Baiting Deer

[Sleep Robber]

Baiting Deer is Legal, here is the question,

Do you,

1 = think of it as fair and nothing wrong with it ??

2 = think of it as cheating and unethical ??

3 = Don't care either way, I just like to hunt

[Surrey Boy]

I choose #1, since I don't care and it doesn't offend me, it must not be wrong, and is therefore right.

Just like roadhunting or going to 2-16, baiting has a dynamic to it that some would think of as unethical due to fair-chase perception. After all, this is hunting, not farming. However, we all start somewhere, just like I started out with a slug gun for black bears and may end up bowhunting goats someday. As long as there isn't a conservation or environmental concern, how does his choice affect my hunting?

[Albafly]

2 - i think it is outside the rules of "fair chase". Also, feeding wild animals is never really a good idea. When you stop, as inevitably you will, a food source they depeded on has gone.

[Gateholio]

If it's legal, I try not to worry to much about how the other guy hunts.

[Albafly]

Good point Gatehouse. It is legal, but I just don't think it should be. I have no problem with old timers who can't hike far road hunting, but i think this goes a little further. It is messing with them in ways we can't see.

[Surrey Boy]

2 - i think it is outside the rules of "fair chase". Also, feeding wild animals is never really a good idea. When you stop, as inevitably you will, a food source they depeded on has gone.

Except when you stop feeding them they won't need a food source because they'll be a food source.

[Albafly]

Except when you stop feeding them they won't need a food source because they'll be a food source.

The one you shoot, maybe. But the rest? And everything else that became dependent on your supplies?

I should say that I am not a massive anti when it comes to baiting deer, in case it sounds like I am. Its just my opinion that its probably not a great thing.

[Surrey Boy]

The one you shoot, maybe. But the rest? And everything else that became dependent on your supplies?

It's a valid point you make, but I think that animals aren't as bad as welfare bums - they'll work it out themselves. I've known people who forget to feed their livestock, and those animals seem to find a way to eat regardless.

[jrjonesy]

I'm not a biologist but I fail to see where putting out food for deer, even if your able to do it fairly frequently, will result in ANY sort of dependancy. Deer are surrounded by their natural food source and finding food for them is not an issue. If the bait pile disappears they just go back to eating what they've always ate, browse. Do you think they're going to get all stubborn and starve to death because they don't like the taste of their natural food source as much as the oats or corn they were being fed?

[Gateholio]

The one you shoot, maybe. But the rest? And everything else that became dependent on your supplies?

I should say that I am not a massive anti when it comes to baiting deer, in case it sounds like I am. Its just my opinion that its probably not a great thing.

I'd have to see some real facts about the effects of small scale baiting before I'd get too worried about deer becoming too dependant. I suspect it is just like when one food source dries up due to the seasons changing- they move to another source!

[bushpig slayer]

if you consider that hunting and are proud to call your self a true hunter then fill your boots,i personally think that is a weak way to hunt and would not tell anyone due to my hardcore hunting partners would ridicule me to the ends of the earth.look at pg66 that is hardcore hunting, if i could be half as good as some of the guys on here i would be proud.look at the time they spend and the rewards they get.patience, hard work will get you your true trophy not weak baiting,that has no reward just my 2 cents.

[Trapper D]

well trappers have to restrain setting up bait stations till after bears have gone into hibernation, so as to not delay the onset of hibernation.. so what if you continually fed a deer regularly until say, it became snowed in in an area, or held back from wintering ground. possibilities are endless, to answer your question i would say 4 can use bait with cams. stipulations with 4 if bear is being sighted nearing hibernation time shut it down, or must terminate at end of season

[Albafly]

It does depend on the scale of what we are talking about. Having never done this, my first port of call for examples was the trusty interweb. It came up with a lot of large feeders, that seem popular in the States, used a lot on farmland. Example: a 55 gallon feeder. I guess I am referring to these semi permanent structures when I think that they may have an impact on the local environment, rather than one or two bags of oats.

