Baiting without the "bait?" (It's illegal here)
 

Hey guys. I need some legal ways to bait deer. I BOW hunt in southern WI where it's illegal to bait deer, but I hunt a farm with corn and bean fields that are 100 x 300 yards. The deer just never seem to follow and set trails seeing as the fields are rotated so its always a crap shoot when choosing the stand to hunt out of. What are some LEGAL tips or tricks you guys use to attract deer when "bait" is illegal? A food plot is out of the question but any other ideas would be great.

Other than glassing the fields to see the best probabilities of the trails the bucks are using and having a good wind favorible access routes to your stands there isn't much else you can do. Calls/decoys may or may not work. One thing I would try is to offer to pay the farmer to leave a few spots of standing corn/beans in your favorite areas. It wouldn't take much, just six or so rows 30 yards long and that should help concentrate the deer.

if its on private land you could always drop a little molasses on some of the plants in the field and it will help. not all the way legal though. that is a stupid law. maybe someone on here knows the reason for it, id be interested to hear.

try hunting with a climber, this way you can stay mobile and move when you need too.

I don't know what constitutes bait in your state, but some of the trapping lures I used years ago brought deer in. Vanilla and even fox in heat lure pulled them in. Like I said, I don't know whats legal in your state.

If possible try building some funnels areas.

They ban it to stop the spread of desease from deer eating in one area cwd I think. But try some ansie oil or vanilla. I don't know if it works everywere but I had luck with charcol lighter fluid found that out by accident last year I spilled some on my boots and had a doe follow my traill righht to my stand

Time and experience to become a better hunter...you don't need bait.

I would agree with StealthHtr22. I have been hunting Southwestern Illinois for 8 years now and have no control over the crop rotation on the land I hunt. You just have to see how the deer pattern for a few years before you figure it out. In my spot I know how the deer will move if one field is corn and the other is beans or vice versa.

damn frosty. i feel like an idiot. what an obvious and valid reason. dont know why i never thought of that. learn somethin new everyday

I would just scout as much as you can and try to pattern the deer as much as you can. Other than that, just pick a corn/bean field and cross your fingers. It's called hunting, not killing. Sometimes you strike out.

I am rdy to try acorn rage, gonna put it out in front of the cameras first to see how they react to it. :fighting0007:

I've tried it and the deer and hogs really like it. They didn't even touch the other greens enraged stuff.

Baiting is a way of life in Texas, has been for years. We have more deer in places than they know what to do with. We've never had a disease problem. I wonder if they have more concern than necessary?
And as for "becoming a better hunter", there are a dozen reasons why baiting is done here, having to do with private land leases, contracts limiting "still hunting' for liability reasons and a very thick terrain that someone in Indiana can't comprehend.
Six months of summer and 60" of rain a year tend to make the woods very thick.:confused0024::rolleye0011: Without bait it's just hard to even SEE the deer around here. No agriculture to speak of and mostly pine timber country.

I have never used bait. Never will. Washington Hunters

"If possible try building some funnels areas." SJ


Cut some brush and block off a few of the other trails, to cut down on their options.

That's great, now tell us about the methods you do use to hunt.

If you could make funnals that would help.

You could check the regs closely, some areas allow supplements, such as mineral blocks or dumping of minerals. But dont push it to close getting fined and such is a lot worse than not killing deer. As others stated scout the area as much as possible deer are creatures of habit, if you watch them enough youll get theier patterns down.

You might ask Mr. Nugent his thoughts. I'm sure he might have an idea what happens when you push the limits.

Beyond that, you might check out the regs as close as you can to see what they define as bait. Liquids that can be smelled and applied to existing food might be OK. I've never hunted over bait and rarely use scents.

Maybe, buy a cow and feed it?

I know a bunch of guys, including myself, who don't care much what that phony thinks or does. Just about everything he does is to further his finacial situation. Now that ain't bad in of itself, but the man is of questionable character or honor.

Why don't you ask him what he did back in the sixties when me and my buddies went to VN??? When you find out then maybe you will know what a phony this guy is when he talks about how much he supports the troups.

Sorry for the rant, but you brought up a sore subject for me. I apologize.

Apples, deer love em. We have an apple tree on our farm and the deer are always eating the apples that have fallen off the tree.

That would be baiting.
Most likely mineral and things like comeere deer would be as well if baiting is not legal. Figure out the regulations and learn to hunt within them rather then looking for ways to skirt them.

Are you kidding me. Since when does it become bate when an apple tree drops it's fruit???

Now I have heard it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why are you even asking this question if it is illegal, your inviting trouble.

Get out there and scout, determine, based on crop rotation where the funnels are this year and set up off of one of those, have a few stands near by so you can hunt the wind. I have the same issue as baiting is not allowed in my state - lived in TX for many years and never hunted over bait, just doesn't sit well with me but others don't mind.

