I wouldn't dream of baiting if I lived in Illionois orMissouri or Kansas, but here in the Western NC mountains, if you want afighting chance against the deer, its a necessity.
Bullsh**!!!
I bet there are a ton of older hunters who've hunted in that area for years who strongly disagree with you. Same goes for Texas!
I learned how to hunt in northern Wisconsin in areas where there are no crops of any kind , nothing but thick forest. We learned how to scout for deer sign , acknowlege the difference between beddingand feeding areas , travel routes , etc. , etc..
There's tons of food in the natural forest , all you have to do is spend some time learning what they actually eat and at what times of the year they actually eat the different plants , shrubs , acorns , etc. etc.
Baiting is legal in Wisconsinbut 30 years ago you never heard of anyone baiting. Now you can't take a scouting trip without running into a fricken pile of corn. I'm not sure if todays "hunters" are just too lazy that they feel they can just bait and take the easy route , or if they're just too damn spoiled that they feel they have to see a dozen deer or so on every trip.
How many bait hunters here have said to someone at one time or another that "I hunt for the challenge"? Any bowhunters here that have said "they use a bow for the challenge" and yet still hunt over bait? Kind of amusing isn't it?