[TheProvider]

I agree with GH. They shouldn't get to dependant on it. I do know a few outfitters however in Sask who bait year round. My opinion it doesn't bother me. People can choose to hunt however they like as long as its legal. Baits work great for trail cameras and for those hunters who may be disabled or have problems getting around in the woods from age or injuries. I for one would rather still hunt. Too each their own

[Surrey Boy]

It does depend on the scale of what we are talking about. Having never done this, my first port of call for examples was the trusty interweb. It came up with a lot of large feeders, that seem popular in the States, used a lot on farmland. Example: a 55 gallon feeder. I guess I am referring to these semi permanent structures when I think that they may have an impact on the local environment, rather than one or two bags of oats.

Timed feed dispensers on food plots with antler-growing supplements!

http://nail-ranch.com/hunts/whitetail.php

How else do they do it?

[DGuest]

To those who think it's easy....

I have not tried baiting deer, I have however baited bears in NB (yes it's legal there, and about the only way you'll get a chance to see one) and it is in no way a guaranteed thing, I went at it really hard one spring and saw only one bear! Didn't have a shot, had a lot of fun but that was about it (but hey thats why we do it).

I am sure if you ask anyone who baits they will tell you it's not easy.

I can't imagine myself getting into it for deer, I get way to bored sitting around. Like what has been said before, to each their own, it's legal, go for it.

[Bighorn hunter]

How is it any different than going to a field that has feed in it?

just my 2 cents
BH

[OutWest]

Personally I'm not a fan of baiting. Nothing against guys who do use that as one of their hunting methods. I for one will never let myself sit over a pile of bait that's been placed out. I have more than my share of hunting success by putting in time scouting and hunting harder than most guys and don't need to do it.

[Sleep Robber]

I kinda screwed up at the start fellas, sorry. There is voting now, and the wording is a little different, but still the same in the end. the voting will be open for 14 days. Sorry for the delay.

I voted number 2, as I think there's not much sport in it.

[steelhead]

....................

[Kirby]

I voted number 2, as I think there's not much sport in it.

Have you ever tried it?

[Sleep Robber]

Have you ever tried it?

No I haven't , I must admit I like the trail cam pics that are shown, but I wouldn't do it with bait and especially wouldn't play sniper in the near vicinity. There's a bunch of different ways, as we all know, this just isn't for me. I like to be on the move and cover some ground, unless I find a nice spot to do some glassing. High up in the big timber with moss covered bluffs etc.,that's what I like best.

[Kirby]

unless I find a nice spot to do some glassing. High up in the big timber with moss covered bluffs etc.,that's what I like best.

Sounds like sniping...

[Sleep Robber]

Sounds like sniping...

I like how you only read what you want out of that. :wink:

It may be sniping, when glassing, sometimes. Most of the time you glass an animal , you have to move to get some ground or better position, but there's no bait involved, so how can you even compare ?? :confused:

[kendoo]

I have sat on bait for WT in Sask. put a few meat bucks in the freezer & got some pics of real big bucks. I feel way worse when I bugle a big bull elk within 30 yards & shot between the eyes. (Poor guy was just love sick & innocent)

[Ambush]

I like to be on the move and cover some ground, unless I find a nice spot to do some glassing. High up in the big timber with moss covered bluffs etc.,that's what I like best.

So if you're driving out and you spot a cranker buck, standing love sick and stupified, fifty yards off the road, you just take some pics and drive on? Wouldn't be real sporting to shoot him, would it?

