ORIGINAL: Germ

gutshot

Have you ever seen a deer "work" its way in to a bait pile? If not that is the big differnce IMO. A deer will be way more relaxed in a big plot or oak flat.

Another differnce is how people hunt with each of them. Baiting you are trying to bring the deer to you, so you can "kill" them.Oak flat you are looking for an entry point you think the deer will use. Food Plot can be a liitle of both. Trying to bring the deer to you or looking for a choke point to catch them coming into the plot.

The last issue it what it does to the management of the deer herd. Back in the 50's, 60's,70, and early 80's baiting was not allowed in MI. Since it has become legal it has ruined the deer herd in the UP, and raised a generation of hunters who can not hunt without it. There is a saying in the UP "every two track road will lead to a bait pile" and it is so true. Baiting is very effective at killing 1.5 bucks. Where if you spend +1000.00 on a plot I doubt your going to kill the first thing that walks in. A bait pile that cost 2.50 of apples and corn you are going to shoot the first deer in the pile.

Baiting to me is a huge issue and one that needs to be addressed here in MI for these reason.

1. Extremely bad for age structure with your bucks
2. Tends to spread disease
3. Some here in MI have lost the ability to truely hunt whitetails. Plain and simply they do not know how anymore unless they have a bucket of corn.

The UP in MI used to be the place to hunt, and IMO baiting has really hurt the UP. Food plots or oak flats can not and will not ever do that to a deer herd, and thatis what I see as the big differnce.