Would you bait these deer? (Just went a new direction Pg 8!)

[beetlebailey1977]

yep bait em in.

[buckeye_hunter]

They are bedding in a small block of timber that is illegal to hunt near the school. The ones that are bedding near me are down below in the bottom where I DO NOT have permission to hunt.

[KellyG]

buckeye,
I understand your moral struggle. I grew up in VA and baiting was not legal there  either, but parts of the state you could run dogs after deer go figure. In a population that is dense and already on food plots it does not do anything negative. I mean you may not get much choice on hunting there if CWD breaks out in this heard. Heck put some corn out in a spot and see if they will even come in to.  It may not bring them in any way. Put it out as far as you can from you stand but where you may be able to see it if they use it. Then decide.
Kelly

[J-dog]

I baited for the first time this yr. For what I have seen, and I kept a trail cam on the feeder all season - I have yet to see a deer at the feeder during daylight hours, period. I mean on the trail cam as well. They will not hit it during daylight. I planned on just using it to fill the freezer; but instead I have seen all my deer hunting areas where baitng is illegal.

I will keep the trail cam on the feeder and keep the feeder full as it is fun to see what comes in on the cam. Mainly does but been a couple nice bucks. They were there to run does not feed.

Anyway good luck, whicheevr you choose.

J

[ThePushArchery]

If you have to ask the question, then you don't agree 100% with baiting to begin with.

Its legal to hire a "call girl" in Vegas, doesn't mean I would...

I wouldn't bait them until the deer herd health is at risk and is very apparent in their appearance. (CWD or the likes)

My $0.02

Good luck with your decision, and shoot straight!

[dan d]

Originally posted by J-dog:
I baited for the first time this yr. For what I have seen, and I kept a trail cam on the feeder all season - I have yet to see a deer at the feeder during daylight hours, period. I mean on the trail cam as well. They will not hit it during daylight.
J

I do not bait, I do hunt a hayfield, but it is a large 50 acre field so I still need to pick a spot, not like sitting over a little pile. Anyways I hear the wheelie boys at work say the same thing about them coming in at night, said the yearlings hit it during daylight hours.  

  I can understand your thoughts buckeye hunter, I went thru the same thinking process a few years back, I ended up coming to the conclusion it was a pain to bait so it made my decision easier, now it's illegal here in Michigan and that's fine with me. But I don't hunt suburban areas so that too makes a difference in my hunting style. I know the suburban areas here are the same as you describe.

Good luck with your decision, you can always try it and if it don't feel right after you get one then go back to non baiting and chalk it up to the growth/ learning/ maturing of your hunting lifestyle. I know I did things a few years back (like hunt out of trees) that I don't do now, I'm glad I hunted out of trees, I know the experience, and know I get more satisfaction from Ground hunting (plus feel safer)  I would say this is the same thing, give it a try, your answer will come after you experience it.
Dan

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I agree with most, if it's legal then the only thing wrong with it is in your head. It ultimately comes down to what your philosophy is.
Personally, in the situation you just described it sounds like the deer are getting everything they need from urbanites, so you wouldn't be offering them anything different than what they are used to getting. I don't see that as anything different than hunting over a food plot myself.
I say go for it.

If it were legal here, I would do it, but it's not so I plant a food plot every year. Sometimes that brings them in, sometimes it doesn't. I just sit and hope for the best.

[buckeye_hunter]

Went out tonight and watched the same deal again. They bedded low and headed for the neighborhood. No chance I would have had a shot even if I had been hunting them.

I had fun since I was there to hunt squirrels tonight anyway. I lost 4 arrows, but it was fun!

[TLANE]

I would in a heartbeat!  I have the same problem here in southern WV.  We have no agriculture to speak of, just lots and lots of mountains.  Deer are really hard to pattern here, if you were to set up on a trail you might see a deer every few days.  Everyone on the lease that I am in bait deer with corn & apples so It's kinda like I am forced to do it also.  I have a corn feeder just to keep the deer moving through my area.  I will tell you though that a mature buck will not hardly come to a feeder in daylight hours, at least here anyway.  Any trail you will see here is going from one feeder to another and is used mostly by the does.  Secret is to look on either side of the noticeable trail for a faint trail and set up on that if you want a shot at a good buck.  This year though is entirely different, there are so many acorns that you will slide down the hill on them!  A deer could just lay down under a  oak tree and never get up!

