Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

I don't bait deer anymore (though perfectly legal here).....but the MAJOR opponents to the practice seem to always come from states where the practice is prohibited by law.

My landowner's seen an albino doe (he thinks it's a doe;))...and to be honest....if I thought baiting her in would give me a better shot at killingher....I'd do it (and thisassertion is backed up with the fact that I don'tbait). I don't think it would, though.

Here's the FACTS from the article (Quoted):

"Extrapolating surey resultsto the region yields 80,000 bait stations and 2.33 million bushels of feed at a cost of $10.4 million. Baiting and feeding deer is as big a business as it is controversial.

Some managers employ baiting as a tool to fascilitate harvest. In South Carolina, however, bait does not appear to augment harvest.Ruth revealed that on areas where baiting is permitted, one deer is harvested per 3.37 man days, compared to 1.16 man days per deer on areas where baiting is prohibited."

Now....one could say that the areas permitting baiting could also include (which I'm sure it does) those where only "supplemental feeding" was occurring......and possibly (even likely) no one was hunting OVER the bait.

But I'm still betting the numbers aren't anywhere near what people would believe (or hope) them to be.....if they wish to remain detractors of the practice.

I don't care what your beliefs are regarding baiting. I just thought the article was"interesting".

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

yah interesting

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Ive never felt right with hunting over "bait". But it is one of the oldest methods of drawing game in, so i don't think there is anything wrong with people who do it.

If it isgoing to increase your chance of shooting a truly rare animal, then there is nothing wrong with it

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

The article is saying it doesn't.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Jeff,

I had a long time of dealing with this (baitin)on a personal level, about 10 years of hunting. I grew up on the gulf coast of FL and when we went fishing we didnt go out without a livewell of bait. bait that wasnt for the hook, but bait to throw out live to replicate schools of bait.

I am growing food plots on my land for the first time this year. I consider this baiting, however the warden will write you a $2000 fine for hunting within 1000 yards of biologic plots, loose corn, salt blocks/minerals etc.

I find your article interesting in the facts of the ratio of kills to man days. My plot is legal since I include turnips and corn, but I have no plans on sitting yards away from the plot waiting to shoot a deer standing still for several minutes while filling his/her gut.

Id rather hunt them on the way to the plot, but also feel that I am supplementing their feeding.

Im suprised that in NC its legal to bait...and Im with you about the albino. If I knew there was one in the vicinity, I would surely try to lure him/her to my stand using whatever method ws at hand.

Good luck at seeing the albino...and more luck at sticking it with a broadhead. Nice data that was included in the article. Kinda makes you think!

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Baiting never works and any one that has ever tried knows that.[:-]

Its always easier to catch trout on a dry fly than a red worm.:eek:

Market hunters stopped baiting ducks because it is allot easier to call them than to bait them.:eek:

And I'm sure bear baiting will be proven to be very ineffective also.:eek:

All of those deer you seeon roads in Texas are standing there to avoid the sharp ends on the Spanish daggers that dot the landscape.:eek:

Don't worry ..........Be happy...........:)

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

I read that same article in Buckmasters. It was very interesting. It seems as though the numbers show that the more people around you bait as well, your chance of a harvest goes down since the deer can move from property to property at any time and have plenty of food at all places. Now if you're the only one around baiting that might change but they can still visit it at night and you'd never know!

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

do I detect a note of sarcasm?:D

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

What's this got to do with deer?

Yet we don't scoff at people who bait bears. I get sick and tired of hearing the old argument that you CAN'T kill a bear if you're not baiting. Of course you CAN. Baiting them just makes it easier.

But I'll tell ya.....if someone comes out with hard facts (like the ones stated, above) that says differently (RE: DEER HUNTING)......and leaves out emotion and conjecture.....I'll change my tune on that one, too. I'll wait patiently for that one.

I hear a lot of conjecture.....but no facts to back them up.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Do you really believe that any of todays studies are free of any prejudices,if you do I have some politicians you might want to meet with they are very forth coming and as honorable as atelevangelist hoping to feeding hungry African children.;)

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Jim come to Michigan, I will bait up a spot for you. Kill a deer, get it out of your system. You'll feel better:D

Baiting is a busniess, just head to Northen MI during hunting season;)

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Dancing with tattooed fat chicks ,riding Honda's and needing bait to kill adeer are three of the most unpleasant thoughts that a man should ever have to experience.