IMO, if you put in the scouting work, and you end up with a deer, you are going to be much more satisfied with your outcome than sitting inside trying to figure ways around the regs.

you didn't know that? can't hunt corn and bean fields either. Ya'll are going to jail for huntin over bait. oh no oak tree's thats a double whammy:poke:

This is being overanalyzed. On the land I hunt, there is no apple trees so an apple laying on the ground would be a little out of place. There is corn nearby. But how did this big pile of corn get into the middle of the woods.

Now I may take an apple to eat with me, but it ain't leaving my blind

apple eaten-n-thrown down vs. apples falling on their own.......................very good ?.........couple/few okay! more baiting(imo)..........if it's legal, GO FOR IT!!!!!

Sounded like he he was suggesting using apples - not hunting over ones fallen from a tree. The first would be baiting - the latter would not.

Very rarely will a mature buck meet his demise over a pile of bait, especially if he has been pressured at all. I would put in some more time and try to cut him off coming back to bed in the a.m. Don't just assume that because baiting is illegal it must be effective. It is extremely overrated and usually conducted by less educated hunters.

agreed there are other way's and yes way better sure places to find in the wood's to kill a buck. but all your other blah,blah is pure BS we kill 3-4 mature bucks a year on my farm over a corn pile. us less uneducated hunters here just use it to stop the deer so we can take a nice long look at it b-4 we harvest the animal. You may want to watch how you word crap Jack as I know people that have been hunting twice as long as you are old.

Thanks for the reply there good sir. I wasn't trying to offend anyone. To each his own. I was offering my opinion. I have seen mature deer killed over piles of corn plenty of times. I'm glad you can pull it off, however I was simply trying to shed some light to our fellow hunters who happen to live in areas where baiting is illegal. Also glad to hear you know people who have been hunting for twice as long as i am old. Don't really know what that has to do with anything.

just refering to us un-educated hunters that use bait to kill deer. basicaly you stated my 67 year old grandfather that hunts over corn, for 40yrs and kills a nice buck about every 2 years doesnt know what he was doing. Sorry for snapping just took it to heart. you are 100% right you don't need an un natural attractand to kill a deer.

I should have chose my words better. Instead of saying "usually conducted by uneducated hunters", I should have said "Hunting over bait is usually the first thing uneducated hunters attempt".

I will try to offend.

Baiting is cheating.

It is Unethical and should be Illegal, nation wide.
It leads to the spread of disease among not just deer but all wild animals that come in contact with the unnatural food source. The sole reason that it is continued is to provide a secondary source of income for suppliers.

Above is the OP. Next is the pertinent text from the 2010 Wis. Deer Hunting Reg.


"In areas where deer baiting is not allowed, what CAN I USE to attract deer
closer to my stand if I can’t use bait?
Use of the following are legal statewide:
• Decoys
• Scents
• Naturally occurring material (such as acorns), deposited by natural vegetation, that
is not collected and relocated in any manner.
• Crops planted and left standing as wildlife food plots.
• Material deposited solely as a result of normal agricultural or gardening practices
and not collected and relocated for hunting or other purposes.

What exactly is considered bait?
Bait is any material that is placed or used to attract wild animals, including scent
materials, salt, minerals, grains, etc. Water is not considered bait.

Can I still place out salt or mineral blocks or similar material?
In counties where baiting and feeding of deer is prohibited, no. These materials are considered bait and are not legal. "

your attempts at being offensive suck, and really show that your an ass for starters. 1) whats the differance of corn or peanuts I spread out all over the ground, or a planted field the same deer eat and most likely come in contact woth the same plant and swap spit. and 2) most areas that allow baiting the woods are so thick we can not hunt. You ever hunt a pine thicket? no so f off. and also the states that allow baiting have a deer population problem and we do what ever it takes to get it down, unlike where you are from our quota is 6 deer a year and we can get extra tags. there is no biologist report that says baiting deer causes disease any more than natural grown crops. SO GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS.

There is a very big difference here in terms of the concentration of animals per square foot of feed area. Dumping 2-3 bags of corn in one general area promotes many deer feeding from that 1 area let's say there are 15 different deer eating the pile of corn you put out.

Now take those same 15 deer and put them in a 10 acre field of corn, it is not likely that they will feed from the same plant because of the sheer size of the feed lot. Research has shown that feeding promotes disease - Chronic Wasting Disease is one of them.

trying to offend some of us you say :nonono2::nonono2::nonono2: now why would you want to? did you? nope, not even close. baiting is cheating - just your opinion. it is unethical -lmao on that one. should be illegal nationwide - just your opinion. the rest of what you said - i say prove it. i know you won't be able too, cuz there is none! LMAO on your post.

Read this report then decide for yourself:
www.cwd-info.org/pdf/FeedingDeer.pdf