will take a thicket and have two or three ppl walk through it driving the deer into the guns of those waiting at the other end. A couple of drones would probably save them a lot of boot leather and make them less likely to take a deerslug.

 

[H&Hhunter]

We have one batch of "sportsmen" in the area that will take a thicket and have two or three ppl walk through it driving the deer into the guns of those waiting at the other end.

That is called a "push" or a "drive" it is an age old technique. I'm not sure why it would be frowned upon?

 

[Art Eatman]

As long as we're wandering: Our deer-lease bunch would occasionally do what might be called a "sweep" of a valley. Maybe four or five of us would spread out in a line and work up-slope for a mile or so and top out on a ridge.

If a shootable buck jumped up, usually the uphill guy on the upwind side would get a shot.

If a little four-pointer jumped up, somebody always screamed, "Shoot him! Shoot him!", hoping somebody would get sucked into it. If it happened, we'd then all gather around and ask, "Aw, why'd you have to go and shoot that poor little old nubbin critter?"

 

[oneounceload]

We have one batch of "sportsmen" in the area that will take a thicket and have two or three ppl walk through it driving the deer into the guns of those waiting at the other end.

Here in FL, it is the preferred method of running deer; when I liven in ND, it was the preferred method or hunting pheasant ( in Europe it is still the method)

To ME it is far more sporting than sitting in a stand over a feeder or food plot as it is done here in the East

 

[jmorris]

Quote:
We have one batch of "sportsmen" in the area that will take a thicket and have two or three ppl walk through it driving the deer into the guns of those waiting at the other end.

That is called a "push" or a "drive" it is an age old technique. I'm not sure why it would be frowned upon?

If you substitute two of the people for trucks and a 100 yards of cable between them for the 3rd guy and are going after pheasant, I think that is considered "cheating".

 

[Jason_W]

Here in FL, it is the preferred method of running deer; when I liven in ND, it was the preferred method or hunting pheasant ( in Europe it is still the method)

To ME it is far more sporting than sitting in a stand over a feeder or food plot as it is done here in the East

Some states have banned both baiting and deer drives. Maine, for instances, where I just moved from, does not allow either.

Vermont, where I grew up, banned baiting a few years ago. Before it was illegal, I remember putting out piles of apples in the woods during deer season. The deer ate them, all right, in the dead of night far removed from legal shooting hours.

The fair chase line has to be drawn somewhere.

 

[jrdolall]

I use Google Earth all the time to scout out a new piece of property. I use trail cameras to scout a certain spot on my property.
If I felt that using some sort of drone to find where Mr Big was hanging out I wouldn't mind it. As a matter of fact I already know where he is. He is in the creek bottom where nobody can go without spooking him out. He occasionally visits a rye field at 1 AM. Unless they come up with a drone with night vision that will somehow fly by itself and notify me when he steps out then I don't really see any advantage gained by scouting with a drone other than getting the same view I can get with Google Earth. I can see some of my deer stands using Google.

 

[Officers'Wife]

If you substitute two of the people for trucks and a 100 yards of cable between them for the 3rd guy and are going after pheasant, I think that is considered "cheating".

My main concern is that eventually some "buck fever" idiot is going to put a rifle ball through one of the "drivers" which will raise liability insurance on every land owner that allows hunting in the immediate area.

Indiana has banned "baiting" for as long as I remember. Enough so that we are shy about having mineral blocks "salt blocks" in the far pastures that may be close to hunting areas.

 

[oneounceload]

Some states have banned both baiting and deer drives. Maine, for instances, where I just moved from, does not allow either.

When I lived in NV, not only was it illegal to bait, you couldn't camp within a certain distance at a waterhole or spring. They would take everything including your truck and gun.

 

[Jason_W]

When I lived in NV, not only was it illegal to bait, you couldn't camp within a certain distance at a waterhole or spring. They would take everything including your truck and gun.

States with lower deer populations tend to be more stringent on methods of take.