[JCVD]

Hmmm it's not as easy as people think...you still have to pick your area and scout...pretty similar to tree stand hunting in general...you have to find some type of "bait" to hunt over whether it's feed or an well liked/used deer trail that makes it convenient for animals to use. I have actually tried it before unsuccessfully..I have better luck still hunting =)

[Trapper D]

So if you're driving out and you spot a cranker buck, standing love sick and stupified, fifty yards off the road, you just take some pics and drive on? Wouldn't be real sporting to shoot him, would it? guess you didnt read the first post ambush, might ya wanna start another thread..... tooooshayyy

[Ambush]

guess you didnt read the first post ambush, might ya wanna start another thread..... tooooshayyy
HUH??? That's some bad french, man.:icon_frow

[Trapper D]

selective reading i guess

[nomad]

I'll take the third on this. I don't discriminate when it comes to legal ways of hunting! It is hunting regardless of the method. Not all methods work everywhere so you adapt to the situation and use whatever works to achieve your result! On a private Farm lot would baiting help focus and control the position for a safer hunt on a particular property? Why not use the best method available? I would rather have as many options available to explore in hunting than to be restricted to specific how's, when, where, what etc... Keep an open mind, things are getting too tight with rules and regs already!

[Ambush]

guess you didnt read the first post ambush, might ya wanna start another thread..... tooooshayyy


selective reading i guess

I'm just spoofin' ya Sam.
If it makes you feel better, I've never shot an animal over bait. I've climbed lot's of mountains, got wet, frozen and fried, slogged through swamps and sat on cactus. I've had hard animals and some easy ones. Packed moose on my back and slide some into the truck.
It's all just hunting and along the way we decide [within the law] how we like to do it.
Sometimes it's hard to differentiate between ethics and opinions.

[coach]

I agree with Nomad and Ambush on this one. I've never hunted over bait before and really don't have any intention of doing it anytime soon.

I shot my first whitetail last year, from a tree stand over a scrape line. I sat for a few hours the first evening of my hunt and saw nothing. I almost fell asleep in the stand the next morning waiting for any sort of activity. Mercifully, a buck showed himself at 8:00am and I was able to tag out. Although it was a great experience to shoot a buck this way, it was far from the most interesting hunting method I've ever tried. I would far rather be moving around.

If someone is willing to go through the effort of finding a suitable area to place bait, willing to bring bait into the area, willing to set up a trail cam and repeatedly check it and is then willing enough to set up a stand or blind and wait for an animal to show up - all the power to them. I really don't see how this method is all that different from hunting a field, setting up over a wallow or at the edge of a watering hole.

I believe hunters should be working together to help our sport grow. Ethics are extremely important. We all need to strive to educate young or new hunters. As baiting deer is legal, I'm not going to criticize people who wish to hunt this way.

There are far too many people who believe that killing animals is immoral or unethical in the first place. As hunters, we need to work to educate these people and help them to understand the lifestyle we are passionate about. The more we argue with each other over hunting methods, the more time we waste that could be spent on more important battles.

[moose2]

I found out this year that baiting is very effective for trail cam pictures. I myself enjoy walking the timber or old roads and could'nt see myself waiting for hours at a bait pile or any attractant for that matter. Using the camera as a guide a person would have sat at our grain piles for 3 full days before a buck had showed at daylight and then there was a 10 day gap for another. So I think getting one off a pile is no easier than any other food source , mabey even tougher the bigs bucks seem leary and mostly show at night. I enjoy seeing the pictures and knowing what may be around , but still like to hunt for them. Maintaining grain piles and trail cams are also time consuming and cut into some time that you may would have spent hunting\scouting other areas. It also adds to the expences a bit as well. This cold weather eats camera batteries in a couple days and about 2 bags of grain a week. About $40.00 a week total. Although
it is easy to stay awake on the drive home when you have a memory card in your pocket with a few hundred pictures on it.
Mike

[Brian011]

I picked #1 although i have never tried it during hunting season i have thought about doing it. I put out grain and had my trail camera set up and got some good pics in the summer but never got around to doing it during hunting season. I probably wont actually get around to putting out a bait pile throughout the season cause i like going to so many different spots that i like and i dont really want to put the time in to keeping it up. I'd rather hike around and i find that in the rut you can pick a spot to sit and a buck is just as likely to walk by any spot. so i'm all for it, i would like to try it one day but will probably just stick to putting a bag of grain out once or twice a year and set my camera up there.

