deerslayer, that stuff has crossed my mind...
whiskysnoot, you make it sound, and this is just an observation, not an attack as if you grew up hunting over food plots, they are a common thing in hunting, and how could a person possibly hunt any other way? i know that where i live, planting is still relatively new to us, and akin to cheating for many. you hunt the woods, fields, natural food supplies, not plant, to many that's the lazy man's way out. i'm not saying that i agree, just letting you know what many people that i know feel about this subject. as is baiting, to many. and while i can see the point of having four acres of corn vs. four five gallon buckets, to me the only difference is that the deer are not within as close proximity to one another while feeding, thus less chance of disease transmission. food plots and bait piles both serve the same overall purpose, to unnaturally draw deer to an area for the purpose of harvest by the use of a natural food, albeit the food may not be native to that particular area, russian olive trees come to mind. by the way, what consitutes baiting in vermont, straight from the website is this "a person shall not take or possess big game by the aid of a snare, trap, salt lick, jack or other light or use these devices to entrap or ensnare big game." it then goes on to say that most deer attractants like licks have salt listed as an ingrediant, and to refuse to buy it if it contains salt. it gets more strict when it comes to bear hunting, no bait, period. you can only hunt over a natural bait, without adding to it. like ddrops under an apple tree, you can't put out more apples to keep them coming in.