Who baits whitetail deer when hunting???

[varmint]

Originally posted by Duckbutt:
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.

Well said......I can tell you hunt the lowcountry.

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

White Oak.. Yes a few years ago with the CWD thing moving into the state, they banned hunting within 200 yards of a bait..The theory was to not increase the close interaction of deer.. That doesn't mean you can't put out bait for cameras or in your back yard for observing etc,, you just can't hunt within 200 yards of it.. Check the  reg's there is more, but since I don't bait.. I don't get too concerned about it either.. I think an areas is considered baited for 60 days after the bait is removed.

[Lenny Stankowitz]

Yes, I hunt deer over bait.  I also hunt deer in the oaks and on their way to a bean/corn field.  

Having said that, I would NEVER hunt anything after it was chased up a tree by a dog.  That's not hunting, that's just shooting.

Lenny

[adkmountainken]

no i don't, never will, it is not for me. Killdeer said it well, her words are strong and i feel the same way.

[White Oak]

Thanks for the info Earl. I never thought about CWD.    I quess you are supposed to read that big game brochure. With our combined seasons getting longer every year (Sept 15 -Jan. 15) I couldn't understand a restriction.
I just wonder who decided that a group of deer in front of a camera were less likely to contact CWD than those under a tree stand.

                   Take care,

                              Ed  

[ArrowAtomik]

My 2cnts... maybe 3:  Taking a young doe off a pile of corn with a stickbow or even compound for that matter has far more "hunting" involved than taking the  rut-crazed dominant buck down in a cornfield from 250 yards with a rifle.  I would respect the former far above the latter.  You still have to hide your scent, hide your movement, silently draw, aim, and follow through.  Unless the baiting is a year-long over-the-top operation (a la texas fence hunting), it is far from a guarantee anyway.  Deer (especially mature deer) don't suddenly lose all their instincts at the site of yellow piles.  To me it seems a moderate amount of baiting could be regulated and still be no less "unethical" than long-range killing.

Laws can have many reasons, but from an ethics perspective, it seems rediculous to look upon the rifle shot as being more "okay" than the baited bow shot.  I don't see why bait hunting should be banned for the sake of ethics.  It can be banned for other reasons (low deer population, spread of disease, difficulty to regulate, border war problems, etc), but the ethics of it seem irrelevent to me.  Given a high deer population, if someone wants to shoot a deer over bait, more power to them.  If they want to feel more reward from the experience, they can hunt more conventionally.  It should be their perogative just as it is their perogative to pick up a rifle one day a year or jump into a trad lifestyle that demands almost daily attention.  

Its all a matter of what YOU want to get out of it for yourself.  It seems to me that I should care less about comparing my rewarding experience against another guys rewarding experience... and certainly not care about comparing numbers or score.  

There are exceptions, but I think the argument is more often spurred from those that are worried about trophy comparison than those with legitimate ethics concerns.  Otherwise we would see more posts debating whether rifle hunting is fair-chase and whether we should condone it or worry about its impact on our public image as hunters.  For the trophy scorekeeper, there are clear lines carefully drawn seperating gun-kill and bow-kill.  But there are no astericks for bait kill, hence the argument.  I think the "trophy-above-all-else" mentality has more negative impact on our public image than baiting ever will.

[Fritz]

Just my humble opinion, but I believe this horse has been beat to death.  If it's legal and you can sleep at night, then to each his own.

God Bless.

[J-dog]

I do not bait but that is only cause I cannot stay still long enough!!, I am like a dog (Gene's article) they say I like to know what is over the next ridge.

Do I care if someone baits, do I think less of them NOPE. Too many of these same hunters that look down their noses at baiting deer will go to Canada on a bear hunt and sit over doghnuts, or Mountin lion/bear hunting with dogs to shoot them out of a treetop (definatly not hunting in my book ride around in truck-cut track-turn dogs loose snowmobile to tree-shoot said cat.????) DO I think less of them? no I just do not care for that style of hunting but would shake the mans hand for a good shot. I just will not shoot one like that, so I guess I will never kill a mountain lion? fine.  

Biggie said it best,  

J

Why do they have to use bait in Canada to kill a bear??? too thick I guess, or if it is like around here they are ghosts that I hunt every year and fail to kill, cause I cant use baits. Oh well, still wouldn't if I could-gonna catch one right slippin the fire trails one season.

[J-dog]

In my area it is only legal on private land-Illegal on WMAs and public land. thought I would throw that in.

If it is legal-then go for it!

J

Great thread Yall, love the different perspectives.

