hardluck71

I have found in all the years of deer hunting that most people are against what they have never really tried. That seems to be the norm and is very reasonable when considering things like drugs and alcohol. However, I was raised in a state where baiting has always been legal. And I don' t have a problem with it and in fact I do it. Now I understand that most people have harsh opinions about this subject but I think maybe it is either because they have never done it or it is illegal where they live and they are just jealous. Not to mention that state laws are really screwed up. In the state of Alabama it is legal to plant a five acre food plot with most attractive plant available but they can not use corn feeders.

The challenging part of this post is not to imply a partial stance on such a subject, but to get a feel for how you guys and gals feel about it. Understanding that in places like WI baiting has been made illegal due to CWD infections in the deer herd, I will say that I support the actions of those who changed the laws. However, in other states it is not sensible. There is tension between the states that allow it and those who don' t. Texas for example is extremely open about and they are consistanly critized for it. As a matter of fact I work with a few people from the states that won' t allow it and the most common statement is that when the dinner bell rings( timed feeder going off) the deer come running. I have seen such a thing but in my home state of Louisiana the deer come when they get ready to and most of the time it is after dark.

So with way to much written for a simple question:

Baiting....for it or against it?

Good Hunting.

Pse_guy

im for it, i use corn,carrots,and apples, but i try to scatter it over a good size area to keep from deer touching noses, which is how deer spread TB i heard. but i understand why the states disallow it b/c of the diseases/infections

Clint.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion on this. I do not judge what another does or does not do.

For myself, ......I do not, will not, and have not baited any wildlife. I do not want to take wildlife this way. I do not place salt licks on my property. I do not plant crops to attract deer. I do not even use attractants or buck lure scents. I do not hunt on cornfields or grainfields. I do all my deerhunting in the woods. All this is just a matter of my own convictions. I just go out and hunt deer as they are....where I find them. It works for me and that' s the way I want it and like it. Again, I do not judge what another does unless he is doing something illegal.

I hear people talk about how smart deer are. I don' t believe that at all. A deer simply follows the instincts that he has inherited from those who went before him. That is how the species has survived. Basically, they are of little intellect. Man, on the other hand is highly intelligent (although I have met several exceptions). I just refuse to stack the odds heavily in my favor. We have the weapon. We have the intellect. The deer has his instincts and four good legs. Seems to me like a good trade-off. Hunting is something that should be fair to the game. That is my own opinion. I know that others hold variations of this...and that is fine. Everyone is different. Everyone hunts for different reasons and derives satisfaction from it in different ways. To me, all this is part of sportsmanship. I like a fair chase. I know fella' s who want to shoot every deer they see. I know fella' s who do almost all their hunting through the window of their pickup truck. If all of us were like that, where would we be? I just derive great satisfaction from pursuing an animal alone...on it' s turf...in what I think is a fair chase. In conclusion, I think that is what we all do, isn' t it? We just have our individual opinions and outlooks on it all.

Clint

jerseyhunter

Are there any oak trees in them thar woods?

joeturse

Harvested on deer over bait once.don' t really care for it,I found that young deer would come to bait but the older deer would come out late,in the dark.
I do not have any thing against baiting or those who do it,to each his own.

Joe

mauser06

thats not my cup o' tea....thats almost too easy....if you wait long enough dang sure the deer are going to come to you bait...old nasty nuts or......a nice pile of fresh veggies and corn??? something new also..theres always acorns but never all the bait you spread...i like to change my diet...im sure deer are the same...if i cant do it fair and square i dont wanna do it....i cant look at a deer on my wall and think about how i baited him in with bait....natural food....yes thats fine...thats what they eat...i didnt put it there to get them there...but if thats how you like to hunt...great...i have nothing against it....its just not me.....it would feel wrong to me if i shot a deer over a bait pile.....thats me though......

A5Mag12

Seams I remember a time when it wasn' t legal down here, (in La.) and deer were hard to find and when you did they were some of the runtiest things you ever saw. Now that corn feeders and food plots are the norm there are way more deer and they are much bigger than ever. You have to take into consideration that La. doesn' t get snowed over for more than two or three days a decade. The corn is just a supplement. In years when the natural food is plentiful they may not hit the corn for weeks or months at a time. The only places you see them running to the feeders like to a dinner bell is on the big fenced in clubs. I try to keep two feeders full all year long, plus food plots and mineral licks. Plus I' m trying to work a deal on one of those portable drilling rigs to put in a few water wells to keep a good fresh supply of water available in times of drought. The way I see it, I raise far more deer than I take. So I would have to say that I don' t see it as baiting, but more of a management tool.

webejonesin2

here in vt its illegal too bait, but i dont c anything wrong with it, people hunt them in cornfields, apple orchads and anywhere else where there is a natural abunce of food. ive even hunted apple tree for them. I mean why not its there use it. only prob is that most of the time they dont come to them until its pretty close to being very dark and you cant shoot them anyway. I' m not tring to poke at anybody, but mother nature put these things here why not use them? Like stated above and i do agree--" to each is his/her own" ---srry had to add her b/c its not just him its both .

FlDeerman

Yes I go out to my feeder and decide if I want to take a 160 or settle for the 140.RIGHT!!!But I will be taking my grandson next week and if he gets to see a doe or what ever,great!!!Then when I get to hunt by myself I' ll go and sit on a trail and do my hunting there.

woody7

If you want to see improvement in your deer herd feed protein pellets with a mimimum of 16% protein. Our herd has increased antler mass by at least 15% in a couple of years with year round feeding. Free choice feeders are the only way to insure that mature bucks get the feed. They usually only feed at night. When the rut is on they may come to a doe by a feeder during daylight. In high deer density areas the rut is such a drain on bucks that supplemental feeding is often the difference between dying during a hard winter or standing at stud for another year. Its a personal choice, but hunting feeders during rut may be the only time you will see a mature buck during legal shooting hours.