Baiting on the rise?

[22lex]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdoors/78279412.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsA

What do you guys think of this?

I personally don't like it, but really don't have much experience down here with people baiting during the season. Most of us down in the south usually hunt smaller woodlots that connect with vast acreages of corn/beans/etc...which makes it easier to predict movement.

[MTCOMMER]

I dont like Baiting for the fact, I dont think its legitamite hunting.  But im also with you, I dont have any experience with it either.  Where I hunt our neighbors have corn fields, and we only have the woods an fields which the deer come in after feeding.  I am all for people putting food plots on your land, because then its a sustainable food source for the deer.
But a feeder next to a stand, I wouldnt call that hunting.... but thats just my opinion.
If you have a feeder, i would say keep the laws have they are, they have to be X yards from a stand.
But like I said, I do not have a feeder on my property and I do not have a food plot (it is in the works), so my knowledge on the situation is limited.

[MTCOMMER]

AND YES, Stricter penalties!
Its a problem that wont go away, but if you can deter some people or stop repeat offenders, its a plus! 

[BiggA]

Not sure how I feel about this. It is legal in a lot of places. I dont really think that if you fine someone 400 and take their gun they are going to do it again. Maybe just ramp up enforcement for a couple years take alot more guns and collect more fines people will quit I think.
Kinda off topic but this reminds me of a story my brother told me.
A farmer called to complain about poachers around his area. The dnr asked if they could set up a decoy on his property and try and bust these guys. He replied absolutely not he did not want them on his property. So I guess if people dont get more active in busting these criminals there is not much the dnr can do.

[wildlifeminnesota]

I dont like Baiting for the fact, I dont think its legitamite hunting.  But im also with you, I dont have any experience with it either.  Where I hunt our neighbors have corn fields, and we only have the woods an fields which the deer come in after feeding.  I am all for people putting food plots on your land, because then its a sustainable food source for the deer.
But a feeder next to a stand, I wouldnt call that hunting.... but thats just my opinion.
If you have a feeder, i would say keep the laws have they are, they have to be X yards from a stand.
But like I said, I do not have a feeder on my property and I do not have a food plot (it is in the works), so my knowledge on the situation is limited.

I agree with you!!

[Mayfly]

I guess I agree with something that was said in the article. It really doesn't affect me until I know that a neighbor is doing it and its altering my deers behavior. Funny thing is that this is happening to me but they are not hunting, just feeding the deer. We all have one buck tag and depending on our area 1 or more doe tags. To each their own. It is something that will never be curbed or stopped. Visit a local feed mill and ask them when they sell the most corn. I used to frequent EJ Houle up in Forest Lake and they sold tons and tons of corn just prior to firearm season and the trend continues. Cross the border into WI and you can hunt over a pile of corn. Heck, that sounds like a lot of work. I used to feed the deer and they would plow through 300 lbs of corn in less than two weeks. Thats a lot of darn corn to have to be hauling out in the woods!!!

[Stensethfan]

I am all for stiffer penalties.  I also read that someone thinks any feeding of wildlife should be stopped between September and December.  I cannot agree more.  I did and do hunt a few places on the perimiter of the metro and there have been people who fed them on purpose so they would not be huntable on the property I had permission on.  I also have one situation right now where a non hunter is feeding them because they enjoy watching them and it stinks for the few hunters around there because the deer basically bed down in the back yard weeds and then walk up the hill 40 yards to eat and do little movement besides that.  Don't get me wrong, I don't feel that these deer are only mine to hunt as a citizen.  I think people should be able to enjoy viewing them as non hunters too, but they should not be able to effect deer movements during the season.  Afterall I am not allowed to effect deer movements to hunt them.  It should be the same across the board.

[Mayfly]

I am all for stiffer penalties.  I also read that someone thinks any feeding of wildlife should be stopped between September and December.  I cannot agree more.  I did and do hunt a few places on the perimiter of the metro and there have been people who fed them on purpose so they would not be huntable on the property I had permission on.  I also have one situation right now where a non hunter is feeding them because they enjoy watching them and it stinks for the few hunters around there because the deer basically bed down in the back yard weeds and then walk up the hill 40 yards to eat and do little movement besides that.  Don't get me wrong, I don't feel that these deer are only mine to hunt as a citizen.  I think people should be able to enjoy viewing them as non hunters too, but they should not be able to effect deer movements during the season.  Afterall I am not allowed to effect deer movements to hunt them.  It should be the same across the board.

I hear ya. If things dont change I might have to just start hunting in back yards!!! Oh wait.... then I would be hunting over bait.  Damn residential deer. That is their first stop on the feed train!

[deadeye]

Stensethfan,
There is a provision in the laws that allow you to hunt even if a neighbor places bait near your stand (on his property). 

[beeker]

I read that article at work today and all the comments...  hunting over 50#'s of corn doesn't seem right to me.. but then again when I first started hunting the idea of rubbing doe urine on my boots or putting it on a stick seemed very strange too. there are many ways to approach this argument.. other states allow it, and they don't have the CWD that minnesota seems afraid of.. plus you can bait all year long except for 10 days before deer season. personally it seems like allot of effort to go dump corn all year long to train your deer to come to a certain spot. nothing guarantes you a deer.. just like those water cameras for ice fishing and the mojo duck decoys or like one reader said baiting a hook. maybe it increases your odds, but you still only have one buck tag and those old bucks aren't on anyones time but theirs.  and then you can argue the food plot angle.. and then you can argue the public land versus private.. and on and on..

honestly.. I guess if it's legal in other states and doesn't freak up the deer hurd with disease.. have at it. let the dnr pursue the poachers

[Go Big Red!]

