Hunting over Bait
 

What is your opinion on hunting over bait. By Bait I mean a pile of corn/other feed that has been intentionally placed there for deer to come in so that the hunter(s) can shoot it. Personally, I don't care if it is legal in your state or not, It is still "cheating." And YES, IT IS DIFFERENT THAN HUNTING NEAR A FARMERS FIELD. That farmer did not put that crop there for hunters to take deer, he needs that crop to make a living. Im on the fence about food plots too. I suppose they're ok........:hit:

It's not legal in Indiana to take anything into the hunting area to bait them with, but if it was legal I prefer not to do it because I like the challenge of hunting without that particular aide. I find it very satisfying to outwit that wiley Deer in his environment giving him a fighting chance to beat me. If the corn/beans are there then thats out of my control and I'll hunt there with the help of a food source just like hunting a water hole they depend upon. I just think for me it is a greater challenge to not use atractants. My buddy put corn out for Turkey and sat in a blind waiting for the bird to come to the food. I hated it.I went out set my decoys and called my birds in,I loved that and did not need the bait to hunt them only talk their language.

Nothing like another label,but here goes.As a hunter,I guess you could call me a purist.I don't use cover scents-but don't think its wrong to do so.Just me personally,I want to keep the hunt as even as possible.My camo and weapon against the animals instincts.I do hunt food and water sources that occur naturally.

It appears that you think it should be illegal to use food plots specifically planted for deer, use sex attractants placed to attract deer, hunt with dogs, use mineral licks including deer cane to to attract deer, plant white oaks for future attracting deer, use deer grunts/calls, use camo as well as using agriculture fields. Also it would be an unfair advantage to use tree stands, shooting houses, scopes, rifles, bows, or any other man made advantage. You should just hide behind a tree and knock the deer in the head with a rock or something. You can't have it both ways.

personally, i do use "bait" and i feel its perfectly fine because just because you put corn or whatever out doesnt automatically mean you are going to shoot a deer, yes you see alot of deer but if your like me and are looking for that big buck, he will either be in there at night or not in there at all 95% of the time. now comming from another perspective, i love going out with my little brothers or cousins and having them see deer and hopefully shoot a deer. as for the cheating part, i feel its cheating if you were to shoot whatever deer you see, but me or anyone i hunt with does that.

great thread.
Storm

You assume wrong.Don't read more into my post than what it says.
I like a more challenging hunt.If someone chooses to hunt differently it's their business.As long as it's legal,it don't matter.

It never fails we get into these arguments every year. It can be crossbow, baiting, using dogs, shooting houses and so forth.....

Many guys will call all these things cheating but many of these same guys will buy high dollar scent suit to try "cheat" the deers nose. It also doesn't bother them to put up trail cams and "spy" on deer. I mean how much of an advantage is this. You can spy on him and tell when he comes out or if that stand is the right one you should hunt based on your camera activity. If anything should be considered taking advantage its the trail cams......So if you condemn someone for baiting wouldnt be hypicrital to use a camera ?

I have used corn to bait to a small degree but its a lot of work and expense. It's not a must but it can help move a deer in on the small piece of property I hunt. I can take it or leave it however.

Now with that being said, everyone needs to decide what is best for themselves without judgement from their fellow hunters. Not everyone wants the same challenge or same experience. Its about making memories and filling the freezer....have fun.

Its not legal here in Minnesota, so I dont do it, but if it was legal, you can bet that I would be the first to do it.

Seems those that can't and never have always know more than those that can and do... :)

I don't concern myself with what others are doing, just take care of me and mine...:biggrin:

Here in Louisiana it is legal, and I do hunt w/corn and use whatever else I can thats legal. The woods here are so thick w/underbrush in most cases you cant see more than 50 yds unless you have a pipe line or a highline to hunt on. Not alot of open shots. With that being said in order to keep deer in my area I use feeders and will also put corn out on the trails to try and keep the deer close to my lease and using the trails.

I just have never understood the reasoning for baiting or food plots. I guess I just like to hunt deer, not just draw them in and ambush them.

