[slim 60]

first let me say ..i have no problem with it..but after you have filled your tags ..do you stop putting corn out..you got paid for your corn ,,if you got a deer or filled all your tags....consider continueing the corn until the weather gets warmer..
now i know i step on many toes probably.. but new embryo are in the doe wombs..to insure the nourishment to that forming fawn ..is it not smart to not cut the doe off just because you are not hunting her anymore..
she ll no doubt probably survive but the fawn would be stronger if she could continue to get that nourishment an protien etc.. during the coldest months after the seasons over..after all,, a well planned food plot doesn t stop providing food at the end of hunting season..
just my thoughts..
im very interested in your opinions.. yea or nay..thats why i like this forum..so i hope some will answer ,even if you are not doing this now..
whats your thoughts on it. slim
ps..
im for as little regulation as possible .. let me say this right up front ..i do not support any regulations,,to this affect..we got enough of them now in my opinion....its about appreciation of the god giving [in my opinion]right to take what we need to sustain our selves ..we are given dominion over the earth as men created in his image ,,to do just that..jmo.
if i don t get back soon its because im real busy at home..

 

[jodum]

Heck no, not after they have eaten all my flowers and shrubs out of my yard all summer.

 

[mattsbox99]

Its pretty unethical if you ask me, its illegal to bait big game animals here. People that use it are given too much of an unfair advantage.

 

[pisgah]

I have no problem with baiting where it is legal. I actually have more of a problem with feeding them year 'round.

In most areas of the country, deer are not starving. There's plenty to eat around for them, but the corn is a free lunch. Where food may be scarce, starvation is one way wild populations are controlled in nature.

If you're feeding all year or all winter, fine. But admit to yourself that the only REAL reason is to keep your honey-hole sweet.

 

[jodum]

Baiting does not put you at an advantage down here because everyone does it. There is so much corn out that just about any deer you kill will have corn in its stomach. There are approx 12 feeders on the lease where I hunt. I think it actually hurts hunting because the deer fill up on corn at night and do not get as hungry during the day so they don't move as much.

 

[slim 60]

well so far nothing but real honest opinions.. in n.c. baiting is allowed .. while id rather hunt with out it..its the method used by many as jodium said.. it took me a while to accept it .. so my post is to get food for thought on the issue.. i appreciate yalls opinions..
but im still agaist regulation way over whats necessary..the ones sponscered by responcible wildlife management of our assets,, are the ones i support ,,for the most part..
now the man with the lease behind my house ..gets outa his truck ...goes to his stand ,,usually gets a deer .. throws it in back of his truck an goes home..hes raising two fine sons.. they think dad, is teaching them the skill of hunting.. my opinion dad is teaching them the ability to harvest kept livestock,, or to be easier on him.. one method of hunting....again ,,this just my opinion.. i ll surely get in trouble before i quit.. i usually do..but i can handle the heat..thinks i..grin.slim
ps pisgah.. feeding through the coldest pt of winter ,,is different than feeding all year..im not much of a believer in that..the deer need to make it on thjier own ..but where we intervene for our own benefit ..we need to do it smartly..a big boned fawn has a better chance..mabe..jmo .. might get to stick around a bit as my wifes asleep.
thank you for yours.

 

[Helix]

Baiting any big game animal in WA is not allowed. In my area feed plots and corn feeders might actually be a good thing. There is either so much good habitat that the deer don't concentrate much making it harder to see game or the wolves are eating them all. Most of the hunters I have talked with in my area this year had very low success rates including me. If our big game season's were later in the year we might see more competition for food and see more game. During our deer season it never got below about 55oF for a daytime low except very high elevations which bring their own challenges into the equation.

I did see this picture recently and remarked that corn appears to work well to concentrate deer. the farmers in my area have a horrible time with the elk raiding their cattle feed. animals will take advantage of the easiest way to get fed.

 

[casstrh]

I'm not opposed to baiting. In TEXAS, it's the normal method, unless you're lucky enough to have access to large private ranches that allow real hunting. On my lease, we all feed year round. I change from corn to a high protein supplement diet from December thru June, then back to corn. Deer harvesting is low priorty for us. There are some years (like this one) that the only deer taken were inferier or spike bucks. Hogs are our primary target, and baiting / trapping is the best method to get them. Baiting has other benefits - I have the biggest, fattest raccoons and squirrels in the state.

 

[tpv]

I'm not opposed to baiting. In TEXAS, it's the normal method, unless you're lucky enough to have access to large private ranches that allow real hunting. On my lease, we all feed year round. I change from corn to a high protein supplement diet from December thru June, then back to corn. Deer harvesting is low priorty for us. There are some years (like this one) that the only deer taken were inferier or spike bucks. Hogs are our primary target, and baiting / trapping is the best method to get them. Baiting has other benefits - I have the biggest, fattest raccoons and squirrels in the state.

I thought our lease had the biggest fattest raccoons! This is a good time of the year to work a light at night through the trees around the feeders, and kill the little devils.

 

[jmortimer]

Baiting is not hunting it is "harvesting." If you shoot it and eat it does it really matter how you got it ? Enjoy your meal. Just don't call it hunting. My opinion is that hunting, by definition, should include stalking and as such the deer stand or blind is "harvesting" as well.

 

[kdub]

Well, Mr. Mortimer - that's what makes horse races. Differences of opinion.

Enjoy the stalking and gusto when downing the animal.

Us old folk sorta like the still hunting and letting the game come to us.

