Bow hunting

[polaris boy]

Does anyone know how close you can hunt to a deer feeder thanks

[Knute78]

You can't purposly hunt near or on the way to a baiting/feeding station legally in Minnesota. It is against the law.

Do your homework and you won't have to hunt near feeders, just get in the woods, especially this time of year and scout, scout, scout. It is definately one of the best times to look for trails, bedding areas, and other deer sign.

[poutpro]

I agree. Go out and look for the trails that deer have been using to get to the feeder, then you can cut them off. You don't need to sit on top of the feeder and wait for them to come. Find where they are bedding and where they are eating, and then you will be able to find the path they take from their beds to their feeding grounds.

[Neiko]

My understanding is you can hunt a path that leads to a bait/feeding station as long as you can not see it. We had an arguement on this one awhile ago and we read it word for word and that is what we came up with. Now for the record I do not hunt near bait or feed spots. There is no challenge to it and I can't believe people do it. Although I know people are lazy and do this stuff and even brag about the deer they get like they are some great hunter or something. Sooner or later they will get caught. I would go nuts if they took away my hunting privledges for any amount of time. Just not worth it.

[Knute78]

Neiko, not that your understanding is wrong, I agree with almost everything else in your post that has to do with ethics, but doesn't your interpretation leave some room for problems. Based on your understanding, I could hide a bait "around the corner" from my stand as long as I cannot see it? What if the bait is placed on the other side of a tree that is 20 yards from my stand? I mean all these are hypothetical but I do believe they are both illegal. It says nothing about it being out of veiwing distance making it legal in the regs.

Here is what the MN DNR regs book says:

HUNTING METHOD RESTRICTIONS (pg. 64)

Bait

• No person may place or use bait for the purpose of taking deer.“Bait” is defined as grain, fruit, vegetables, nuts, hay, or other food transported and placed for the purpose of attracting or enticing deer. This restriction does not apply to foods resulting from normal or accepted farming, forest management, wildlife management,orchard management, or similar land management activities.

• Liquid scents, salt, and minerals are not considered bait.

I'd say the biggest question is the wildlife management clause semingly making it legal for prvate land owners to bait if it is for wildlife management. That seems like it could cause a bit of conflict if people are "managing" "their" deer herd and possibly hunting those deer. I think this needs to be clarified in the regs because everything else seems to make it illegal to hunt over bait.

I also understand that if all the feed is gone by the time of the hunt it is perfectly legal to hunt those sites. I don't like that stipulation but to each his own.n

Just my 2 cents. All I have to say is just do the leg work, scout out natural food sources, and this shouldn't be an issue.

Sorry this got a little long, it is just a touchy issue in the area I hunt, and seems to be becoming an issue around the state with more and more developement and those people feeding deer.

[Neiko]

Knute, This is where I got my information from. It is the 2000 regulations where they have some "Q & A's". Click on the link and scroll down to page 50 and it is in the pink shaded block. Nobody said our laws are perfect but I think they should have made this more clear so some unethical hunter doesn't use the argument to get away with it.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/hunting/2000/deer.pdf

[jlm]

Very good thread so far guys. Lets get this cleared up as this one tends to confuse a lot of hunters here in MN, particularly when baiting is legal in several other states in the midwest. Knute posted the regs, thanks Knute. Just remember, the little hunting rule book we get is just a synopsis or abbreviation of the actual rules. I have spoke with several CO's regarding this issue. A hunter may not take a deer that is on a feeder, coming to a feeder, or going away from a feeder. Even if it is a mile away, it would be illegal to take a deer if you knew it was on a pile of feed you placed in the woods. This is left to interpretation by the CO and I do not think taking a deer a mile from a feeder would justify a ticket. However, if the CO really wants to push the issue and inspect the gut pile, you can bet he will find evidence of feed. If you are the only one feeding deer in the proximity of where the deer was harvested, you are busted. I would not take the risk. By the way, if you do feed and plan to try get around the rules, watch out for planes and choppers, they are looking for the rule breakers. Odds are that they already have your feed pile locked into their GPS. Its only a matter of time before they catch you red handed!

[Knute78]

Neiko-

First off this information is from the 2000 regs book, not that it has changed, I'll give you that. However, my interpretation of this is that if the bait or feeder is/was placed for the purpose of taking deer it is illegal to hunt those baits and trails leading to the bait whether or not it is in sight. However, with that said, say a neighbor is feeding the deer just to feed them and you cannot see the feeder/baiting station from your hunting location, it is perfectly legal to hunt those trails, not that I think that is ethical either.

Again I believe most hunters wouldn't bait deer, however, where do they draw the line between "just feeding" the deer and baiting the deer for an "easier" harvest? In either of the regs books it comes down to being illegal if the bait is being used to draw in deer that will be specifically hunted near or around that bait/feeder, including trails leading to that bait with the exception I noted earlier.

I hope my interpretation is clear, basically if in anyway the bait has been placed for the purposes of taking deer it is illegal to hunt the bait and/or trails leading to it whether it can be seen or not.

[Knute78]

Jlm-

Thanks, that actually cleared things up more. I agree it should be illegal to hunt deer on the way to or from the baiting station. Without talking to a CO, the last post was simply my interpretation of the rule/reg link posted by Neiko.

I think we are all in agreement on ethics here and I am glad to see the topic has some intrest for us all.

[Cooter]

I like to dig a little foxhole right underneath the feeder and then wait til after dark so I can see the little red laser light on my bow Sounds fun actually!

[bigbucks]

At that range wouldn't you just shoot on sound?...