Unnatural?? And there I was, believing all these years that corn and apples were natural foods.
If anything is unnatural, it's Tinks 69!
Of course, I live in the land of deer corn and automatic feeders. Some have timers, set to go off at specific times of the day. Some have photocells, and they only go off when there is a specific level of light available - or when you drive by them at night and your headlights hit the photocell. The deer that live around there know exactly when those feeders are going to trip. There won't be a deer within a hundred miles of you until five minutes beforehand. Then it looks like the day after Thanksgiving at the mall. They're lined up in the brush just waiting for that pan to trip.
In what little time I've spent over feeders, it's been my experience that it'salways the does, yearlingsand smaller bucks that come in though. The big boys hang back in the bushes. So my experiences suggestthat any big bucks that are shot over bait are going to be few and far between, as you've noticed.
That's one reason I think baiting is a lot more effective for rifle hunters than it is for bowhunters. Well, unless you just want a doe or small buck for age/gender balance in the herd. It's great for that. But a rifle hunter with decent optics can usually spot the big boys back there in the bushes and pick one off.
A bowhunter who wants a big 'un needs to find the trails they use getting to the feeder, and thenhunt the trails.Exactly like hunting the trails between the bedding area and any other food source.
But I feel the same way as you about the cost. I don't have the money to buy feeders in the first place. Can't afford thegas and bags of corn to keep the feeders full if I had 'em. Don't want to spend the money on keeping fresh batteries in the blasted things either. Even after all that, the cows can knock the feeder over and bogart all the corn.[>:]
Of courseit causes a commotion and the deer know exactly when you're there. They know the sound of the truck, the sound of the feeder lid being opened and the sound of the corn spilling into the hopper. They're thinking, "Alright! Fresh chow!."
They know the sound of the truck leaving. What they are not listening for is the sound of the hunter who stayed, quietly climbing up into the stand. Or the other hunter, having parked the truck around the bend, quietly making his way back into the feeder site.
I don't bait. I don't have anything at all against others doing it, as long as it's legal.
Baiting....
