[mossyhorn]

I'm sitting up here at the lake and was on the pot and started reading a Field And Stream. I came to an article about banning baiting. Now I dont hunt over bait but I have no problem with people that do, heck some of my family does. After reading the article though it sounds like a pretty good idea. Here are the reasons that the author gave for banning it.

1. We'd see more deer during daylight.

2. Deer would generally be more active.

3. Deer would be healthier.

4. We'd be better managers.

5. We'd fight less with one another.

6. We'd improve our public image.

7. We'd tag just as many deer.

After listing each point he gives at least a paragraph explaining what he means but I really dont feel like typing it all. lol

So what do yall think.

 

[Powerquack2K]

I would be in favor of AGFC ending baiting with corn or other grain. Foodplots are OK.



*Disclaimer* I currently do use corn and rice bran at times during deer season...... mostly for doe hunting and game cams.

 

[huntindoc]

Wouldn't bother me in the least. I think it's bad for our turkeys and unfortunately good for the hogs. Wouldn't get upset either way.

Would the farmers/grain dealers be upset? Pretty big business in Arkansas.

 

[Tink]

No it's my property and if I want to feed deer or bait whatever you want to call it I will! Stop taking rights from us!

 

[Passthrough]

No it's my property and if I want to feed deer or bait whatever you want to call it I will! Stop taking rights from us!

I agree. Asking the government to make another decision for us seems pretty left winged to me.

 

[stealthycat]

ban hunting in the rut - that would change everything

Tink - baiting isn't a right, its a law

 

[straight shooter]

I think game and fish helps protect us from hunters wanting to take away other forms of hunting they don't do.

 

[mossyhorn]

No it's my property and if I want to feed deer or bait whatever you want to call it I will! Stop taking rights from us!

I understand what you saying tinker. He did make some pretty good points though.

 

[mwells72774]

I don't really care either way. It has pro's and cons. I don't think baiting is very sporting and defeats the name of "hunting" but if thats how you get meat, then do what you've got to do to feed the family.

 

[Greyhound]

I'm sitting up here at the lake and was on the pot and started reading a Field And Stream. I came to an article about banning baiting. Now I dont hunt over bait but I have no problem with people that do, heck some of my family does. After reading the article though it sounds like a pretty good idea. Here are the reasons that the author gave for banning it.

1. We'd see more deer during daylight.
Why? Do deer only eat "bait" and not natural food at night??

2. Deer would generally be more active.
How did the author explain this? I'm having trouble understanding the logic in that statement.
3. Deer would be healthier.

Are the deer healthier where only poor natural food sources exist?? Does "baiting" in these areas not help increase nutrition in these areas?

4. We'd be better managers.

5. We'd fight less with one another.

6. We'd improve our public image.

7. We'd tag just as many deer.
I simply disagree. Part of my lease is pure pine timber. Before I started "baiting" I'd see few deer in the area. "Baiting" increased deer activity tenfold.

After listing each point he gives at least a paragraph explaining what he means but I really dont feel like typing it all. lol

So what do yall think.

I prefer to bait, mainly because I have my camera's near my feeders so I can get a rough inventory of the bucks in the area. Also, it increases deer activity in the area which allows me to be more selective in what I choose to take...which in turn allows me to better manage my property. Plus...it's much more enjoyable to see ten deer while on a hunt as opposed to one or two.

 

[SwampCat]

I see both sides of the argument here. I don't bait for deer, but I do bait so I can shoot hogs in the spring and summer - on my own land. And while I don't want anyone else telling me what I can do on my own land, I also see it within the rights of the G&F to regulate baiting. What if we, as individual landowners took the same approach to baiting ducks and turkeys - if we told G&F that is was our land and we were going to bait. I think a practice should be regulated when it is having a detrimental affect on a particular wildlife population. I do not believe baiting has adversely affected the deer herd in the state of Arkansas, and there is no positive evidence it has had a negative affect on other wildlife. You don't have to bait if you don't want to.

 

[thompson]

If bating is shown to be detrimental to any species in the woods then it should be stopped. We know if corn is bad and alfatoxins are in it , it will kill most ground nesting birds as well as slow or effect the birth rates of Deer. Deer can starve with a belly full of corn and never know they are hungry. No real nutritional value there that they require. With that being said, I have no problem bating during deer season if the corn has been tested and it is fed in the correct way and not just piled on the ground to get wet and rot or mold before it is eaten. A lot of the problems we may be having is improper storage of feeding methods and alfatoxins may not be a wide spread issue. No one is testing or looking into this and I think the game and fish may not care if we do reduce the number of deer by whatever means it gets done... I just can't figure out why everyone thinks we have to be told or forced not to do something that we know may not be a good thing. There are countless studies out there that state this may be having some adverse effects on our overall wildlife. Is it our right to continue doing something if it's not good for the species? Just something to consider and this is just my opinion on feeding or baiting practices.