 

[jmortimer]

Just an opinion, one out of six billion. You know a whole lot more about hunting than I do. As stated I don't have a problem with any of it and did not mean to offend anyone.

 

[marsms]

I don't like baiting, personally. It's illegal here (other than a guided bear hunt). You guys have no idea how long and hard I had to look to find a "fair chase" bear hunt.

That being said, rattlin' and calling is baiting too...and I do that nearly every morning and evening come hunting season!

 

[MikeG]

Supplemental feeding can make quite a difference. Call it baiting, or whatever, but you can really do a lot by increasing the quality and quantity of the food available to the animals.

Does it guarantee you an animal? Not in the least. I have hunted baited areas where the deer were unbelievably spooky.

Deer get some of it, but by no means all. Lots of other animals benefit, same as with any other habitat improvement, to be honest. Slim hit a good point - if you are going to do supplemental feeding, it really should be year round. And on top of that, you never want to over-populate the land, whether you do it or not.

 

[Combat Diver]

Slim- Part of your statement is true on NC allowing baiting, but on private land only. On public game lands is prohibted, at least up to 10 days before the season. I have no problem with those who can legally bait. Some areas are so crowded with hunters that is your best bet to bring the deer to you. Its dangerous at times like those to go stalking. If the hunter density is low than I stalk. Some of us have only public land to hunt. I 08' the area public land I hunted I had a different problem, hunting clubs running dogs. Not great when your not part of it and sitting in your stand and get busted by the dogs.

I put corn out during the fall/winter behind the house for the small game back there and did take a few squrriels last year (very small area). I've got to remind my son now to do it for me as I gone.

CD

 

[Shawn Crea]

Baiting in my hometown area has been going on for a long time. It's just been under a different name - 'farming'. Whether it's alfalfa, wheat, barley, or CRP, it always attracts not only deer, but elk and many lesser animals. From spring to fall, the animals are better off, and even into winter in the stubble fields with the grains that the combines drop. Depredation tags for hunters are often a by-product.

 

[mattsbox99]

Yea, there is plenty of the hay bale bait around here. The Antelope and Deer love the June crop of Alfalfa.

 

[slim 60]

yep combat ..im aware.. you still have to get permission from landowners here in thje uhwarries.. at least for the most part.. but no baiting allowed on gamelands..man it takes really knowing what you are doing there though ..after the first few days of muzzle loader season.. deer really get smart an mostly nocturnal.. of course the rut ,makes it easier to takem tho ..i hear..ive seen a few,, i let walk .. but never a big buck during hunting season..of course as some here know ..id be a jinx on any deer hunt..
mabe if id cut off the hilbilly music ,,it might help..you think?? looks like any deer with common sense would appreciate good picking an such..slim

 

[Chief RID]

Baiting is added work and expense. I would rather not because I am lazy but a man does what he has to do. corn is not good nutrition wise compared to other deer foods. It makes our deer more nocturnal. As has been said before"if you don't bait and your neighbor does, guess who has deer?"

Legal and ethical. Two different animals. Bait on!

 

[broom_jm]

Baiting in my hometown area has been going on for a long time. It's just been under a different name - 'farming'. Whether it's alfalfa, wheat, barley, or CRP, it always attracts not only deer, but elk and many lesser animals. From spring to fall, the animals are better off, and even into winter in the stubble fields with the grains that the combines drop. Depredation tags for hunters are often a by-product.

Purdue University conducted an extended study of deer habits, health, weight and antler mass, in farming regions of Indiana where both soy beans (protein) and corn (carbohydrates) were readily available (more or less the entire state).

Their particular focus was with regard to food plots and their claims of growing bigger bucks or holding/attracting more deer, during the hunting season. Their findings conclusively showed that deer size, habits or antler growth were not impacted or improved by the availability of various commercially available food plot blends, that the study group and control group showed the same food preferences and at the same time of the year. Harvest numbers were not improved, nor were larger-antlered deer harvested in areas with food plots available.

With so much food available, relative to the number of deer, the harvested corn and bean fields were more than enough to keep deer well-distributed, despite the availability of food plots. I would think the exact opposite scenario exists in much drier climates with limited agriculture, like south Texas. There, I think food plots and supplemental feeding would be much more effective.

So, to answer the baiting of deer question: I hunted in Wisconsin over bait many years and in probably 100+ days of hunting, with bait available, I never once saw a shooter buck at a bait pile, during shooting hours! I saw plenty of turkeys, squirrels, blue jays, crows and even a couple of partridge, which was very cool, but the only deer I saw at a bait pile were does and yearling bucks. Even they didn't hang around very long. The bucks were always found either IN the thickest cover available, moving to/from cut fields, during low-light hours, or if you were lucky you'd find one actually in a field, during daylight. To me, baiting is ethical where deer numbers and density are high, but in areas of intensive agriculture, where you usually find such densities, it is seldom needed or beneficial.

JMortimer: Given sufficient land to do so, I think many hunters would prefer to (spot and ) stalk deer, but most of the land where I have access is < 20 acres. If you stalk those areas all you're going to do is drive deer away from the limited area you have. Please don't disparage other legal methods that are not necessarily preferred, or "ethical" where you hunt. It's important to realize that conditions and hunting culture are as dramatically different as the various climates and terrain where whitetails live. Given a chance to go to a great farm in Iowa and harvest a 170 inch deer, but the landowner showed you a ladder stand and told you to keep your butt IN IT...I bet you'd do it!