RE: Hunting Over Feeders
John:
Here’s “my” take on baiting…..
One thing I’ve found to be true in states that allow the practice………they have a healthy population of deer. I know in my state (NC)….it’s been legal to bait deer for as long as I’ve known about deer hunting. Is it “right” for every state? Not at all. NC’s going to do anything they can to try and keep the gen. whitetail population down. If baiting aids them in this management practice…..then they’re “for” it.
Do I think a lot of deer are taken over bait in my state? Yes. Do I think there are those who think it’s “mandatory” to take deer in my state? Yes. Do I think there are areas that it almost IS “mandatory” to take deer over bait? Yes. Are there people out there who wouldn’t hunt ……if they couldn’t “bait”? Yes, again.
You know me as a person who studies the herd I’m hunting pretty well. When I first began deer hunting……I baited a field I hunt pretty hard. I wanted to see deer…..and I thought it was “the way” to achieve my goal. I hunted a good portion of the ’05 season over a field I baited on a fairly regular basis. I killed zero deer in 2005.
The times I didn’t hunt the baited field…..I began to detect a pattern in the deer’s behavior. The “pattern” was…..the deer….left in their “natural” state…..were more at ease. I learned by observing…..that they were oblivious to minor disturbances (dogs barking; cars in the distance; a leaf blower; mower; etc…) when they were in their natural feeding areas and funnels. Introduce “bait” to the situation, though…..and they were on high alert.
I chose to (for several reasons) maintain my regimen of “supplemental feeding”. I changed the term……to match the method. I feed the herd I hunt about 100#’s a week……ONLY because of the size parcels I hunt….and to aid in keeping a reason for the herd to frequent my parcels. I’ve learned to hunt away from the “bait”. In my opinion…..it’s easier to hunt them in this manner. Would many say I’m still “baiting”? Sure. I know better. I also don’t hunt anywhere near my food plot. Not the reason I planted it. I have honestly never patterned even a doe group that I thought was frequenting my feeder OR food plot in a manner that I would consider “regular”. So….I don’t hunt them that way. I know their natural funnels now…..and that’s where I hunt them (which is hundreds of yards away from the feeder.
If I thought I had a chance at a big buck that was going into my feeder……honestly….I’d probably set up on him. I just don’t think my feeding has enough pull to make them come in to it on a regular basis.
If it’s legal where you hunt…..and you choose to employ the practice…..I have no issues with it. It’s legal for a reason. Hunt legal….and I’ll congratulate you on your kill. It’s just not for me…..for reasons I’ve previously described.
Good luck to all this season.