All right guys, one of the threads made me think about this. We have all seen the new technology out there for hunting, the ear piece that amplifies sound (too cool), and the motion sensing cameras that you can setup on a tree to help you with your pre-season scouting.

My question is this,"do you think that the technology at times takes away from the experience? and if so at what point do you think so?"

For me personally I would love to have one of those ear things, and some of those camera things would be cool, to help out with checking multiple spots. But where it ends for me is the guys that use the walkie talkie setups to communicate. Not that there is anything wrong with it, I think it can very greatly help with getting your prey, and keeping guys from getting lost.

My reason for not liking the walkies is it takes away from the dynamics between hunting buddies and how they work together. For instance, my stepbrother and I can split up and take a hill, him along the bottom and me going over the top to push the game out. when I get to the end and come down to the bottom, even though I haven't seen him since we started, he's at the same point. We use handsignals to communicate, etc. etc. For me that's part of the experience.

I sure would like one of those ear things though. :-)

Red

Time is a big factor in using technology. The lest time you have the more you use it. If your busy working and can't get the woods evry day to scout the cameras come in handy(I don't have one). I found the the radios are a real help in keeping drives togather and for safety also.------------------------ Where should it end I don't know should be all go back to long bows spears??? Each to his own.

I don't know about the rest of the stuff, but I sure do enjoy my scouting camera. It's like christmas morning when I get a developed roll of film back. I've got some big whitetail bucks on film that nobody in my area has ever laid eyes on. The anticipation of seeing what you captured on film gives me a rush not unlike the hunt itself.

I've used radios to check in with a buddy to see if he wanted to leave to hunt another area. And they would be useful to keep track of a buddy in thick brush to help keep shots safe, I suppose.

I keep waiting for video cams with multiple remote feeds to the monitor so a hunter can keep all approaches under surveillance.

(Guns and videos, just like the Quiki-Mart.... )

I guess I'll have to burn my red plaid wool hunting coat soon.

Hell... I use Expensive scopes, high tech binoculars, a GPS with built-in maps, CB AND FRS radios, a pocket weather instrument, a digital camera, and a new 4wd pickup truck and it all just increases the enjoyment of the hunting experience.

But when you get down to it you're still matching wits with your quarry and they usually still have a distinct edge. I'm hunting for sport and they're fleaing for their life. I can see very well but they can smell and hear way better.

I visit their woods a few days a year and they live there ALL year.

It's all fun and great sport and sometimes I get some meat for the pot and weed out the stupid ones.... <g>

$bob$

Sorry DR, I don't agree with you fellas on this one. Life in general has got too fast for my liking. Going in the bush is one of the few things we can do like we did in the 'old days'. I'll stick to the old ways thank you very much.

I do like a GPS for recovering game, and finding outwhere my pick up may have wandered off to while I was hunting.

Here in Montana, it is illegal to use walkie talkies while hunting. Big fines. They were being abused.

The toys are fine, but there is no replacing experience and skill.

It seems to me that the more toys someone has the more they are apt to rely on them and the less likely they are to be successful.

The only legitamate toys that will make you a better huter are good optics. Shoot, you can mount a high dollar scope on a old crappy rifle and have yourself a great setup.

The toys have their place. But they can not replace skill and experience.

Walkie takies are illegal in WA also.

I think that laser rangefinders, inline muzzleloaders and compound bows should also be illegal. Particularly in Special Seasons.

My take on it is, if it isn't illegal, and works for you, then have at it. No one style is right or wrong except in the eye of the beholder. Hell, they probably had this debate back when metallic cartridges were first made available to the hunter.

I am in favor of using any technology that improves the odds of a clean kill and reduces wounded animals.Laser rangefinders are a prime example of this.People will take long range shots reguardless but it reduces the odds of a wounded animal if they know the actual shot distance.

I use no real hi tech stuff and am mostly opposed to it's use. Apart from the guns and knives and clothing (I like wool and leather)I'm just not an enthusiast. I must admit to a real admiration of the new style pack frames too. They beat the hell out of a Trapper Nelson!
On the other hand I have to agree that the laser range finders can certainly be of some use if one likes to try the long shots. With a good rangefinder a 500yd coyote is a near certainty instead of the lottery they usually are with me!
This is not to say that I'm a master woodsman. I'm actually a bit of a klutz and seldom as well prepared as I should be. I just like simplicity. Gives me less to forget! Regards, Bill.

THis is a good question, I personaly don't use the hightech stuff because for me the biggest reason to be hunting to get away from the high tech world in the first place. I spend all day long working in the IT field, and find i NEED to escape it soemtimes.

That said for those who use and enjoy the tools I think they are wonderful.

I use as needed or desired a lot of those "high tech" gadgets... Peltor Tactical 6S ears, Garmin GPS, LASER rangefinder, GMRS radio (where legal), super bright flashlight.

The Peltors are great in three (3) regards...I don't suffer too much from the gunshot noise and I can pick up the faintest sounds from the deer...and when the round impacts the critter I can pretty well tell from the sound where the bullet struck and if bone was hit.

The GPS is good for unknown areas...I mark "way points", boat, camp, truck and turn the GPS off...when I need to get a reference I turn it back on and get a bearing to the "way points" I've entered. I can also enter "way points" from a topo map and find a series of sites in an area I've never been. I'll use this feature this fall in Colorado and locate funnels and ridges in an area I've never hunted.

Radios are good for keeping in touch with "wandering team mates"...seems there's always someone that manages to find an alternative route.

The new flashlights are bright enough to SEE BLOOD AS RED when tracking after dark...better than looking for black shiney spots in a dim flashlight or lugging along a big Coleman lantern.

