[John Henry]

Hello,

In Minnesota can you use Drones to scout hunting areas? Basically fly around and see if/where game are and get a feel for the land? I know the DNR book says cannot take game, not sure if this means no drones period or no dropping missiles from drones?

ThNks!

 

[CopperniX]

I have always read cannot take game as meaning it can't be used to directly harvest an animal. That being said if I used a drone in northern MN I would probably lose it in every tree in the area at once and immediately.

 

[AK Hunter]

As long as you didn't have a weapon with you as you were scouting it would probably be ok. But I would check with a CO before I would attempt it.

 

[BigEd63]

I think a Hellfire missile might waste too much meat anyways.

 

[Junction15]

^I dunno - with a little seasoning, that Hellfire might produce a lot of jerky!

More seriously though, would you need permits and FAA red tape to use a drone over land you don't own?

 

[SUBMOA]

I have used Google Earth as a means to see natural funnels to where game will be channeled through one area and where to expect traffic. If you have a known spot where you know that there is high traffic , look that area up and see why the traffic is heavy there.

 

[AK Hunter]

I have used Google Earth as a means to see natural funnels to where game will be channeled through one area and where to expect traffic. If you have a known spot where you know that there is high traffic , look that area up and see why the traffic is heavy there.

I use satellite maps to scout during off seasons or for new areas. If you get maps from past years you can see how the area is changing & if you know deer they are a creature of habit. They will continue to use trails long after the area has grown up. So a pinch point of a few years ago may still be hot even if it has grown over & edges from an old growth to new growth will have a lot of traffic because deer love to run the edges of areas.