First let me say I live in Mo where baiting is illegal. That said if it were legal I would do it. I have discussed this on several other forums and have enjoyed all the input both pro and con. IMO using bait is no different than hunting over a 1 or 2 acre food plot. Before everyone starts telling me how wrong I am hear me out. I am not against food plots, I just feel hunting over any food source is baiting. I know many will disagree. They will say all the effort to prepare the land,fertilize,sow the seed,etc. and the fact that it will remain after the season means it's not bait. I must disagree. I don't think the amount of labor it takes to provide the food source should decide if it's bait or not. The same could be said about leaving an area of a corn field unharvested. Whether you pour it out of a bag or let it fall from the stalk it's still corn on the ground. Many will want to point out how hunting an 80 acre field of standing crop is not baiting since you can't control where the deer enter and leave. This is true but I'll bet you'll improve your odds by scouting which "highways" the deer are using and having a stand there. In my experiance most food plots are 1 acre or less. While they do grow out of the earth, the plants are not normally "native" and are chosen not just to benefit the deer but to attract them.
What about disease you may say. Won't baiting increase the concentration of deer into a small area thus increasing nose to nose contact perhaps increasing the transmission of disease. If that's the case why is it legal to feed deer the rest of the year? Do deer only contract disease during deer season? Of course not. Deer congregate naturally and use many communal sites(browse,mineral licks,water,etc.) and disease is transmitted in no greater numbers.
Yeah, well baiting "steals" away deer from other areas, depriving other hunters of an opportunity to take a deer. Really....don't we all try to draw deer in. We use scents and lures, food plots, man made licks, calls. All are used to drag deer in range. Many against baiting will also tell you bait is not a guarantee(when not tellingyou it makes hunting to easy) you will draw in a "trophy buck" and may turn the deer in the area into nocturnal feeders. Well I realize a large segment of today'shunters consider hunting a "sport" and use some scoring system to rate thier deer. I am not one of those. I am willing to take does,buttons,toe heads, what have you. If you wish to put limits on which deer you will take more power to you. I'm after meat.
IMO many of those opposed to baiting hate the idea that some practice they use is in fact baiting. They will tell you it's not ethical. I would relate a question I heard on another forum. A fellow owns two farms. On one farm he has a small apple orchard where deer eat apples that have fallen form the trees. If he sets up a stand and hunts over these apples he's fine. If however he gathers up those same apples and takes them to his other farm and puts them under another tree he's suddenly unethical. They're the same apples! Where's the difference?
As far as putting those "trophy bucks" into a different list. Boone & Crockett would consider a deer taken in a state where baiting is legal to have been taken within the rules of fair chase.
It is not my intention to pi$$ anyone off or to judge what practices they use. I am only hoping to show that if it's legal it's just another option that can be used to hunt.
I do have one question I have been unable to get an answer to on the other forums. I use a product called "Buck Snort". It's a non-nutritional gel that smells just like a food source(apples,sweet corn,acorns,etc.). My question to those who oppose baiting is it ok to use an attractant that smells like food but isn't and why. Thanks for any input