Driftwood outdoors: Technology fading out hunting tradition

Deer check stations hold a special spot in my heart.

As a kid, my friends and I would have our parents drop us off in town at a local check station so we could see all the deer being brought in. We’d hang out in the parking lot as bucks were weighed, and we’d quiz the lucky hunters about where and how they killed their buck.

Before Facebook, deer check stations were the social sharing system for showing off a trophy.

Back in the spring, Indiana DNR launched the CheckIN Game system. More than 2,000 turkey hunters used the system, which must have passed the test, because now it is being rolled out for deer hunters. With the launch of CheckIN Game, Indiana has eliminated the requirement of taking your deer or turkey to a check station.

Many states have gone to phone-in or online checking of game. You can’t blame them for doing so. It saves time and money for both the state and the

hunter. Some argue that the system makes poaching easier. This is true, but poachers are going to poach no matter what, and rule-breakers will try to break rules. What’s lost is another tradition, but hey, times change.

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