[Gateholio]

We've had a number of 'bear baiting" threads on HBC and if you do a search you may find them

I've always said that bear baiting, deer baiting, etc should be legal, although I'm not to keen on doing it myself.

Not that I don't think baiting would be an unethical way to hunt, I just dont' want to work that hard. People suggest that baiters are lazy, but the truth is, they put in more tedious work than the average hunter, and that includes some very hard core hunters.

Packing in bait, day after day, and sitting in a treestand WAITING for the right buck/bear to come in is tedious and takes HUGE patience. I'm no skinny marathon runner, every step up to a ridge top is hard for me, but to me, it's way easier than sitting on a stand all day.

The biggest hypocrisy I see is with bear baiting. Bear baiting includes hauling in bait, day after day , and sitting on stand, waiting. Meanwhile 90% of the bears killed in BC are from someone driving or walking a road and jumping out and blasting it.

Who really worked "harder" for their bear?
:wink:

[mark]

We've had a number of 'bear baiting" threads on HBC and if you do a search you may find them

I've always said that bear baiting, deer baiting, etc should be legal, although I'm not to keen on doing it myself.

Not that I don't think baiting would be an unethical way to hunt, I just dont' want to work that hard. People suggest that baiters are lazy, but the truth is, they put in more tedious work than the average hunter, and that includes some very hard core hunters.

Packing in bait, day after day, and sitting in a treestand WAITING for the right buck/bear to come in is tedious and takes HUGE patience. I'm no skinny marathon runner, every step up to a ridge top is hard for me, but to me, it's way easier than sitting on a stand all day.

The biggest hypocrisy I see is with bear baiting. Bear baiting includes hauling in bait, day after day , and sitting on stand, waiting. Meanwhile 90% of the bears killed in BC are from someone driving or walking a road and jumping out and blasting it.

Who really worked "harder" for their bear?
:wink:

Well said Gate!!! Baiting is probably the hardest way to bag a deer!
Best way to get T-cam pics! :-D

[Trapper D]

i think the same regs trappers have with baiting is the same as hunting should be.

[leadpillproductions]

The buck i shot this fall i sure did bait him, put in a lot of time first week of aug to nov 21 ya it was easy anything from it . I had a blast every week checking camera's re baiting, sitting in stand at -30 wasnt that fun but i did get the biggest wt tail of my hunting career. I never worked that hard for a deer in my life NOT VERY EASY

[coach]

i think the same regs trappers have with baiting is the same as hunting should be.

You've made this abundantly clear with the posts you have made on a few different threads today. Why do you feel so strongly about this?

[Gateholio]

Well said Gate!!! Baiting is probably the hardest way to bag a deer!
Best way to get T-cam pics! :-D

Only baiting I'e done is for cams!:-D Works good!

[Ambush]

The buck i shot this fall i sure did bait him, put in a lot of time first week of aug to nov 21 ya it was easy anything from it . I had a blast every week checking camera's re baiting, sitting in stand at -30 wasnt that fun but i did get the biggest wt tail of my hunting career. I never worked that hard for a deer in my life NOT VERY EASY

Good going LeadPill. Hard earned and well deserved. You hunted at least as hard as most hunters and harder than many.

I'll bet not many folks would turn down an offer to sit in your stand next fall.

[digger dogger]

If it's legal, I try not to worry to much about how the other guy hunts.

x2, Why sweat the small s**t!

[J_T]

I like how you only read what you want out of that. :wink:

It may be sniping, when glassing, sometimes. Most of the time you glass an animal , you have to move to get some ground or better position, but there's no bait involved, so how can you even compare ?? :confused:
Couldn't we call today's game calls "baiting"? Or rattling antlers? Perhaps the reason some people bowhunt is because they don't see rifles as 'fair chase'? (each to their own) Doesn't technology give the hunter an unfair advantage? Doesn't it come down to the balance of conservation?

