Drones

[nyslowhand]

I'd never spend the $$ for one, but can see some of their benefits other than blatantly chasing deer.

Aren't drones basically RC helicopters that need a clear "line of sight" field of operation and have limited range?

JMO, Drones have a darker side also. Overheard a hunter recalling a story about being harassed by an individual with a drone while he was hunting, numerous times. Fast forward... neighbor operating the drone was given a warning by the DEC for harassing hunters. Or imagine enjoying your pool, a family BBQ, the daughter sunbathing, etc and some idiot flying a drone with a camera overhead!??! Creepy...!!!!!

[Doc]

I believe we have not yet seen all the problems that will need to be addressed in the future. There will be problems of privacy also many abuses that we cannot even imagine yet. And when it comes to them being a tool of terrorism, that is coming too. If you are concerned about the invasive activities of the government into your personal lives, wait until it is a neighbor that you have to be concerned with....lol.

Edited January 23, 2018 by Doc

[WNYBuckHunter]

6 hours ago, Doc said:

I see scouting as just one part or aspect of the hunt. And I see aerial surveillance as one step too far. I am getting the impression that many have drawn no lines, and all is fair in hunting. If technology can supply it, anything goes in hunting. But I always thought that was why people even talk about "fair chase".

But, I could be wrong. Maybe it really is, "a dead deer at any cost, with no holds barred."

Its not surveillance really, as you arent monitoring deer movement, you are just taking pictures of the area from above, similar to using Google maps, but with close up, higher resolution images. Trail cameras provide much more actual surveillance than that, as they show actual movement, times, etc.

[WNYBuckHunter]

3 hours ago, nyslowhand said:

I'd never spend the $$ for one, but can see some of their benefits other than blatantly chasing deer.

Aren't drones basically RC helicopters that need a clear "line of sight" field of operation and have limited range?

JMO, Drones have a darker side also. Overheard a hunter recalling a story about being harassed by an individual with a drone while he was hunting, numerous times. Fast forward... neighbor operating the drone was given a warning by the DEC for harassing hunters. Or imagine enjoying your pool, a family BBQ, the daughter sunbathing, etc and some idiot flying a drone with a camera overhead!??! Creepy...!!!!!

No. A good drone is run by software, that you can plot in a flight pattern. Most of the good ones now have collision avoidance sensors and run off of GPS. They can fly miles away from the conrtoller, are aware of the wind conditions and their battery levels and will automagically return back to their launch point before they lose power.

Drones dont have a darker side, people that use them for stupid crap like that are what has a dark side. Its like saying guns are evil instead of the people that use them for crimes.

BTW, small aircraft have been used for decades for aerial photography in the civilian sector. Drones are basically the same thing as far as privacy issues go.

[Steve D]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

There will be problems of privacy also many abuses that we cannot even imagine yet

Best way to handle that:

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

3 minutes ago, Steve D said:

Best way to handle that:

 

Yep, if you want to go to jail. It is illegal to shoot them down if the pilot is not breaking any laws. Most of these videos are setups.

[Steve D]

I'll take my chances..If it's on my property.

[Robhuntandfish]

they actually have drone hunting.  They dont blow them out of the air but they hunt them......

[Five Seasons]

4 hours ago, nyslowhand said:

I'd never spend the $$ for one, but can see some of their benefits other than blatantly chasing deer.

Aren't drones basically RC helicopters that need a clear "line of sight" field of operation and have limited range?

JMO, Drones have a darker side also. Overheard a hunter recalling a story about being harassed by an individual with a drone while he was hunting, numerous times. Fast forward... neighbor operating the drone was given a warning by the DEC for harassing hunters. Or imagine enjoying your pool, a family BBQ, the daughter sunbathing, etc and some idiot flying a drone with a camera overhead!??! Creepy...!!!!!

there are all sorts of stories of creepy dudes with drones popping up as the tech becomes better and more affordable. 

[Five Seasons]

48 minutes ago, Steve D said:

Best way to handle that:

 

yeah his daughter was out hanging out near the swamp? that was so fake lol.

