Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

This year a good friend of mine from PA harvested a beautiful mature 8 pointer with a 17 inch spread on the first Friday of the regular firearms season.

When I asked him about the kill, he said he shot the deer in a field MID-DAY on the first Friday of the regular firearms season. This perplexed me that an older mature buck would wander out into an open field when the shots and hunter presence around him would have easily clued him in that it was deer season.

According to my friend, the field contained 60 acres of "New Zealand Pro Graze" that they planted for the deer.

Why does PA allow planting of crops that are specifically aimed for no other reason than feeding deer? What the hell is the difference between putting out a pile of apples/corn/salt, and planting 60 acres of deer food in a field?

They are both baiting, right?

- Gr8ful

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

You are getting into a field of ethics where there are not absolutes, but let me try. In Pennsylvania, hunting deer and other animals over a pile of bait, a feeder, or something of that nature is ILLEGAL. I used the caps to make a point. Some don't consider it UNETHICAL. There is a difference. In many states and in several Canadian provinces, hunting over bait is completely legal for some species of game animals. There are still those who consider it unethical, even though it is legal. They should not do it if they feel that way.

Planting a feed plot to attract deer or other species is not illegal in this state. Most don't consider it unethical either. I am not sure where you draw the line between a field of Imperial Clover, an alfalfa field, or a cornfield. A field is a field. A food plot is a field, regardless of size. I see nothing wrong with your friend's kill, either ethically or legally. It is for others who have their moral absolutes firmly fixed to make judgements. I don't, but have just rendered an opinion.

Would I hunt over bait? I certainly would if it were legal, and especially if the circumstances made it the only practical way to hunt a species. In some areas of Canada, baiting is the only way you would get to see a black bear. I much prefer spot and stalk hunting as it is done in British Columbia, but a baited hunt is not a sure thing in Alberta.

We probably will beat this one to death, and I expect the 'holier than thou' types to jump in an pronounce hunting over bait to be as evil as devil worship.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

The day that one of you baiters can tell me you carry those bags of apples & corn out to the woods every day of the year then you can question food plots.If you are to pig headed to understand that a food plot is there 365 days a year for all animals to feed on ,not for the 3 weeks that you are sitting there to shoot them.If you don't like to hunt don't hunt.If you like to watch the deer throw some corn out & watch them.But don't wait till the snow is butthole deep to a tall indian to throw some corn out & shoot a deer then tell me you are a deer hunter.

Baiting whether legal or illegal is wrong moralyorethically ,using one of the three necessities of life "air ,water & food" to kill an animal is just wrong.A deer can live without its sense of smell or its hearing to compare these senses with an animals need for food is justignoring the factsof life.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Bawanajim:

... So, by your logic, if someone were to stock a corn feeder, so that it had feed in it every day of the year, it would be ok?

After all, the food would be there every day for all the animals to enjoy even when it wasn't open season. Clearly, squirrels, grouse, pheasants, turkeys and bears would have just as much access to afeeder as deer would have to a 60 acre plot of New Zealand Pro Graze.

I honestly am not trying to play "holier than thou" and I am not trying to say that either method should be or shouldn't be allowed. It just seems very contradictory to consider planting a field full of deer food to be a habitat improvement/conservation measure, while putting out corn, apples, or salt is regarded asunethical andillegal.

They are bothbaiting ... are they not?

- Gr8ful

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

I plant plots to feed the critters all year long and get a kick out of watching them,that's my goal.Hopefully the plots will keep game around to provide better hunting.
A plot takes alot of time and money.Plenty of sweat goes into making a plot.
It's a tough call to compare the two because a fellow could say he's filling his feeder year round to feed the critters.It's personal preference I suppose.But as for now baiting is illegal therefore I'm against it.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

If you can fill a 60 acre feeder every day you are a good man.Not very smart but a good man just the same.;)

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

I think they are both "BAITING". You plant a food plot to bring deer to a certain area. You put apples,corn,salt out to bring a deer to a certain area. Since you think it`s okay b/c plots are there 365 days a yr what if you have corn or apples on site 365 days a year does that make it ok. What if you plant apple trees in your spot? is that baiting or a food plot? I really think IMO that if you feed deer outside of season it should be ok.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

What's the difference in hunting a corn or soybean field, apple orchard or oak grove and a food plot?

