Here in Indiana its illegal. I only hunt fair chase animals.

JagMan hit it on the head when he mentioned choice.

For me it comes down to the individuals motivation. I believe that some people kill deer for the purpose of putting meat in the freezer. In that case bait away. Why make it any harder on yourself if that is all you want to accomplish. Still more work than going to the grocery store to get a package of hamburger.

If sport is the motivation, well then that individual has to decide whether he/she feels sportsman like after a downing a feeding deer.



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I think hunting over bait is cheating. I belive in hunting the animal in the fairest way i can. But this is only my opinion and set values for myself.

The issue that this theory fails to adress is the reality that baiting does not simply occur in a closed environment.

Anindividual thatchoses to use bait affects not only his hunt, but also affects the hunting for others in the area. In locations where baiting is legal, hunters that do not use baitoften find themselves at a disadvantage to those that do.( For example...when deer are unnaturally drawn to baiting sites on neighboring properties.)

The issue of baiting does not simply affect those that choose to use it...

The question becomes very simple. Does the individual that baits have a right to affect other hunters experience simply because he chooses to use bait?

jcchartboy

I hear what you are saying, believe me I do. It would not hurt my feelings if they outlawed dog hunting around here. However, the issue of making regulations based on trying to ensure hunter x has the same experience as hunter y because hunter x chooses not to use any legal means available is sticky. It starts coming down to the attitude of "well I don't do it so you shouldn't either because it makes my life harder"

I am not saying you are wrong here, but I am not convinced by that argument. Now, if someone could post some peer reviewed evidence of damage to the ecosystem, that would be interesting.



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I'm guessing until you stop using the drag trails, your points won't be taken very seriously on this thread...

I have no problem with scent blockers, estrus stuff, high-tech range-finders, high-tech this and high-tech that, the problem I have is when folks who use those things to gain advantages knock folks for feeding with corn to gain an advantage...

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It is clear where the biologists from this state stand on the issue.

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it illegal here in GA. I have know problem with baiting deer. i think its no different than planting a food plot.
in GA we are allowed to hunt over food plots like corn, peas, ect. but we can not hunt over a pile of corn or anything that come out of a bag.
sounds pretty stupid to me.

You can't be serious? Let me guess , you're a hard core bait shooter.

Big difference between laying scent trails and hunting over a feeder , you know it , and everyone else knows it. Like I said before , my scent trails just happen to cross a heavily used deer trail between a bedding area in my woods and abait stationin my neighbors property. Get rid of baiting completely , let the deer go back to natural routines , and I'll have no problem not using anything but the wind and my knowledge.
Btw , care to compare success rates between baiting and using a scent?

i'm with fanatic on this one! if you use a scent or call to "lure" a deer towards you one day, you can be sure the deer aren't going to leave their natural pattern the next day when walking by that area. now when you "bait" them even one time, they will continue to leave their natural pattern for an extended period of time to check for more "bait". so in my opinion, using scents and calls is not screwing with nature's plans.