I don't see the difference between baiting and planting food plots specifically for deer. I'm stationed at Parris Island Recruit Depot here in SC and we conduct deer reduction hunts twice a month. During these hunts, the deer are baited at the 32 different stands throughout the base with corn. The hunters are also allowed to shoot any deer they want even if it has spots. I don't agree with this but they do it. After all, it is to reduce the population. But over on the Beaufort Air Station across town, they do not allow baiting. But they have food plots planted on 4 of the hunting areas. Naturally, these are the first areas that get checked out on hunting days. No baiting, but we can hunt right on top of the food plots if we want. I agree that over baiting would attract more deer which is the opposite of what they're trying to accomplish, but aren't the food plots affectively accomplishing the same thing????

By the way, baiting is legal in SC for deer. But not on the Air Station.

vabyrd,
I doubt anyone plants a food plot because they're interested in gardening. They plant it to attract deer, which means according to your definition it's bait.
I give you that not everything legal is ethical only because laws are a set of rules while ethics vary from person to person. If the law says a practice falls with in the rules then once again I say don't let YOUR ethics impact a lawful practice. A law may not make something ethical in your view but your ethics don't make it illegal ever.
As far as using a spot light it's not even in the same catagory. We're talking about attractants here, but feel free to grasp at those straws.
Do people who use scents and lures or scent blocker also "suck" in your opinion? Their trying to draw in deer just the same.

No worries dirgo. Glad you joined the discussion.

Bait is feed, a bag of corn. A food plot is a field of clover,chickory, turnips, etc... Dumping a 50# bag of corn in front of a tree stand is the same thing? Take it a little further. Two punks find a the edge of someones field, sneak out in the middle of the night dumping corn, couple of days later, sneak in for a quick shot. Guys dumping corn along logging roads in national forest. Have you ever managed enough land where you were able to grow a plot? Have a clue what it costs? Fact is most who do so, are engaged in practices such as hay production or cattle. The main reason is that most Departments of Game will agree that having deer in such tight quarters (such as a 2 foot circle of food) is not healthy. You can argue with them all day long, or me for that matter, if you or anyone else wants to dump a bag of corn and hunt over it, have a ball. Spray yourself all day with whatever you want, doesnt bother me. I believe the original post was the definition of "Bait". You can master it if you like.

lol how is planting a food plot not baiting too? you are making a plot of food for deer, then its baiting.

also ill add that having 2000 acres we have food plots and feeders running where we hunt. and in 10 years of hunting 90 % of the deer taken are not at the feeders or plots. if u make a plot of food for a deer to attract it to an area then my view is you're still trying to bait it to an area.

because that would be intentionally "snagging" game fish and that is illegal here

OK I get it now. Ban a pile of corn and hunt deer the "old fashion way" from a 20 ft treestand with an odor absorbing suit, carbon arrows and a 300fps compound bow that can hammer nails at 30 yds. Any of us who think we have the market cornered on ethics is deluding ourselves. In most states now, herds of deer descend on biologic food plots like cattle. We set up on a well worn travel route and wait. Sure it is tough to trick a record book buck but the rest of the herd doesn't really stand a chance. As a bowhunter, I think that shooting these deer with a rifle is a joke. A guy with a homemade longbow who stalks his quarry from the ground probably thinks my treestand setup is unethical. Who is right? The answer is, nobody. Bait is just one of a long list of artificial tools we use today to harvest venison, no better and no worse than any of the high-tech gadgets marketed to give us an advantage.

The 2,000 acre farm with it's large cornfields isn't going to spread CWD and other diseases like a small concentrated bag of corn or mineral block would. Also, as far as being hunting sources,.... you guys are crazy if you think the "challenge" of predicting movement towards a small pile of bait compared to the dozens of multiple entry and exit trails to a large cornfield is anything comparable! Apples to oranges!

Hunting over afood plotis the same as hunting over corn that you put out, there both a type of bait. Me personally I dont have a problem with baiting the deer with corn, its a lot easier to get back in the woods than a tractor and everything you need to plant a food plot. We have this come up every year if its legal do it if it aint dont or take a chance at getting busted

Check out these awesome food plots. The SCDNR has set them up on one of our bases. They have plots in 4 different areas. This is just one area that has 3 rowes of plots like this. And as you can see, even with these plots people still dump corn where they're setting up (not me)....