Drone for Backcountry Adventure

[Sytes]

If any have been thinking about a drone though have not pulled the trigger, this is a fantastic setting. Lite as lite gets, has the auto follow operations, etc... Up to 30 minutes flight time on a single battery and manufactured by whom I believe is the leading drone company for the public consumer, DJI.
The price point for this compact drone with all the bells and whistles - a great way to collect video and photos to add for your backcountry adventure's memories.
It's a bit less on the video quality vs the higher end drones though you'd have to compare side by side to really find the difference and price point, it's a given.

DJI Mavic Mini battles strong headwinds of 20-25 mph

DJI Mavic Mini fights strong headwinds. Today we have 20-25mph winds here on the Hudson River, gusting even stronger, so I figured it would be...

dronedj.com

 

[Hem]

Fishing Georgetown from my boat in September someone droned me in the middle of the lake. There was no one around on the water or in view on shore.
Here's the deal....I'm now packing a shotgun on my boat. If this happens again I'm blasting that SOB and I dont care what happens. It's an invasion of my privacy. I hate those F-ing things.
Sorry Sytes.

 

[brownbear932008]

Fishing Georgetown from my boat in September someone droned me in the middle of the lake. There was no one around on the water or in view on shore.
Here's the deal....I'm now packing a shotgun on my boat. If this happens again I'm blasting that SOB and I dont care what happens. It's an invasion of my privacy. I hate those F-ing things.
Sorry Sytes.

Sure would stink if it was the wardens drone. Haha haha Seen them a few times on one of our lakes while out and about.

 

[Nameless Range]

I think the Mavic mini is a good drone. And the camera is pretty good. If you had the space and gumption though, the Mavic 2 has a 20 megapixel camera and is available with a 2X Zoom.

I was out flying the UAV for work Thursday and Friday. It was windy and brisk. One thing I would wonder about if I was packing my drone into the backcountry would be watching my batteries drain as it got colder and colder. Say you packed a drone and two batteries up in really cold weather. You might get a half hour of enjoyment out of that before you’re done.

An interesting fact we discussed at work Friday is that the department of interior just grounded their entire fleet of DJI drones. That’s hundreds of drones. DJI is a Chinese company, and Chinese companies are indiscernible from the Chinese government. Because they don’t honor the concept of intellectual property, they’ve got the market cornered, and there aren’t many other decent options.

Entire drone fleet grounded by US government agency

The 800 drones used to monitor endangered species and federal land are being investigated for security risks.

www.bbc.com

 

[Werty]

Fishing Georgetown from my boat in September someone droned me in the middle of the lake. There was no one around on the water or in view on shore.
Here's the deal....I'm now packing a shotgun on my boat. If this happens again I'm blasting that SOB and I dont care what happens. It's an invasion of my privacy. I hate those F-ing things.
Sorry Sytes.

Need to carry a special pole, with a lead fly treble hook, just for it!

 

[mtmuley]

Had one come over my house awhile back. They will need a new one if it happens again. mtmuley

 

[Sytes]

@Nameless Range : Agree about the battery retention in cold weather. However, these are not the usual size drone batteries. The entire drone fits in the hand @ 1/2# total drone weight. These batteries recharge w/ USB, as with my smartphone I take in fall/winter and recharge as needed.

With up to 30 minute flight time, It's a do-able video record of memories packing a single battery.

Regarding the Chinese manufacturer, I believe my Google pixel XL and those Apple IPhones are made in China as well. Wonder if they plan to halt all govt cell phones manufactured in China(?). Imagine if Bernhardt's cell phone had Chinese cyber concerns...
Better safe than sorry, they're at least proactive conducting a study on security threat potential. I imagine they'll be up and flying soon with some over-inflated, preferred *Korean contractor created security update install.

@Hem Yes. I'd be peeved as well. Always schmucks that use items w/o respect for others however, I'll pass on shooting a video recording drone likely worth over $1k value: MT felony, up to 10 years w/ up to $50k fine... Likely far from what a judge would order though none the less, over a public lake, I'll pass though would be very annoyed.
Now private property where an expectation of privacy exists... I wonder what height makes it legal...?
Several arrests by State/local, in fact, it's a federal offense though good luck if AUSA would ever prosecute, they'd leave it to State/local, I'd imagine.

