Wireless game cameras

[Walkin Horse]

Several years ago I joined a hunt club near my house. It has nice lake access and is only a mile from me. When I joined they had suddenly lost a bunch of members. This club is about 50 years old. When I first joined someone broke the gate down and stole a boat motor.
During hunting season I notice a camera up in a tree watching the gate. Nobody said anything about putting it up, but there was some whisperings about it. It doesn't look like a wireless and I can't tell if it has an antenna.

During freezing weather I go down after work and break the ice in the dogs water. A club member is assigned each week to take care of them on Wed. and Sat. I went down Tues and plowed the gate out and some of the road to the pen. Also scraped the road from my drive to the gate. ( I know but the state forgets we live back here and never does it.) Thursday I went down and broke ice and checked their feed. About 1 minute after locking the gate, I get a text message. When I get back to my barn I read it. It was from the club secretary telling me that he has to go twice a day to care for an injured dog. He said there was no need for me to go down while he had to go anyway. And thanks for plowing the road. I thought cool I won't have to worry about it.

A little while later it dawned on me. Was that coincidence or did he know I was there. Now I have never gone down there and done anything illegal or determintal to the club. The one place besides your own place that you could expect some privacy,this is creepy to me. I'm sure you know that with lake access hunting and fishing ain't all that goes on there, myself included. Now I know there's not much difference in posing for a regular game camera and a wireless one. But most members know where the regular cameras are. I'm sure most members would agree that we don't need somebody gettin an email every time we're in there.

My question is this. Should I let it be? Should I ask in private is this what's going on? Should I bring it up in front of everybody at the next workday meeting? Ask who's paying for this and if it's the club why it wasn't voted on. If it is being funded privately by a member why weren't we informed. I'm sure they would want to know if I dug some boobytrap holes.

The hunting is not that good with only 7 deer killed this year. I had better luck on my own land than I did there. I just find this very creepy and I don't really care if I go back down there or not. At work we have cameras watching certain things like the copper supply. And I know in public there's cameras everywhere. But I just don't like it in the wilderness.

 

[nybirdman]

We are all different I guess;I like the idea myself.They have had problems in the past so why not.It is protecting your interest too.
Cameras are everywhere today and if you are doing nothing wrong what's to fear or dislike.
I will bet you find that the "member" is paying out of his own pocket for the service and if not the cost is minimal to the club.

 

[Walkin Horse]

There is very little there to protect. A skinning shed with some folding chairs and a firewood pile. The guy that lost the motor had been told not to leave it there because access from the lake is open. For someone to push the gate down and go after that one thing seems funny. Nobody leaves anything of value there.

I know there's cameras everywhere but why the wilderness. Should I ask about it or play dumb?

 

[teg]

Since he's taking care of the injured dog, he might have came in just after you left and saw you plowed and broke the ice... he might have sent the text from the camp...

 

[texasjohn]

You could clandestinely put a camera on the camera and see who is servicing it. Put your name in it along with a request to call you if someone finds it and has a concern. The response should be informative.

You might see who is servicing the camera and you can go from there.,
Someone may find it and contact you and you can go from there.
Someone may steal it and say nothing...and you can go from there.

 

[Walkin Horse]

Since he's taking care of the injured dog, he might have came in just after you left and saw you plowed and broke the ice... he might have sent the text from the camp...

That's what I left out. The ice had already been broke and was slushing over. There is only one way in by my drive unless he came in by boat. And no tire tracks in the snow past the pens.

 

[Code54]

I personally wouldn't worry about it. DNR, USFS, they are all using them for poaching, smuggling, etc so you never really know.
I look at it like this - at least someone is trying to protect the club and it could save the club some money in the long run if someone does break in or destroy something.

 

[Walkin Horse]

I personally wouldn't worry about it. DNR, USFS, they are all using them for poaching, smuggling, etc so you never really know. I look at it like this - at least someone is trying to protect the club and it could save the club some money in the long run if someone does break in or destroy something.

Yes I guess your right. Me and a friend rode down there today to drop off a self feeder that we had repaired. We laid it in the skinning shed. While I was there I rearranged all the folding chairs that were sitting there. Just wanted to see if anybody notices..I have seen some of those cameras in a wilderness area at Mt Rogers when I was on a riding trip.