I always set my treestand in a fir tree. Then I can use the boughs as an attractant to the animal. I'm not taking 200 yard shots. I don't even take 20 yard shots. Ever sat quiet enough while hunting to let an animal walk within 5 - 10 yards? An animal that you want to take? But you wait.

If you have, then you will know that having something that distracts the animal also allows you to make a well placed shot. Thus humanely taking that animal and minimizing risk of prolonged recovery.

[Albafly]

So, I don't really want to get into the "is it sporting" arguement, as I agree that to each their own and if it is legal...

However, have a look at these. I highlighted the parts I


Evaluation of the influence of supplemental feeding of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in the Michigan wild deer population

R Miller, JB Kaneene, SD Fitzgerald, and SM Schmitt



ABSTRACTA retrospective study was conducted to test the hypothesis that supplemental feeding of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from 1995 to 1997 was associated with the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in free-ranging deer in northeastern Michigan.Bovine TB prevalence data were obtained from an ongoing surveillance program, while data relating to supplemental feeding and other risk factors were collected via in-person interviews. A multivariable Poisson regression modeling approach was used to test the stated hypothesis while controlling for other risk factors. Of the 389 potential participants, 59% agreed to participate in the study. Results showed that supplemental feeding of deer was associated with bovine TB in white-tailed deer. Specific risk factors associated with increasing risk for bovine TB were locating feed sites in areas with high levels of hardwood forests (O.R. = 1.8, 95% C.I. = 1.3-2.4), other large-scale feeding sites in the area (O.R. = 1.1, 95% C.I. = 1.0-1.2), the number of deer fed per year (O.R. = 3.9, 95% C.I. = 1.4-11.4), the numbers of feed sites spreading grain (O.R. = 14.7, 95% C.I. = 2.2-98.9), the quantity of grains provided at the site (O.R. = 1.4, 95% C.I. = 1.1-1.7), and the quantity of fruits and vegetables provided (O.R. = 1.4, 95% C.I. = 1.2-1.7). Conversely, factors associated with decreasing risk of bovine TB were locating feed sites in areas with high levels of hardwood forests (O.R. = 0.1, 95% C.I. = 0.02-0.4), locating feed sites in forests (O.R. = 0.05, 95% C.I. = 0.01-0.4), and the level of sites providing grain (O.R. = 0.1, 95% C.I. = 0.01-0.3). The results of this study suggest that banning the practice of supplemental feeding is a valid policy for control of bovine tuberculosis in free-ranging white-tailed deer.

This is suggesting that feeding stations (again, larger, permanent or semi permanent ones, not a couple bags once in the woods) may spread disease. This should not be a surprise- congregate animals, and disease spreads. If the feeder does it at higher than natural levels, there may be a problem.

Effects of supplemental feeding on white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, migration and survival in northern Wisconsin
Lewis, TL | Rongstad, OJ
Canadian Field-Naturalist [CAN. FIELD-NAT.]. Vol. 112, no. 1, pp. 75-81. Jan-Mar 1998.

From 1986-1989, we increased food available to free-ranging deer on either summer range (n = 53 deer) or winter range (n = 66) and compared these to deer that received no supplemental feeding (control, n = 48) in the Chequamegon National Forest in northwestern Wisconsin. Winter feeding had no effect on the timing of spring migration, although fewer supplementally fed deer migrated. Summer feeding delayed migration to wintering areas ( chi super(-) = 5 days). Home range was not affected by feeding regime. Winter-fed deer had higher average annual survival rates than unfed or summer-fed deer ( chi super(-) = 0.78 vs. 0.64 and 0.53, respectively). Supplementally-fed deer had higher average winter survival than unfed deer only during the severe winter of 1988-89 ( chi super(-) = 1.00 and 0.96 for winter and summer-fed deer vs. 0.79 for unfed deer). Summer-fed does had lower summer survival rates ( chi super(-) = 0.58) than winter-fed does ( chi super(-) = 0.84) or control does ( chi super(-) = 0.92) because of increased vulnerability to hunting. Supplemental feeding had a slightly positive impact on survival and a marginal effect on migration. As recreational or supplemental feeding increases, there may be long-term impacts on migratory behavior.

