No Trail Cameras on MO public lands
Equipment
Does anyone have any insight as to why this is a rule? Any insights on who I can or should talk to in an attempt to have this reconsidered? Thanks!
JMO, the fact that you seem to think this is a catastrophe is proof that it’s a damn fine idea.
I’m 100% OK with making public land camera-free.
Good for MO. I wish CO would adopt the same rules.
Matt
What do people have against cams on public land?
You ever see some of the pictures of water holes, surrounded by trail cams... LOL... unreal... I live in PA, and cannot walk through gamelands without seeing 3-4 cams per hike... It is out of hand...
Feel free to use any cameras or stands on public land but,... if you leave it unattended, it's fair game for anyone to take... :)
Fields.... fair point. On the bright side at least you know the water hole will be overhunted
How will people be able to scout now. This is crazy!
I read AZ outlawed them on public land because folks were checking them quite frequently and it put a lot of stress on animals being disturbed and preventing them from being able to use them
Public land is multiple use, cameras should not be used. All public land users deserve privacy, good law.
x man, does that mean if I park my truck on a public land parking lot, my truck is fair game for someone to steal?
If I was not a hunter I'd be bothered knowing there was cameras in the woods when I went out to enjoy the public lands. Honestly, I LOVE running cameras. But I'd probably rejoice if they were 100% illegal across the board. I know it won't happen. But hunting as a tradition/past time/sport whatever you want to call it would be much better for it.
Totally disagree. It’s pubic land, why restrict its use “if” the cameras arent doing harm to the land? Everyone wants public land to be their own personal playgrounds, where they make the rules.
On private land you may be the only guy running cameras and can limit your intrusion time checking them. On public with who knows how many folks are running cams you could believe the pressure on the deer/game increases. Let alone the quality of your hunt if someone chooses to check their camera while you're afield nearby.
Outlaw all cameras and all stands/blinds must come out every day on public would be great.
One waterhole I hunted had four cameras on it. Nobody was archery hunting - they were scouting for ML and rifle. But they marched in there to check their cards, which did affect my hunt.
"Outlaw all cameras and all stands/blinds must come out every day on public would be great."
You know you've hit the perfect compromise when NObody is happy! (except Woods Walker, in this case ;)
I'm on board, no cams on public land.
I have a few camera and it is fun seeing the pictures on them but i wouldn't havea problem with them not being used. i listen to several archery podcasts and some of the guests that come on run 50 or 60 cameras. Now they have the cell cameras and i think it is only a matter of time for the woods to absolutely filled with cameras. Maybe they could limit them to only a couple of cameras per hunter.
Cameras are fun but sorta weird being in the middle of nowhere and suddenly realize you are being filmed. Also had an elk tag that took many years to draw and one of the prime water holes I scouted had a camera on it during season. Pointed right at the best spot to sit. I avoided it a few days but no one hunted it so I sat it a few times and probably filled up some guys card.
Cams are just another normal public land story . Too many users results in issues and issues result in restrictions.
"Outlaw all cameras and all stands/blinds must come out every day on public would be great."
That's been the rule here for years. DNR will confiscate anything left unattended. Oh, and the parking lots are on the other side of the fence. If you left your truck "on" the public hunting land, it would be towed and become property of the DNR. Sold on public auction or, as in the case of the stands and cameras, donated to local organizations for raffle prizes. (DU, MDHA, NWTF, RMEF, PF, ect...)
P.S. By unattended, I mean left out overnight.
x men i don't get it! If you park on public land they can tow away? I'm not familiar with Minnesota laws. Please explain! Thanks
MN public use lands don't allow vehicles so yes, they will take it. There are designated parking lots "outside" the borders. No overnight parking/camping at those parking areas however.
All those asking for restrictions will also yell when the final restriction comes that says “no more public lands”. Careful what we advocate for.
These restrictions are exactly what is keeping these areas open for ALL of us. We can't start letting private folks "lay claim" to their favorite public land spot.
LOL! Just wait until the meth-heads that are stealing catalytic converters realize people are leaving hundreds of dollars worth of equipment in the woods....the problem with take care of itself!!
Nature always finds a way....... ;-)
Just what are deemed "public lands"?
They are illegal on public WMAs in MN also. Other public lands they are allowed. Not sure the reasoning. But in my experience, it doesn't keep people from using them on WMAs. It's part of the reason there is a market for cheap trail cams. LOL.
I know folks who do not hunt at all but run cams because they like checking them and seeing the various animals in the woods.
Like someone said above....be careful what ya ask for. All of the ban this, ban that thinking sounds like the cancel culture coming to the woods.
