Wyoming proposes a ban on sale of trophy game coordinates

[optic2]

The outfitters in WY have too much political pull. You can't hunt wilderness areas as a non-resident in WY without a guide. The one excuse I heard was that you may run into a grizzly or be unprepared to deal with the backcountry. But you can go backpacking there all you want. I guess in WY grizzlies only attack hunters and leave the backpackers alone!

[jjhunter]

Hunting and fishing information has been sold for years in one form or another.  I have no issue with it. 

Magazines
MRS
Huntin Fool
Epic Outdoors
GoHunt
Outfitters
Drop Camps
Scouting packages
DIY maps

Seems like it only becomes an issue when big critters are involved. 

[greenhead_killer]

Or the outfitters getting upset they don't have a monopoly on the market.

[idaho guy]

Hunting and fishing information has been sold for years in one form or another.  I have no issue with it. 

Magazines
MRS
Huntin Fool
Epic Outdoors
GoHunt
Outfitters
Drop Camps
Scouting packages
DIY maps

Seems like it only becomes an issue when big critters are involved.

  I see no problem with it either or any difference from what has already been done. Like it or not hunting for some people is becoming a money game. I actually enjoy the scouting part of the hunt but if I was going blind out of state and did not have the time to scout this seems like a reasonable deal. You still have to hunt and they are not tying bucks up to trees

[dreadi]

It's the same as gathering information on the ground vs gathering it from the air. Insert the correct military lexicon if you prefer.

[Stein]

This is what prompted them to write the proposed new law:

http://www.monstermuleys.com/hunt-consulting-scouting/


Here's another Wyoming scouting service in which they use airplanes to locate trophy animals:


http://wescout4u.com/public-land-scouting-packages/wyoming-scouting-packages/

In my estimation, my services can improve your odds of harvesting a "special" buck by 4000%

So, if you have a 10% chance of harvesting a great buck and you pay him, your chances go up to 400%!  That's worth the money right there.   

[goldenhtr]

I see no problem with this guy scouting for a deer you may see or not. He makes a great point about out of state hunters or the very busy hunter and the time it takes to scout these beasts. I DO NOT agree with using aircraft to spot animals. That just seems wrong, to me that's no different than using a drone to get over the next ridge to see if anything is over there.
 before hiking over there. What this first guy does is no different than a guide going in in the summer and finding animals and then taking in clients by horse or mule to hunt those animals he scouted.

http://www.monstermuleys.com/hunt-consulting-scouting/

[Stein]

It is obviously perfectly legal to hire a guide that may have people out scouting and/or game cams so that he gets you on the animals.  In my mind, if he wants to charge a bit less and just tell you what he knows without having to help you, I don't see that as different.

With airplanes, it seems no different if you are in the plane of if a guy is texting you coordinates and pics.  One is legal and the other isn't (as of now).

That said, how would the proposed law be enforced?

My vote would be to just let it go. 

[OutHouse]

Completely agree with comments on how this is essentially what a guide service offers. It's a double standard and probably designed to protect the guide economy. Of course, the guide gets to charge a whole lot more even for mere information but if your average guy does it they want to outlaw it. Ridiculous.

[pianoman9701]

I'm not a drone guy. I don't have one. I'm not going to use one for scouting or hunting. But, what other people do within the law is their business. This is not an ethical dilemma for me. I just like to hunt and scout they way I do. To each their own and far be it for me to try and force regulations on another hunter's way of doing things. And, it is every bit the same as hiring a guide with the one exception: it could put some guides out of business in states where they pay for licenses to guide the money men to big animals. In this respect alone, I wouldn't care if states like WY and MT made it illegal or as an alternative, made the guys selling the coordinates procure a guide's license. 

[Bob33]

I would use a guide under certain circumstances but wouldn’t pay for coordinates. To me the use of a guide is far more than simply taking me to an animal to shoot. I understand the motives for paying for information, but I believe it reinforces the concept that hunting is more about killing something, rather than the experience of actually hunting for something, successful or not.

[Tbar]

You've waited 20 years to draw the coveted tag. The quest of a lifetime, the monster bull is in your sights.

Wait - should I shoot, or make a call to report the coordinates for a $10K finder's fee?

Have your kid shoot it!  Way more satisfying.(if they have the tag)   

[Tbar]

I have no doubt that this practice would pencil out as a great value.  That said it goes too far.  Internet fame and record book fame is a key element and driver to our demise as a collective hunting group.  If we lose ethics, we lose it all in the court of public opinion.  The will of the people, be it through voter initiatives or the legislative process will chip away at our hunting heritage.  I feel like it is key to self (as hunters) regulate against things that cross ethical lines.  This may be one of those issues. 

[JLS]

I see some folks view this as protectionism for outfitters.  I disagree.  While it does secondarily serve as a protection for LICENSED outfitters, it is also relieving pressure on a finite and regulated resource (trophy mule deer).

Outfitters are regulated in Wyoming.  They are limited in number, and I believe they are also limited in the number of clients they can serve in a year.  This is also true of the federal land agency they operate on (i.e. Forest Service, BLM, etc.)  Outfitters are regulated for a number of reasons, one of which is the increased pressure on a resource. 

Allowing people to operate in an unregulated manner, where they sell coordinates/locations of trophy animals is directly placing a higher level of pressure on these animals.  This is no different than offering an unregulated number of drop camps in an area, packing services, etc.  The end result is more pressure on trophy deer during a season and ultimately a reduced level of opportunity because of it.

I personally know one of the folks involved in this legislative effort, and I can guarantee you his efforts are in NO way geared towards protecting outfitters.  He is public land, DIY to the core and will always be so.   This is about addressing the impacts the Doyle Moss's of the world have on trophy quality animals.

[wheels]

how could this even be enforced