Baiting, I know this has been discussed and discussed this is just my rant....LOL

[SwampCat]

I would say it varies depending on the property. Our state differentiates the difference between supplemental feed - feeding outside of hunting - and baiting during hunting season. I could provide much anecdotal opinion to supplemental summertime feeding improving body weights - at a time when southern deer generally experience a stress period. Without a doubt, defensive baiting - especially in poor mast crop years - keeps more deer on my place and fewer on my neighbor’s.

And while you did qualify your statement by excluding largely pine ground - there are millions of acres of commercial pine lands across the south. Our G&F did not stop baiting when cwd hit AR based upon their desire to reduce deer density - with them knowing more deer would be killed over bait than not. I have read Howboutthemdawgs exclaim a number of times about his outfitter neighbor pulling many of the younger deer to their land with bait and killing them before they mature

I do a lot of baiting and supplemental feeding - and every property is different. My home 350 acres borders 14 other adjacent property owners who supply feed in one form or another. But none provide feed during the summer - except me - and they all know my property holds the most deer - because they all put their feeders within sight of my property line. I hold a lot of deer and my fawn recruitment is higher than state average - as is the live weight of deer taken off my land.

I have another 62 acres that borders 850 acres of growing up fields. It is a buck mecca early bow season - but I lose almost all my bucks when the ten neighboring lease hunters start putting out bait. I can not compete with the ten of them by myself - even with my six acres of food plots and them with none

I am in an 800 acre lease of prime deer habitat. It is bordered on three sides by folks who feed protein year round. They grow some great bucks. We can not compete with them because we dont start baiting until just before deer season. We have not killed a deer off the 800 acres with intermittent hunting in three years.

I would think Baker might agree that a good supplemental feed program has its benefits. I do believe there is some science to baiting - I dont think you can just go out and put up a big feeder in the middle of your property, fill it with food, and expect it to provide much advantage.

It would suit me if baiting was banned in my area tomorrow - with the caveat that folks would actually stop doing it. No one else around me could compete with my food plots

Below is a rather lengthy article - but intersting to me - on the benefits of supplemental feeding wild bobwhites.

https://talltimbers.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/QuailCall2009.pdf

 

[ksJoe]

Is this a defense of baiting? Doves and deer?

just an observation that regardless of how one feels about it, the outlawing "baiting" is really just a requirement to spend more time.

 

[ksJoe]

It would suit me if baiting was banned in my area tomorrow - with the caveat that folks would actually stop doing it. No one else around me could compete with my food plots

100% agree!
I prefer deer baiting either be legal, or be illegal with aggresive enforcement! I don't have a strong preference between the two.

 

[Turkish]

It would suit me if baiting was banned in my area tomorrow - with the caveat that folks would actually stop doing it.

First, this is about baiting, not supplemental feeding.

Second, speaking of limp-wristed… I’d rather someone argue the virtues of a bright yellow corn pile 4-ft tall than admit they do it begrudgingly. I can’t abide that lack of spine.

And I tell my buds that often.

 

[ksJoe]

First, this is about baiting, not supplemental feeding.

ah, I'm starting to pick up on why you reacted my post the way you did. You seem to see a big difference between "bait" dumped out of a bag and "bait" grown in a food plot. I do no.

The way I see it, there are two meaningful differences between them:
1) time.
2) the attitude from some of those who spend so much time growing their bait.

Back to my prior illustration, the prohibition on baiting migratory game birds outlaws the quick and easy bait of a poor man (a bag of bird seed), but not the bait of a rich man (the time consuming planting that is then mowed or burned). Either will bait the birds well enough, but only those who can afford the time to do it the slow way are allowed. That makes some feel special.

I'm an engineer by day, sitting at my desk. But I spend a lot of time on my land. I do it because I can, and I can enjoy it. But at the end of the day, my food plots, mast trees, and supplemental feeding are all just bait.

 

[Turkish]

ah, I'm starting to pick up on why you reacted my post the way you did. You seem to see a big difference between "bait" dumped out of a bag and "bait" grown in a food plot. I do no.

The way I see it, there are two meaningful differences between them:
1) time.
2) the attitude from some of those who spend so much time growing their bait.

Back to my prior illustration, the prohibition on baiting migratory game birds outlaws the quick and easy bait of a poor man (a bag of bird seed), but not the bait of a rich man (the time consuming planting that is then mowed or burned). Either will bait the birds well enough, but only those who can afford the time to do it the slow way are allowed. That makes some feel special.

I'm an engineer by day, sitting at my desk. But I spend a lot of time on my land. I do it because I can, and I can enjoy it. But at the end of the day, my food plots, mast trees, and supplemental feeding are all just bait.

I didn’t say anything about food plots and I think they’re a distraction to the more meaningful debate — kinda like abortionists bringing up capital punishment. I respect we likely have different experiences based on geography, but, brother, if corn and acorns were equivalent, why is literally everybody using corn in some of the best hardwood ground in the Southeast? There’s a feeder per 14 deer in the state of MS! That wouldn’t be the case if baiting weren’t more effective.

MSU has documented deer concentration near bait sites in comparison to oak flats — mathematically it contradicts the equivalency you give them, bigly.

 

[ksJoe]

if corn and acorns were equivalent, why is literally everybody using corn in some of the best hardwood ground in the Southeast?

I did not say they are equivalent. There's a wide range in effectiveness of various "bait".

 

[Turkish]

I did not say they are equivalent. There's a wide range in effectiveness of various "bait".

But at the end of the day, my food plots, mast trees, and supplemental feeding are all just bait.

 

[SwampCat]

This year there was a bumper acorn crop in my area. While deer really cut back on provided feed - they never quit it. Food plots, however, were entirely ignored until very late Dec

Deer and hunters in my area have both evolved. When I bought my place almost 25 years ago - nobody provided feed and very few people planted a food plot. About 15 years ago, a few folks started providing some feed during season - almost always corn. I was late to the game and started about ten years ago. Most of the neighbors provide corn in a spin feeder. I experimented more with types of food and method of distribution and found there was a huge difference in type of food and method of distribution where the neighbors stuck with corn and spin feeders. The deer, especially the bucks - but the does to some extent - became much more nocturnal. To the point I would go all year and maybe get one shooting light picture of a buck. They werent like that ten years ago. The hogs did the same thing, but went nocturnal much quicker than did the deer

While the meigjbors intent was to kill deer over their bait, mine was more of a defensive nature - to give deer the same opportunity on my property they had on the neighbors’ land - in hopes they spent more time on my land than their land. I am firmly convinced it helped to some degree. I will admit to killing one deer over bait.

There are very few people who deer hunt near me that dont hunt over a bait pile. There are generations of hunters who only know hunting over bait. In a state such as AR, where hunting over bait is the norm, and even allowing the use of bait in cwd zones - I dont ever see going back. Even if they did, many members on this forum from non baiting states admit there are pallets full of corn in many of the stores that disappear fast during deer season. I expect that hunters who are as deeply entrenched in baiting as they are in this state, would not be willing to stop baiting if it were ever made illegal.

 

[ksJoe]

need help?
many things draw deer and be called bait, but they're not all equivalent.
Just like many things can be called a car, but they're not equivalent. A Geo Metro and a Porsche will both get you across town. Everyone agrees they're both "cars", but that doesn't make them equals.

Some people think just because they worked so hard on something others should value it as much as they do. But the deer don't care about our feelings. Deer don't care how long and hard we work for them. And when the neighbor busts out a $7 bag of corn, its hurts people's feelings that they can't tell the deer how to feel.