Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???

[david janssen]

Just wondering who all baits whitetail deer for hunting? I myself hunt with bait and like having close shots at whitetail.I hope this topic doesn't start any bickering.

[rappstar]

we can't "bait" in missouri.

[Dave Lay]

nope.. legal here but I dont care for it..

[baretraks]

I've hunted over corn for years and have been very sucessfull, with the compound and the recurve. I have also caught a lot of flack for doing it from my friends, and others who say it isn't fair and all that.
I will tell you this though....I have hunted for twenty years, killing a whole lot of deer out of tree stands and on the ground while hunting over a feeder.
In all that time, I have only seen ONE trophy buck while hunting with corn. ONE.
I think big bucks, at least the ones who have been around a while, dont like all the activity and the extra scent you leave behind when tending to the feeders......the does and young bucks dont really care too much...I've actually urinated next to the corn and they paid no attention to it whatsoever.
Since then, I've stopped using it, and stopped worrying about quantity and started thinking about quality. My wife hunts with a compound, it's her job to fill the freezer....it's mine to decorate the wall!!!

[owlbait]

It's a science here in Michigan. Some guys just hunt trails going to other guys bait. Some even camoflauge their bait so it is harded for others to spot. We use corn and attractants and it livens up the day for bird and squirrel watching too.

[Jedimaster]

Baiting is illegal in Mississippi. With that said, one of my best friends is the busiest taxidermists in these parts and he states that it is rare to receive a head that doesn't have traces of corn in it's mouth.

Hunting food plots is legal and most everyone I know plants them for deer. Most of the traditional guys I associate with don't hunt plots much because you usually don't get the close shots we prefer. Also, you will rarely see a mature buck in a plot during legal hours around here.

I plant one close to home every year to watch the does and fawns feed. I never shoot them, just watch. Honestly it would be like shooting fish in a barrel.

[Terry Green]

Hunting over bait is illegal here in GA, and I hope its never legal.  I love the challenge of putting the puzzle together.

That being said, I love going to TX every year at the end of our season, and yes, baiting is legal.  Its not a cake walk let me tell ya. But it sure is fun watching deer interact for long periods of time if your not just doe/meat hunting.  Believe it or not, there's a lot of strategy incorporated in hunting over bait if you want to kill a big buck. Its a different type of 'hunting' if you will....Completely different than the tactics I apply here in GA.  Both are fun and exciting. Just rather not have it legal here in GA.

Suppose I'd like bear hunting over bait as well up north, but I gotta tell ya, stalking bears on the ground here in GA is a rush I don't think can be replaced very easy!!!

[SOS]

Closest I come is to over-seed my landowners field with grain rye - without drilling it in, it is very hit or miss whether enough sprouts to make a difference.  I hope that the best growth is really in the winter months to help the herd through a tough time.

[Labs4me]

All deer have a NATURAL food source. All deer breed. All deer need water. All deer bed down. All deer leave trails to and from their local food, water and bedding areas. Even big woods deer and deer on public land. So to answer your question DJ, I suppose people who don't have the desire or the time to learn what a deer's local, NATURAL food preference is; or where they bed down in a given area; or where they get their water, or where and when they are likely to breed.

[Richie Nell]

There is not enough room in this little box to get into the baiting issues.  Oh boy.

I'll pass.

[Richie Nell]

But I am certainly with Terry and Dave on this.

[BD]

I don't feel it is hunting in any way and would not ever do it (well maybe if my family was starving).

[longbowben]

No way would i hunt over bait for deer.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Baiting is a big part in hunting in Jersey. Allot of ppl don't, but there is more that does. I bait sometimes in the 13 acres I hunt, just to help bring/keep deer around. I have hunted deer with out bait and I like doing it both ways. I don't care what weapon you use, or how you like to hunt as long as it is legal.... It's Kool with me.

[vermonster13]

Not legal in Vermont but who am I to judge what someone else's hunting place dictates to be successful. Mesquite flats are a lot different than a Sugar Maple ridge. So long as your area says it's hunting and lawfully allows it then do what fulfills you. I'll be out looking for a good place to build a blind.

[Danny Rowan]

If you hunt over an oak tree dropping acorns, you are hunting over bait,if you hunt next to a corn field, you are hunting over bait,if you hunt over a food plot you are hunting over bait,if you hunt over a water hole, you are hunting over bait,if you hunt next to an apple orchard you are hunting over bait.Do what is legal and have fun!

Danny

[Richie Nell]

Danny....There is a difference between baiting and hunting over a food source.  The examples you have just mentioned are all hunting over a food source whether natural or manmade.  
There is also a difference between manmade food sources and baiting with bag of corn.  The mandmade food sources such as cornfields and food plots are habitats that the deer population will utilize,live in and live around 12 months a year unlike the bag of corn.  The ground is left fallow, then prepared, then disked, then planted, then plants grow into crops and sometimes the crops are harvested.  Deer use this all year.  That is not baiting that is hunting.  And that is also the "narrow road" versus the "wide road" of pouring out yellow instant gratification.

[Dave Lay]

Ok, I cant hold my tounge. Sorry and I will try and keep it civil. It is legal in Arkansas. The kids today are being trained to sit over a corn pile, I bet of gun hunters here 75-80% of the folks not hunting on our WMA's (its illegal there) are baiting. Wal mart is selling corn by the pallet, gas stations selling it. I know gun hunters and some bow hunters who wont sit a stand because they didnt get thier feeder filled the day before. Stands are being placed where they can see. and set up a feeder to bring the deer to them. Folks just are losing the ability to read sign and as Terry said, put the puzzle together. That to me is about 75% of a hunt. Its sad, but baiting is taking over here. The game and fish a couple years ago cut our bow season short by 2 weeks.. the reason.. deer were to reliant on bait and it was a slam dunk. So they cut our season. That sucks and is life. I hate baiting and what it has done to people. Sorry to you guys who do it, nothing personal. It just affects more folks than you reliase when deer are being pulled off one piece of ground to another by some one dumping large quanities of bait. I wish it had never been made legal here.  sorry for the rant. I tried to hold it.. Thanks Dave

[owlbait]

Not a bag full just 2 1/2 gallons! And it is not that much difference from growing crops. As long as you have the money, property, and equipment to grow it you have a distinct advantage. Kinda levels the playing field throwing out a little corn. It sure doesn't go to waste, and my disabled brother sure appreciates the extra help and confidence it gives him. Don't see to many food plots in his future.

[Labs4me]

So reach deep - really, really deep into your reserves of "determination" and go and find a natural "bait" before carrying a bag of carrots into a wood lot that is adjacent to a 400 acre bean field.

How EXACTLY does one go about hunting without at least determining where the local food source is? Sincerely- fill me in here. What's the procedure? Wake up the morning of opening day; carry a bag of carrots, a bow and arrows and tree stand into the woods and hunt?

Wow.