 

[Polywog]

We made the decision not to feed on our farm several years ago.. It was about what kind of hunter I wanted my son to become.. I didn't want him to become dependent on a corn pile in order to kill a deer or anything else.. There are plenty of natural food sources on our place so adding corn to the mix wasn't really necessary.. It concerns me more that many of our young hunters are losing the skills to hunt and track on their own.. If a deer doesn't show up at their corn pile then they are lost as to what to do.. JMHO

 

[demented]

I have no opinion on baiting deer in of itself, my issue is with HOW its usually done. Opening a bag of corn, dumping it on the ground where it gets wet and forms a moldy mess that God alone knows what sort of poison it becomes is what I hate seeing. Whether deer or any other critter will eat it I have no idea but I can't see it being good for them if they do. IMO, if you really want to do your deer herd some good, feed them AFTER season when they really need food, not during the summer and fall when nature provides all they need. We feed over 2000 pounds of soybeans and grain every winter, the deer around our lease stay fat.

 

[mossyhorn]

I prefer to bait, mainly because I have my camera's near my feeders so I can get a rough inventory of the bucks in the area. Also, it increases deer activity in the area which allows me to be more selective in what I choose to take...which in turn allows me to better manage my property. Plus...it's much more enjoyable to see ten deer while on a hunt as opposed to one or two.

1. He stated " it doesnt take whitetails long to associate bait piles with human, and when deer know people are around, they wait for dark to feed".

2. He stated " Foraging whitetails must travel to find food. Bait reduces the need for this movement, creating not only a nocturnal buck but a lazy one."

3. He stated " Researchers have proved a link between baiting and bovine tuberculosis in whitetails. Baiting also leads to a disease called lactic acidosis, and it can kill a whitetail.

7. He stated " Michigan hunters- despite complaints that the bait ban would slash their harvest- bagged nearly the same number of deer as they did during the previous season.

 

[Doug Hodges]

I hunt over a corn pile, I hunt on a food plot, I hunt in white oak flats, I hunt hollows, draws, saddles, trails, creek bottoms, etc. I'll hunt as I'm allowed. If we lose the right to hunt over bait, then we cut out one part of hunting that I enjoy. Like someone said earlier, it's nice to see deer. If my boys never saw any, they might lose interest. Right now they love it. This is where I'm hunting right now. See the corn pile

 

[SwampCat]

We made the decision not to feed on our farm several years ago.. It was about what kind of hunter I wanted my son to become.. I didn't want him to become dependent on a corn pile in order to kill a deer or anything else.. There are plenty of natural food sources on our place so adding corn to the mix wasn't really necessary.. It concerns me more that many of our young hunters are losing the skills to hunt and track on their own.. If a deer doesn't show up at their corn pile then they are lost as to what to do.. JMHO

I agree with your post for the most part. However, in a time when hunting is becoming more costly - and hunting ground harder to come by - it may be that ten acres behind Gramps house is the only place available to hunt. It might be a 15 year old pine plantation that a deer would not normally set foot in - but a corn feeder might attract some. And I also know of several places where a corn feeder is used only for doe reduction. And as far as turkeys go, I guess I don't really understand - if there is an aflatoxin problem - why would it not be a problem in Nov and Dec - if it would be in Feb and Mar? I don't know how to do a poll, but it would be interesting to see how many of us did not bait at all, how many of us bait one month, two months, 3 months, six months, and how many bait year round - or something to that effect. I know a lot of hunters have really curtailed their use of bait - but I also know Walmart sells a lot of corn. I would also guess that the bulk of the corn used for bait comes in a bags claiming to be aflatoxin free. I don't think all that many baiters are buying in bulk. As far as the hunting skills required (or lack there of) to take a deer over bait - I don't see any difference compared to taking a deer in a foodplot. In both cases - it is food available to the deer and a direct result of the hunter having put it there. I cant really imagine much of dissention to ban baiting from Feb - Aug 15. I would bet very few of us (me being one of them) that bait in the spring or early summer.

 

[shootemagain]

Do foodplots fall under "baiting"?

Maybe it's just me but I don't think I've ever killed a good buck under a feeder. It brings in lots of does which keeps my 9 yr old daughter interested and that's my big focus right now. I put in a foodplot every yr and I fill up a timed feeder at the beginning of the season and that's it. I don't think we need any more rules!

 

[Bruin]

I am all for a ban on baiting.

And foodplot's do not fall under baiting. Foodplots are GREAT.

I am talking about feeders.

Salt and mineral licks are OK.

P.S. I should add that my main reason for my wanting to do away with baiting is the effect it has on our Turkeys.

 

[bigbuckdown75]

ban hunting in the rut is the best thing i have ever heard any of you guys say, most guys would argue this until they seen the drastic results it would have on not only the bucks but the population as a whole.... and i would vote to ban baiting as well... in my opinion it would get rid of the lazy people who call themselves hunters and reduce the pressure