game heat detectors.....do they work?

Kromag100 · Post by **Kromag100** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:58 am

I was thinking about purchasing one of the game heat detectors. I shot two deer this year and walked by them in the dark for hours it seems until I got lucky enough to find them. Both were just before dark and no blood from the shot at all. I had to track dirt disruptions in the soil. UGH. I was hoping someone had a good experiance with one and could clue me in.

thank you all,

Tom

Bow Life · Post by **Bow Life** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:09 am

My dad bought one and didnt really have good luck with it. We may have been using it wrong however i found it hard to use/not effective.

Leonard Hawkins · Post by **Leonard Hawkins** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 4:39 pm

Me and nephew both have these for a couple of years. We have had no luck with them, they pick up the heat from almost every tree and keep us confused. Hawk

Woody Williams · Post by **Woody Williams** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 6:01 pm

Dunno... but they are illegal to use in Indiana for any deer hunting purpose..

We can use tracking dogs on a leash though..

Phoenix_Tom · Post by **Phoenix_Tom** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 7:29 pm

Woody Williams wrote:Dunno... but they are illegal to use in Indiana for any deer hunting purpose..

We can use tracking dogs on a leash though..

Do they require that the tracking dog be licensed?

If so, could it be that they figure they can't make money with a technological solution to recovering game so they prohibit it?

I'm not trying to disparage Indiana. It's just that live in the land of cash grabbing government and I'm curious.

Woody Williams · Post by **Woody Williams** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:19 pm

Phoenix_Tom wrote:
Woody Williams wrote:Dunno... but they are illegal to use in Indiana for any deer hunting purpose..

We can use tracking dogs on a leash though..
Do they require that the tracking dog be licensed?

If so, could it be that they figure they can't make money with a technological solution to recovering game so they prohibit it?

I'm not trying to disparage Indiana. It's just that live in the land of cash grabbing government and I'm curious.

Domestic animals - dogs, as well as cats, in Indiana are supposed to be licensed. How many are is a big question.

There is no "tracking dog license" that I know of.

crazyfarmer · Post by **crazyfarmer** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:31 pm

just something else to get money from you;)

as said, chances are they will pick up heat from everything in the woods so you will get mixed readings all the time.

Pydpiper · Post by **Pydpiper** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:12 am

Probably depends on the one you buy. A few years ago I was doing some work for the city of Brantford, a mother coon had her litter In the walls of a large building in a cemetery. The noise was there but it was impossible to pinpoint the pups so I didn't know where to start chipping away at the cement.
The head of the parks division showed up and called in a buddy of his from the fire department. This guy showed up with a handheld unit with a screen on it, to see if it was working he touched the wall with his hand, then looked at it through that heat sensor. You could see the outline of his hand on the wall for about 5 minutes, that was in the summer.
Took him about 2 seconds to locate the coons, it was like looking at the walls with an X-Ray machine. I could count all the pups and see them move right on this handheld unit.
In the bush it would be way beyond cheating, it would show the outline of every animal for as far as the eye can see. Said it worth around 10K.

Phoenix_Tom · Post by **Phoenix_Tom** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:48 am

Back to the topic at hand. I've heard exactly what the 2posts above are saying. The detector is useless. The viewer on the other hand, is wickedly effective. With the thermal viewer you can see where they bedded down for the night, follow tracks a deer recently walked and pick up a deer thru thick stuff that your can't even tell there's a deer. They work well in overcast and low light. Forget about it in direct sun. But at $10k each, who can afford them?