I don't use all of them all of the time but I have them along and use them as need...they're tools. (I also carry extra batteries and have been likened to Mr Gadget.)

[ 07-18-2003, 17:09: Message edited by: David King ]

This thread reminds me of an old movie called "Predator".

Red,
My PH and tracker used the radios to communicate
and it really worked good. We spotted a trophy Bushbuck and the tracker stayed up on the cliff where he could see the animal and the PH and I stalked it. I was thinking the whole time that the same set up would work really well on Elk in the oak brush in S.W. Colorado. I guess it,s to each his own but some of the new teck. stuff really enhanses the hunt for me.

When I hunt big game we are usually 10 or more people on the team. We also hunt in wooded areas. Walkie talkies are maybe the single most usefull tole for hunting safe and smothly.

I don't use a lot of high tec gear when hunting. I have a modern rifle with a okay scope on it. I also wear Gor-tex cloting when I need it. I don't use anyting electical. Flashlight are illegal and also illuminated recticles. Cars, boats with motor, helicopter, motorcycles are all banned from hunting. Both shooting from the car or distracting an animal with it is illegal.

I like the fealing of getting away from the moden life when I go hunting. I think to much gear doesn't fit in my idea of hunting. I use a modern rifle with a scope, and a sling if I have the time, when killing. I like humane hunting. But eccept for the walkie when I hunt on the team, I bring a good sharp knife, some rope and good wool clothes,a dog, maybe a small axs or a small saw and not much else. To much gear is heavy and I don't have time to use it, because I'm busy hunting!

Johan

I like to keep things simple, and I like to keep any reliance on high-tech hunting gear to a minimum.

A couple of years ago I watched a guy fumble around trying to get a reading with his rangefinder for a 200 yard shot on a pronghorn, and by the time he was finally ready to start the shot process, the buck he was hunting trotted over the hill and was gone for good. He should have simply doped the range himself, placed the crosshairs on that buck, and pressed the trigger!

When we get so dependent on rangefinders and related stuff that we are no longer capable of functioning without them, things have gone too far, and it's time to rethink the program......

AD

We use some of the new things once in a while. Of course fair chase is important and sometimes legislated.

The beeper that tells you the location of yours and others bird dog is useful it seems to me.

We use FSR radio's when deer hunting, when we remember them, as it adds to the enjoyment. So far we only use them later in the morning to chat. The hunters in Mt must be smarter than we are as I see no advantage in getting game with one unless some sort of aircraft was used. Maybe it's all the trees in the East as it's hard to see far here.

I like the laser rangefinder that I have for varmint hunting. It's useful as a monocular also.

To each his own.

I agree, that the high-tech stuff has its place. Yes I have a range-finder and bipod. And I use them when I have time to. I think they are great tools that help ensure a quick humane kill. But if I don't have time too use them I don't rely on them. Last year I used my range finder after the animals were down just to see how far it was, and if my range estimation was accurate.

I started using a radio last year just to check on the rest of my hunting party (i.e.after shots were fired). I really like that aspect of the use of radios.

But where do you draw the line when talking about high tech? Are the plastic calls that I use high tech?

Like what has been said before, I think that it is personnal choice.

If you are happy, and you should be. Since you are hunting after all. Good on ya.

Folks,
I hate to burst everyones bubble here but we all use High tech equipment from your Truck or ATV to that high dollar scope all the way down to the powder and bullet in your rifle. It's all computerized or a computer was used to make it. Lets not kid ourselves.

Rob,
You havn't seen my truck! The point being made is that there is a line beyond which tradition is jettisoned like a worn out pair of boots (Red Wing Irish Setters). A compass is traditional even if it was made by robots in a space lab. A GPS unit is not. Optical sights are. Electronic sights are not. You get the picture. I do things pretty much the same way my grandfather did. The only difference being that he usually shot something while I seem to omit that part of the hunt. My knives hold an edge for a long time though!. Regards, Bill

While I have no problem with "hi tech" stuff in and of itself, I feel about it like I feel about sending a kid to his first class in math with a calculator. He should know how to add and subtract before he gets to start taking short cuts.

Bill,
I see your point but some of the posts here wanted to go back to recurve bows. How far do we go back to the Kentucky long rifle. Things like Gore-tex,Rifle scopes,and yes the GPS don't make you a better hunter just able to do things some of us are not capable of with our level woodcraft knowledge.The guy or girl who lives in LA and has never used a compass can find his way in and out of the woods in Colorado with a GPS so more power to them.Now the guy with a single shot 50 cal sniper rifle shooting elk at 1400 yds with the help of a laser range finder burns my rear.

When hunting, 2-way radios are illegal in Alaska, as well as any artificial light. I imagine that an infrared riflescope would also be illegal, or any scope that by artificial means enhances natural lighting. But a riflescope with good light gathering capabilities (just glass without electronic enhancements, etc.) is legal.

I would think that scopes with electronic sights (lighted reticle, dots, etc.) would be legal, since these don't use artificial light to illuminate the target, nor electronic means to gather more light.

A GPS unit could be useful to mark the spot in the forest where game gas fallen, so one can come back with the equipment needed to get the meat out. However, surveyor's tape is just as handy sometimes, and it does not require training on how to use it.

Traditional hunting would be to hunt lions and bears with a long spear.

That's the main reason I like going on pack in hunts into Wilderness Areas Like The Bob Marshall WIlderness and the Bridger Wilderness. Just my low tech horse, sheepeherders stove climate control unit, Dutch oven microwave, and crosscut chainsaw. Binoc's are okay but no talkie walkies (the way the Ethiopians say it) and for sure no GPS but maps are okay. None of those 2 lb 60 MM objective Variables either 36 MM Max and 8 X on the high end. Okay...I'm old fashioned!
Rich Elliott