[Doc]

1 hour ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Its not surveillance really, as you arent monitoring deer movement, you are just taking pictures of the area from above, similar to using Google maps, but with close up, higher resolution images. Trail cameras provide much more actual surveillance than that, as they show actual movement, times, etc.

Sure.....It is like a mobil trail cam that can be sent to surveil and verify bedding areas and such without actually entering the area. I just wonder where it is all going to stop. I know we don't like to draw lines and we have a million ways to justify each successive step toward letting technology do the hunting for us. I guess I just spend too much time worrying about these kinds of things that take hunting further into the realm of tech wizardry.

[WNYBuckHunter]

11 minutes ago, Doc said:

Sure.....It is like a mobil trail cam that can be sent to surveil and verify bedding areas and such without actually entering the area. I just wonder where it is all going to stop. I know we don't like to draw lines and we have a million ways to justify each successive step toward letting technology do the hunting for us. I guess I just spend too much time worrying about these kinds of things that take hunting further into the realm of tech wizardry.

I mean, that would be kinda neat if you could do that, but the flight times on them arent all that long, maybe 20-25 mins or so. I know what you mean though

[LET EM GROW]

My buddy came up and took some pictures of the property I own, and the neighbors i hunt, with his DJ phantom thingy.. Pics came out awesome. The capabilities of these things are crazy. His batteries were cold from being in the car all day, even though fully charged we only got 10 minutes run time because they were so cold. Kinda nerve racking when it tells you to "bring me home" because its dying .. and he is just sending it lol says it'll be OK .. These machines are awesome! I watched it all. 

Here is a couple pic of part of my own property..  If you look close to the second pic you can see us standing in the middle of the grass

[Steve D]

11 hours ago, LET EM GROW said:

My buddy came up and took some pictures of the property I own, and the neighbors i hunt, with his DJ phantom thingy.. Pics came out awesome. The capabilities of these things are crazy. His batteries were cold from being in the car all day, even though fully charged we only got 10 minutes run time because they were so cold. Kinda nerve racking when it tells you to "bring me home" because its dying .. and he is just sending it lol says it'll be OK .. These machines are awesome! I watched it all. 

Here is a couple pic of part of my own property..  If you look close to the second pic you can see us standing in the middle of the grass

That one looks like it may be out of shotgun range

[Elmo]

On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 4:57 PM, gwhalin said:

Drones are fun to fly and take amazing video and photos.  I have a DJI Mavic Pro.  I have never considered using them for scouting (and hunting would obviously be illegal).  I am not sure I would get much more from a drone than I would from a topo map and google earth.

That's what I have too.  I also never considered it for scouting.  Got it to take some nice vantage videos that you would normally not be able to get to.  Though one time I was flying it and two hawks started circling it out of curiosity.  I decided not to risk a hawk attack and packed it in.

[Larry]

My son has a good drone and I wanted to check out a place to hunt ducks on rattlesnake hill wma. It was about 1 ½ miles in and I have bad knees and I didn’t want to walk in that far and find no water in there. So we used the drone first. He can fly that thing I would have crashed and burned. He got some good video and could fly it right down to the water and fly it around. He even got GPS chordates. Pretty cool scouting tool.

[LET EM GROW]

I have other pictures, that would put this pictures to shame, but I wont post for the sake of my neighbors. In winter (these were January of 2017) deer trails really stick out from up above. If I could i would get a good drone for accurate up to date aerial photos. Google, and Bing have not updated photos over my property since 2012. I will say a whole heck of a lot has changed since then. A lot has even changed here since these photos were taken. I was hoping to catch him this fall to take some more pics, while he was up from MO during Fall. Get the pretty colors of Fall and the lush Green plots, all in a picture from up above.. Thought they would make some neat pics. He also uses the drone to take to properties and people have paid for pictures of their piece. He is also hired by the AMA Supercross boys and girls, dirt track racing, rally racing etc.. He will follow them around the track with the drone and make some wild footage. 

[BigVal]

They're pretty cool. Never had one but like the footage. Don't be a dick though, some a hole had one about 5 feet over my head on the ice last week and kept coming back to me. I wanted it to come down a couple feet so I could swat it down. The guys were probably having a good laugh in a hut somewhere close lol.