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Author Topic: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???  (Read 3626 times)

Offline BTH

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #60 on: January 20, 2008, 11:54:00 AM »
I don't hunt over bait here in California. I don't think we can, legally, but I have to check my regs to be sure...I hunted over feeders for the first time this year in Texas, at the Solana Ranch. I came home with tag soup. Easy? Slam Dunk? It wasn't in Texas. Can't speak for the rest of the places as I haven't hunted there.

My beef with baiting is the whole commercial aspect of the hunting shows on TV. Go to the store, buy a bag of whatever, and pile it out and watch the BIG BUCKS come in. Then shoot one. That is what is spoiling our kids, 'cuase our adults our buying into that and that's what's getting passed on! I hunted the same 3000 acre piece out here for almost 20 years. We puzzled out those blacktails, wore leather off our boots and fat off our bodies, and killed our fair share of nice animals. We lost access when my auntie sold, and now I'm doing the same thing on new properties. One thing I saw, on a shared lease, about 4000 acres, with great bucks on it, was a father and his two overwieght sons, doing laps on the road in his F250. Every time the wife and I walked out of our sets back to the truck this guy would pull up and groan about not seeing animals. If he could've bought a bag of whatever and piled out somewhere, he would've, so his sons wouldn't have had to walk to find where the deer were. It's sad.
Pork, Oysters, and Beer...the Holy Trinity (Anthony Bourdain).

Offline bayoulongbowman

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #61 on: January 20, 2008, 12:08:00 PM »
Hell, man its an industry now...come here deer ,c mere deer , acorn rage, you name it , hunters buy them, and  buy the bags and bottles full...Id rather see a good shot placement if this helps, but Im not crazy about it , but then again Im not crazy about 50, 70 yard bow shots and most mechanical broadheads...I guess Im somewhere in the middle...this thread makes you think, its a good one. thanks..Marco#78
"If you're living your life as if there is no GOD, you had  better be right!"

Offline BD

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #62 on: January 20, 2008, 12:12:00 PM »
It is really encouraging to see so many trad bowhunters opposed to the practice of baiting. It makes  sense that bowhunters, and especially trad bowhunters would have a higher ethical standard than most, regardless of what the laws are. The Wisconsin Traditional Archers have gone on record in support of a statewide baiting and feeding ban as it has become such a huge problem in WI. Baiting and feeding violations have lead in the frequency of violations the last 3 years in a row here, and continue to climb. Otto mentioned above that he is too lazy to bait as he wouldn't want to be hauling bait around the woods-unfortunately, very few in our area carry the bait-they put it on a 4 wheeler and then travel illegally through the woods to dump it.

Brady
BD

Offline Earl E. Nov...mber

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #63 on: January 20, 2008, 12:20:00 PM »
T,, I agree and don't want you to pull them, It did redirect things for a while.. I fish with bait, so I guess hunting over bait, attractants calls etc is not much different.. You still need to do your home work,, Doubtful a corn pile in the Wall Mart parking lot is going to attract many critters. On the other hand, a little corn or alfalfa can distract a critter long enough for a clean and calm shot. Back before CWD and the state ban on hunting over bait, I would use a bit of alfalfa on a trail under an existing stand .. After a while, fawns would come on a run, does would follow and stop for a bit, Older bucks would grab a mouthful if they stepped in it and keep on moving. I don't think any of it caused any travel changes but did occupy their thoughts for a bit.. As it was I never did kill a deer over any of it, I did get to observe some things I would not have had oppurtunity too.
Many have died for my freedom.
One has died for my soul.

Offline owlbait

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #64 on: January 20, 2008, 12:28:00 PM »
I think it would be interesting to see if there was a correlation to a hunters:age, experience, fitness level, and time hunting traditional to his feelings about baiting. When I was in my 20's I prided myself in getting back in the swamps, finding the buck sign and hunting it. Now I'm in my mid-50"s, had 10 surgeries, and just can't do it anymore. I also hunt with a disabled brother. We use bait to help see more deer. We do use the legal amount and spend some time figuring the best sign, wind direction, etc. Distance to the stand IS a big factor. How WE hunt has changed with how we CAN hunt. Maybe we should just quit and buy trail cameras?
Advice from The Buck:"Only little girls shoot spikers!"