What does pulling your stands and blinds every day from public land have to do with ethos and fair chase? Same for cams. What one feels is an ethos or fair chase isn't what the next person views as ethos/fair chase. Could be baiting, dogs, plots, stands, cams, high/low fence, deer drives, calls, mock scrapes, etc...pick something and someone will have an ethos/fair chase issue. Where does the canceling stop?
"Where does the canceling stop?"
I cannot answer that question as every state sets its own regs. I can say with utmost assurance that...no matter where the line is drawn...it will always leave some amount of people unhappy. There are hunters on both sides of the GC issue and they often disagree philosophically about how to regulate their use.
^...true. I don't now where it stops either. In the broader sense....that is why the comment above about being careful what you ask for kinda struck a note to me in this discussion.
"What does pulling your stands and blinds every day from public land have to do with ethos and fair chase?"
Nothing. It has to do with keeping public land public and not allowing someone to lay claim to a spot they may or may not hunt.
If you put your camera and tree stand on a prime spot in public hunting land. Then on opening day I beat you to that spot and sit in your stand, are you going to smile and walk away, or are going to be pissed?
I do not think it "right" or "ethical" to sit in somebody's blind, treestand, or truck. But I if you beat me to the location and use your own blind or treestand, so be it.
"Nothing. It has to do with keeping public land public and not allowing someone to lay claim to a spot they may or may not hunt."
Public land is just that...public....you can hunt most anywhere ya want. I believe many states do not allow you to keep your stand or blind up year round just to address the folks who try to claim a spot or tree is theirs. We (MI) have dates when stands/blinds can go up and when they have to be pulled. That said, if someone on public land chooses to hunt near where they know someone else is hunting, it's not illegal. IMO it's not cool, but it's not illegal. That is a hazard of public land hunting that everyone has to accept. I try to pick spots that I know other hunters aren't hunting. Sometimes it works...sometimes not.
Maybe applicable in an odd way:
I used to ice fish on Saginaw Bay. Some guys would tow their permanent shanty miles out on the ice and leave it for many weeks. They were legally required to put their name and address on the outside of it for ownership identification. I recall talking with a C.O. out there once and asked him what would happen if someone other than the owner used an unoccupied shanty. He told me it was definitely not illegal and he had seen it done several times. He said it would be illegal to move, remove or take someone's property from the ice or from public land (think boat, tree stand, camera, shanty, tent) but not illegal to make use of it when they aren't there. Now...what happens when they show up is another matter of course.
Yes, you can hunt anywhere you want. Just take your property with you when you're done for the day.
For the record, I will leave a stand up where legal but would gladly make the sacrifice if everyone had to take them down at the end of the day like some of the public parcels I hunt require. I also started putting a few cams out on public but, again, wouldn't be heart broken if that were to become illegal.
Not a big deal either way. I'm not going to start a petition, just a wish list.
Kevin Dill, people don't lock their ice houses?
I recall the majority of shanties had no locks on them. I know it was absolutely illegal to lock the door on an occupied shanty. I guess the basic premise is you can make use of another's property as long as you don't willfully move, relocate, steal or damage it.
I would never sit in someone else's stand. Just making a point that it would be perfectly legal to do so. It's also perfectly legal to take it down and turn it in to the authorities, since it can't legally be left there overnight. Again, I personally wouldn't do it. I would just hunt right next to it if that's the spot I wanted to hunt, and was the first one there.
X-man brings up some great points. Too many guys leave out multiple cameras and stands on public and tie up the area. I avoid them because after talking to a few of them know that they will still hunt the stand if they come AFTER somebody else is set up nearby. They told me that since their stand is already there they are not going elsewhere. So they get the spot and it doesn't matter if they are there first or second. The etiquette is if someone is there 1st you move on to another spot. Why I use a climber on public and carry in/out every hunt.
Rocky D.......".I mean if you and your girl was out hiking and the mood hit you should not have to worry about trail cameras." I agree with this
ha. well this took like in a way I would not have thought.
I fully understand the wanting to hike public and not be caught. Were in Missouri and I'm not sure anyone in their right mind would go for a hike in the areas I'm hunting haha
I don't leave stands on public to claim a spot but I see plenty of them. I hang and hunt exclusively and recently have tried some saddle hunting which is handy for those long walks on public. Im wanting to be using cameras to find deer on areas of low deer density where sign can be very misleading. The use of cameras would simply help me learn the area. I can't think of why this would be any more intrusive that being in a tree as someone walked by and them not seeing you. lastly I don't believe this to be an ethics issue. we all have a different line of what ethics/fair chase is and what it should be. If your using insulated hunting clothes, range finder, wheel bow or a truck to get to your hunting spot I can see an argument for any of these being an unfair advantage so I firmly believe in do what excites you and don't break the law. Running cameras to pattern mature deer excites me and I would do it on public land too if it weren't against the law.