This suggests that migration and survival may be impacted by supplemantal feeding.


Lastly, the paper by Cooper and Ginnett (Wildlife Society Bulletin, 2000, 28(3): 660-666) suggested that feeders increase mesopredator (eg skunks, racoons) abundance locally, and as a result, may increase predation on ground nesting birds, wild turkeys in this case.

Who would have predicted that a feed station may negatively impact the local wild turkey population? My point is that, regardless of legallity or ethics, this may have impacts that you cannot see on the local environment.

[xtremearchery]

I like what Hank Parker says on this subject. You catch more fish with a baited hook? I agree. Haven't tried it yet but I love that C'mere Deer! My buddy uses it and loves it. Makes for some good trail cam pisc. Plus allows you to practice better game management.

[J_T]

Albafly,

Of course, that's why in the EK, Government and most of the hunting community don't support supplemental feeding of wildlife during hard times. They should remain on their normal food source. Maintaining a sustainable animal population is about managing the capacity of the critical winter range. Ecosystem management.

I don't think most that throw down an attractant use it year round and I'm not sure I would call setting up a small bait site for pics or hunting/viewing as supplemental feeding.

[Albafly]

Like I said, I am mostly referring to semi permanent and permanent feed stations, not a guy with two bags of oats a year.

But, J_T or anyone else, can you provide documentation that shows baiting deer has no other impacts on deer or local ecology?

[rocksteady]

. I really don't see how this method is all that different from hunting a field, setting up over a wallow or at the edge of a watering hole.



Or by using bugles, hoochie mamas, elk scents, false scrapes, daily travel from water/feed to bedding grounds, following foot prints in the snow/mud,

To each his own, as long as it is legal....

Some of the US guys take it too far, IMHO, with the 45 gallon drums, dispensing copious amounts of feed with growth homones/feed supplements being monitored by webcams.......BUT like I say, to each his/her own.....

[OOBuck]

I don't have a problem with baiting, it can be very handy while
attempting to say remove problem deer from an area.

If you bait on crown land thats pretty nice of you to
allow all the rest of us to use your resources.

There is good & bads to baiting.

[Marlin375]

Ever sat quiet enough while hunting to let an animal walk within 5 - 10 yards? An animal that you want to take? But you wait.



I had a 2pt muley in my sights at the end of archery season last year, I let him keep coming....the little bugger came up and put his nose right on the end of my broadhead to have a sniff, I blinked at him to see what he would do and he came came out of his skin getting away. Still makes me laugh. Tipped the can a few times and he brought his sister back, they walked by me at about 5 yrds. Calling/baiting maybe but it is still up to the hunter and his conscience to draw the line and pull the trigger.

[bowhuntersparks]

i bait bt on the island and find that it dosnt effect them, other then they get a little extra i have a farm and trail cam's set up of my farm and on i dont bait on my farm but i find these deer come in my feild with my sheep and eat the brush and they are the same deer that go to my bait and i find them more in the feild then at the bait site. i think if its legal then why should anyone get up tight about it. if you hunt and its legal dont look down on other hunters that use different methods of hunting its like ralph on the choice says it dosnt matter how you hunt as long as its with in the law you have my support.

ps i wrote that rant because i had some guy call a C O on me for baiting and it just pissed me off. all the C O said was to try to avoid the guy.

[ratherbefishin]

I guess the question is whats ''baiting''?is it setting up near an apple tree or putting out a few apples?Is it locating a field where deer come regularly or is it putting out some grain?is it cutting down a tree where the deer will come and brouse-or is it looking for a place where the tree was already blown down?is it hunting the rut and looking for a doe,or cow moose in hopes a buck or bull will be close behind?-or is it using a doe bleat call or cow calling a bull moose?I'm not even sure what ''baiting'' is

I ''bait'' regularly-put out ,apples ,COB and chopped carrots in my back yard ,bang the scoop on the rock and watch for the deer to come running to the dinner call just because I like to watch deer,but I hunt the bush.

