Thermal Drones for Deer Recovery are here.

[Jswarren831]

can you mount a gun to one of them?....asking for a friend.....

Lol, no - FAA wouldn’t like that very much

 

[Jswarren831]

Would love to see footage of what it shows.

Would love to see footage of what it shows.

 

[Toliver]

The ones I was watching weren't able to recover them once the drone was deployed and the deer was found. You basically just got to look at the pictures of the dead/wounded deer. I don't recall what state he was working in but the law had something to do with pursuing game with that specific technology.

I saw a video that had that happen.. "Yep, there's your deer dead right there. But now you can't get it because we used a drone to find it."

I don't think it mentioned what state but the comments, almost all of them, was to the effect of it being a bad law and the responsibility of citizens to ignore such laws and stuff like that. I would think eventually legislation would have to fix that. You're not hunting or pursuing wildlife with it, you're recovering a body. Or finding it so it can be put out of its misery if it's wounded. Hopefully Georgia doesn't have some stupid obscure law that we're unaware of that would be an issue in such a case.

 

[kmckinnie]

A sticky thread is up about this.
Started a list of drone Operators !

 

[Whit90]

Technology is a double edged sword. Idk about yall but I sure wish I could rewind time and hit the pause button.

 

[godogs57]

I’d like to see how well it works when the trees are full of leaves and in these thick planted pines I know my thermal don’t work well at all in thick woods

This guy’s thermal imaging worked perfectly, showing critters buried under Hurricane Michael debris and downed trees. We were watching heat signatures of coons and possums rooting under the brush. It was that good.

With respect to a prior comment inferring that it might be difficult to reach a drone found animal due to terrain, as opposed to a dog finding it….I'm having trouble understanding your logic. If either found it, go get your deer. Period. The drone can hover over the deer and you make your way there,using the drone as a guide.

I still liked the idea that the area could still be hunted the next day if we wanted to. The deer were not buggered up.

Y’all need to see one work to believe it. Amazing tool. The downside is of course, someone using one for the wrong reasons. I know of a few people that are not hunting any more that, thank God, didn’t have this technology back when they were hunting with Q Beams.

 

[godogs57]

It will be very limited. Even the big units on helicopters are limited to visibility. If there are openings and the target is visible they are wonderful tools. But you also have to figure in target identification. I've been on more than a few tracks for people and the operator will say "I have a heat source but can't positively ID". It takes boots on the ground to go see what it is. Thermal, dogs, and people in some combination will reduce the number of lost deer. Of that there is no doubt.

He didn’t have what this guy had apparently. Like I said earlier , this guys outfit was 20 grand. He was hovering above armadillos at 250 feet, in the brush, and you could clearly see the bands around his shell. Over deer bedded down, you could see their ears twitch.

 

[175rltw]

This guy’s thermal imaging worked perfectly, showing critters buried under Hurricane Michael debris and downed trees. We were watching heat signatures of coons and possums rooting under the brush. It was that good.

With respect to a prior comment inferring that it might be difficult to reach a drone found animal due to terrain, as opposed to a dog finding it….I'm having trouble understanding your logic. If either found it, go get your deer. Period. The drone can hover over the deer and you make your way there,using the drone as a guide.

I still liked the idea that the area could still be hunted the next day if we wanted to. The deer were not buggered up.

Y’all need to see one work to believe it. Amazing tool. The downside is of course, someone using one for the wrong reasons. I know of a few people that are not hunting any more that, thank God, didn’t have this technology back when they were hunting with Q Beams.

It sounds like

This guy’s thermal imaging worked perfectly, showing critters buried under Hurricane Michael debris and downed trees. We were watching heat signatures of coons and possums rooting under the brush. It was that good.

With respect to a prior comment inferring that it might be difficult to reach a drone found animal due to terrain, as opposed to a dog finding it….I'm having trouble understanding your logic. If either found it, go get your deer. Period. The drone can hover over the deer and you make your way there,using the drone as a guide.

I still liked the idea that the area could still be hunted the next day if we wanted to. The deer were not buggered up.

Y’all need to see one work to believe it. Amazing tool. The downside is of course, someone using one for the wrong reasons. I know of a few people that are not hunting any more that, thank God, didn’t have this technology back when they were hunting with Q Beams.

Follow the drone? Like the North Star? Out into the swamp? Over the edge of the ravine? Through the air across the canyon?
Here’s a for instance. Blue ridge WMA / Winding Stair Gap. I could hover a Blackhawk over your dead deer or fly a route between you and it until it composted and grew a tree from the acorns in his belly and you wouldn’t get him.


