Baiting pole

[bornagainbowhunter]

i love to bait deer for my 2 boys to hunt.  I gives them an opportunity to see deer everytime they go out and usually see alot of deer.  It keeps them interisted.  

I like hunting the lay of the land myself, I seem to kill more bucks that way, but I would be disappointed if I could not bait deer for my boys to hunt.

God Bless,
Nathan

[Bill Carlsen]

Baiting deer is not a slam dunk, as many seem to think or imply. If you screw up the first time you may not see a second time.

Baiting in my state of NH is legal and we do it on the land we own. We do it for several reasons. Not too many years ago it was logged and there are currently no mast or apple trees or even grapes growing on it. We are trying to change that. There is a fellow on the adjacent property to our NW that bait's like crazy even though he is set up in a stand of oaks. To our SE we have a fellow who has a food plot as well as feeders set out. So, if we are to see deer, and even have a hope of shooting one, we feed them. We start in the Spring with Trophy Rocks (they just finished the third one on my wife's stand). Then towards the middle of the summer we add a bit of corn and do so throughout the season and supplement with apples when we can get them. The deer typically come in to the bait areas much more cautiously than they do to other more natural food sources and they seem to be adept at picking out tree stands as there are any number of t hem in the area from which they are shot at from.
Once you get busted at a bait site, those particular deer become very skittish and either go nocturnal, early morning  or take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour once you see them coming before they commit to the site. Even then, as many of  you know, getting the deer you want to pose in the perfect position for a shot may never happen even when they do come in. My wife and i have a meeting spot. If one of us is late getting there we will work our way over to the other's stand because being late or not being at the meeting spot means one of us is "trapped" in our stand by deer we can't shoot for one reason or the other. That way, the person on the ground gets the attention and the deer are none the wiser for the person being in a tree stand. Baiting is not for everyone nor is it my preference. But for us to have a place to ourselves to hunt without pressure from others, and the fact that we have no reasonable natural food supplies to set up on or trails to and from, we find baiting to be a reasonable thing to do.

[David Yukon]

Never thought about it since up here it isn't leagal to bait, you are not even alowed to hunt bear on your own kill site, moose gut pile for example!!
Tought question, I guess if it is leagal go for it, as long as you feel good about it.

My dad put mineral licks on his hunting ground for moose and he doesn't get more mooses than me!!

Cheers

[bucksaw]

Bill Carlsen explained my situation perfectly. We have few deer and baiting is legal. Adjoining land owners bait, so if I don't I won't see much and will likely have another year of a freezer with a loud echo. The only thing I can do other than bait myself is attempt to intercept them on their way to the other guy's bait....which amounts to the same thing.
I prefer to hunt trails leading to my own bait site if possible.

[Ragnarok Forge]

Legal for Deer and Elk here in WA.  Illegal for Bear and Birds.  I have never "baited" deer or elk, but I love people who do.  It tells me where not to hunt ( on the bait ) and where to hunt, around the baits.  I hunt travel trails to and from the baiting area early and late.  I use others baits along with terrain, and everything else I know to get on animals without messing up others hunts or baiting area.

I used to bait, but that was too much work, then I went to just shooting deer targets, still too much work, then I went to shooting little pictures of deer with a gun.  so much to do reload gun, hang pictures etc. etc.  Then I found this computer game,  but it is too hard.  It is a nice day for hunting, so I think I will open the shades and watch TV.
Just kidding, I think it takes away from the challenge of hunting, too much and can create unnatural patterns for the baited animal.  It goes against my leave no trace outdoors ethic.

[Shedrock]

I prefer to learn the animals habits and read sign, then set up on them. Spot and stalk is my favorite way of hunting.

Baiting is illegal in Wyoming, and I'm glad.  

[goldflinger]

LOL Pavan, too funny! I agreewith your line of thinking

"another world" "the young and restless" "the edge of night" don't want to miss my stories, but oh oh what if I miss opra and ellen and dr. Phlipped in the head, must take a nap and think about it.  No wait, I know where the turkeys are roosting, gotta go, take care guys.

[J-dog]

I do not mind baiting at all. What gigs me is when people who tote "I oppose baiting deer because I do not approve of it" or "it is beneath my ethics" ideas - pooching their chests out telling me this are the same folks who will go sit over a 55 gallon drum for a bear or a feeder for hogs and have no issue shooting that bear or hog over the feeder/drum? baiting is baiting - for a proper poll, or ethics for that matter, you cannot distinguish game animal. Your poll do as you wish. But what I mean is - if you are against baiting a deer please do not rationalize the bear or hog shot over bait.

I think if you make it illegal, or personally ban yourself from the practice then do it for all game animals you will hunt as they deserve the same effort put forth in a hunt to be killed or yourself sent home empty handed.

-------

On the next note this is the first yr I have personally put forth an effort to bait - I have an area where it is legal. Deer do not move to it in daylight hours just as they do not move once the dogs start pushing them.