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

No difference in my book.
If you hunt over or arounda food plot it is baiting.
If you hunt around oak or beach trees, that is hunting because that is the deer's natural food.
PGC is setting a bad example by putting food plots on gamelands.

Anyone that hunts around food plots I don't consider a hunter.
Example: States that allow shooting bears over bait, what kind of a hunt is that!!! You might as well go to the zoo and shoot one.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

What did I tell you?
"We probably will beat this one to death, and I expect the 'holier than thou' types to jump in an pronounce hunting over bait to be as evil as devil worship."

They showed up, didn't they? There are always those who feel morally superior to others that are willing to show us the error of our ways.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Yep, so much for habitat improvement.........

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

We are talking on a computer so I can't look into your eyes to tell if you are serious or just pissin in the wind.But I will try to explane it one last time.

In the spring you plow a field that you own,andbecause you own it you know that next year it will not be a strip mall.
Next you dic it to fit the soil for planting while you are doing this you will see dusting beds where turkeys have been dusting.
Then you fertilize ,lime & plant,this is not a cheap thing to do but all hunters should strive to put something back.
Thru the summer while you are mowing you will see wood chucks ,blue birds & turkey poults feeding on grass hoppers that will thrive in your field.
I'm not sure how many of you understand photosynthesis but it is the process of plants turning carbon dioxide & water into oxygen , something that we find handy.
So thru out the summer your food plot has proved a great asset to the enviroment.
For years to come all wildlife will benefit from your work.

Now if you clear some soft maple and plant some apple trees you will be making the world a better place for people like me that love to hunt deer!!!!!

Baiting and high fences have no placein the world of sport hunting!

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Here is just a few of the many differences....

