Bassattackr
Well-Known Member
Spot on - Impossible to control others (lack of) ethics.
Spot on - Impossible to control others (lack of) ethics.
Rous14
PMA Member
No doubt about it. Doubt you’ll get anyone to disagree with ya here.
I don’t see how this could be even remotely accurate, way too many variables. I would think you’d need to do this multiple times in different seasons over the course of a few years to truly get a good estimate. What happens if a pack of coyotes or trespassers walk thru the farm before the survey? Or it’s January and you have the only food for miles? Or the opposite, you have none but your neighbor 2 miles away does.
Rous14
PMA Member
When you say “accurate” you’re probably referencing the deer density part of the info it would give you. Just as interesting to me is where and how the deer are bedding regardless if I have a handful more or less deer than an average day bc of the potential scenarios you describe. On my farm there’s always coyotes around, bobcats too. Would take a pretty unique scenario to drastically affect the numbers on any particular day but youre right it is just a single snapshot in time. And I agree, comparing one year to the next, especially if you do a bunch of habitat work, would definitely be beneficial and enlightening. Winke and Higgins both guessed pretty close to what the survey showed in terms of # of deer on their farm so I think it’s more accurate than you think. Just my opinion.
For anyone that is interested in this type of service, there is another Drone company called Delta Drone Survey. They are out of north Louisiana, but travel. They have provided impressive imagery and have flown a lot of acres with great results. Just thought I would give someone another option if they are interested.
Delta Drone Surveys, LLC | Lake Providence LAfacebook.com
Delta Drone Surveys, LLC | Lake Providence LAfacebook.com
hillrunner
PMA Member
I agree with much of this. Cameras have already eliminated a lot of the mystery that deer used to have for me. I used to believe a true monster could show up any time and that kept me going. Anymore, I pretty much know what I'll have to hunt on any given year before the season even opens.
I wouldn't get a drone survey done if it was free. Not because I have high and mighty ethics, simply because it will reduce my enjoyment in the woods. I want the mystery back, not the opposite. I'm ok with what I don't know, I actually wish I knew a little less most times. Every year there's large areas of my farms I don't hunt because cameras show that nothing I want to kill is there. It was more fun when I was hunting those spots with the belief that a big one could show up any second.
I think people are missing the intest of the drone survey a bit. It's not a tool to figure out where a mature buck is and go kill him. That doesn't sit with me well.
I view it from a habitat/conservation perspective.
Is your farm holding ample deer?
Do you have enough bedding cover?
Is there enough depth of cover to satisfy mature bucks?
Are deer preferring certain topographic features?
Are deer bedding near food?
Do you need to add more food to get more deer bedding on farm?
Etc etc
I view it from a habitat/conservation perspective.
Is your farm holding ample deer?
Do you have enough bedding cover?
Is there enough depth of cover to satisfy mature bucks?
Are deer preferring certain topographic features?
Are deer bedding near food?
Do you need to add more food to get more deer bedding on farm?
Etc etc
bwese
Active Member
Well put 1983.
Those are the exact is reasons I'm having my 80 acre farm done. I have no delusions of my 80 ever being the deer mecca that large properties can be. I'm just trying to make it the best 80 acre deer hunting property it can be for my family, vets, friends and myself to hunt. Wildlife habitat is my passion and that is where I put a lot of my time and money. The drone work is just another tool I'm going to use to help make and gauge improvements.
On a different note that is running in this thread. I run cell cams to give me an idea of what's running around without going in to check cameras and ruining chances for a deer we'd be thrilled to get. Cell cams have saved so many deer on my property and have allowed many of those deer to gain another year of age. One can only hunt so many spots so many times before burning the area out. We just hunt our edges and hunt the stands that the winds are good for. We hunt way less days than we used to and see way more deer than we used to. We've averaged one buck per year on this farm since we owned it(the bucks we're after are at minimum 4.5). The most bucks taken on this farm in one year has been 3 and that was once. Otherwise its a lot of zero years with a few one's and two years thrown in.
The cameras, both cell and non cell have helped my catch trespassers/thieves in the first few years I used them. I haven't had any evidence of trespassers in a while and I think it's because word got out after prosecution. Thank you cameras.
I do run non cell cams and put those out in Aug when I put out the other cams. I don't pull their cards until Thanksgiving time and then again in Jan or Feb. Those are like Christmas for sure.
The survey will help me gauge my doe numbers and I can act accordingly in the January antlerless season if their numbers are higher than I believe my property can sustain for herd health.
I would say a walk thru your property a few days after a fresh snow could show you the same things that a drone could.
hesseu
Well-Known Member
I completely agree with these. That's why I tried to carefully state "I love the idea of thermal drones, but I hate the direction it could take "hunting".' They DEFINITATELY can be an extremely valuable tool with all the information they provide. Truth be told, I've thought about using one for these exact same reasons. I believe all of them are very reasonable. Especially on a farm like ours where we have done so much habitat work. It would be an incredible case study to see if what we think works, actually works
It would take weeks of hunting / boots on the ground data collection down to minimal time. I think keeping to a list like you have outlined above is great under the category of "management". However, you and I both know, that "management" line gets blurred real quick with the "hunting" side due to human nature. I don't believe their is a "right" answer. My only answer that I currently have, is that I have an 11 year old daughter and twin boys who are 7. When they are my age, they can decide whether or not they want to hunt and be passionate about it like I am am. But, I will raise them in outdoors without as much electronics / screens as possible since they are inundated with them at every turn in their life. It takes a conscious, intentional effort today from parents to get kids away from the screens.
Rous14
PMA Member
Exactly right. Thats why I’ve said that if it’s after the season is over it feels ok to me. Not trying to use it as a real-time locator of a target buck to go in and try to kill him. In fact I’d love to see the states make any sort of drone usage for management/surveys/data collection unlawful during any open deer season.
Daver
PMA Member
Totally agree. ^^ I have no doubt that, if legal, some would not hesitate to "fly" their property prior to a hunt so as to see where EXACTLY Mr. Big is hanging and then go "hunt" accordingly. These drones are flying high enough and/or quiet enough that they do not spook the deer AND the cams on them are so good that you could definitely identify a given buck via air.
Then...if they were filming their hunts for mass consumption I would not be surprised to hear them exclaim..."I cannot believe that just happened...let's go!". For real. I confess...one of my pet peeves is watching a video of a hunt where they have a buck super dialed via whatever means, cell cams being the most "effective" and then they shoot the beast and act like it was a giant surprise. Um, yeah, no...you knew that this thing was going to step out almost to the minute of when it did...don't go acting all surprised. /rant