Erik Hamburger
Well-Known Member
Teyhan1, I think using a RIFLE is very, very, very unsporting. By all means hunt the way you like, for example lay up in ambush, run after them, and drive them over a cliff! Now that is sporty!
Deer stalking and the use of modern technology
- Thread starter teyhan1
- Start date
Teyhan1, I think using a RIFLE is very, very, very unsporting. By all means hunt the way you like, for example lay up in ambush, run after them, and drive them over a cliff! Now that is sporty!
teyhan1
Well-Known Member
Good god they look as big as a ships porthole and you probably look like Popeye after wearing those for a day.
teyhan1
Well-Known Member
Taystalker
Well-Known Member
With all the nae Sayers to modern technology I am surprised at half the posters using a computer
ChesterP
Well-Known Member
I guess that many of us don't go out wanting a deer at all or any costs. Some of us are content to rely on old fashioned hard work and stalking skills rather than take the easy option of things like thermal imaging and arguably, it is viewed as more sporting that way. It depends entirely on circumstances though.
It is more understandable to use thermal imaging for things like pest control, so I guess where you have large numbers of deer or at least high population densities on land doing lots of damage, that could be viewed differently as the need is for a rapid reduction in population. I can also see the point if chasing down a sick or an injured animal, but personally, I wouldn't resort to this sort of tech for general stalking where the real challenge is in the stalk, and rarely in the shooting.
Ranger22
Well-Known Member
The use of thermal only allows you to find the beasts easier. You still have to have the ability to stalk into them and then shoot. I have been using thermal for a month or so now, it has accounted for seven deer that I more than likely wouldn’t have seen. Over all that equates under ten percent of what I have shot. It’s not the huge game changer people think, it’s just the next step in binocular technology
Freeforester
Well-Known Member
Going back to the original statement, I don't personally accept that deer have changed their habits i.e. from being diurnal and 'routine' feeders to crepuscular/nocturnal, specifically as a response to/because of some advancement in man's advances in technology (in this case uptake in use of improved/optical sights); if they do change behavioural patterns in certain areas (not a universal phenomenon, I personally tend to stalk just as many deer during the daytime as at dawn and dusk), then I would suggest this is mainly in response to human disturbance - be it hunting or otherwise eg traffic, and some cases they have even managed to adapt to the latter successfully and still follow largely diurnal/routine feeding patterns.
In the case of sporting stalking, 'the skill and the thrill's in the stalk, not the kill' , and thus we generally tend to enjoy sport not for its relative ease, but by our overcoming its perceived difficulties; one may stalk with his or her weapon of choice (irrespective of type - bow, rifle, crossbow, spear, etc.) according to ones own personal reasoning, and yet assuming an acceptable level of competency with said weapon within the range intended for its ultimate use, each can equally lay claim to a 'skilful' conclusion of their sport - the skill 'level' is ultimately determined by the individual's recognition of his/her achievement within these self-set parameters.
Numerous examples can be seen around the globe via internet videos and programmes where a variety of tools/weapons may be seen in use, including several, the use of which athough banned for the purpose by legislation in this country, nonetheless are demonstrably capable of getting the act done humanely when used in skilled hands. It should also be borne in mind that it is just as easy to wound an animal with a poorly placed rifle shot as it is a poorly placed arrow or crossbow bolt, and indeed many argue that the 'suffering' of any quarry species unlucky enough to be wounded by shotgun or rifle bullet fragments may be argued to be greater than one wounded by a misplaced arrow; that may or may not be the case, and can be argued upon at some length and indeed to little decisive conclusion, but the main determining factor still remains the combination of competence, confidence, self-discipline and ability - the skill- of the hunter.
How skilful one decides one wishes or determines to be is of course a personal decision; one man may ascribe skill to a long rifle shot successfully pulled off, another may find satisfaction in crawling as close as possible to his intended quarry before thinking of ending the stalk, be this with a photograph via a camera, footage with video, a pleasant memory otherwise unrecorded, or a careful shot from his weapon of choice.
Similarly, his or her choice of equipment to assist them in their sporting pursuit is down to each individual, there being no universal right nor wrong in such chosen items. We tend these days to use binoculars and sights to facilitate recognition, selection, shot placement etc. all as part of the beginning and end game of our pursuit, but the actual act of the stalk (practised to the aforementioned successful conclusion) is still where the skill truly lies.
