Originally Posted by
Waldo Hunter
Haha... You make it sound like a pile of corn on the ground hypnotizes all big bucks within 10 miles and makes them walk right in to the pile of corn almost instantly after you dump it on the ground. I hardly ever bait deer and this post has to be the most uneducated one I have read.
How do I make it sound as if bait hypnotizes every deer within 10 miles.
I was merely stating that not every state allows baiting in some for as another poster alleged, and they also alleged that it was OK to do it and fight the DNR in court when they get caught.
I hardly think that my post was anywhere near uneducated. Minnesota is the state where I first started Deer Hunting. Without bait, since its illegal state wide there thankfully.
Originally Posted by
UPHunter08
I've hunted with and without bait. My experiences are similar to some of the other posters here. I see a lot more deer with bait, but usually see few if any large bucks. Conversely, I've also hunted near others that bait, but without baiting myself. I've observed large bucks specifically avoiding the other hunter and bait pile; they just waited in the thick stuff presumably to intercept does as they came and went to the bait. Think about it: a mature buck won't live long enough to become a large buck if he routinely visits a bait pile. Common sense. Sure, occasionally one might slip and make a mistake, but overall they're conditioned to avoid bait piles during day time. They've busted hunters over bait often enough when they were younger that they're onto the game.
Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that baiting works...if you want to shoot young deer. I have no qualms about others using it if that's their style. I also think that contrary to what some adamant anti-baiters think, baiting is not cheating (for the reasons stated above). The Eberharts even wrote about this in one of their books. Their solution was to treat other hunters' bait piles as natural food sources, and to simply locate a stand a few hundred yards down the trail from the bait...and intercept the large buck that is waiting on the does to visit the bait.
Yes, I'm an adamant anti-baiter. It is, cheating since it removes the fair chase from the hunt.
By bringing deer to the hunter while they are feeding on unnatural food sources, those that were not planted or occur int he are naturally.
No food plots are not baiting, they are planted sources that the deer can rely upon any day of the week.
As to the spread of disease, there have been studies that would seem to prove. That baiting, spreads disease throughout the wildlife populations that visit the pile.
Since not only deer, but birds, Squirrels, Pigs, bears, skunks, 'coons, and other various and sundry animals visit bait piles. They also defecate on and near the bait sources, thus continuing the possibility to spread disease.