Trail camera laws

[HuntHarder]

Arizona just got the ball moving on banning trail camera's all together. A few years ago, they banned the cellular ones, now they are looking to go after all trail cameras. I know from my experience that certain units and guides are really the largest problems. Does your state have an issue with 20 cameras being on water tanks or guys setting out 100's of them? I know a state or 2 also has a trail camera season. Did this help alleviate any of the problems? I am just curious what guys thoughts are on banning them?

 

[Marble]

With some of the things that are considered "art" by the courts, I wonder how hunters taking pictures wouldn't qualify as well?

Is there an actual problem thats trying to be addressed?

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[Northpark]

I think NV makes you take them out of the field by August 1 since archery season starts on August 10th. I only started using them this year. They are pretty cool and honestly I get a lot of enjoyment out of all the neat pics I get of not only deer but other wildlife. I guess I’ll be bummed if we can’t use them anymore but ultimately I don’t think it’ll change my odds of success much.

 

[Opah]

Seems like a overwhelmed and saturated hunting areas, I had 4 trail cams for a couple years now and only have one in use. That is at my back gate of my house,
I rarely see them in the field.

 

[Will_m]

I know of some national wildlife refuges that banned them but I always thought it was due to the complaints of theft.

 

[Will_m]

I know of some national wildlife refuges that banned them but I always thought it was due to the complaints of theft

 

[Gila]

I think it should be illegal on public ground period. I also think that licensed guides should not be out there during a hunting season without a client. It is to the point where enough is enough already. NM doesn't allow cell cameras. Hopefully they will eventually ban all trail cams.

 

[HuntHarder]

Yeah, I am still unsure If I support an all out ban or a trail cam season. I hunt in North Dakota as well and the use of trail cams is a major reason on where you hunt that day or week. They also use cellular cams there which is almost ridiculous imo. Literally sitting at home and the camera sends a picture so you instantly know if a deer hits your spot.

AZ has some really bad parts of the state where guides literally run 100's of cameras and each watertank has no less than 10 cameras on it. Around noon each day, an army of guys head out and check cards to see where they will hunt the afternoon. I think the guys who show pictures of 100's of trail cameras on instagram are gonna ruin it for the average Joe who has a couple and just enjoys the pics. Time will tell, but I see a ban here in AZ.

 

[deerhunt1988]

I've always been on the fence about the ethics of cellular trail cameras....Wouldn't hurt my feelings to see restrictions placed on them.

 

[Rich M]

Why not just restrict hunting to only hunt days and not allow scouting or entrance into hunt areas prior to?

The bans are due to folks complaining and whining. Trail cams big deal...

 

[BBob]

I’m on the fence, I don’t use them but know people that do so it wouldn’t bother me personally much if they were totally banned. It used to be mostly a problem up on the strip and Kiabab but the problems have slowly spread to where issues are cropping up even way down south in Coues country. People doubling up on cams where someone already has cams resulting in conflicts and so on. I’ts been a growing issue for a long time now. People read others data and wipe the card, smashed cameras, stolen cameras, etc... If they were gone we’d just have to all go back to traditional scouting and instead of trucking around gathering data you’d spend your time glassing and such. All that said I have big doubts about how they would ever enforce such a rule. We’ll find out soon enough now that the ball is rolling again.

As a side note: An AZ state congressman has in the past introduced bills to ban cameras and ban sitting water so even if AZGFD didn’t ban them he could still reintroduce a bill and have it go through the legislature. He agreed to drop his last bill if AZGFD would take it up so that’s how we arrived back here again.

 

[BBob]

Bs.

Why not just restrict hunting to only hunt days and not allow scouting or entrance into hunt areas prior to?

The bans are due to folks complaining and whining. Trail cams big deal... People are idiots and hurt themselves trying make things feel better.

In AZ it’s almost all on public land so no way you can restrict people from going.

NM has rules about how far ahead before the season you can scout. It’s largely ignored because they can’t really enforce it. Who’s to say you’re not out on a camping trip enjoying the country and wildlife?

 

[BBob]

I've always been on the fence about the ethics of cellular trail cameras....Wouldn't hurt my feelings to see restrictions placed on them.

Cell cams in AZ have already been banned.

 

[BBob]

AZGFD commission had a choice on the agenda between a seasonal ban or a total ban, they voted 5-0 to go the total ban route.

 

[Gila]

Bs.

Why not just restrict hunting to only hunt days and not allow scouting or entrance into hunt areas prior to?

The bans are due to folks complaining and whining. Trail cams big deal... People are idiots and hurt themselves trying make things feel better.

You might change your tune when some idiot guide shows up at sunrise to check one of his 100 cams. When you only have 5 days to hunt that really sucks swampwater! Then there are hunters (and guides) who hire people to go out and hang 100s of cams in the unit they have a tag for. It's gone too far!

 

[Rich M]

It goes all ways. What if it an idiot other hunter?

 

[BBob]

I’ll also add that in AZ there is a big sentiment to ban guides for some of the same reasons. We can’t of course and there are some awesome guides I’d never want to ban but there are those in AZ and NM that I wouldn’t mind seeing banned forever over their shenanigans.

 

[Gila]

In AZ it’s almost all on public land so no way you can restrict people from going.

NM has rules about how far ahead before the season you can scout. It’s largely ignored because they can’t really enforce it. Who’s to say you’re not out on a camping trip enjoying the country and wildlife?

Only hunters who have a unit wide LO tag are limited to so many days scouting before their hunt. It doesn't apply to guides who have unit wide clients that I have seen.

 

[BBob]

It goes all ways. What if it an idiot other hunter?

Another reason given to get rid of the trail cams. You can’t eliminate stupid but mby you can get rid of one of the issues.

Only hunters who have a unit wide LO tag are limited to so many days scouting before their hunt. It doesn't apply to guides who have unit wide clients.

Of course it doesn’t eliminate the guides, they’re special Have been over there for decades now. Taulman certainly set the standard for that.

 

[Rich M]

Another reason given to get rid of the trail cams. You can’t eliminate stupid but mby you can get rid of one of the issues.

Of course it doesn’t eliminate the guides, they’re special Have been over there for decades now. Taulman certainly set the standard for that.

You can't see that more rules and restrictions are a problem. By the time you are done, you'll be lucky if you can hunt water holes.

Might as well just push to ban hunters on public land cause that's what the end result will be.

I work with a federal hunting area and fight to keep hunter access. Every season there are a bunch of whiners, the government response is to strip the hunters of access and further restrict the ones who can go. Your whining is gonna hurt you and future hunters.