I have and have not hunted over bait. 

In WI, you can with provisions in place but I know of people and I have done it as well, had been placing more bait then "allowed".  Did it improve my chances of a kill?  I honestly don't think so as I have never shot a deer eating from a corn pile or walking towards one.  I will shoot the first chance I get a clear shot.  So many people, in my mind, bait in WI that deer come and go from pile to pile like a buffet.   

In MN, baiting is obviously not allowed but it goes on.  Never crossed my mind for fear of getting caught but I'm sure I could.  Yet, I have a hard time understanding the whole food plot concept.  In a way, I feel that it is baiting, yet it isn't.  I consider corn, beans, hay to be agri. so if deer come and go from lands used for agri. or harvesting crops for profit, fine.  But planting to add extra "nutrition" or what ever the reason my be, isn't that baiting since it's not natural or intended for agri?   

[deadeye]

beeker,
"other states allow it, and they don't have the CWD that minnesota seems afraid of."...

Wisconsin allows baiting and has CWD.  Minnesota doesn't allow baiting and doesn't have CWD in the wild deer herd.

[beeker]

deadeye.. minnesota allows baiting but not hunting over the bait which must be removed and cleaned up 10 days before the season starts. the dnr has complained that some people think there is a "baiting season". so if they're gonna get it they have plenty of opportunity to do so.

 as for CWD (which may be another thread) it's been around out west for years and years. I took this from the wisconsin website ... During the 2007 deer season, more than 8,300 deer were sampled for CWD in wisconsin, 134 were positive for cwd .. which is like 2% of those tested.

[deadeye]

beeker,
I suspose in the true sense of the word, "baiting" (to lure) is allowed in MN.  Although most people call it feeding.  For the record I'm against feeding as well and I think the clean up 10 days before hunting is a joke.   

[beeker]

deadeye.. I agree, 10 days before is just stupid, you either can or you can't

[HUNTER2]

I plant food plots and you would almost think that is baiting. They come in to them all the time. Now for sure when the crops are almost out. I think it allows you a clean shot. It also helps feed them in the winter when the food is scarce. They are really hitting the turnips now.

[Go Big Red!]

I plant food plots and you would almost think that is baiting. They come in to them all the time. Now for sure when the crops are almost out. I think it allows you a clean shot. It also helps feed them in the winter when the food is scarce. They are really hitting the turnips now.

Isn't it though?  Would they come into that area if it wasn't for the food plot?   

Providing food that doesn't naturally appear, in my mind, is baiting.  Yet, we want to provide something besides thick cover for refuge to keep deer on our property.  Food plot is a way to go, but you could plant mast trees, apple trees, fruit bearing shrubs, but isn't that still under the "baiting" umbrella?  Confusing at times......   

[jkcmj]

I hunt WI and MN and have no issue with baiting. The limited amount of activity on the baits by our WI stands is usually the fawns, which is what I prefer to eat.  The young doe fawn I shot this year came in with her brother and I was able to take the time to be sure it wasn't a button buck before taking the shot.  No big deal.  I saw 6 does that day and all within 50 yards of the bait pile, with none coming to it till the young ones came in.  Never shot or even saw a buck over the bait piles, and none of my brothers have either.  Plenty of nice bucks killed on the farm over the years, but never over the bait.  Why??  By the way, the fawns both came in and ignored the corn and went straight to the mineral treated stump. Last year I never had a deer approach the bait piles, although I had opprotunities on several walking past them! 

I like the bait for late season when the crops are off and snow sets in.  It then should improve the odds.  Wish we had the ability to do this in MN.  I go to experience the close encounters and kill, certainly not worried about being "fair".  Kind of a joke to suggest anything about it is wrong or makes it any less enjoyalbe.  If I get more deer encounters and a more likely kill it only improves the experience to my way of thinking.

[MTCOMMER]

jkcmj, I get where you are coming from with the excitement and more deer, but IN MY OPINION, I think fairness should have a part in hunting, afterall, if hunting wasnt fair then, to me, the thrill of the hunt is over, I like to give equal opportunity to the deer and hunt it in its natural movements, not over bait.  But thats me!
Personally, I never have baited and never will bait, but I hunt in MN and dont plan to cross the border to WI and hunt unless I live there some day.

NOW, With that said, Im going to open up a new can of worms....
Wouldnt using scent be considered, 'baiting', since you are kinda LURING it into your area with the false hopes of finding a doe in heat.  Or using the food smelling spray, etc.  I know its a little different cause its not physical FOOD, but I thought I would toss out the question cause its really the same concept.  But I also realize the success rate of food sprays and doe urine is far less than actual food!
Now that I think of it I kinda answered my own questions, but ill post it for others to ponder!

[Moving2thecountry]

I don't like the idea of baiting, personally, and wouldn't hunt land where people are baiting.  (I was going to lease some land but the guy had placed piles of sunflower seeds, so I didn't.)  But why do we allow it for bears in MN and not deer?

[jkcmj]

Bears are not so predictable, for one.  they do most of their traveling cross country, so it would be very difficult to control numbers without bait in a dense brush/swamp country like up north.  Bears have large territories, often times traveling 20 or more miles in a day or two.  No other reliable way of controlling the population.  Also, when baiting was last brought before the legislature, we had Lynn Rogers going to bat for us, with years of research backing baiting as the best hunting method for keeping numbers in line with what people are willing to tolerate for bear numbers.

[Moving2thecountry]

Baiting...
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