SGA Member views.

[.25-06]

I am sure some of the top end units will give out a reasonable heat record of the background that was not in the response. They are calling for a minimum standard of thermal unit to be used. There are some really pour quality units that wont give true back drops. If the legislation goes through as is then it will mean any one can use any unit.

If you think the unit is poor don't use it for shooting deer. If you can't identify don't shoot. All these rules are a minimum standard anyway if you require a higher standard use one.
Red stags above the tree line on mountains are not really the situation that night shooting is for.

 

[LuckyEddie]

My concern is that there will be people who don’t care about boundaries and see a decent beast in the next field.
Down it goes and who can prove it wasn’t taken off their ground.

Bet there will be more instances of bucks suddenly going missing from grounds.

There will be trouble, but once the genie is out of the bottle it’ll be too late.

 

[@theroedeerguy]

Remember that the use of thermal or nv will most likely ONLY be legal under licence issued by NatureScot in the same way night shooting with a spotlight is currently.

 

[Husky]

Remember that the use of thermal or nv will most likely ONLY be legal under licence issued by NatureScot in the same way night shooting with a spotlight is currently.

Not if they do away with the Night Shooting Licence.

 

[mealiejimmy]

My concern is that there will be people who don’t care about boundaries and see a decent beast in the next field.
Down it goes and who can prove it wasn’t taken off their ground.

Bet there will be more instances of bucks suddenly going missing from grounds.

There will be trouble, but once the genie is out of the bottle it’ll be too late.

That already happens and has been happening for years
Point me to a conviction of someone who shot a deer in Scotland with an NV or thermal scope
Chances are that even if someone were stopped with a dead deer in the back of a vehicle and a rifle with an NV scope fitted lying beside it, the cops probably would not recognise what type of scope it was

Cheers

Bruce

 

[jimmy milnes]

Just to give an instance of an event that happened to me 2 months back.
Out at a piece of ground I help with in Scotland and scanning with my thermal I see a lovely deer at around 140yards, its clear as a bell shining glowing like mad so up with my binoculars to view it an see if it needs taking, low an behold it's stood around 2 yards back I the spindley trees, I think to myself no must be a different deer as that "other" one was bright as a church door knob in Thermal so I go back to the thermal an no it's same deer. So had I had a thermal scope at night maybe I'd of taken the shot. Thankfully that wasn't the case and I don't.
Now some may say no sweat the bullet would have bullied its way through and done the job, but what if it'd glanced a bit of tree an gone too far back or if one of the quiglies on here had head shot and due to the glanced tree smashed its jaw...
Not worth it in my opinion.. but each to there own I guess..
Jimmy

 

[Taff]

Just to give an instance of an event that happened to me 2 months back.
Out at a piece of ground I help with in Scotland and scanning with my thermal I see a lovely deer at around 140yards, its clear as a bell shining glowing like mad so up with my binoculars to view it an see if it needs taking, low an behold it's stood around 2 yards back I the spindley trees, I think to myself no must be a different deer as that "other" one was bright as a church door knob in Thermal so I go back to the thermal an no it's same deer. So had I had a thermal scope at night maybe I'd of taken the shot. Thankfully that wasn't the case and I don't.
Now some may say no sweat the bullet would have bullied its way through and done the job, but what if it'd glanced a bit of tree an gone too far back or if one of the quiglies on here had head shot and due to the glanced tree smashed its jaw...
Not worth it in my opinion.. but each to there own I guess..
Jimmy

Are you sayin there was there was a tree in front of it ? What spotter was you using ? With a decent spotter properly focused it should not glow like mad at that range, you can count the spots on a fallow, have you never clipped a branch in the day time, I will admit to shooting a hole through a cross branch that was five yards away.

 

[jimmy milnes]

Are you sayin there was there was a tree in front of it ? What spotter was you using ? With a decent spotter properly focused it should not glow like mad at that range, you can count the spots on a fallow, have you never clipped a branch in the day time, I will admit to shooting a hole through a cross branch that was five yards away.

Not going to get into a ****in contest about quality of kit but suffice to say its a helion 38 an it stood out like balls on a greyhound and yes spindley trees brash call it what ya like, nobut thicker maybe than a finger..
Jimmy

 

[Taff]

Ah walking through brash, not a tree, sorry

 

[User00053]

Plenty of situations where thermal scopes would be a advantage along with nv in the right hands and places and can be debated till cows come home, but not all situations would lend itself to their use but great tools to have in the box. Imo
If deer causing problems were rabbits no one would have concerns in the slightest in terms of welfare.

 

[David Barker]

Plenty of situations where thermal scopes would be a advantage along with nv in the right hands and places and can be debated till cows come home, but not all situations would lend itself to their use but great tools to have in the box. Imo
If deer causing problems were rabbits no one would have concerns in the slightest in terms of welfare.

But there not rabbits and the main deer getting slapped over at an alarming cost to the public are native deer.

 

[User00053]

But there not rabbits and the main deer getting slapped over at an alarming cost to the public are native deer.

Very emotive subject with many different takes on the subject no longer involved with deer issues or politics in Scotland so more of a internal problem for you guys but in terms of thermal or nv I would personally not rule its use out if available for culling deer situation dependant of course anywhere where safe to do so and legal.