Offline pine nut

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #65 on: January 20, 2008, 12:39:00 PM »
Some "food for thought"(pun intended).
How many of us would go shoot a steer at the food trough and call it hunting?  Perhaps some, but I think not many.  Seems every argument for baiting starts out with "I wasn't going to do it, BUT". What's the old saying "Every thing before the 'but' is B.S.?"  I guess that is one of my points about things a person can learn about themselves in the woods while hunting that they can't learn anywhere else.  I think Killdeer nailed it for me.  I don't think it's a good idea in the long run for "hunting" or the hunted.  I think most Americans are in favor of fair chase hunting but frown on high fences and baiting.  I raise the question what if "it" gets to be the norm, and get to be used as an arguement in the future by the anti's that hunting has become little more than inhumane slaugther at a feed trough. How do we as hunters deny it?  
Historically it was hunters who demanded that game laws be passed and enforced, and it was hunters who policed themselves.  Ironically it was hunters who brought game back.  
When I was a boy if someone actually saw a deer, it was news worthy.  If some one killed a deer the whole town came to see it.  There weren't but a handful of places where deer were found in GA. The mountains, Lake Russell, and the swamps and coastal GA. Thankfully it isn't like that here now.
It used to be that parents would side with the law if their kid did something wrong..Now(?).  I do think a lot gets lost in the grey area now.  I guess it's something we all have to search our conscience about and decide for ourselves, but lets not lose sight of the future consequences.
I was brought up by a man who would frown on it and I guess that's why I would not do it.  
Dad, if you're listening "Thank you for what you tried to teach me".  
I'll get off the soap box now, but thanks for letting me share.  I'll just say that the fact that we are rationalizing to justify it indicates to me that deep down on some level it doesn't quite ring true to us as being ok.

I like Terry Green's quote of Andy Garcia;

"It's important, when going after a goal,to never lose sight of the integrity of the journey."

Your mileage may vary,  
Respectfully,
Bill

Offline JimE.IV

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #66 on: January 20, 2008, 01:23:00 PM »
It is legal here in New Jersey, but choose not to.

I have been lucky enough to have a place where I can roam a little here in New Jerey...But not everyone here has that luxary.

We have a very different dynamic here in New Jersey.  We are the most densly populated state in the country, hunting land is very hard to come by in this State.

I can't tell you how many people I know that hunt 10 acre pieces of land or smaller.

Can you imagine sitting in someones backyard in a tree stand in a residential neighborhood watching 30 deer feed down the driveway 50 yards away on the neighbors shrubs? Where you can actually see the home-owner making coffee through their kitchen window in morning while you are hunting?   That is exactly how a lot of people have to hunt around here.

You can say just go out there and scout and better your skills or that is not hunting;
But until you are in the situation where all you have is a 5 acre piece land to hunt, and your extremely happy to have it because there is nothing else, broad sweeping statements like "unethical" or "not hunting" really isn't fair.  For many people here baiting is almost a necessity.

I'm glad I'm not in that situation.

Offline Alex.B

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #67 on: January 20, 2008, 01:35:00 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by Shawn Leonard:
No, I do not hunt over bait. Have I yes and it is funny how it is even an issue, if it is legal and ya want to do it, that is fine. I have to disagree with Alex B. Alex you may think you have high ethical standards and others would disagree. Are they wrong, some would say hunters are obligated to do whatever is legal to insure they help control deer populations and baiting in some areas may be the only option that works, so that makes it unethical? Sorry, I meant to just stick to answering the question. Shawn
Shawn, you forgot about the "vice-versa" part. And, I certainly do not put myself on some sort of self-righteous ethical pedestal, either. Anyway, to answer the question, I do not   :)    :campfire:
tgmm, tanj, compton, bha

Offline pine nut

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #68 on: January 20, 2008, 01:35:00 PM »
JimE.III, I see your point,  I'm blessed too. I know there are circumstances where it might have to be and don't mean to argue that point.  the more it is done the more the necessity of doing it will become a factor for us all.

Offline pumatrax

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #69 on: January 20, 2008, 01:49:00 PM »
Baitin' ain't huntin' ; to me it's a lot like chumin' and fishin'...there is a huge difference ! In Colorado "both" are illegal. Any animal taken while baiting shouldn't even be considered for the trophy books.Baiting just gives the "antis" another reason to further their cause.So called hunting in fenced in areas should fall in to the same category.

