Could be the regs on the Game and Fish website hasn’t been updated? Which means new hard copies should have the info? If not maybe they will put a reminder in with the tags when mailed to the winners of the draw. Otherwise there will be confusion. Right now there is no banners on the website showing the new rule.

Just looked up what the rule says. The ban is for “live feed” cameras not the type that stores the info on a card for viewing later. The phrase “live feed” is the key. Not unlike using aircraft or drones or satellite images.

my thinking is like Sailor's

So.....I'm NOT the only sick puppy ! Ha good one MrGreen. See...group talk covers all the plusses and minuses of a situation.😉

I’m sure I’m not the only one inspired (well, maybe ”amused” is a better word) by your pursuit, Chuck. We all need a goal, buddy!

Just promise us all you’re going to be ok if you discover that Bigfoot and neighbor lady are sneaking around on their spouses with each other. That could be a crushing blow, I know. Maybe we should ban trail cams after all... 🤠

I have em out so i can get shots of Bigfoot. Or the neighbor lady walking the woods naked. BTW...neither has happened yet. Mike.....you stay outta my woodlot.

I own and use trail cameras year round. For those of you that have never used one I highly recommend trying one out. I have got amazing photos over the years. I have had so much year round fun using cameras I would hate for them to be dreamed illegal In my state. I know we all live in different parts of the country and hunt different species, in different habitats so I understand differences in opinions on the use of trail cameras. Last year I let my 70 year old dad use one of my cameras. He hated the idea of even trying one out until he got a photo of a little rag horn bull on the camera. He was like a little kid with a new toy after that. I don’t think I will ever get that camera back.

This was posted on the WV Bowsite state forum by a game commissioner from WV.

This has been boiling in AZ for several years. Lots of public land with waterholes in arid areas. Not uncommon for a single waterhole to have 20-30 cameras on it . Impossible to hunt as people checking cameras 24 hrs a day. Wild game getting run off their only water source. People waiting 15-30 years for a deer, elk, or sheep tag and outfitters and private hunters running dozens and dozens of cameras trying to find an animal. Physical fights over waterholes.

I do not own or use trail cameras and believe if the AZ commissioners had said, we are following MT and NV in banning the use of trail cameras during hunting seasons because it represents a conflict with the rules of fair chase, they could have avoided, or prevented a backlash. The state, and or hunters have extended special hunts that cover 365 days under special permits. So they would either need to cancel AZ special hunts or ban the trail cameras. The state and sportsman organizations have installed guzzlers, that are mapped, state wide to save wildlife. The drought that has lasted two decades has made it necessary to install guzzlers for all species of wildlife including species not hunted, and the placement, maintenance and removal of trail cams puts all wildlife at risk, making it necessary for some to water at night to avoid human conflict.

Didn't read the article, but i suspect one reason for banning them in Arizona was to head off the potential fights over camera placement and subsequent hunting on a limited number of water holes.

I don't mind a person placing a camera on the back 40 to get some pix of wildlife, but I'm against them for hunting. Read a so called "primer" on trail cam use on one of the archery sites a while back. The fella had nearly 40 camers set out on a section of land.

With that many cameras, it's pretty easy to identify and pattern every shootable critter on the property. The hunter can know not only when the animal moves, but also exactly where and how. Not too difficult then to place oneself in position to intercept the deer.

Too, nowadays, the "hunter" doesn't even need to go into the woods to check the cameras for pictures. He can have the pictures beamed back to his cell phone or computer in real time. Saw that in my neck of the woods a few years ago. Younger guy came driving down the road rather fast. We know each other so I flagged him down to talk. He said he had to keep going. Just saw a nice buck on one of his camers (from his cabin) and he needed to get to where he had another camera positioned (on the course the deer was taking) before the deer got there in about 20 minutes.

A lot of these heavy camera use fellas see these deer so oftgen, they can identify any behavioral quirks or slight physical abnormalities or differences, usually going so far as to name them based on some of those characteristics. Certainly not fair chase in my opinion. More akin to farming than hunting.

I have had one for several years, and the only thing I ever used it for was to determine what was eating my wife's roses. Since I own my own small tract of land, I am well familiar with it, so scouting is not a difficult task. Besides, I enjoy scouting. I know a lot of people like to keep up with the development of particular deer and other such specialized tasks. I don't pursue horns, so mostly I want to know where the deer are coming in. Actually, it doesn't bother me one way or the other, but I am sure the guys in AZ will have strong opinions. I am a cynical old bastard, so I can only wonder if the politically active anti- hunters are behind it as just one step toward outlawing hunting overall. Nothing to back up that feeling, though.

I have one that I bought about 8 years ago. Used it for a bit and it has been just sitting in my shop. It never seemed to show me anything that I did not already know.

I have never used a trail camera and don’t plan on ever using one. I prefer to keep it simple and low tech. That’s one of the reasons I hunt with a longbow and wood arrows. I do think it would be interesting to see what animals happen to wander by that you would never see otherwise. But I‘m not interested in using one for hunting.

I don’t own any trail cams but know a couple of guys who do. Usually for Elk hunting. But the last comment I heard from one guy was his camera was one of a least a doz he saw around a water hole. Yes, hunting pressure is an issue and with forest fires, closures and drought it will be worst. I see season closures next.

Oh, and no baiting and no scents using urine.

I never used a trail cam that’s why I said I don’t have a stake in this however, I do like looking at the pictures taken from a trail cam.

I don't generally use cameras for hunting. But i own three. I have gotten thousands of pix of deer, bobcat, house cat, dogs, coyotes, foxes, people, skunks, coons, porkapines, grouse, turkeys, owls, , bears. Even an otter...on the "road cam" 50 yards from my cabin in da UP. I found out a hell of a trail passes right in front of it.

I don't own, nor have I used, any trail cameras, so any opinion I express here would be firmly rooted in ignorance on the topic, so of course I'll chime in, lol. In all honesty, deer are plentiful around here, and not particularly hard to hunt. Most folks around me can learn their travel, feeding and bedding locations and habits in a week or less. As a trad guy that's had modest success for 40+ years based primarily on old-school scouting techniques, I've never really given cameras much thought, but then, I haven't been without a flip phone for very long, lol. I guess ignorance is bliss.

The article mentions that the state is in the midst of a "20-year drought that focuses game movement on water sources.", and that Arizona is "an arid state with highly limited water sources". If you can't successfully scout and hunt game in those conditions, the lack of a camera probably isn't your problem. Still, I suspect the reasons for the ban given by the Commission are disingenuous. Something doesn't smell right, as my grandfather used to say.

I am interested in folks' opinions who have/use trail cameras, though. What do they do for you? Are you using them to help you locate deer in general or the trophy animals? No judgment implied or forthcoming. Just interested in how you benefit by their use.

I am thankful I live in a state that supports and promotes healthy conservation. If scouting via tools like cameras is your thing, I fully support you.