Its legal here in MD, and you won't see me doing it. Its made a whole new breed of hunters in this state.

Part of me knows that no decent mature buck is going to touch bait during the day. So let folks have it shooting thier fawns and spikes. But I do believe its a major contributor of spreading disease having a pile of bait to where animals congregate. Totally different that a crop.

:hail::hail: amen brother

These posts are good for nothing more than trying to force a personal view on others. If it is legal go for it. I never understood someone that talks down about feeders or corn piles and then goes climb in their shooting cottage sitting on a green food plot they have spent 100's of $$$$$ planting and fertilizing it. Like it wasn't placed there for the sole purpose of drawing deer to their shooting house. For the record I have never hunted deer over a pile of corn, feeder or food plot.

How does it force a personal view? One can choose to read it or not. Did you honestly not know what you were getting into when you saw this title? Did you really feel everyone was going to go with your view?

Do you really go into life expecting everyone to agree with you?

If someone wants to sit over a pile of corn..... let 'em, if it's legal there.

Just another tactic applied by "meat hunters" that subcribe to the kill 'em all, "if it's brown it's down" practice! A great way to remove young naive whitetails, so if these people are happy killing' young Does and fawns and yearlings bucks.... get it done and go home!

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How about it now?

bigcountry all you got to do is read the posts that poke at any who believes it is OK to hunt over bait " Just another tactic applied by "meat hunters" that subcribe to the kill 'em all, "if it's brown it's down" practice! A great way to remove young naive whitetails, so if these people are happy killing' young Does and fawns and yearlings bucks.... get it done and go home!"
and it proves my point about what posts like this are meant to accomplish. The question your post was about hunting over bait not, if you want to read this post or not. I never asked anyone to agree with me I just gave my own unprofessional personal opinion, isn't that what you asked for? I have been in this life for 60 years now so I know that there will always be some one who doesn't agree with me; I just hope they don't get confused and think I really care. This post has been posted every year for years. Let's move on.

As long as it's legal i got no problem with people doing it. It's the hunter's choice so let him choose.

As a person who has experienced baiting I simply say it's another tactic one can employ while hunting...if legal. The majority of my baiting stems from work as a guide but have used it personally as well. The premise of laying out slop and producing is far from reality when one is pursuing trophy/mature whitetails. As much scouting and prep goes into employing baits as any other form or tactic to chasing big whitetails. In fact when i baited I spent far more hours in the field in prep then I do today as a non-bait hunter. Not fool proof at all. Some may but I can't imagine spenting the resources (time and money) to use baiting in a "brown it's down mentality". JME and opinion. Once again i have experienced both side, but choose to hunt without baits...just suits my style better. I have no ill feelings for those who hunt or feel differently then me. Boils down to each his own...moving on now...LOL

Cheating???
 

I don't hunt over a bait pile, never have. With that said, if it's legal, have at it in my opinion I wouldn't think any less of another hunter. Heck I don't even hunt on a crop, I hunt the trails to and from. But thats me, enjoy your "legal" hunt is what I say!!!!:rock:

LOL it's like ...using live bait for bass ..{ -; is that cheating?

Or Traditional Archery versus Compounds

or Primitive Archery Versus Traditional..

Primitive would certainly be the most rewarding..making your own arrowheads , arrows from reeds and bows..

It isn't legal in Indiana to hunt over bait but it is legal to hunt crop fields, foodplots, waterholes, or over scents. Seems like splitting hairs to me. In states where it is legal, It doesn't seem to be a majic bullet. I don't have a problem with it if it's legal in your state.

Blessings.....Pastorjim

it's legal here in ohio. i must say for the times i have hunted over a bait pile, i've yet to see a buck bigger than a 4pt at one during legal hours. i've seen more/bigger bucks just hunting the travel routes to be honest.

I think we need to be careful about how we broadly apply terminology.Not all meat hunters shoot anything of a species that moves,the same way not all trophy hunters are just after antlers and waste the meat.I'm a meat hunter because there are few trophies where I hunt.That's public land for ya'.I'm still particular about the size of animal I shoot.No,that's not hypocritical nor does it take me out of the meathunter category.Lastly,where the biggest trophy deer are considered,the best of the Va. species is rarely at the top of those lists anyway.