Again, I’ve seen recoveries where knowing the location was worth little without having the trail to follow to the location. Because the terrain didn’t lend itself to cross country travel. For one of any of the aforementioned reasons and more. Anyway, for all the reasons I mentioned in my first post I think it has a lot of merit in plenty of situations - and clearly yours is one of them. Fortunately for you, you’ve got access to the technology meow. Like a lot of other hunters I hunt a good bit in public land where it’ll be a “while” before this is available, and beyond that I hunt in places where you will find yourself confronted with shots that you have to pass on because you wouldn’t be able to get to the animal. You could see it, but not get to it. So while I appreciate the value this service brings to portions of the community- I also recognize that there are shortcomings that make it of limited value to other hunters.

 

[HughW2]

What does a visit cost from drone operator? To track a wounded or lost deer? To do a herd or trophy buck assessment on a piece of property for say most of a day? Didn’t see any prices listed on website.

 

[cowhornedspike]

It sounds like

Follow the drone? Like the North Star? Out into the swamp? Over the edge of the ravine? Through the air across the canyon?
Here’s a for instance. Blue ridge WMA / Winding Stair Gap. I could hover a Blackhawk over your dead deer or fly a route between you and it until it composted and grew a tree from the acorns in his belly and you wouldn’t get him.

So you are saying you could get there with a dog but not without one even knowing where the deer is located? LOL
Once you know where it is you FIND A WAY to get there...period. And if there is no way there then you wouldn't have gotten to that point with a dog either.

 

[sleepr71]

Cool technology. Expensive(for both parties)…but this should save the day,when that Buck of a Lifetime decides to run into that 5 year old clear cut & bury under BlackBerry vines.

 

[Jswarren831]

What does a visit cost from drone operator? To track a wounded or lost deer? To do a herd or trophy buck assessment on a piece of property for say most of a day? Didn’t see any prices listed on website.

PM sent

 

[bfriendly]

Just wanted to let everyone know that if you need help locating a deer using a thermal drone, let me know. I’d be happy to help. I purchased the same kit that is used by mike at drone deer recovery and am helping people out all over. I am listed as a pilot on the dronedeerrecovery.com website - Name is Josh Warren. Local to the woodstock north ga area but will travel. YOu can also reach me at techdrivenrecovery@gmail.com or my cell at 470-680-9709. I can help on most any private land but public land is out of the question due to laws and Regs with the FAA. Let me know if you have any questions.

My cousin in Kentucky was telling me about this. He may get signed up himself. I think it’s pretty cool!

 

[basshappy]

The sad truth is ethically challenged horn hunters are already using drones to find their "trophies" and kill them. I doubt they have a drone model above their shoulder mount just as I doubt they have a can of corn under their shoulder mount. Using the technology to rescue, save and find is awesome. Misusing it is the problem.

 

[Core Lokt]

PM sent

We all want to know.

 

[kmckinnie]

The sad truth is ethically challenged horn hunters are already using drones to find their "trophies" and kill them. I doubt they have a drone model above their shoulder mount just as I doubt they have a can of corn under their shoulder mount. Using the technology to rescue, save and find is awesome. Misusing it is the problem.

I place the empty sack with the empty shell under it.

 

[godogs57]

So you are saying you could get there with a dog but not without one even knowing where the deer is located? LOL
Once you know where it is you FIND A WAY to get there...period. And if there is no way there then you wouldn't have gotten to that point with a dog either.

You beat me to it. You should have seen the 350 yard, 45 degree down angle mess we had to go through to get my elk in October. 9:30’ish in the morning until 2:00, 2:30 in the afternoon. You have an animal down, you obviously do what you have to do to get it out. And I’m not implying anyone on here wouldn’t do the same thing.

We all want to know.

The guys down here charge about $250 to find your deer. He stated he had a greater than 90% recovery rate, which I thought was unreal. Up to the individual hunter and their situation to decide if $250 is in their budget.

 

[godogs57]

The sad truth is ethically challenged horn hunters are already using drones to find their "trophies" and kill them. I doubt they have a drone model above their shoulder mount just as I doubt they have a can of corn under their shoulder mount. Using the technology to rescue, save and find is awesome. Misusing it is the problem.

Yessir! Saw that while the guy was doing his job with the drone. An ethically challenged outlaw could have easily killed the big buck we observed Thanksgiving night. He was about 400 yards from us, completely unaware he was being observed. AR with a thermal scope….it would have been pretty easy to sneak up on him. I suppose the outlaw element in our chosen sport will always find a way to take the easy way out....hate it.

 

[shdw633]

Drones are being used big time in our area in Ohio. One of our members used on on a deer he shot and found blood but they couldn't find it, even with the drone. The cost up there for him was $400 for the guy to come out and look

 

[kmckinnie]

Drones are being used big time in our area in Ohio. One of our members used on on a deer he shot and found blood but they couldn't find it, even with the drone. The cost up there for him was $400 for the guy to come out and look

Did he try a dog tracker. Just wondering.