Our commercial drone and camera system can help you find your downed game.  Once on site, we will have you show us where you either shot the animal or found last blood. We will run through a series of questions to better help us get an understanding of which direction the animal may have run. We then are able to utilize our advanced software and create a grid pattern to search every inch of the selected area. We normally will fly between 200 and 300 feet in the air depending on conditions and obstacles at a speed between 8 and 10mph.  While we fly, we will be using both our thermal FLIR camera and if its a bright full moon night our 8k camera. Our FLIR thermal camera will normally be run on what is called “Hottest”, which not only makes the warmest parts on the screen white, but the hottest section of that screen will become red. This aids the pilot in being able to quickly focus in and/or fly at a different angle to verify the target. We also use a setting called "Isothermic" which sets the camera to only pick up a certain range of temperatures. This is extremely effective but can only be used on animals that were very recently shot. On average, we are able to cover around 35-40 acres in about 90 minutes.

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One difference with a drone verses traditional techniques is the "Old School" method was if you thought the shot was possibly bad, to wait it out so you don't push it from its bed.  This is still true with a drone, but the faster we get on the animal the more heat it will hold, which in turn makes it much, much easier to find. 

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WI DNR Rules we follow and will not veer from

1. If we find your game and it is NOT expired, I can not give you the grid-coordinates to it.  According to Wisconsin DNR doing so is considered "hunting with an aircraft", which is illegal. We can only give grids for expired animals.

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2.  Flying a UAS during shooting hours in NOT allowed.  So we can only fly at night for game recovery.

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3. Certain lands are not allowed to be flown over.  The form below has a list of types of properties available in Wisconsin for hunting.  The types of lands we CAN NOT fly over are (as listed by the WI DNR) state parks, state recreation areas, state natural areas, Kettle Moraine state forest, Point Beach state forest and Lower Wisconsin state riverway.  Please select the correct property type so we can be sure that we can fly it or get permission to fly. In the areas above, there is a chance that there is signage where as UAS maybe flown.  We will contact the DNR to ensure we will be legally flying in that area.

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4. We must be able to view our UAS at all times.  We can receive signal up to 3 miles away from our drone, but if we cant see it, we cant fly that far.  We do have a man lift attached to our truck which puts us at almost 30 feet in the air which allows us to see drastically further from the ground, but if possible, once we arrive, if there is a nearby hill or field to fly from, it makes it much easier to see the drone for a long ways, compared to taking off in the woods.

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5. Every effort must be made to retrieve the game prior to using a UAS. You can not shoot and then just call us. You must first attempt to follow the blood trail on your own.

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6. No weapons legally capable of reducing the animal to possession allowed whatsoever once a UAS is on site.

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7.  We are not allowed to use lights after 10pm from the drone.  This is considered shining.  So we will usually rely 100% on the thermal.

8.  The UAS can not harass or disturb the wildlife.  This is one reason why we do not use speakers or additional lights (aside from required navigational night lights) while flying.

9.  The hunter must only use a UAS if they believe the animal is dead.  For example, the shot was behind the shoulder but blood trail was lost.  If the hunter believes the shot was bad and the animal is probably still alive we are unable to assist.

10. No person from Kodra's Drone Company LLC may assist in the recovery process aside from giving the location the the animal.  So be sure to have a GPS or a smart phone that can find a GPS grid on it.  We highly suggest using an app such as OnX to help you find the grid we give you.  Google maps works, but is a bit more cumbersome.