? on baiting
 

I am from IL, and I know that it is not legal to feed or provide minerals, or to bait with food or minerals.
I know that food plots and waterholes or small ponds are legal.
Would it be legal to put out tubs to catch rainwater for deer to drink?
Would this be baiting?

RE: ? on baiting
 

In Massachusetts, yes it would be baiting. Just about everywhere else in the world? no.[:'(]

RE: ? on baiting
 

This may or may not work:
In Texas, on the plains, we have built "raincatchers", but it never rains, so they don't work very well. But maybe it will for you. We just used 1" angle iron, but wood would work just as well. Take about a 3'x3' piece of roofing tin and build a rack that slopes from about 1 foot off the ground down to about 4 inches off the ground. Below this, we put a 4inch PVC Pipe cut in half longways (with the ends capped of course). This way, when it rains, all the water drains down and sits in the PVC tube, making easy drink for wildlife. When it's a humid morning, dew collects on the tin and also runs down to the tube.
They may consider this baiting, but if you put it out therefor all the game- turkeys, quail, squirrells, etc, then they may not. I'm not saying you should try to find a loophole like this because I believe in following the rules, but if you legitimately put it out with the intention of helping all game, it may work.
I would still ask a game warden before I did it!
Hope that helps

RE: ? on baiting
 

Baiting or not...legal or not...IMO it would be a waste of time and effort that could better be spent scouting. It would also be a great breeding ground for mosquitoes! Deer get the vast majority of what water they need from the foods they eat and are not like antelope on the plains or gazelles in Africa that travel from far and wide to watering holes.

RE: ? on baiting
 

don't get caught doing it in IL unless there are cattle or some farm animals in the same place. here is what the IL digest of hunting and traping regulations says

Feeding wildlife,it is unlawful to make food,salt,mineral blocks or other products for ingestion by wild deer or other wild life in area's where deer are present.except, bird and squirrel feeders with in 100 yards from your home ,incidental feeding of wildlife in a active live stock operation.or feeding wild animals by hand as long as you clean up any unconsumed food and it just goes on like that