[gitnadoix]

As with all things it also open up all sorts of issues.

1) If you are sneaking through the woods and find a meadow with a pile of grain or a feeder in it, can you stay and take advantage of it or do you now have to move on......if you stay your benifitting from the other persons work, and if they come in after you who stays ??....if you leave that means you recognize they have hunting rights over you at that spot.

2) do you limit how much or how long and or when you bait. If some person with access to grain and the $$ to spare lays out a couple of tons of it and get a huge following of deer onto his private property and lets no one but his generous ($$) new friends on the property

3) You see a bear that came to the grain set out for Deer can you shoot him?

4)What if you did not know that there was an automatic feed just around the other side of the stump from where ya shot the bear

This list could go on for miles.....leaving piles of food in the wilds for the purpose of attracting wildlife just adds to many issues. Keep it simple and enter the woods and actuall Hunt, if you want to shoot animals over a food trough ask your local farmer if he will let ya shoot one of his chickens....mother nature has given most humans an advanced brain with reasoning powers. Use them and figure out when and where mother nature will have her wildlife wandering and key in on that. Setting out a pile of warm oats and grain in Dec when the ground is frozen and there is no fresh green to feed on...........

[steel_ram]

2 -feeding wild animals is never really a good idea. When you stop, as inevitably you will, a food source they depeded on has gone.


I don't really care about someone throwing out a salt block or a handful of seed corn, but feeding wild animals is a bad idea and possibly illegal.

[leadpillproductions]

I don't really care about someone throwing out a salt block or a handful of seed corn, but feeding wild animals is a bad idea and possibly illegal.

Read the regs not illegal!

[steel_ram]

I realize it is not illegal in the hunting synopsis, nor do I have any real problem with it, however some communities have or are considering bylaw prohibiting the deliberate feeding of deer. This would include leaving out a box of apples or salt block.

The little magazine we get with our hunting licence isn't the end all.

[moose2]

We bait with the same grain that is harvested on the near by fields. So I think the attraction is the ease more than the grain. If you had the choice between eating a bowl of strawberries or picking your own one at a time , most of would take the bowl first. When it was done and we wanted more then we would pick them. I think the animals do the same. I got a buck today. No it wasn't at the bait , I got him when we were driving home. I spotted him from the truck. Hunting is crazy.
MIKE

[moosinaround]

It is just another method of hunting! Just another tool in the tool box! Moosin

[Surrey Boy]

As with all things it also open up all sorts of issues.

1) If you are sneaking through the woods and find a meadow with a pile of grain or a feeder in it, can you stay and take advantage of it or do you now have to move on......if you stay your benifitting from the other persons work, and if they come in after you who stays ??....if you leave that means you recognize they have hunting rights over you at that spot.

2) do you limit how much or how long and or when you bait. If some person with access to grain and the $$ to spare lays out a couple of tons of it and get a huge following of deer onto his private property and lets no one but his generous ($$) new friends on the property

3) You see a bear that came to the grain set out for Deer can you shoot him?

4)What if you did not know that there was an automatic feed just around the other side of the stump from where ya shot the bear

This list could go on for miles.....leaving piles of food in the wilds for the purpose of attracting wildlife just adds to many issues. Keep it simple and enter the woods and actuall Hunt, if you want to shoot animals over a food trough ask your local farmer if he will let ya shoot one of his chickens....mother nature has given most humans an advanced brain with reasoning powers. Use them and figure out when and where mother nature will have her wildlife wandering and key in on that. Setting out a pile of warm oats and grain in Dec when the ground is frozen and there is no fresh green to feed on...........

1) Unless he owns that land, you can camp out right there with him.

2) If somebody wants to spend time and money fattening deer that I'm going to shoot and eat, I'm grateful for his contribution.

3) Personal ethics, but since black bears aren't faced with conservation issues, I won't sweat it.

4) If I didn't know, how would I come to ask myself that question?

