Want everyone's opinion on whether baiting should be legal or illegal.

I personally do not have a problem with baiting. The deer population grows so fats that it helps the animals, and also helps the hunters harvest more.

I do not hunt over bait, but I have no problems with people who do. I would not be as proud of a buck that I killed over a bait pile, it would not be completely natural or fair chase IMO.

I think it should be legal, up to the person who wants to/doesn't want to bait. Personally I don't do it. As Double said, I wouldn't be as proud of a buck I shot over a pile of bait, but for some people in certain areas that's the most productive way of getting a mature animal.

EDIT - I should also add that I feel if you're going to legalize one form of baiting, you should legalize it all. Here in Washington it's legal to bait deer and elk, but illegal to bait bears. I find this to be a rather stupid restriction, but I can see where the game department is coming from. Deer and Elk won't generally attack you if you come across a bait pile where as a bear might. Either legalize it all or none.

I know that over hear in Louisiana that most places are so thick that if you wouldn't bait you would hardly see a deer. And I do mean hardly. There are very little agriculture crops around, so you don't have those to glass or hunt by. Also with all the thickets the deer can bed anywhere. There is very little elevation so you saddles and ridges and benches are really well defined making figuring travel routs difficult. If I didn't have to bait I wouldn't but that is the way it is. For me if you use any doe in heat scent, grunt calls etc. you are baiting. Otherwise just sit in a spot and wait for them to come.

I hunted over bait years ago, and didn't see too much of an advantage. Of course, we didn't get into much detail with it. If you took the time, it could provide a huge advantage. All we ever saw were does and small bucks. I see many mature bucks now.

Personally, I think it's for each hunter to decide, though and I wouldn't judge somebody for it.

I think Pro-Line is right. You might get a nice 2 1/2 year old buck making a mistake by visiting a pile of corn but that is the exception and not the norm. The older deer know what’s going on with that bait and the heed caution, only hitting it at night or not even messing with it at all unless their natural food sources are dried up. I have friends from all over ranging from Michigan, Illinois, North Carolina, etc. and they all came down here to hunt with the same notion of not baiting and before it was said and done they were throwing out corn, and scratching their heads.

Ditto, Im in East Texas, Good Point.

Should using scent be legal? How about rattling? Treestands? Should it be legal? Why not. To not be as "proud" of a deer over bait than not? Really?[&o]

I wouldn't be as proud of a deer I shot over bait because I would know that I didn't put my heart and soul into the hunt. Anyone can go out and throw out a ton (sometimes literally) of food for an animal and kill it. It takes a certain amount of knowledge of the animal that you're pursuing in order to scout said animal, place a stand, and harvest it.

Bait alters an animals usual pattern, scent doesn't, treestands don't. That is the only problem I have with baiting. People who go out and scout before season and then have their scouting ruined because someone put a pile of corn a half mile back in the woods and changed their patterns irritates me. Placing scent on a trail doesn't do that. It may get the buck to stop for the extra second you need to place your shot, or bring it in the extra ten yards, but it isn't going to alter their usual patterns like bait will.

I'm pretty much in agreeance with everyone else - I wouldn't personally hunt over bait unless I had to, but at the same time I don't think it should be illegal. My grandfather was still bow hunting when he was in his late 70's. He has emphesyma pretty bad and can't get around much anymore, so he would sit up in the loft of his barn over a corn pile and shoot his doe every year for meat. Had baiting been illegal he wouldn't have had that opportunity.