I have heard said "its a dirty job but someone has to do it" well it ain't gonna be me.[:o]

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Wouldn't the use of multiple food plots create the same scenario? I have multiple feeders that I normally keep full year round. The only time I see the visits decrease is when there is a good mast crop. I have 2 feeders on 185 acreas and one food plot(.5 acre)

I do everything I can to keep deer on and around my property.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

You're just pissed 'cause you're doing it the easier way, Jim....and the author outted you!.....lol

I don't care how anyone else hunts.....done legally and ethically.

Seen some SMOKIN ladies with tattoos (not fat....you're on your own, there).......used to ride an elsinore (just remembered....a Honda, too).......and technically one might say I've baited deer.

I've been to strip clubs, gambled, drank, chased loose women and fudged my taxes.......but how another man hunts doesn't really rank way up there in the "I'm worried about that" category.

I'm quite sure I have more fun than Pat Roberts.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

The articel doesn't suprise me, I have grown up in Texas hunting my whole life, where it is legal to use "bait". In my 20+ years of hunting I agree with the article, your mature or shooter deer will normally stay clear of bait sites during daylight hours, at least thats whatI have learned. Today I hunt on a ranch in west Texas and we do supplement feed year round, however we do not hunt anywhere close to the sites and we get really good pics in the daylight around these feed sites (this is a good tool to let us know what is on the ranch). You can throw diggs all you want towards Texas for feedingbut a lot of places in Texas the supplemental feeding is needed, we don't have rich farm lands and ag crops near by to hunt the deer on their way to. The region I am in there is litterally not any type of ag crops or anything for the deer including grassy plains, it is just rocks and cedar for the most part and the supplemental feeding helps the deer herd to reach it's maximum potential as well as help the herd health!!! As for hunting it some on the ranch do and some don't, as for me being I am strictly a bowhunter most of the year (unless my daughter goes with me) I hunt off the beaten path on trails and staging areas....The bait (supplemental feed)has it's purpose and as said before your most mature bucks aren't going to hit the bait in the daylight anyhow....

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Yes but what the article said was that if all of the neighbors bait too then the available sources is so high that it is much harder to keep the deer on your property.

The article is referring to baiting and not food plots if I recall.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

I know, but wouldn't the same thing hold truewith food plots?Multiple food plots or multiple feedersboth offer increased available food.......I just figured that the same thing would happen.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Wow, I had no idea states have gone so far as to include biologic...but not other things? Dude.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

I agree that mutiple food plots would do the same thing. More people have the ability to use bait/corn piles here in SC than food plots so that's what the article was targeting. But I see what you're saying.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

I didn't read the article, but on the surface it appears there might be an agenda.......who knows? I so know that an abundance of food makes it harder to determine the when and where.

I wonder why the article only pointed out baiting and not food plots?

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

The article I read addressed food plots.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Yep this about sums things up.

As a side note the only time I ever hunted over bait was for hogs in South Texas where it is freaking hard core brush country. I did feel like I was cheating a little but if there were not cut roads and bait stations then I think one would have a really really hard time unless you used dogs. They were free ranging hogs so I only felt like I was cheating half way(if there is such a thing).

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Same here. Now, if I was looking to shoot a young eater doe, then I'd park right over a feeder about 1/2 hour before it's timer is set to go off. Does and young bucks will start showing up in the brush around the feeder a few minutes before it goes off and then it looks like a white sale at J.C. Penny's when the tray drops.

But the big boys? They won't come to it.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

What did it say about them? In your post you only referenced baiting and bait stations............did I miss it?

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

It was the only REALLY interesting thing cited in the article. The rest (RE: food plots) was citing the percentages of those surveyed who utilized them (83%).

So.....if you're an extrapolating man.....given the choice of food plots v. bait stations.....it's EASIER to kill 'em over the food plots.....atnearly 3:1.;)

I think we're gonna need a big glass of water for some to swallow THAT pill.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Jeff you needed an article to tell you that:D

Deer: look clover I will go get some

Deer: Look Apples dipped in peanut butter, hmmmmm, he's around here somewhere[:-]

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Gasp******Gasp*****[:o]

But, baiters are slob hunters...........right? :D

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

That is interesting... Here in MN Baiting is Ilegal I guess I havent really thought much about the morals of baiting a deer it does take away from the aspect of "fair chase" or according to this article does it?