Baiting vs. Food Plots – Pros and Cons
By Charles J. Alsheimer
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What is better for hunting and deer management, bait or food plots?
Photo by Charles Alsheimer
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I was born and raised on a farm in the fertile farm belt of western New York. One of my earliest recollections of the whitetail had to do with observing them feeding in a winter wheat cover crop my dad had planted. In many ways you could say that field was not too much different than some of today’s food plots. The connection between hunting whitetails near the foods they prefer has always been a strategy I’ve used in my New York hunts. Because New York has never allowed baiting deer for hunting purposes, my hunting strategies have revolved around hunting mast, man-made food sources, funnels, ridge lines and scrape lines.
As a young hunter I never gave baiting an ounce of attention. We couldn’t do it, and I knew no one who could. So I had no clue what baiting was all about. This all changed in 1989.
In December 1989 I traveled to Texas to photograph and hunt whitetails. On my trip from the San Antonio airport to the south Texas brush country, I drove through several small towns. In each location I observed signs in front of convenience stores and gas stations that read, “Get your deer corn here.” At first I didn’t get it. Then, after going through the second town a light went off in my head, and I figured it out. Not only were groceries and gas being sold at these locations, but also bait for the deer hunters.
On the first morning of photographing on an incredible ranch, I received my christening into what baiting deer is all about. While positioned in a photo blind, the ranch owner “corned” three sendaros around the blind. When the rancher’s pick-up finally left the scene, deer poured out of the thick brush from every direction. For the next three hours I burned film while deer came and went as they fed within mere feet of each other. In all my years of pursuing whitetails I’d never seen anything quite like it. I’ve got to admit, by the time my two-week photo shoot was over, the baiting process looked pretty intriguing to me. It certainly made the photography far more productive than trying to spot and stalk a deer in the brush.
Can of Worms
Mention baiting to America’s deer hunters and you’ll get a myriad of responses. In some locales you’ll hear nothing but disdain. In others, much praise. In locations where baiting deer is legal, the business community defends it because of the revenue baiting products add to their bottom line.
Certainly for most the term baiting conjures up thoughts of piles of apples, beets or corn placed where a deer can be easily ambushed. This is the image that riles so many sportsmen. However, there are also those who view it just as unethical to hunt whitetails over a food plot of clover, alfalfa, wheat or corn. The latter group is of the belief that there are no differences between the two. At first glance perhaps there is no difference, but with careful analysis it is clear there are many reasons why food plots not only shine brighter in a hunting setting but are also naturally, nutritionally and physically more beneficial to deer than baiting.
Baiting
There is no question about it, baiting is a science – at least for those who do it successfully. Where legal, bait sites offering preferred food in locations that provide whitetails cover and the hunter accessibility without being detected can bring the hunter big dividends. A prime example of this is the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan and its neighbor to the west, Alberta, grow some of the biggest whitetails on Earth. However, Saskatchewan’s northern forest setting produces many more huge racked whitetails than Alberta. Why? There are certainly just as many big bucks present, but you cannot bait in Alberta. You can bait in Saskatchewan. Many of the Saskatchewan outfitters have baiting down to a science and are able to maximize their efforts. As one of the better Saskatchewan outfitters told me, “If we couldn’t bait here we’d only kill a small fraction of the big bucks we do. This is remote big bush country and baiting is the only way to get a big buck in front of a hunter.”
Of course, there are many other locations in North America that are similar to Saskatchewan. Arguably, the needed harvest could not be achieved in some areas without the aid of baiting. But aside from attaining the needed harvest are there any other pluses to baiting? One might be the fact that the hunter, on average, will see more deer at a bait set-up than if he’s walking around in the woods.
However, because bait sites are generally unnatural and short term, a host of problems begin rearing their ugly heads. Whenever deer are confined to close quarters disease and stress are more likely. Equally detrimental is the effect unnaturally concentrated deer have on the surrounding natural habitat. Another thing that is often overlooked with baiting in a hunting situation is that the baiting usually ends when the season ends on the eve of winter. Basically, after 60-plus days of being programmed to come to the welfare food truck, deer have the rug pulled out from under them, just when they need the site’s feed to pull them through the winter.
Fix the Forest
There’s no arguing about the damage deer do to an ecosystem, especially when there is an artificially inflated deer population brought on by a bait site. Whitetails need between 8 to12 pounds of food a day to survive – up to half or more should come from natural sources like leaves, browse and forbs. When deer are confined to a small area the surrounding habitat can be severely impacted, in some cases for generations to come.
In most cases, when deer populations exceed 35-40 deer per square mile, preferred browse species disappear. I know from experience that such numbers (and more) will almost always be present around a bait site. Let me explain.
After my trip to Texas in 1989, I decided to purchase a solar operated 500-pound feeder to supplementally feed the deer on our farm. I also intended to use it for photography. New York’s game laws at the time allowed for feeding during non-hunting months (artificially feeding is now banned). In May 1991, I placed the feeder in a location on our farm that offered the deer security, while at the same time providing a great photo set-up. Within a week, the deer began coming to the feeder, which was programmed to go off a half hour after dawn and an hour and a half before sunset. It proved to be the ultimate “welfare truck” and photo location.
Regularly I had as many as 15-plus deer milling around just before the feeder was to go off. I once counted as many as 20 deer feeding on the 2 1/2 pounds of corn the feeder dispensed each time it went off. The set-up offered some incredible photo opportunities, but it didn’t take me long to realize that I was creating three huge problems.
The first thing I noticed was the stress the feeding station placed on the deer using it. They’d fight over the food, and in some cases, the episodes were quite ugly. Also, because they’d vent their waste at the site, they’d be eating the corn off an open sewer, setting the stage for the spread of disease. Furthermore, habitat surrounding the bait site soon showed signs of severe over-browsing. Any plant deer could browse within 100 yards of the feeder was literally chewed off. Frankly, I was creating a moonscape.
It didn’t take me long to come to my senses. After one summer of artificially feeding our farm’s deer, I retired the $500 feeder and shifted my attention to something far more beneficial for the deer and natural habitat – food plots.
Raising the Bar with Food Plots
I guess I’ve heard all the griping and sniping from people who claim that food plots are nothing more than big bait piles. As someone who was raised on a farm, where cover crops were regularly planted, I view such criticisms as nothing more than hollow rhetoric. After even the most casual analysis, it’s difficult to see how 20-foot by 20-foot bait sites and food plots of an acre or more can be referred to in the same context. Doing so forces you to bring most agricultural crops into the same discussion.
It is man’s responsibility to make sure that we take care of what God has entrusted to us. In order to protect the environment, every aspect of our ecosystem must be addressed, not just the whitetail and man’s self-interest.
In order to meet a capacity herd’s daily food requirement, huge amounts of food, both natural and man-made can be utilized. Some argue that agricultural crops are the way to supplement the whitetail’s natural food requirement. It can’t be done. Here’s why. By way of example, agricultural sources in the north are only available to whitetails from May through October – just half of the year.
The answer to feeding all of our wildlife is through food plots. Not only do food plots provide whitetails a sustaining, near-year-round food source, they also keep native forages – vital to many forms of wildlife – from being irreversibly damaged during years of severe drought or severe winters. Quality food plots raise the bar to the point that all of nature benefits.
Benefits of Food Plots
Nearly everything in the hunting industry is designed for the hunter, i.e., guns, ammo, bows, arrows, camouflage, deer calls, lures, etc. Certainly these things don’t benefit the animal. At the end of the day nothing in the hunting industry benefits the deer other than food plots. Food plot products don’t take from the resource, they give back.
Nutrition: When it comes to nutrition, very few farm crops can provide the quality of nutrition that food plot forages can. For example corn provides 6-8 percent protein and, at best, is only available for one or two months each year. Imperial Whitetail Clover, Alfa-Rack Plus and Extreme can easily provide 30-plus percent protein for nine months in the north and the whole year in the south. So, Imperial Clover trumps corn at every turn.
Longevity:When it comes to longevity there are few farm crops that can rival the forages available to food plot practitioners. With proper maintenance, a food plot planted with Imperial Whitetail Clover can last five years or more. I have one Imperial Clover plot that is seven years old. Not only is the plot providing my deer with tons of great nutrition, but I’ve saved a lot of money by not having to till and plant every year.
Health to Habitat:Though often overlooked, food plots definitely provide far less stress to the surrounding natural habitat than bait sites. When multiple food plot locations are offered on a property, heavy browsing of the immediate area surrounding food plots can be lessened greatly. The impact of the natural habitat will always be in direct proportion to the number of deer in an area.
Health:Anytime deer are congregated into a tight area – as with bait sites – there is the increased possibility of diseases being spread through waste and nose-to-nose contact. Food plots eliminate this from happening because close contact is not present.
Stress: Deer stress each other far more than hunters and land managers realize. They cannot tolerate an over-population of their own kind. When deer congregate around bait sites, all kinds of ugly social interaction occurs. Food plots allow for the population to be more spread out thereby reducing stress.
Education:An educated deer hunter is the best hunter. Learning of the relationship between soil, fertilizer, seed, natural habitat, deer-carrying capacities, buck-to-doe ratios and age structure is an investment in the future of hunting. When youth are introduced to all that food plots bring to the deer management equation, all of hunting wins and in a big way.
Public Perception:If you want to get the non-hunting public fired up, just mention hunting over bait. Most go into orbit. Food plots, on the other hand, strike a more pleasing chord with the majority of non-hunters. In areas where disease is prevalent among whitetails, residents of the area understand that food plots are far more beneficial to deer than baiting and artificial feeding.
With each passing year more and more people (both hunters and non-hunters) are becoming educated on what the whitetail and the environment need to survive and reach optimal health. In many ways, the process has been slower than expected. However, through better education, the whitetail’s future looks bright because of sportsmen’s demand for better deer management. Deer management is made up of many parts with nutrition playing a huge role. What food plots bring to the equation is not only significant but also essential for healthy deer herd.


