how much baiting do you think goes on?

[vister]

i myself have an acre and a half food plot. it is rather secluded in its location. i also bait in the spring in my other location, only to get the deer close enough for the trail cam. Neither of which is illegal. if everyone thinks food plots are baiting as well, should i plow the hay fields under every fall? should i burn the meadow off every fall that i hunt over so i don't see deer going or coming to their bedding areas. my purpose of the food plot is to get the herd better nutrition, as meadow grass or tree bark probably doesn't have too much protein in it. in a sense, some think i am luring them to me. well, the deer can come if they want. its not like 5 bushel of corn is dumped out underneath my stand. it is still fair game hunting over a food plot. some people will do anything to shoot that big one. myself would just prefer to have a healthy deer in the freezer.

as far as the plot goes, i have seen a bunch of deer out there this fall, but harvested none from that stand. they'll really love it this winter when the turnips and ruttebaggas freeze. lots of sugar then. just maybe we'll have a brutally cold winter, or a lot of snow. at least they'll have something to eat when the going gets tough!

[Piker]

Not everyone thinks food plots are baiting, I'm the only one that made the comparison but it was only for the purpose of trying to demonstrate that I don't think baiting is all that evil. Food plots are a good thing, they help the herd while attracting deer to an area. I think they're great and they essentially accomplish the same result as baiting.

One thing baiting has for it is that it allows for a selective harvest. There shouldn't be a need to shoot at a running deer, so you probably have cleaner kills. Anyway, that's rambling my point is I don't think they are that bad. Baiting is definitely popular.

[c&amagn]

Great statement Vister