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

I agree with that statement considering a whitetail's food intake will consist of 85% browse (grasses, Food plots) and the other 15% comes from supplemental feed such as corn, protein and so on...

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

What the article is stating would not be consistent with the experiences I have had.We are not permitted to bait In New York but years ago it was not illegal to feed game in non hunting seasons.My wife and I purchased our home from folks who used to feed deer in the winter,so we continued that tradition for a couple of years.Well I over did it with the amount of corn I was putting out.I literally had deer coming from all directions.When I would raise the garage door in the morning they would come running.
I can't believe that baiting would not assist someone in killing a deer,probably more so when other desireable food sources were scarce.They kill a lot of mature bucks over bait in Canada,so I wouldn't agree with folks who say it cannot be done at the very least if you had doe's coming in to bait consistently during the rut,you would have bucks cruising down wind of them,they may not come into the bait but they wont be that far away.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

"Fair Chase" is in the eye of the bowholder.

Hunting season v. non hunting season.....HMMmmmmm.

Which may be why it's illegal in your state. The study was done in SC. We have ample browse in most areas "down here".....so that the artificial food source doesn't become THE PRIMARYsource.

See above.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Baiting is legal here. Feeding is legal here. Feeders are legal here. I have taken deer over bait. I have taken deer around food plots. Did I like it? Not really. Do they attract more deer to your area? That is like asking if there will be any Baptist at Popeye's after church Sunday.

NOT!!

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

The warden said that biologic without any ag for personal consumption is illegal to hunt within 1000 yards. If you were to throw in some rape, sweet corn, green beans, and some tomatoes, you will be fine.

Its a fine line, but since biologic is strictly a deer supplement/attractant it is considered bait. The warden obviously knows his stuff to pick out biologic and the different seed mix involved.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

I have to agree with Louisiana Tomkat, I do not think "fair chase" is very fitting as defined by B&C.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

In Wisconsin Jeff it is one big battle between the Northern part of the state and the southern part of the state.
It is a huge business in the north and a couple of years ago I think they banned it for the whole state once because of the CWD scare.
Now it is legal in the North and not in the south and this past spring they held voting in each county for baiting.
The results showed our differences in the state as most counties to the north in favor and where I live against it in the south.
Yes I voted naaaa. I see the DNR eventually putting a stop to it state wide all we need is one CWD case to the north and its done.

T

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

I have a theory as to why baiting sucks. Pressured deer react to the pressure. Hungry deer react to the food available. If a deer can get up 5 minutes before dark and gallop to the spot he knows there's a 100 pounds of corn and pig out in 10 minutes, that's what he'll do. If, on the other hand, there is no pile and the food is spread out in a big woods... they'll get up earlier and start browsing. They'll also relax and feed all the way back to their bed in the morning. With bait is feast or famine. With natural browsing the deer are more dispersed over the land making opportunities for more people to see them. NO, you may not see 25 every time you go...but 25 people could probably go and have a chance to see a deer within range. I say baiting screws up the woods to honest to good scouting and hunting.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

I agree 100% david as this is a fact on a huge publictract I hunt in Northern, Wi. (Baiting only legal in thenorth)I get on my stand way before daylight and I can hear them cruising through the woods at a good
pace to get back to there bedding before first light. Most of this is the days after opening morning of Gun season. Bow season it is not as badbut these deerstill havepressure from bear hunters
to small game hunters so they are always on edge.

T

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

Absolutely an interesting POV....and it makes sense.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

I was referring to what my experiences had been in NY.Maybe you had stated it but I don't recall the mention of where the study was done.
What point were you looking to make between illegal to feed in the hunting season versus not illegal to feed outside of hunting season?Our hunting season go's deep into december and it is very possible that we can have significant snow fall by then,baiting would absolutely draw deer under those conditions.

RE: Interesting article RE: Baiting
 

It was more of a point of how deer would react to "instant" food v. food that waspresent for them 12mos./yr.

The most successful baiters I know, here,.....feed 12 mos/yr. The guys who start putting out corn 3 days before the season are hunting a more skittish critter.

Also....No hunting season = no hunters in the woods. Come January....I have deer in my yard a lot more than I did in Oct....and I, too, live in the "country".