cjwink

But the sure do use bait in Fishing. And no one complains about it..

I grew up hunting in Tx where corn was legal to hunt over. I now live in MS where it is not legal. Problem is it is not enforce and if you do get caught it is a slap on the hand so many people do it. Or people put out a camera over a corn pile to get pics of all the deer in the area and then when hunting season starts the pull the corn off and hunt over the same spot.. So the theory of traditional hunting goes right out the window.. If your going to be traditional then be traditional, but from where I grew up hunting over corn is traditional.. I never new anything different.

MatthewUSMC

We all know we come here for good information and the camaraderie of our fellow hunters. This topic of bait seems to have so many people upset to whether it is ok or not. The big picture should be focused on a couple of points… one is it legal in your state and how does it if it does impact your native animals.

I personal think that selective baiting (food plots, corn feeders, etc.) is not as harmful and some other types of baiting I have seen on so many of these hunting programs that are publicly broadcasted on this site. Typically most questions can be answered in so few of words, but this one may not be.

One question that could be asked is… In Texas and so many hunting shows hunt there for free I might guess, just to show the property on TV why is it these ranches that own thousands of acres then they drive down the roads and dump not just corn but process food pellets like they were spreading salt on the highway in the dead of winter.. Would you consider that fair chase…is there a difference…? How bout these ranches with their 12 foot high fences completely enclosing their property to only charge thousands of dollars to shoot an animal… I never knew African game was possible in the United States… why would you want to drag an animal all the way from Africa to Texas just to raise it in the big enclosed caged property… oh yeah.. we do it because we can charge some dumb person from New Jersey thousand ‘s of dollars to go down there sit in a highly equipped deer stand with lights and power and water and windows and range cards to shoot some sorry animal… is that fair chase….

We’ve gotten off the topic but they all wind up in the same category…. Everyone is trying to have the best possiblity in harvesting a animal cleanly and safely…. The problems fall into the comparision of the big outfits to you and your neighbor…The things these big hunting outfits do is so much greater in scale then what some little land owner who owns 40 acres and puts up a feeder, takes some nice photos while he’s hunting and shows them to friends and family do… so why aren’t we complaining about that…. Why aren’t we asking them to open up their land and let a limited ammount of people hunt their property without paying thousands of dollars…

So to answer your question in my opinion I think if you bait responsibly you can do your animals a benefit as well as harvesting a animal for the frezzer…

As in one guy said go back to the way it was meant to… well if you read what he put in his signature, he quoted that he uses every hi-tech cojmponent possible…

Why isn’t he using a long bow with wooden arrows and stone points or a flint lock muzzleloader…. Why aren’t you practicing what you preech… high power optics, 80% left off bows, saboted slugs….. these are just as much a advantage as baiting…

I think we need to step back and look at it from different sides… be responsible and carign for our wildlife and be greatful for what we have rather then complaining about what someone else is doing…

So grow up and worry about whats in your back yard rather then whats in someone else… most people wouldn’t like it if other worried about what they did…

Especially you mr jo cop…

cjwink

Good post.. So many people think that putting acorn feeder out will result in some big break out of disease or lead to people killing off herds of deer as they come to feed... Truth be told, with 20 years of hunting over feeders in Tx I have never seen a deer with disease.. And me and my family actually took less deer, because we saw more deer and were more selective in what we took.

tjschwarze

Our family doesn't own a huge piece of property, we only have about 100 acres to work with. To spread the herd we planted clover plots randomly throughout. We don't hunt over the food plots because that takes away from the challenge of hunt. We are considering leaving some standing corn through the winter next year to help out the deer in case of another severe Maine winter. My question is are these bad strategies? We only plant to benefit the animals, Maine has some harsh winters, but if it is bad for them, we may consider dropping the whole plan.

MatthewUSMC

Cool. Good point...

Guess, you have never hunted around a corn field, or under an oak tree. no big difference.. plant 400 acres of corn and let it stand, soy bean all that food..

Maddog10

I personally don't use any baiting tactics, but I don't look down upon those that do use them. Sure, I can see the point that it is somewhat considered "cheating", but at the same time you better believe that the Indians and the people before all these high speed compound bows would have used anything that they felt gave them an extra advantage. I certainly consider those people to be hunters as well. Fortunately, now-a-days not many of us view hunting as a "kill or starve" type of deal, but do it because it is something we enjoy and because we like the meat. Like I said, i don't hunt over any bait piles but several of my friends put out corn and to tell you the truth, they don't really do any better than I do. The way I see it, I can hunt the way I want to hunt and they can hunt the way they want to. Who am I to judge another man on how they choose to take their game?... Truthfully if we all wanted to be "true hunters", we'd put down these 300 fps bows and carve one from oak and sharpen sticks. I certainly wouldn't do it because I enjoy the perks of modern technology when I'm at the field. Someone looking for more of a challenge may opt to go the other route. The same principle applies with baiting IMO. How much of a challenge do you want?

J.L.B

I have read this and I can not Believe that grown men will complain about hunting over a Baited pile. Grow up and get some action in your life help a farmer out, buy some corn and kill a Deer.

Beamer01

There have never been any studies that have conclusively linked feeding deer and CWD. It is all hype. I don't bait because it is illegal in my state but, the reasons that have been given as to why the law exists are just ridiculous. I do just fine without baiting and probably would not find it necessary if it was legal. I just dont like being lied to.

AquamanPSD

We're all talking about corn but what about Lucky Buck or other mineral licks. Tell me that there isn't a benifit in that. I use Lucky Buck year round and it's obviously good for the deer because you can see it in the bucks horns. I have used corn, mollassses, food plots, and just about every type of mineral/food you can think of and I pormise you don't put any more time in than I do. Tell me what the difference of you spending "hours" in the woods patterning deer or me discing a feild for a food plot when its 100 degree outside and still having to pattern the deers movement into that food plot? Get off your soap box, your not better or more of a hunter than anyone else because you chose to hunt accorns or bedding areas more the a mineral lick.

And another point. lets think about it like this.... outlaw feeding in my home state of KY, less deer get killed, the already high population gets higher, food becomes scarce, herd health goes down and so does antler size, less deer get killed because they are smaller, Over population gets worse and worse and disease whips out the entire herd. Far fetched yes but the fact is if disease is going to spread its going to spread. Having a corn feeder out isn't going to make enough of a difference to mention.

J.L.B

I Live In Ky and I have to agree with you, it dose not matter if you hunt over a pile of corn or hunt from the acorn tree's, or by it in a bucket from Walmart, you are still drawling the deer to you, Save A Farmer, Buy Some Corn, Kill A Deer