RE: The Great Debate Over Baiting Revisited
 

Hey rory, sorry not a new member. switched my handle a while ago. i have actually been here for about three years.

RE: The Great Debate Over Baiting Revisited
 

as long as it is legal i say go for it. i baited in KY but i also had corn out 365 days a year

RE: The Great Debate Over Baiting Revisited
 

after reading a little bit more i feel that i must make a few comments. I am not trying to justify anything or change anyones views. yes i use to bait, but i also hunt over funnels, food plots, trails, rub lines. it does not matter to me how you choose to do it or if you agree with it or not. That was the point of this post, to express an idea and see what others think.

Someone mentioned that i shared the same view and ted nugent. didn't mean to copy the man. I didn't know that he had a similar arguement.

One of the first replies mentioned that my area is a bad deer area. I agree. Unfortunately i didn't have anywhere else to hunt up untill recently. I made the most of what I had. Baiting helped me do that.

again i just want to say that I am not trying to change anyones views just threw an idea out there.

and drope tine...just a comment. the credit is due to the hunter who does it through old school methods...i see where you are going with this. But I am not comparing you to any old joe shmoe. YOu put your time in and scout and I don't hold anything against you for doing that. But you have to remember that not everyone has that time available, nor the area in which to do it. And as far as old school methods...hope you still hunt with a long bow. it's an old school method, or did you become accepting of a different method and use a compound? Not trying to goat you, just another thought.

RE: The Great Debate Over Baiting Revisited
 

I've got no problem with baiting deer if that's what you want to do. Personally, everytime that I've used bait (corn) it's done nothing but turn the deer nocturnal and I've ended up with the deer coming in after shooting hours has ended. I prefer not to use anything.

RE: The Great Debate Over Baiting Revisited
 

Anybody who knows me knows that i dislike the idea of baiting. I am fine with any critisizm that you want to give me out of this post...ill accept it because its what i believe. I have no problem with people who do, because in Ohio it is perfectly legal.

I had a bait site on my property for 2 years. I never hunted over it, just used it to get pictures. I found that it made my deer harder to pattern, because i would not hunt over it...so i got rid of it.

One of my best friends is a "crossbows and cornpiles" guy. He kills a pope and young every year...i always give him a hard time of course.

There was also this kid in school who did the same thing. He killed a pope and young buck every year as well, and averaged ony 3 sits. One of the bucks was a 13 point in the 160's. His property butts up to mine....so you can get the idea about how i feel about him...

For "me", i would rather not shoot a buck using my methods then harvest a buck feeding on a pile of corn.

RE: The Great Debate Over Baiting Revisited
 

Hard to improve on that replyIMHO.[/align][/align]A side note thatsmall tracts of land on public ground is quite the norm for most bowhunters.

Time dedicated to scouting was introducedas afactor. Serious hunters make the most of their time.More accurately stated, for the lack of it. Scouting never stops, even if only by map. Learning an area,working a full time job,setting aside hunting for family is all in what a true bowhunter will do.

Making the most out of what time is available. Implementing plans of actiontailored to what was gleaned from time spent on stand dedicatedthe previous year is often what we must do.

Burning vacation days to scout on foot, be it pre season or post,while maintaining time tohunt, onlyto have some less than committed "hunter"eliminatemonths ofyour hard invested labor on public ground is also an unfortunate reality.

A huntercontrols human scent... expendsenergyto locate pinch points, knows predominant wind direction, seeks information regarding historical deer movements in a givenarea, finds natural funnels, (yes, they ARE in your woods), understandstransitional areas and plans his or her entrance / exits routes carefully.

All this can be lost inseconds...compliments of the "hunter" who wears the same clothing to fuel hisvehicle the evening before... or the "hunter" thatwelcomed his presence by strolling through the bedding area of that bruiser you kept book on for monthsprior. Yeah, those who really hunt... at some point, will all have been there. [/align][/align] [/align][/align]It is not uncommon for a bowhunter in my state to hunt a specific deer. We don't use calls that imitate the sounds of feeders spinning in the distance. Although, much to my dismay, find that they are commercially available. Conditioning deer to respond to a givenlocation by the sound of a mechanical device that they know dispenses a food source is not hunting. [/align][/align] [/align][/align]Understanding the vocalizations of deer and using calls, (non-electronic are permitted here for both whitetail and turkey), and using them in the situation at hand to effectively harvest a game animal is not baiting by the definition implied. Being able to ethically harvest either species with a stick and string when employing a call is hunting, not ventilating a clam, feeding, conditioned animal overa pile of bait from a 20 yard, pre-determinedvantage point. That is not true hunting. Be prepared to take your shot in an unknown window, more often than not at a location not anticipated, at an animal that you may only have seconds to judge, while moving through your area. Stop the intended recipiant of your arrow within that window and ethically dispatch your intended target. Not a problem, right? Right.[/align][/align] [/align][/align]I am proud to say that more than one observation by a PH, publishedthe state of Pennsylvania as one of the hardest places to take mature whitetails with archery gear. The same has been said foradult Toms... in that IF you can harvest one here, you have the ability tocollect one anywhere else in the US of A. Couple in the fact that our deer population has dropped sharply with years ofover issuedantlerless tags and you'll have yet another hurdle to overcome.Locating an area that holdsmature deer.[/align][/align] [/align][/align]I add a condition to that previoulsy publication -the word "consistently" harvest either game animal here. You'll have earned it and rightfully deserve all the respect that accompanies it. My signature condenses this post, for those who prefer the Reader Digest version. :)[/align]

RE: The Great Debate Over Baiting Revisited
 

To each his own.

If it is legal in your state and you choose to do so, far be it for me to tell you you're wrong.

I'll congratulate you just the same as I would anyone else.