Mineral Supplements and the Great Baiting Debate
By Chris Eubanks, Whitetail Institute Director of Communications
Most hunters and wildlife managers usually associate “baiting” with the placing of corn in piles or in feeders (troughs or dispensers).
As mentioned in the adjacent article, many states and provinces prohibit the practice of baiting deer, and understandably so. If done so without sufficient knowledge, improper baiting can have apparent negative effects on the herd and the environment. Understanding the digestible limits and behavior of deer, especially in relation to corn feeding, can help prevent the negative impacts of baiting. Many hunters, however, do not take the time to educate themselves on how improper baiting can severely affect the herd and habitat, and states felt responsible to ban the practice.
In the process of restricting baiting, states were forced to define mineral supplements as “bait.” The argument against the use of bait focuses on attracting unnaturally high numbers of deer to one area, thereby damaging the habitat and potentially spreading disease. Knowledgeable deer managers and many biologists know the crucial importance mineral supplements play in producing optimal health in deer herds, and they also know that mineral supplement sites are far different than corn-feeding sites.
First, deer do not become dependent on mineral supplements to fill their bellies, and therefore, do not congregate and linger in an area such as done around corn-feeding stations. Deer only consume small amounts of mineral supplement, such as Cutting Edge or 30-06, in any given day. Typically, a deer will spend a few minutes per day at a mineral lick as compared to hours around at a corn-feeding station. While the mineral supplement is attractive to deer, the limited use and constant availability results in sporadic use throughout the day by small groups or individual deer and eliminates the congregation of many deer at one time – such as what happens 10 minutes before a feeder goes off during the middle of the winter when little forage is available. Since deer do not typically congregate at mineral licks in large numbers, the negative effects of high deer density – surrounding habitat destruction, the spread of disease and increased social stress – is minimal.
Secondly, quality mineral supplements can be compared to a vitamin pill for deer. The consumption of quality mineral supplements only helps to improve individual animal and total herd health. Mineral licks actually tend to counter the most prominent negative effects produced by feeding stations – declined health and disease susceptibility.
Lastly, the primary use of mineral supplements is to improve herd quality, not to attract deer. Hunters often hunt over mineral licks, but most do not. As recommended by the Whitetail Institute, deer managers can create mineral licks all over their property, which further distributes the deer and virtually eliminates all the negative effects associated with baiting, while at the same time achieving the goal of offering mineral supplements and growing trophy bucks and big, healthy does.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