In the case of sporting stalking, 'the skill and the thrill's in the stalk, not the kill' , and thus we generally tend to enjoy sport not for its relative ease, but by our overcoming its perceived difficulties; one may stalk with his or her weapon of choice (irrespective of type - bow, rifle, crossbow, spear, etc.) according to ones own personal reasoning, and yet assuming an acceptable level of competency with said weapon within the range intended for its ultimate use, each can equally lay claim to a 'skilful' conclusion of their sport - the skill 'level' is ultimately determined by the individual's recognition of his/her achievement within these self-set parameters.
Numerous examples can be seen around the globe via internet videos and programmes where a variety of tools/weapons may be seen in use, including several, the use of which athough banned for the purpose by legislation in this country, nonetheless are demonstrably capable of getting the act done humanely when used in skilled hands. It should also be borne in mind that it is just as easy to wound an animal with a poorly placed rifle shot as it is a poorly placed arrow or crossbow bolt, and indeed many argue that the 'suffering' of any quarry species unlucky enough to be wounded by shotgun or rifle bullet fragments may be argued to be greater than one wounded by a misplaced arrow; that may or may not be the case, and can be argued upon at some length and indeed to little decisive conclusion, but the main determining factor still remains the combination of competence, confidence, self-discipline and ability - the skill- of the hunter.
How skilful one decides one wishes or determines to be is of course a personal decision; one man may ascribe skill to a long rifle shot successfully pulled off, another may find satisfaction in crawling as close as possible to his intended quarry before thinking of ending the stalk, be this with a photograph via a camera, footage with video, a pleasant memory otherwise unrecorded, or a careful shot from his weapon of choice.
Similarly, his or her choice of equipment to assist them in their sporting pursuit is down to each individual, there being no universal right nor wrong in such chosen items. We tend these days to use binoculars and sights to facilitate recognition, selection, shot placement etc. all as part of the beginning and end game of our pursuit, but the actual act of the stalk (practised to the aforementioned successful conclusion) is still where the skill truly lies.
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I would guess though that given how much stalking that you do, that you are better than many at spotting deer. I know that when I am stalking with others that if there is little risk of bumping or missing an opportunity I will wait for them to spot deer that we are moving towards.
So the more stalking you do and the better you know the ground and it's deer, the less of a benefit it has.
kenbro
Well-Known Member
Which God would that be?
Look at the curve of history (and historians forgive me please if my ordering is less than perfect on some points);
hand axe to sharpen pointy sticks
stone points
moccasins
atlatl
bow
compound bow
microlith points
copper
bronze
iron
boots
match lock
wheel lock
flintlock
rifle
percussion
breach loading
metal cartridge
repeating rifles
waterproofs
smokeless
telescopic sights
binoculars
expanding ammunition
range finders
trail cams
night vision
thermal imaging
Man's progress as a hunter is relentless. It is in his nature to want success as a hunter.
It is not stopping.
There is no rewind button.
It is only the latest stages that are ever argued about.
Anyone is free to go back to any stage if he enjoys the handicap and many do just that but the majority move forward and those who go back to an previous stage usually do so for a bit of extra fun not as their only method.
My wife isn't going to like it but I will be getting a thermal imager just as soon as I have saved up
hand axe to sharpen pointy sticks
stone points
moccasins
atlatl
bow
compound bow
microlith points
copper
bronze
iron
boots
match lock
wheel lock
flintlock
rifle
percussion
breach loading
metal cartridge
repeating rifles
waterproofs
smokeless
telescopic sights
binoculars
expanding ammunition
range finders
trail cams
night vision
thermal imaging
Man's progress as a hunter is relentless. It is in his nature to want success as a hunter.
It is not stopping.
There is no rewind button.
It is only the latest stages that are ever argued about.
Anyone is free to go back to any stage if he enjoys the handicap and many do just that but the majority move forward and those who go back to an previous stage usually do so for a bit of extra fun not as their only method.
My wife isn't going to like it but I will be getting a thermal imager just as soon as I have saved up
A deers got it's eyes,nose and ears and it's still here ! oh and five mile snipers that get excited 
mchughcb
Well-Known Member
You forgot the genetic breeding of scent trailing hounds which can be far more effective than all of those technologies listed in the right circumstances.
mchughcb
Well-Known Member
The terrain will dictate if you can do this and generally the deer will double back as they know the terrain very well. Having been involved in a few walking drives the deer are not fussed by the speed of the drive and when the time suits they will double back through the beaters. Deer are not Bison.
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
Sorry mudman but just because you dont like it you shouldnt want it baned, deer dont die because of thermal its not magic and it has uses beyond deer and foxes.
Jake
Jake
Ranger22
Well-Known Member
going by your reasoning deer should be running about in bullet proof hides��
mchughcb
Well-Known Member
Compared to what? Lamping?
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