Online non-typical

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #70 on: January 20, 2008, 01:50:00 PM »
My favorite bait is a good library book. Seems the more engrossed in a novel I am while in a treestand the more determined those damned deer are to interrupt me with their presence.
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Offline Adirondackman

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #71 on: January 20, 2008, 01:51:00 PM »
No - I just don't see how you can call it hunting. There is not one hunting skill involved except for shooting. Do it if you like but do you really feel that you are hunting? Hunting includes alot of wood skills and hard work. I don't think that you experiance that by throwing a bucket of corn out and sitting there waiting to kill the deer as they come to the bait. More like fishing.
"at some point technology becomes not an aid but a substitute for sportsmanship" - Aldo Leopold

Offline BUFF

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #72 on: January 20, 2008, 02:06:00 PM »
I bait and hunt over water ( same thing ) I will also throw a little corn on a trail that I'm watching to get the deer to stop. I find it funny how many folks bash us Texans as if we could care at all what folks think about anything we do.

Offline Montauks

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #73 on: January 20, 2008, 02:18:00 PM »
As stated before here in NJ baiting is legal but I don't do it, I don't consider it "hunting" either do I consider a tree stand as hunting but that's just me and I don't hold any animosity over the people that do, you "hunt" the way you want I'll hunt the way which is right for me and life goes on.

Gene
What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.

Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator

Offline Ia Hawkeye

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #74 on: January 20, 2008, 02:21:00 PM »
Illegal in Iowa although many do it. I never have nor will I ever use man positioned bait. Do I hunt near corn fields,oak trees,etc., you bet !!!! To try and equate a 100-1000 corn field with a pile of man placed bait is absurd and an attempt to rationalize your behavior !

Having said that, if it's legal where you want to hunt and you wish / need to do it, then go for it!

Bigge,
It's more important to me How I hunt then to take game. I would not compromise my ethics just to take game. However, as I said before, If it's legal and you want to do it, that's your right !If I can't be sucessful my way, then I'll go home
empty handed .

Offline Rico

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #75 on: January 20, 2008, 02:46:00 PM »
The bottom line its about pulling and holding deer into an area that they wouldn't normaly be if that means pulling deer from areas you don't have access to hunt all the better.
   Ethicaly really has nothing to do with legal so is it ethical to bait where it is not legal? I know it is illegal would it still be an ethical choice?

Offline White Oak

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #76 on: January 20, 2008, 02:58:00 PM »
Do I hunt over bait? No.And no it is not legal in Nebraska. I believe this is a recent change in the past few years.Earl E. may be able to varify that. I used to place salt blocks out on my property for the deer to use but I never hunted over them. Now I believe they are cosidered baiting also.I have planted about 50 apple trees and even more oaks on our place.Some may consider that baiting. I see it as habitat improvement.I donot carry grain or any other food in with me. I hunt from the ground from natural blinds and may hunt a different spot every time out.Don't see that baiting would be any advantage to my style of hunting.I don't call or rattle either. I know it works for others but I prefer to sit quietly near a trail and hunt an animal that is moving from feeding to bedding areas or the opposite and not draw any attention to me.When it was legal here, a friend would pick up the windfall apples out of my yard to use in his hunting area.Personally I am glad that it is no longer legal here and hope it stays that way.Just my opinion.

             Ed  :campfire:

Offline Otto

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #77 on: January 20, 2008, 03:01:00 PM »
This thread is like bait.

I keep coming back to it even though I know someone is lurking about.
Otto

Offline yleecoyote23

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #78 on: January 20, 2008, 03:45:00 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by Otto:
This thread is like bait.

I keep coming back to it even though I know someone is lurking about.
yessir, I would consider that "baiting" as well!!!   :bigsmyl:  

To each their own....I live in the dreaded "Texas" and have hunted baited areas and over bait myself. It would be nice if it was as easy as some think it is......

But, in reality, just because it is legal doesn't mean we all do it....the biggest deer I have killed have been while I was wearing my ghilli suit or leafy suit (kinda hot here most of the time   :rolleyes:  ) while watching well traveled trails....

So even tho it is legal and available to a hunter to "bait" doesn't mean that he is "less" of a hunter and has to move to another state so his children can "learn to hunt" the right way...

These threads   :(  .......never mind....  :campfire:    :archer:
In the beautiful Davis Mountains and lovin' every minute - Danny

Offline Duckbutt

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Re: Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???
« Reply #79 on: January 20, 2008, 04:01:00 PM »
I grew up with bait.  The bait isn't as much of an issue with me as what it turns most folks into.  I still put out a couple of bags each season, but hunt more without it.  I like the freedom to hunt on my own terms.  I personally think hunting turkey's over bait would be more fair chase than from a Double Bull. I go to other states and count coupe on deer day in and day out.  Even if I hunted deer exclusively over bait back home, it's a rare day that I get a shot.  I enjoy so many aspects of hunting and doing it so many ways.  It isn't as black and white as some would like it to be.

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