We are not just hunters. We are MANAGERS! If it is necesary on some land toget pops in line with thecarrying capacity of the land or to lower the Buck doe ratios , I see nothing wrong with it. In order to get the numbers where they belong im fine with it. Why is baiting anymore wrong than a 25 man drive if people yelling! But if driving is the only way to lower the numbers DO IT!

Of course compliance with the laws is important. So leave Pa and go to some surrouning states if ya like to bait.

Question: Is salt illegal if it has long since melted into the ground in Pa?

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

I have to disagree with seig.In that case anything ever planted would be baiting whether it's apples,acorns,grapes,chestnuts,etc.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

To me, it seems like it is simply "SELECTIVE INDIGNATION."

Putting food out for an animal and then killing that animal when it comes to eat that foodis BAITING.

I don't care if it is a 60 acre food plot or a pile of apples/corn/salt. You are using the animals need to get food as the means to increase your likelihood of a kill. You are not going into that animals natural environment and trying to outwit its natural survival instincts.

It also creates a situation where a post rut buck (one that is extremely hungry and needs to put on weight quickly) will over-ride its natural instincts and its tendency to hole up in the thickest patch of cover he can find until the cover of darkness (Hence, the reason my friend was able to score on such a big buck late in the season -in the middle of an open area in the middle of the day!) Good luck trying to score that buck in the same manner in the middle of an open area surrounded bystate forest with no food to lure him in.

Hunting around a stand ofoak mast, or beech, or natural forage is completely different than positioning food in a specific location so you can get them exactly where you want them.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but to me, food plots seem to me to simply to be a way for the wealthy to justify doing what baiting laws make illegal forpersons that don't own a piece of their own land to seed with deer food. ... And just becasue it takes alot of work to plant a field of deer food doesn't make it any less despicable in my book.

For me, I would much rather harvest a big, mature buck in its natural environment than harvest that same animal in an environment that I created. However, some guys could care less as all they want is a set of horns on the wall, and they will justify that harvest any way they can.

