Now, now, H2K--

For whatever reason, in many states it is illegal to hunt over bait. Nationally, it is illegal to hunt waterfowl over bait (as I understand it) because of federal regulations. In MN you can' t hunt anything except bear over bait. I know other states have different approaches--for example, in Texas I know guys feed deer all year round to whack ' em in the fall, and I even hunted quail we attracted with cracked corn spread the night before.

Jackel says baiting is illegal in Wisconsin, and I suppose growing up a hunter there has probably influenced his view of that ethic. Maybe he was harsh calling it " cheating" and maybe he didn' t think deeply about how much of what is sometimes called the hunter ethic has nothing to do hunting success but has more to do with someone' s abstract concepts of sportsmanship, but a bit of civility couldn' t have hurt, could it??

This forum sometimes runs into those philosophical debates about rightness or wrongness, whether it is about shooting birds on the roost, or killing hens in the fall, or what have you. I think sincere contemplation will reveal that what is or feels right for one, might not be right for another. I also think that a lot of the hunter ethic stuff is bogus idealization. Why, for example, can archers use modern bows with their cams and sights, including, in some circumstances, laser sights, but crossbows are illegal? Why is corn spread on a plowed field baiting for waterfowl, but a flooded rice field, grown only to attract waterfowl, not? Some upland hunters won' t shoot a pheasant their dog didn' t point, others (like my deceased father-in-law) never shoot a pheasant more than 50 yards from their vehicle, because their method of hunting is to " road hunt" .

No doubt your advice was meant with good intentions, and probably based on successful experience in a state where baiting is legal. As such, it is/was great advice. Apparently, however, in WI baiting turkeys is illegal, so Jackel could not have taken your advice and implemented it anyway.

Let' s keep it friendly on this forum. Let' s disagree civilly, all.

(And I apologize for any incivility I have engaged in in the past.)