Game camera...is it cheating?

[sdb777]

I use game cameras to scout areas I want to hunt.  I have a job and can't be in two places at once, so I do what I need to do.  Some folks have called my game camera's cheating....What are the views of others here?  Be honest.....

Scott (picture this eight point) B

[hawkenman]

I used game cameras at my deer stands for years and really liked them until they quit working. Now I  just scout until I find lots of scrapes and rubs and sit on them. The anticipation is great, at one stand there are scrapes the size of washtubs, and rubs on 5 inch trees. I don't have a picture of the deer but I can fantisize what they will be. It makes my hunting more enjoyable. But next season I will have a couple of  game cameras going.

[jhm]

How can the use of game cameras be cheating, all it will show you is that a deer WAS there, you have to be there to see that the deer IS there, scouting is another TOOL to make your hunting experience rewarding, is scouting CHEATING over someone who doesnt have the TIME or MONEY to spend every waking moment in the woods??  Am I cheating since I own my land here that I hunt on and live on everyday, I have the opertunity to see the deer from start to finish, I use feeders abt. 9 mo. out of the year and they really love okra in the food plots, I will usually harvest 2 deer a year and all the feeding and foodplots help out somewhere in the neighborhood of 60+ deer and other wildlife, just keep using you camera its just another technology that we have to make life rewarding.   JIM

[beemanbeme]

I've never used them but have never thought of them as cheating.  Would hiring a guide that spends his off season tracking the game be considered cheating?  Would chipping in on a hunting lease to avoid the rush and turmoil of public hunting be considered cheating? It's your hunting dollars, spend them like you want.
I think you've run onto some sour grapes "friends".  Blow 'em off and find some new folks to hang with.

[elmer]

I don't think it's cheating.

One of the side effects we have seen on our lease is that guys will let those 3 1/2 year old 8 pointers walk and hunt for that 5 1/2 year old 10 pointer they saw on their game cam. Often unsucessfully.

[Land_Owner]

Your so called "friends" are jealous of your equipment, perseverance, motivation, and in particular your results.  I would AVOID discussing it further with them.  One of them is going to steal your "imaged prize".  A real friend will applaud your success and help you attain your goal.

Your camera is, as jhm says, just another, albeit passive, TOOL.  Use it and follow beemanbeme's advice...get "some new folks to hang with".

[shooter]

Game camera's cheating ? I say "heck no".Last year i had many deer with dates and times recorded on my deer cam.I didnt see any of these deer in the areas where i had photographed them.I eventually took a 8 pointer that i had captured on film but he wasnt where he was supposed to be...lol.When the season starts ,all bets are off as to their daily patterns.This year all im seeing is does and that has me worried.I've moved my camera's alot this summer,usually every 1 to 2 weeks i'll move it to a diferant trail.So ,if you ask me is it cheating....heck no.
Shooter

[Dusty Miller]

At some point it is no longer "hunting" but is a matter of whose technology is better, the human's or the game animal's

[Redhawk1]

No it is not cheating, I use it as a tool to see what is in my hunting spot or area. There is no garentee that you will see the game there during hunting season.
Who cares what other think, it is what you feel that matters, also if it is legal do it. 

[Tackleberry]

Game camera's are gonna make someone a million bucks one day when they finally capture a valid picture of (1)Bigfoot/sasquatch/ skunk man (2) ET (3) Chupacabra (4) Nessie

Other that that they are fun, and at least will keep someone motivated that there is game in the area. Possibilities!!!!

[rickyp]

I do not think a game camera is cheating but it can catch a cheating spouse .

I had one cor a few years until it stopped working for some reason.  Mine would trigger for no reason I got some good pictures of he sun and tree branching moving. I also have some good pictures of a big doe sticking her nose on the camera. all they show you is what and how was around that one spot nothing grantees that they will ever come back to the same spot

[Wynn]

I have come to view mine as a sideline hobby. I keep my Moultrie infra red/digital going year round. It is amazing what it can capture when placed in the right location and it is a excellent tool to determine that "right" location as well. It can hold a thousand + pics with a cheap SD card and will pay for itself in film costs in no time. The quality of shots can be surprisingly good.

[sdb777]

I have had great results getting the 'patterns' worked out using my camera's(I have nine in the woods).  I pretty much know that all those great trophies are using the night to become big, better animals, and the younger(2.5yr olds) are gonna be in the freezer before too long!  Already harvested my first eight-point this year and I still have three tags available to fill.  Looking to get another one this weekend-big eight(wide rack-pruty deer), he comes by the feeder every morning at 7:17am and again at 10:34am....I let him walk once hoping for the high rack 12 that use to show up at 4:30pm -ish until the shooting started.

Would I ever been able to 'pattern' deer for this season without the camera's......not a chance!  Technology is great, but how much is too much?  I'll continue to use them until Game & Fish says it's a no-no.



Thanks for all the responses!




Scott (19,755 pictures this season) B