Imagine launching a drone from a ridge at sunrise, the propellers slicing through crisp morning air as the camera glides over hardwood forest. With a high-resolution feed on your phone or tablet, you spot a herd of elk feeding in a distant meadow. Sounds like next-gen scouting, right? Maybe—but before you take to the skies, you need to understand the fine line between innovation and illegality.
Hunting with drones is a hot-button topic across the U.S., with rapidly evolving laws, strong ethical debates, and legitimate practical uses—especially when it comes to scouting, recovery, and land management. In this guide, we break down what you can and can’t do with drones when hunting, and how to stay on the right side of both the law and fair chase principles.