[guspup]

I think your dilema is based on the fact that they are there, and they are tempting you..... I have the same 'problem' here. I sat in the woods all day today, 20 degrees, blowing and snowing like crazy, and saw 1 doe. I come home every night, and they are in my driveway. Even if you did manage to harvest one of the neighborhood pets, you most likely would be disappointed, since it would just not be the same as the personal reward of using your skill to harvest a wild animal in it's natural environment. Your neighbors should learn to remedy their deer issues by planting shrubs and trees that aren't 'candy' to deer. And if they 'feed' deer, tell them it's not a healthy thing to do, it leads them to spreading disease amongst the herd.

[ALwoodsman]

And if they 'feed' deer, tell them it's not a healthy thing to do, it leads them to spreading disease amongst the herd.

They probably won't care, I told my neighbor that and he still feeds them. I wish I could tell you how to solve the problem but baiting is problably going to be the only way to get them on the property.  The only good thing about my situation is that the deer sometimes cross my property to get to the neighbors corn.

[BEN]

If your trying to fill the freezer---go for it!!

I hunt public land mostly, but sometimes due to weather or work, I just can't get out there. then the freezer just looks emptier........

What I do have is 4 acres, mostly wooded, surrounded by woods and fields and a couple neighbors. I have lived here 5 yrs and have shot 1-2 deer off my little homestead everyyear.  Some have been baited, some not. When there's room in the freezer, you're pressed for time, money,etc....to do the "real" hunt, and baiting is legal------no question in my mind.

Plus-----I don't know about your little herd, but the deer that go through my place are some cagey, wiley critters!! They look relaxed in someone's yard, but I'm telling you--I've been busted more times in less hunts by these dang old, wiley does that hang out in my woods, than I've ever been out in the big public land woods!!
Because of that, I have not felt the least bit disappointed about a deer killed over some corn in my woods---they are eating it in the fields anyway----only they dont' have to look as hard----just gives them more time to look for me!

[Don Stokes]

No. Just because everybody's doing it doesn't make it right. It's bad for the deer herd, and fosters "Bambi" ideas in the non-hunters. Giving the deer an excess of food year-round just increases a population that already is too high, and almost guarantees that when disease hits the overpopulated herd it will spread quickly.

If there's a neighborhood association, maybe the subject could be brought up there. Get a biologist in, to explain how feeding is bad for the deer, and maybe your neighbors will wise up.

Convenience is great, but I'd either find another place to hunt,or live with it as long as the situation stays the same.

[Kevin Dill]

Baiting = man-made manipulation of animal movements...using food in this case...to make it easier to kill an animal.

Black bears on bait piles...antelope at water tank...African plains game at waterhole/feed station...grizz on a gutpile...leopard on bait...deer at a corn or beet pile. All of these scenarios are caused by someone manipulating animal movements toward an isolated food or water source, with the intent to kill the animal.

Some guys might try to pick it apart, but baiting is baiting...very simple. I've never seen how a guy can approve of baiting bears in Quebec but not deer in Ohio.

I think your deer situation is very common. I think there are alternatives to baiting, but putting out food is probably an easier remedy. You need to understand your own internal workings: does baiting deer agree with your sense of fair chase? Is it legal there? Any other ramifications? If all the lights are green, you have no reason not to bait. If it doesn't feel quite right, then you might need to listen to that inner voice.

I personally don't bait. I don't have a moral or ethical opposition to it. I actually think it's a very traditional way of hunting, stretching back hundreds of years. I just don't get a thrill out of waiting for an animal to arrive at a precise location I've prepped with food. As a harvest strategy, it's effective and I have zero argument with it. All bets are off if CWD or other cervid diseases are in the area.

For the record: I have fed deer and turkeys, but I've never tried to kill one over bait.

[John Scifres]

Probably not.

[BCD]

No. It's just not hunting to me. But to each their own.

[macksdad]

I would, I feel it would be effective herd management.

[chanumpa]

If its legal were you are,why not.

[J-dog]

Down in Emerald Isle I usedto work at the fire house. The place was over run with deer that could not be hunted. The folks did not "feed" them, not on purpose. The deer did however help themselves to the shrubbery of the homeowners yards.
Now they allow 2 police men to bowhunt a certain area of the jurisdiction. No baiting required to kill these.
Got to be a way of gettin em without bait?? not that I am opposed to that idea - just thinkin maybe midday still slippin?

J

[Bob Palmer]

Sure. Wouldn't have  a problem with it at all. Try corn and sweet potatoes. If you can get a hold of the vines, put them out as well!!!