Hah! No apology needed, I'd feel the same - however my intent behind this thread is for taking a step into modern means to record video / capture photos from a whole new perspective of backcountry adventures. Hopefully, the vast majority of HT members have a respect for others.

 

[tjones]

Ebike and a drone, what more can the modern day outdoorsman need?

 

[Sytes]

Hey Jones, great, crystal clear photo memories of the bulls you and your son took this year.

Remember when...

 

[Hem]

Sure would stink if it was the wardens drone. Haha haha Seen them a few times on one of our lakes while out and about.

Yeah, I wondered if it might be F & G?

We live in a world of surveillance and tracking. Someone is always watching.
I'm not anti government, paranoid or hiding anything. I had one day to fish by myself and wanted to be left alone on an awesome lake with killer views and some quality trout. Maybe the drone thing was an overreaction , but it was the last thing I expected and it took me by surprise.

 

[wistowy]

Ebike and a drone, what more can the modern day outdoorsman need?

Not asking for your honey holes but if you could give me a few coordinates, you know just to start looking.

 

[ismith]

I think the legality of using a drone during hunting season would be very questionable, at least in Montana.

 

[Straight Arrow]

I would respect packing the drone in a hunting backpack, then getting an overhead "selfie" of a successful hunt, and then stowing it back in the pack.

BUT, if there is a drone scouting for game, hovering above and invading privacy, or flying over the outdoors with no authorized insignia on it, and with no operator in sight ... it may be the recipient of some surface to air outreach.

 

[COEngineer]

How about just hiking along and enjoying the outdoors and leave the noise at home?

 

[Sytes]

You leave your modern phone / camera for photo & video at home when you go on hikes, more power to you. You take a modern device to take great pics and vids of friends, self, nature... Fishing, etc, great - by all means.

There are generators in camp spots that have run me out... A lack of respect by the person(s) to run generators throughout the night.

People are responsible for the use of items. It's not the item itself. People are responsible for respecting other's enjoyment of the outdoors / fishing, etc.

Agree with the general sense of thought from SA's perspective even / up to the point of SAMs launched, haha! (edited as you added a tad more )

Here's a pretty cool example of the smooth video taken by a user friendly drone...

If you're interested in a new approach towards collecting video / pics of those amazing places... This mini, I believe is the best bang for the buck. Here's another, for those enjoying:

Edited out the last video, the music held much to be desired. Haha!

 

[ismith]

It is illegal in Montana to use a drone to film your hunt.

 

[Sytes]

It is illegal in Montana to use a drone to film your hunt.

No... And yes. It is illegal to scout with the drone. I've run this all the way up the chain of command with FWP LEOs. May not be used in a manner to scout for the wildlife being hunted. It is fully legal to video your hunt, hence Fresh Tracks who also has used drone footage on occasions.

Of course, do your own due diligence to understand how a drone may be used during hunt season.

However, my share of this relates to all forms of outdoor enjoyment and the use of for collecting a fresh perspective of one's adventure for memories shared.

 

[Straight Arrow]

However, my share of this relates to all forms of outdoor enjoyment and the use of for collecting a fresh perspective of one's adventure for memories shared.

Yeh ... right ... according to today's culture and tech norms, if it ain't on Youtube and Farsebook(sic) ... you really didn't do it! Also, if and when dementia sets in you can continue to enjoy the memories.

 

[Irrelevant]

Side note your first video on drone use is filmed in the Columbia River Gorge, about 20 minutes west of where I grew up. That used to be one of the coolest trails on the planet... now you damn near have to wait in line and park on the freeway. Just another cool place loved to dead.

 

[ismith]

No... And yes. It is illegal to scout with the drone. I've run this all the way up the chain of command with FWP LEOs. May not be used in a manner to scout for the wildlife being hunted. It is fully legal to video your hunt, hence Fresh Tracks who also has used drone footage on occasions.

Of course, do your own due diligence to understand how a drone may be used during hunt season.

However, my share of this relates to all forms of outdoor enjoyment and the use of for collecting a fresh perspective of one's adventure for memories shared.

“UAVs/drones are not allowed to film a hunt”. Quoted from the current regulations. If this is incorrect then FWP should correct it, as some game wardens may interpret this as meaning they can cite you for “filming your hunt” with a drone.