Is technology helping or hurting the hunt.

[coonhunter]

I am mix of old school and modern. I use my phone for work mostly, and that is only occasionally. If my wife didn't get me a smart phone, I honestly wouldn't have it. I am a face to face person, so I have never been a big fan of phones. I am not ignorant enough to not realize they are useful at times, but I am not one to live in my phone like it seems the majority of people do.

That said, I love my kindle, and spend a ton of time reading 20 feet up in a tree. I also like to chat on walkie talkie with whoever is with me so I know when they leave the woods, shoot something and need help, or just to share a little information.

Does any of this help or hurt me? Don't care. Like others, this is how I hunt. I have always had a book or magazine in the stand.

  

 

[Moho81]

Hence the issue of fair chase? Fine line no doubt but a line.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Fair point but I think that can be said about any technology new and old. 2 way radios, game cameras, electronic callers, phones and apps etc.

Also not saying you partake but do deer drives also fall into the fine line of fair chase? Those are as old as dirt but are a form of hunting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hunter007]

8 hours ago, cdbing said:

 

Is texting and keeping up with social media or even just technology helping or hurting the hunt?

 

By that I mean both the experience of being in the woods and in pursuit of game and the actual taking of the game.

 

For example, on opening day I was triple checking the distance of a tree when i failed to notice a spike sneak up behind me. Now i admit that tree had not moved and was still 22 yards away, but I am kind of anal retentive that way. Fact is I've been busy texting and had deer sneak up on me. But sharing has become part of the hunting experience for me. What are your thoughts?

 

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

 

 

 

It's a double edged sword it can help make you stay in the woods longer  but  it can distract u from seeing  a deer .

 

 

[Hunter007]

14 minutes ago, Moho81 said:

Fair point but I think that can be said about any technology new and old. 2 way radios, game cameras, electronic callers, phones and apps etc.

Also not saying you partake but do deer drives also fall into the fine line of fair chase? Those are as old as dirt but are a form of hunting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Since when are deer drives  not fair chase ? 

[Moho81]

Since when are deer drives  not fair chase ? 

Honestly never thought about it until Four Seasons pointed out the use of technology as a fine line of fair chase. Made me think of of old times when guys would spend summer and fall in the woods studying deer movement and planning their season armed with nothing but pencil and paper and their memory.

To me a deer drive takes planning and knowledge. It still involves knowing where deer are at certain times of the day. Knowing their escape routes and how to cut them off. It’s not just lining a bunch of guys up and pushing the woods to another bunch of guys waiting to shoot. Although I’m sure that happens.

I never gave technology and fair chase a thought until it was brought up.

Some people view deer drives in a negative light hence my question back to Four Seasons.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sodfather]

I don’t need my phone to keep me or enjoy the woods but I’ll be dam if I don’t have my

Range finder, fiber optic sight, ozone scented clothes, trail cams, and 295 feet per second bow .

[rob-c]

1 minute ago, sodfather said:

I don’t need my phone to keep me or enjoy the woods but I’ll be dam if I don’t have my

Range finder, fiber optic sight, ozone scented clothes, trail cams, and 295 feet per second bow .

295 is all 

[Steve D]

1 hour ago, Jdubs said:

You guys do what you want, but my hands stay in the muff! 

Thanks makes two of us. A couple of places I hunt I don't get service and it doesn't bother me a bit. I am out to enjoy the experience and don't need to be bothered by a stupid text.

On the other hand if something happens I am up the creek without a paddle.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

1 hour ago, Moho81 said:

Fair point but I think that can be said about any technology new and old. 2 way radios, game cameras, electronic callers, phones and apps etc.

Also not saying you partake but do deer drives also fall into the fine line of fair chase? Those are as old as dirt but are a form of hunting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well we will never keep the Non-Hunters happy per say and they are the ones that will run with the fair chase card.  I think the new gadgets and rifles that shoot a mile may one day push some buttons but the South is happy with running dogs and the North with deer drives so i am not sure it will ever be put in one pot and described fair or not.

[Bigfoot 327]

I hunt with the same technology (even the same gun) that I had in 1968. Only thing that is different for me is that the treestands are light years ahead of what we had back in the day. No cell phone service where I live, but I wouldn't own one if I did.

This buck was taken a few miles from where I live a couple of years ago. I didn't know he existed until he showed up on FB. 

[Merlot]

4 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

If your hunting by yourself that ain't no fun

I always wondered why no one ever answered...lol

[Nomad]

I use my phone to post here a couple times on each sit  . Other then that,  never owned a range finder in 30 years of bow hunting , no cameras up this year,  don’t FB , I washed my hunting clothes before the season and May again in a week or two, and gasp ! I just toss Em in the washer and drier half the time with normal clothes  and soap !

Dont know about today but it used to be illegal to use radios and such to aid in talking of deer . With cell phones being common place that may have gone to the wayside .

[Four Season Whitetail's]

22 minutes ago, Bigfoot 327 said:

I hunt with the same technology (even the same gun) that I had in 1968. Only thing that is different for me is that the treestands are light years ahead of what we had back in the day. No cell phone service where I live, but I wouldn't own one if I did.

This buck was taken a few miles from where I live a couple of years ago. I didn't know he existed until he showed up on FB. 

That buck could be confused with a high fence deer. Not saying that it is but all those rounded points are something that show up on bigger bucks that feed head down in feeders.  Neat buck either way.

[Bigfoot 327]

13 minutes ago, Four Season Whitetail's said:

That buck could be confused with a high fence deer. Not saying that it is but all those rounded points are something that show up on bigger bucks that feed head down in feeders.  Neat buck either way.

Several tight lipped local bowhunters (including a official scorer) knew of the deer's existence prior to it's being taken. Definitely not a farm raised deer. Several sanctuaries including a state park are close to where it was taken on private land.

[grampy]

My phone is always in my pocket while I'm actually hunting. But it doesn't come out much. Wife insisted on it, after I took a spill a couple years ago. From the time I was a young kid, the woods have been my escape. I never tire of watching stuff out there. Even when the deer are not moving,  something else is. But it is nice to be able to tell a hunting partner, I'm moving or coming out. Or check the weather radar!

[philoshop]

12 hours ago, grampy said:

My phone is always in my pocket while I'm actually hunting. But it doesn't come out much. Wife insisted on it, after I took a spill a couple years ago. From the time I was a young kid, the woods have been my escape. I never tire of watching stuff out there. Even when the deer are not moving,  something else is. But it is nice to be able to tell a hunting partner, I'm moving or coming out. Or check the weather radar!

I carry the phone for emergencies, like I said before. Incoming or outgoing. It's the greatest thing that's ever happened to people who work, live, and recreate outdoors.

My brother hit his cell phone, in his pants pocket, with a chainsaw and gouged it up pretty good. It kept the chain off of his flesh for that instant, and believe me that's all it takes with a chainsaw. I'm convinced that God watches over our more clueless brethren. I love the guy, and bought him some chaps for Christmas that year.

I've never used a cellphone for recreation.

[Core]

Overall not helping. I check my phone a lot. I was on CNBC last night 12 min before sunset. pretty silly. I have never, ever had a deer sneak up on me, though. I only am on it for short periods and generally spend most of my time standing with head on a swivel. 

[Doc]

The choices are being made for me with my slowly failing hearing. I used to rely a whole lot on my hearing which allowed me a few visual distractions. But these days if I don't see the deer approaching, I probably will be caught unaware that he is coming in and the resulting chaos and panic will probably cost me the shot. So it is constant scanning for me with no luxury of any visual distractions.