I told my buddy, he should put an empty bag from the seed they used on the wall next to his mount, so he can truly relive the experience of how he got his "trophy.":eek:

- Gr8ful

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

There is a huge differnence between hunting a 20 foot by 20 foot baiting staiton and 60 acres of a food plot. You can call both baiting, but its a hell of allot easier to pattern and shot an animal coming to the small station. 60 acres offers allot more room for the deer to come in and feed from multiple directions.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Come on guys! I cant imagine why some here cant see the differences between a food plot and a bait pile. Yes ,both are hunting over a food source but the differences betwen them are huge. I'll try to point out a few:

Bait piles can be replenished daily and can be used to specifically put many deer into a very very small area. Food plots grow over time and while small plots may attract a few deer to a specific spot, the forage will not last long if many deer are hitting it. Larger food plots are needed to attract large quantities and therefore cant possibly concentrate the same amount ofgame into one spot or trail as a baitpile.

Food plots take time to grow and involve a time commitment for the type of forage planted. What may attract game in early fall will not necessarily bring them in December. Once again, that requires a much larger areabut, a singlebait pile can be manipulated by the human replenishing it.

Food plots are a way of helping enhance what Ma nature and agriculture already does and while it may make hunting oppotunities better, they also as a side effect make the habitat better. Bait piles condition game to come to a specific spot for their food so they can be shot, period. As a side effect, some look like garbage dumps.

I'm not against all baiting. Bait hunting can be a sporting situation and the only realistic way to hunt under some curcumstances. As someone said, Canadian bears are next to impossible to hunt without baiting. I have hunted Bears over bait but was not particularly pleased with the baiting part of the experience. The smell, the appearance and just the whole idea caused me to regard it as merely a necessary evil. If there was another feasible way, I would use that method instead.

Pa could well end up with some form of legal bait hunting for deer to draw the deer from posted or otherwise unhuntable areas. While I realize it may be necessary, I personally dont like the idea.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

You and your peta buddies dont deserve to have freinds that care that much about wildlife.Your friend will do good to find true hunters as real friends.

You need to tell us all where you want to hunt.Maybe a mall parking lot.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Food plots are in no way baiting LMFAO. I mean Alfalfa, clover,and other plots can be found all overNY. Yeah right. You bring a food in that`s not natural to the area and don`t call it baiting.Sugar coat it anyway you want but it`s still baiting 60 acres or not.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Yep your right suger coat a dick & you'll get a suger coated dick.

If none of you get it that it's more than just killing a deer you are all lost.

This time of year you should be scouting ,looking for apple trees that are grown over,brush needs cut. You need to be clearing fence lines making brush piles for rabbits .Maybe you should be working some over time to buy that piece of land that you hunt.Where the hell do you think your kids will hunt ?

Hell I quit.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

I deleted my own post. It was mean spirited, and nasty. Jim, please accept my apology for what I posted. You have a right to your opinions.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

I love this topic, it cracks me up everytime I read something like this.... let me get this straight, hunting over a field of clover is baiting and baiting is "immoral/unethical"? Well, ANYBODY that says that hunting a deer near a food source must be one heck of a woodsman to ever kill a deer considering that he must me hunting on a 200 acre parking lot made of nothing but pavement. The woods are FULL of food sources, not just your oak/apple trees. Deer will roam around through the woods and graze on pretty much anything that they can so I wonder just where these guys are hunting if they don't think it is right to hunt deer by a food source.

Now, as far asa food-plot vs. a pile of corn.... this just cracks me up everytime I hear this as well. Those t.v. shows on the Outdoor Channel really sell food plots to the world. I love hearing guys talking about food plots and how deer from everywhere in the world flock to them and feed the entire day...... yeah, thats how it really works (sarcasim). The food plots on those t.v. shows you get your "info" from are nothing like the typical guys food plots. Try planting a food plot sometime and see if you get the results that you see on those wonderful television shows. Fact is a foodplot is just like any other agricultural field, tell me how a field of clover planted by a farmer is any different than a field of clove planted by a hunter. Oooo, thats right.... there is no difference.

It seems that alot of guys think that when a food plot is present deer just give up all their natural reactions and instincts. A deer is always cautious when entering any field, be it a food plot or corn field. Also, in any normal situation (not these giants chunks of entirely un-pressured land you see on t.v.) deer act the same way as a agricultural field, they enter at last light and the big bucks usually come out last.