I am finding that I like to hunt to many different areas and I like to move too much! So baiting really is not my personal style though I have nothing against its proper use.

My .02

Jason

[Wolfie2nd]

Originally posted by J-dog:
I do not mind baiting at all. What gigs me is when people who tote "I oppose baiting deer because I do not approve of it" or "it is beneath my ethics" ideas - pooching their chests out telling me this are the same folks who will go sit over a 55 gallon drum for a bear or a feeder for hogs and have no issue shooting that bear or hog over the feeder/drum? baiting is baiting - for a proper poll, or ethics for that matter, you cannot distinguish game animal. Your poll do as you wish. But what I mean is - if you are against baiting a deer please do not rationalize the bear or hog shot over bait.

I think if you make it illegal, or personally ban yourself from the practice then do it for all game animals you will hunt as they deserve the same effort put forth in a hunt to be killed or yourself sent home empty handed.

-------

On the next note this is the first yr I have personally put forth an effort to bait - I have an area where it is legal. Deer do not move to it in daylight hours just as they do not move once the dogs start pushing them.

I am finding that I like to hunt to many different areas and I like to move too much! So baiting really is not my personal style though I have nothing against its proper use.

My .02

Jason

Sorry I was not thinking bear and hog I live in south jersey no bear or hogs here. Just 500 lb piles of corn on state land.

[lpcjon2]

I also live in SJ and to be honest if you hunt any public land in SJ your chances of harvesting a deer are very low due to the number of people hunting public land and lack of public land.I plant small food plots on public land (20ftX20ft) and have used corn before. I feel that just because you use bait doesn't mean it changes the feeding pattern( they eat that corn after dark most times) at all and it barely raises the success rate. bait is food that was placed there or planted,does corn,soy bean,ect. grow wild in any part of the country? Heck doe pee or any product placed in an area to attract an animal is the same as baiting.JMHO      

[Bowwild]

Oddly worded poll question but I figured it out.

I don't think baiting should be legal. But, I don't make a big deal out it and I certainly don't bash hunters who do it where legal.

You asked our opinion.  The "why" for me is very simple.  The "hunt" is very important to me and involves much more than stealth and shooting.

Baiters love to throw up the oak trees, persimmons, apples, and even crop fields. Why leave out wild forbs, woody browse, and fescue fields -- the entire list of things deer eat?  I guess if one put out 40-50 piles of bait to simulate the widespread availability of natural and planted deer foods the baiter could return more of the hunt to the adventure. Then the baiter would have to use other information (woodsmanship) to determine which pile to sit over and when.

[mambashooter]

Unethical...yes guys, just like the camo, range finders, scent blokers, blinds etc. If you hunt traditional you should be a traditionlist..
Hunt on a level playing field with the animal you are hunting. Get out of the stands and stalk..Thats real hunting.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Originally posted by Wolfie2nd:
[]Sorry I was not thinking bear and hog I live in south jersey no bear or hogs here. Just 500 lb piles of corn on state land. [/QB]

Sitting over someone Else's bait   :rolleyes:   now there's a thought  

Does public land constitute hunting where you like where legal? I guess that would be equivalent to hunting from the same tree some guy left his tree stand in on public ground. Not that I would but it's kinda funny to think about!    

[acadian archer]

baiting should be illegal, hunting over acorns,scents, artificial scrapes, hunting near orchards, foodplots, farmers fields should also be illegal. The use of treestands, ladders and ground blinds should also be banned. No camo clothing of any type should also be banned, not because it works, but I believe it to be unethical.

[Mojo Rising]

[Wolfie2nd]

[L. E. Carroll]

I'm thinking that the Liberals, many of whom get to voice their opinions in the voting box, may find "baiting" as one more reason not to support us.  I know here in WA when our "game department" has lost some "Management"   to the "Popular Vote" Bear baiting was gone in a heart beat.    

I try very hard to set a good example for others, hunters and non-hunters alike...I don't want the non-hunters to get the idea that I'm too lazy to get off of my A$$ and go do it in a bit harder manner... I took up and enjoy "traditional archery hunting" for the added demand it places on me to be sucessful.... and Success is not always measured by a dead animal on the ground...

If my being able to continue to hunt is subject to some "Liberals" vote??? I, in no way want to give them any ammo to fight me with...

So, no baiting for me... that's my $02 for what it's worth.

I must admit however, that we in the West  are in most cases very lucky in the fact that thousands of acres are open to the public both thru State, BLM and National Forrest land, along with the millions of Private logging acres open to the public.... If I lived back East, I may in deed be on the other side of the fence on this issue.

Gene          

BTW this debate will never end...that is, until we loose it completely.

[Bonebuster]

Baiting is what it is.

Acorns, alfalfa fields, corn fields, soybeans, apple trees, ect.

How someone can plant a food plot, and call it anything but baiting is beyone me.

Try baiting in a three yr old Michigan swamp donkey on public land, and then tell me you STILL think it is unethical.