[hunter1947]

It ok to bait deer for me I don't depend on it but why not throw out some bait especially in you hunting camp ,as you saw in one of my posts something good might evolve.

[gitnadoix]

1) Unless he owns that land, you can camp out right there with him.

2) If somebody wants to spend time and money fattening deer that I'm going to shoot and eat, I'm grateful for his contribution.

3) Personal ethics, but since black bears aren't faced with conservation issues, I won't sweat it.

4) If I didn't know, how would I come to ask myself that question?

No I dont buy it, if people are putting out food in a meadow for a month prior to the open season then find some one else sitting there opening morning ya just know that 80 % of the time that conversation is not gonna be very cordial......same happens with tree stands left behind, Now when I go out I am gonna find, A trail Cam, a tree stand and a 45 gallon drum on stillts sprinkling food every 6 hours.....leave that stuff for the high fence private land crowd......but hey any a-hole can have an opinion and most usually do,..... and I am no exception to that rule....

[Deer Sausage]

i just found out this was legal this year! i was shocked! i dont like to do it because for me i think it would take some of the interesting problems out of hunting. that being said...after my initial shock...i thought about it and i dont really care if people bait...whatever floats your boat. baiters can still enjoy themselves and until (if ever...) it screws up what im doing i won't hold it against them.

[hunter1947]

Just a note to keep in mind when I had 6 baiting station set up over a 3 month period in the EK I never had one bear come in and feed on my feed.

On the Vancouver Island I had nothing but problems with bears taking my trail cam off the tress and feeding on the feed I put out.

In one week I had 160 pic of 3 different bears coming in and feeding at my baiting station where I lived in the Black Creek area on Vancouver Island..

[greybark]

:-D AAAACCCKKK , Are we farming or hunting ????:-D

[hunter1947]

Only baiting I'e done is for cams!:-D Works good!


Clark what if a big honker walks in when your there checking your trail what then ???? I know what I would do :wink:..

[mark]

Only baiting I'e done is for cams!:-D Works good!

Easy to say this, but when a booner starts to show up on a regular basis, you know how and where you'll be! :-D

[Gateholio]

Clark what if a big honker walks in when your there checking your trail what then ???? I know what I would do :wink:..


Answer is BOOM!!:-D


Easy to say this, but when a booner starts to show up on a regular basis, you know how and where you'll be! :-D

And I'd have zero ethical dilemma with that!:-D

[hunter1947]

Answer is BOOM!!:-D



And I'd have zero ethical dilemma with that!:-D


I thought so :mrgreen:..

[AT&T]

hold on here. what defines baiting. a bag of grain, a acre of alfalfa left un harvested, apples un picked. I dont like feeding deer grain out of a bag. it is unhealthy for them. On the other hand agriculture crops can be a good thing to sustain them in the winter. this fall I left some feed in the fields for them, assuming it will be a hard winter. salt blocks and other things seldom work anyway. They just come in at night.

[Walksalot]

I don't bait deer but baiting deer is legal so if you are so inclined then fill your boots. The question is..... What do you do when you find another hunter perched over your bait station?:cry:

[Surrey Boy]

I don't bait deer but baiting deer is legal so if you are so inclined then fill your boots. The question is..... What do you do when you find another hunter perched over your bait station?:cry:

The same thing you do when you find other hunters at your regular campsite. You either find somewhere else, or park beside him and try to get along. Unless you own the land, or the road, or the water, everyone has the same freedom.

[hunter1947]

I don't bait deer but baiting deer is legal so if you are so inclined then fill your boots. The question is..... What do you do when you find another hunter perched over your bait station?:cry:


You let him have his time there he won't be there forever :wink: its free game when this happens unless this is on your land and you have the land posted..

[leadpillproductions]

I don't bait deer but baiting deer is legal so if you are so inclined then fill your boots. The question is..... What do you do when you find another hunter perched over your bait station?:cry:
Get there before him . The only problem i would have if he was in my tree stand