andrewjoseph

I responded to a postand criticized the process of bear hunting with the use of bait. I went as far to say that I thought setting a trashcan full of molassas and then blasting (or shooting with a long bow) from 15 yds is pathetic and not really hunting.

Does anyone agree with me at all? All the responces have told me that in order to form an opinion on this I need to bait and dispatch a bear of my own. Then, and only then, could I formulate the opinion on how great and fun bear baiting is.

Thanks for the responses.

tangozulu

I do.
Its funny that in places with grizzlies you are not allowed to bait, yet it is fine for blackies. Is it so effective that the endangered griz can't take the preasure? I suspect so.

Hiawatha

Nope.

BareBack Jack

I have never baited bears,but that is only because it's against the law here in Montana.If it weren't for that i probaly would.
Baiting is a efective way to hunt bears and to kill a mature bear.We spot and stalk bears here or wait over berry patches.It is adifficult way to hunt them yet fun,but I think we would have a better bear harvest if we would bait.
So I see nothing wrong with baiting.
BBJ

charlie brown

There are many forms of hunting many different animals.

People place tower stands with heaters over fields planted with some formula to help bucks grow big head gear.

People place deer stands over game trails to offer the best opportunity of shooting a deer.

People have feeders of corn for attracting deer, with a blind set up close.

People hunt elk during the rut using a cow elk call and urine to fool a big bull into thinking its really a honey he's coming into.

People...

Bear baiting is just another form hunt hunting an animal. People spend a lot of time scouting an area, finding where the animals are, placing the bait, checking on the bait, and maintaining the station. Then there is the sitting and waiting, and waiting and...

Baiting bears has to be one of the most reliable ways to take bears. This type of hunting puts you in a position to examine every animal that comes in. Is it a bruin? Is it a dry female? Is it a big momma with2 or 3 cubs nearby waiting to make sure it is safe. There are very few ways to be sure that you take mature male bears other than with baiting them. You have all the time in the world to make this decision. For example from spot and stock, you may be a good distance away, and determining the sex and maturity of a bear would be a lot harder than from 15 yards.

I don't think people should knock how other people hunt.

If there is a state law that allows that type of hunting, then let it be. If we as hunters try to ban forms of hunting we don't like, then we are making the workload a lot less for the anti-hunters, and we may as well shoot outselves in the head to end the misery. Support your fellow hunters. Strive to get more hunting legal. Strive to go against the anti-hunting sentiment, not for it.

Later,

Marcial

wyomingtrapper

What Charlie Brown said...

Some don't like baiting, some don't like hound hunting, some don't like trapping, some don't like bait fishing, some don't like actually keeping fish to eat.....

We best all focus on maintaining the rights to manage wildlife and enjoy it the way we can and want, and accept others' differing views. Nothing wrong with a dislike of something...right up to where it becomes a divisive item amongst us or where one thinks another's right should be revoked because we don't like it.

Champlain Islander

I don't bait and it is now illegal in my state. It just isn't the way I like to hunt. In areas where it is legal I don't have much of a beef with people who chose to do it. Lots of different ways to hunt and some forms are geographically based and traditional to the area. I do believe in fair chase only. As I age I continue to raise the bar for my personal expectations

Howler

It amazes me to seehunter #1 criticizehunter #2's method! One hunter sits in a tree over a well used deer trail, but doesn't see fit that hunter #2 sits over a bait station. Hunter #1 sits over a water hole for antelope but doesn't agree with hunter #2 that hunts with hounds for a lion!
I see no problem with hunting over bait. Charlie brown pretty well summed it up. Effective at animalselection, good ethical shots presented, and time to collect yourself to make that shot count! There are some places that are so thick, that baiting may be nearly the only effective means of hunting them! Ever think of that!

andrewjoseph

I dont think anyones right to bait should be revoked. Its not legl in my state and I agree with that, but I would never press another state to change their policy.

I dont think I am better than people who bait, I just think that my tactics are more pure and rewarding.

I cant believe that people would compare setting up next to a deer trail and calling and using scent is comparable to leaving trash barrels of molassas oout for weeks prior to shooting them. Granted, its a method, but not my method.

How does this not feel like cheating?

wyomingtrapper

I appreciate your respect of others' rights and I realize your not advocating for the elimination of baiting.

In regards to "is comparable to leaving trash barrels of molassas out for weeks prior to shooting them," states have differing regs regarding how long bait can be out prior to the season.Reallly, when you get down to it, is bait or lure all that different? Is calling/rattling not an auditory bait/lure tobring an animal in? Is not a bit of urine misted in the breeze not the same? How about feeders for deer? Seems to me that a cultivated food plot is likewise the same... All in all it is about trying to hunt as close to the animals as we can then use methods to bring them to us. I shot an elk several years ago with a bow. 12 yard shot. I didn't call him to me, but located him and kept him settled with a cow call while I stalked into him. That cow call was as much an advantage to me as a barrel with edibles are to a bear hunter.