[kennym]

Nope, (not legal in MO)and as long as I've got a decent sized hunting area without too much pressure,I won't. I like to hunt mature bucks,only need about 1 deer per  season anymore(not often a buck). My best bucks have been taken when I hunted a spot,tree or ground, for the first time of the season,every time!! Every trip in with bait or huntin the same stand lowers the chances of "ME" gettin what "I" want done. To each his own,as long as its legal. Good thread and responses guys,and civil to boot!  

[Scott E]

legal here and i do it but havent had any luck asvfar as taking a deer goes so its more like supplemental feeding.-Scott

[BAK]

OK, I'll jump in.  But here's my spin.  If your modifying your behavior, that is learning the animals movements and trying to intercept them, your hunting.  If your modifying their behavior by providing mineral, salt, water, bait piles, or even food plots, your only fooling yourself into thinking your hunting.

[Mechslasher]

I’ve heard several arguments trying to differentiate between hunting over plots/oaks compared to hunting over bait.  I just don’t buy hunting over a large plots or the number of oaks dropping doesn’t make this hunting over bait.  Sorry.  On any plot, deer are not likely to come out to feed at random locations.  Deer will come out on known trails and this is where a stand should be placed, hence hunting over bait.  As to oaks, I’ve seen over the years that not all oaks are equal.  Some must be sweeter than others because I’ve seen deer walk through a stand of dropping oaks to feed under one tree.  Yes, I’ve killed several deer under similar oaks.  Also the trail scenario is still the same.  Deer usually feed along certain trails and this is where stands should be placed.  Here again, hunting over a baited trail.  Now I will agree that it does take a hunters skill to figure out if these trails or morning or afternoon trails.  Also it takes skill to figure out what time the trail is used (not using a trail cam).  As to deer coming to the sound of a feeder, I’ve seen deer come trotting at the sound of acorns hitting the ground.  To me it boils down to what ever works for you, works for me.

[BD]

I would argue that gun hunting without bait would be much more challenging  than stickbow hunting with it in pressured areas being that there will be much more pressure during gun than bow seasons.  I would respect a gun hunter who consistently kills nice deer without bait, much more than a bowshooter who consistently shoots nice deer over bait.

BCD

[DesertDude]

I just returned from a hunting trip to my friends ranch in Texas. He has blinds set up with corn feeders. He planted 6 food plots, and has a couple of protein feeders. I hunted by a couple of the feeders, and when they went off  the deer didn't come a running.... They hit them mostly after dark. I must say this, the deer we took all had a little fat on them. and they tasted Great... This was my first time hunting in Texas and by bait. One nice thing is the deer sure eat well at his place.......The way I see it, If it's legal you make the call. If it's not, I'll make a call......

Hunt and Enjoy Life..........DesertDude

[Scott Carson]

I started the season off baiting with corn and apples and actually had to pass up shots several times because there were to many deer around the bait. To big of a chance poorly hitting a second one on a pass-through! I quit baiting about 2 weeks before rifle season opened and all the local deer moved out of the area to find easier food sources - 14 deer at my blind while baiting, not one 2 weeks after I quit.
After rifle I still hunted parts of the property that I hadn't tried previous seasons and saw plenty more deer than I had at the bait pile and also found much better locations to set up.
You'll see more deer when you go looking for them instead of waiting for them to come to you, I'm finished with the baiting.

[hickstick]

not legal here in MA and even if it was I probably wouldn't do it....simply because it doesn't feel like 'hunting' to me...same reason I don't hunt with a compound...fish with dynamite, etc....

I don't buy the argument that hunting over a NATURAL food source is equivalent to baiting.  hunting food plots/agri-fields isn't the exact same as a natural food source...but the last I checked you can't   program a corn field to   'Turn On' a half hour before sunset!

[herb haines]

here in NB we can bait and if you want to see game and be able to learn from it just put a few apples 30 ft from where you are in a tree .they can hear you un nock an arrow at 50 ft from nocks that have been ground larger !!!!!!!
sure gives you exercise visiting baits evrey day  , i put a pail of apples at each bait if they are gone and less if they aren't eating many .
here in NB they don't take to corn the squirrels and birds do .fed 50 lbs corn and 500 lbs apples , that being said i i filled my tag on a large doe at 70 yds with the '06 ,next year more stands and yes i will be using apples --- herb

[Ia Hawkeye]

White Oak from Nebraska says baiting is not legal in NEB.

Herb Haines from Neb. says it is legal to bait in Neb.

So which of these guys is right? One of them hunts  legaly and the other is hunting illegaly .

Which one is right?

(I don't hunt Ne., but I'm curious)

[kennym]

Stephen,I think Herb is in New Brunswick....

You live near Shaun?