Thread: Thermal gear. Should we have it?

Originally Posted by Hiawatha

OK so I know I am probably opening myself up to plenty of angry responses here. I also know that some of those responses will be along the lines of 'we all have the right to decide how we hunt' etc etc etc. Yawn. I am also ready for the 'back when scopes came out everyone probably said the same thing too' conversation. So lets just for the moment take those ones out of the equation and have a rational chat. To be frank having thermal gear in the hands of all and sundry concerns me. I know that there are a million deer out there in private open country so my question is why do we need thermal gear? I also know the same conversation could be had with spotlighting, but thermal gear is a whole jump up. As a pest control tool it is unparalleled and I have no issue with it's use there. Aside from the wide use by poachers I think there is another subtle risk from it. I think it is just another big nail in the coffin of the very reason why we all hunt. And I say hunt, not shoot folks. I worry that it is creating a culture where people just write a cheque and go shoot deer and more deer more easily. There is very little sport in thermal use that is for sure. I think we are in serious danger of totally and absolutely treating our deer like targets, more than the amazing animals that they are. There has already been an element of that creeping in with some (not all by a long stretch) long range shooting as well. C'mon lets be honest here. I know there are personal variations, but like no other tech ever invented I think thermal gear is potentially an issue. Not only that but when do the deer get a break? At what point do people actually want to do some mahi and work HARDER to be successful, not cut corners? The other thing with thermal is that is if we knew how much it is getting used at night in public land I think we would all get a big fright. No doubt everyone has heard the accounts of open country being hammered by thermal hunters. Like Tussock hut for example. And is it fair to use it in the day time instead of actually having to spot the animal yourself instead of scanning first for a heat signature. At some point I think technology may take us over a line where the very reason we hunt has been watered down to the point it stops being that one basic thing we can count on to take us out of a mad world for a while. and I worry that we are getting awfully close to it. What do people think? Should we be the bigger people and make a call to ditch it and lobby to take it out of the shops? I am not lying awake at night worrying about this but some times it doesn't hurt to ask questions instead of blindly plunging on. We certainly don't need it for recreational hunting and unlike pretty much all other tech it seems to cross a big fat line in ethics. I would appreciate your thoughts.

What's your beef?
Given your recent joining date & low post count; I'd be more concerned that you are a troll looking for another division within a hunting & shooting community....
Nothing personal, but if it's not keeping you awake at night, why not focus on bigger issues - like ensuring we don't all end up with fond memories of hunting with rifles: lobby for something that matters....