Why plant a food plot, because it is another food source for the deer that will help all wildlife. It isn't a hunting technique, it is a way to give back to the outdoors.

I think that too many guys are judging food plots based on what they see on t.v. My grandma use to tell me "don't believe everything you see on t.v." and that speaks loud and true on here. Get out and base your facts on actually watching a food plot instead of seeing those great hunters on the ranchs in texas.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Here's my opinion, hunting over bait as in bear hunting in a thick woods such as Maine, I don't consider unethical. One time I went bear hunting for a whole week. The guide placed me in a variety of stands over looking a bucket of old donuts. Let me just say, I saw one skunk and one tweety bird, that was it... not even a moose. I'll never do it again. But I will say this much, it was challenging. I don't believe it was unethical hunting over a donut bucket.

In NY where I live and PA... I believe planting food plots is the same as putting a bag of corn everyday of the year that the food plot is also available for eating. You have to remember, a food plot only provides food certain times of year. My opinion, planting food plots to attract game is unethical. Hunting near a corn field where the corn is planted to feed humans or livestock, is not unethical.

Everyone is this country is entitled to an opinion.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

good post.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

LOL got 58 acres, don`t need to buy it already own it. Property lines are cut 8 feet wide all the way around. Gonna go re post it sat. Cut down some hemlock tree brances for the rabbits and deer. Also going to update the four towers we have on the property and take down our stands til next yr. So what`s your point?


PS Apples grow on trees which helps the enviroment. Corn also feeds turkeys , crows and other animals.

PSS Hope you don`t let your kids speak like that.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Pathetic as my life might seem thru your rose colored glasses I will never lower myself to your level of baiting a deer to kill it.
If you lack the skills or moral aptitude to kill a deer without baiting maybe you should take up golf!!!


And of course we all know what they say about opinions. [:o]

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Wow this one got some people in an uproar. I would have to say to each his own. Personally I view baiting as bringing an animal to a specific point for the purpose of killing it. Whereas a food plot is just that, a plot of food, usually and comfortable saying they are always larger than a bait pile. You have no control on where the deer is going to come into the plot but a bait pile controls where they will come. Just my opinion but does bring up a point I don't believe anyone has mentioned.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Well said Setter, and althoughitHAS been said several times here, The baiting proponents just choose to ignore it.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

The difference in hunting over a food plot and baiting to me is that a food plot covers a large area and game can feed anywhere in that plot. Baiting is a specific spot where the game will feed. Not much sport in that.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

don`t lower your level to baiting just keep it at the high level of food plots. More land , more money, more time so your way is right. PLus there is no skills in shooting a deer next to a bait pile. I mean once the deer gets there it just rolls over and dies? Don`t evan have to know how to shoot or hit the deer in the right spot. It`ll just gut it`s self and evan skin and buthcher it`s selfall over the bait pile. Your right bait piles take no skill what so ever.:D:eek:My opinion:D:)

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

My little piece of property has 13 acres of formerly agricultural fields that are now in CREP. Of the 13 acres, about 9 are in the last grasses from haying - mostly timothy. The other 4 are planted in clover, wheat, sorghum and turnips. The CREP contract states that food plots are ok but nothing can be harvested. The fields can only be mowed every three years in July or August. I have been hunting from an elevated blind for the past three years and have yet to shoot anything from the food plots. I have shot one doe crossing a saddle from one patch of woods to the other and missed several deer with my flinchlock. My point is that food plots are no way to alter a deer's natural habits. If you think hunting over a food plot is a magic ticket to punching your tag, try it sometime.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Sorry you saw fit not to accept my apology, Jim. Perhaps you didn't notice that I edited the post. You will have to deal with that, not me.

Just for the record. I don't hunt over bait, or even feed plots, here in PA., but where it is legal, it is no more unethical than hunting along a cornfield. Those who have a major problem with doing what is legal in other states should not do it. They should not try to impose their values on others though. I have not tried to convince any of you that you personally should hunt over bait, next to a feed plot, or for that matter next to a white oak tree. All of my hunting for deer and turkeys is done in the mountains on state gamelands. You must do what you feel is ethical within your values system. Please refrain from thinking that because you think hunting over bait is unethical that that makes it so for everyone everywhere.

