Here's my conundrum. I had been hunting a farm which was sold. I had permission to hunt it the first few years until the new owner decided I was too successful and he and his friend and family got to be the only ones to hunt there. He put in a food plot, and feeders, and as RICO stated correctly, he was pulling deer in from other properties. The only way I could compete with him was with a little of my own corn. I rarely see bucks, but have killed two in 8 years, but do get to fill the freezer most years. The bait pile, like any other food source, becomes a nocturnal feeding area real fast if you are not successful early in the season. In fact, deer are often more alert at bait piles and harder to get shots at than when they are in a more natural feeding area. It may seem like a short cut to some, but mostly you will get younger deer and rarely a nice buck in daylight hours. My favorite places to hunt are wild apple trees, oaks and beech trees. In fact, when the acorns are dropping I have a favorite oak ridge that I frequent and was successful there last season. In addition, one place i hunt that abutts the farm I described is really suburban hunting....lots of houses nearby. In order to get deer in a place where they can be shot without offending property owners or outright tresspassing a small bait pile is the ticket. Those of you who eschew the baiting as being too easy probably have not done it much or live in an area with a high deer density and threrefore a lot of competition among the deer herd. Under such circumstances I doubt very much that baiting would be attractive to me.
Here in NH the deer density is not high but we have a very good and healthy deer herd. Baiting is legal but there are rules and a process to follow in order to do it. Last year the State legislature limited the number of baits anyone can have in the state to two and they have to be marked with the owners name and address even if it is on your own property. On another's property you need to have a a state issued permission slip and a detailed topo map of your bait site for the area CO and it is put on file. Baiting without following the rules is illegal.
For me baiting is just another legal tool I can use. Some seasons there is no need for it and in some situations, as I have said, a small bait pile solves other problems where small property lots are an issue but the herd needs to be hunted with the bonus that the deer are pretty much undisturbed.
My wife and I just bought 23 acres of forested wetland. Very few mast trees and too wet to really get equipment in and do food plots. We plan on planting roses, grapes, elderberries, apples, and whatever else the deer might eventually find palatable. In reality it is a form of baiting but some day someone will find it when we are gone and think they have found a natural honey hole.
Topic: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting??? (Read 3632 times)