At the end of the day,a man is subject to his conscience and his maker.Those are the guides to follow.

What some don't realize is that while we are all deer hunters, we don't all hunt for the same reason...

How many own their own land??? How many farm this land??? Who pays to hunt big bucks???

I guess some hunters lease land and hold out for 1-2 bucks a year and maybe a doe or two...

We own 3 family farms, about 850 acres...I'll tell you the easiest hunting you can do in our area is to sit over a soybean field in October or November with a scoped centerfire rifle...It's much easier than sitting over an area where corn has been spread...The second easiest way to hunt is to sit in a white oak ridge during those same months...

We kill 40-50 deer a year off these farms, if we don't the next year the soybeans and peanuts are decimated...

I could care less about killing a big buck...Seems some don't think you are a true deer hunter if antlers don't do it for you...I grew up on these farms and have hunted over 45 years...I also love to cook...When I see a nice year and a half old doe, I think of roasts, bbq, backstraps on the grill, tenderloins in gravy and smoking hams...

So...Who is the true hunter...The guy that pays to kill antlers or the guy that hunts so he can use the results of his labor??? Seems to me that hunters evolved because they wanted to eat what they killed...Native Americans burned brush to run game to shooters...They also ran buffalo off cliffs, so they could eat...

Anyone here want to claim they are a better hunter than the Native Americans???

Game laws came about to preserve the game that we here...As long as you are within the laws provided, you don't have to justify what you do to anyone...

With all long post, and how easy it is with all these crops, why do you bait???

why not just do it so easy as you say shooting soybean fields with rifles??

Well, a person would have to ask thierselves what they are after. Are you there to fish and challenge yourself and love the feel of catching bass with a repella or do you just want to throw a bobber in with a nightcrawler and pull it in.

i could care less what other hunters do..its none of my affair how yall hunt and it shouldnt be anyones elses either..ill use what ever is leagle to get meat in my freazer..like my pappy used to say all the time horns are horns you cant eat em..we dont have monster bucks in vermont and never will,,why do you supose all those big deer live out west,,,hhhhmmm corn and other farms,,,get real,,you wont use bait but youll set in a corn field,,,what differance is there in setting in the oaks,,,because you know the acorns are dropping,,and the deer will be feeding heavy,,,or putting out food because you know deer like it..busting a cap on him with his head in his dinner plate is the same any way you look at it,,,it dont bother me one bit,,at least he would have had a few good last meals...lol smoke em

As long as your not doing it around where I hunt (which is illegal), I'll keep my comments to myself. Follow the law and it's your business.

I hunt the way I feel hunting it is suppose to be done...

Never said I did...Just offering another viewpoint... :)

I do hunt over soybeans and peanuts and corn and wheat...Frankly, I hunt much more with a bow and a flintlock rifle that I made in the 80s than I do with a centerfire...In years past, I killed 10-20 deer a year to get the doe population in check...Fortunately, my nieces and nephews are now of the age that they can take care of the numbers we need to kill and I can concentrate on enjoying the experience...

One thing, it sure is entertaining to see how baiters get all worked up.

Then I'd say your mission was accomplished.

Man, you got to realize this is the internet. Ain't nothing on here to get all up in a tizzy for. Thats just ignorant to be upset how others feel

Are we going to talk about "high fence" hunting? Is that cheating?

hunter = food
sportsman= challenge
I am prolly guilty of both, everytime I pick up my bow I become a sportsman, when I want to eat I pick up my rifle and become a hunter.

Most of the time I am trying to put meat in the freezer and feel no need to give an animal a chance, its not a game for me, I kill chit, thats what I do.

Ain't that statement "the pot calling the kettle black"?

Sure. Like shooting fish in a barrel.......:throw:

I think the poll result so far speaks for itself. If you want to hunt over corn or a feeder, then go for it, as long as it's legal. I occasionally do it when bow hunting. Great way to get a couple 1 1/2 yr. old does for the freezer.