I am going on a black bear hunt in May in Alberta where baiting is legal. It makes absolutely no difference to me what some on this message board might think of that. In my ethical framework, it is OK, since without baiting, there would be precious few bears taken in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, in all of which provinces it is legal. If you choose not to hunt this way, you should not go. I am going and will have a great time. By the way, the last time I checked, the outfitter had one opening for that week. Anyone want to join me in sin?

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Why the blocked PM??????

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Try again.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Good post buck magnet. I plant clover and corn in my food plot,farmers all around me have clover and corn. Sometimes I see deer in my plots and sometimes I see them in the farmers field. Around here there is no difference. A good oak or apple tree is a better spot to shoot a deer because there is so much clover and corn.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Ditto for me.

One other note I'd mention - is I hunt 90% of the time off the crops. Too often only does and fawns make it to the field before legal hunting hours end.

I'd rather be in a good funnel or staging area several hundred yards off the fields.

I cannot seriously compare baiting to planting crops and/or food plots. Our standing corn plots this year will provide 15,000 to 20,000 lbs of corn Kernalsfor yarding deer this winter. This on top of 30,000 lbs - 35,000 lbsof managed green forage (soybeans and clover) during the summer months. Our stated goal is to support a local deer herd of 30-40 deer per square mile. In some years - the weather makes it easy - in other years - we lose deer anyhow.

Guys like me - We are supporting a deer herd - not baiting it.We aren't hunting over a 100ft x 100ft plot.

This statement reminded me of what someone said earlier in the post about the PGC planting food plots - being "a wrong practice" - I don't think alot of you understand - that a deer herd of 30-40 deer per square mile - eatstons and tons and tons of food per year. - I'm not an expert on the PGC - but my guess is that without food plots - the PGC would have to LOWER the deer population even more -because there would not be enough food to go around (not without destoying the natural regeneration of forestland). - I doubt that would be a popular move in PA.

FH

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

ok, my turn. first let's get this straight:whether you hunt over a food plot that sweated your tail off, or a pile of food, it's all still baiting, in my opinion. i have done both, and consider it no different. second, i can tell you from personal experience, over many years of being able to legally bait here in Vermont, just because there is food out, doesn't mean you will get to place your tag on a deer. in some areas, like mine where there is a much lower deer population than say, pa, this may bethe only way you get to see a deer, and then it may not be the right sex. the woods are too big, thick, and hold lower deer populations than other areas. we have baited for perhaps 15 years, and in that time have only harvested four bucks, and a few doe. if this is such a gimme way to hunt, shouldn't those numbers be much higher? deer are nocturnal animals, and as such, for us anyway, most of the time they didn't come in until after dark. you still have to be at the right place at the right time. and we would put out literally tons of food for them to eat: four p-ups of pumpkins, at least that many of apple pumice, plus we had barrels of apples filled from the truckloads that we got from the local orchards. those were put out from october through april, and letsnot forget the grain that was put out also during that time period. now, as for food plots being beneficial year round, at least up hear our deer travel to yarding areas, sometimes as far as five miles. what good is that plot doing for those deer? food plots in the north(and to most of us, PA is in the SOUTH!) should be considered an equal to baiting because it too is seasonal. they don't grow year round, the intended animals may not even be in the area to take advantage of it. so what's the difference? and also this, having hunted bear over baits, i can say the same thing : it ain't a gimme! one guy that i hunted with this year sat for four nights in a row on a hot stand, never saw a thing.

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Hunting over a food plot isn't a gimme either - but just becasueneither method is an absolute for taking a der - doesn't mean that they are theSAME.

Again, I cannot even see a comparison between the two methods of hunting. I'm not bashing baiting - I just don't think a bait pile is anything at all like a decent food plot.

FH

RE: Baiting vs. Planting Deer Feed - what's The Difference?
 

Maybe the difference between baiting and a food plot is that baiting will put a deer in an exact spot while a large food plot will not. Is a wild apple tree baiting? We all love to sit near these. Actually I think they would be better than baiting.