Question on deer feeding on dumped food (preseason)

[UdeLakeTom]

Excellant article.

[BLACKJACK]

I'm just thankful that the MN DNR had enough foresite to ban baiting. With baiting, deer hunting degenerates to 'who has the best and biggest bait pile' instead of hunting. Part of the challenge of deer hunting is the scouting and locating of deer, the placing of stands, and the reward of harvesting a deer after all your hard work. What fun is it to sit over a pile of corn and shoot a deer? You might as well goto a pen and shoot a hereford steer.

[timberghost]

"You might as well goto a pen and shoot a hereford steer."

If it's really so easy, why are the bear hunters having such a tough time?

"All your hard work" You dont think those of us that want to bait ,do the same things you do, plus.

Your perseptions are simple assumptions. Thats how bad laws get created

If the baiting issue were really the fear of disease being spread through contact mineral blocks and salt licks would be banned.

Im interested in knowing what are all your thoughts are on feedind deer during those years were deep snow and cold temps take its toll.

_________________________

[Odonata]

I would contend that the lack of bear success this year has more to do with temperature, weather conditions, and extremely late summer mast/continued source of natural food. The ratio of bear-deer in MN is significantly different. (bear:20-30k deer:1 million+)

I have never used bait, aside from deer scent. I would be curious to know individual reasons for baiting deer? There have been years of bitter cold and deep snow before the DNR took over. We still have deer around. I hunt zone 1 and recall years, not too long ago, when you couldn't shoot a doe. Now we can fill multiple tags.

What benefit comes from baiting deer? (aside from economic rationale)

[timberghost]

Other than the economical"rationale".

Just to enjoy the freedom of doing so if I so choose.

Many of us in your hunted area [zone one]remember those winters and offered food to the weak and starving.Maybe you think it wasn't right. I like to think I was helping.

My family and relatives enjoy the taste of venison.Were not looking to just shoot a trophy. Using bait would be another tool the same as you enjoy using deer scent.

[UdeLakeTom]

Deer are interesting animals....

For 10 years I used ground up bags of maple leaves around my camper as skirting to block the wind. For some reason, last year after the season was over, they tore the bags apart and wiped out all the leaves. The other 9 years they did not touch anything. So now if I do this again, is it considered baiting???? The rules say bringing in another source of food is considered baiting. I am sure that since they are near the camper the deer won't come, but it could be considered illegal.

On the other hand, I have cleaned up apples from the yard in the early fall, and dumped them on out land. The dear did not touch them, however, it they would have been seen, this would also have been considered baiting.

Neither of these actions have been done to attract deer.

Our neighbors put out pumpkins one year. The pumpkins rotted in the woods. If the deer do not know it is food, as in their usual diet, they are not going to be attracted to it.

As for winter feeding, remember that usually the hunting season is over by then and the feeding is spread out over a large area, not concentrated in a small area.

And just in case anybody is still thinking about baiting...

CO Jeremy Woinarowicz (Thief River Falls) reports a shining detail was worked with area officers. Opening of archery deer season found CO Woinarowicz in a local WMA where he contacted three individuals that had left stands for over a week in a WMA, operated their ATV’s illegally to get to those stands that evening, and then hunted over corn piles on the public property. Their hunting equipment was seized with numerous charges pending, including take deer over baited area.

[Roofer]

Tom, I agree, anything brought in to entice animals can be considered baiting. Although planting food is fine. Just doesn't make sense to me.

We feed the deer quite often. Mainly in the winter to help them get by. As for your apples, put them next to some kind of food that they already eat. Then they will eat them.

Our feeder is near our cabin. We do not hunt near it and it is empty from October through Christmas. We actually have a tough time getting deer on our property during season, so we have quit the feeding to see what happens. To be honest, I think our surrounding neighbors all bait, so that is what hurts our chances. I'm sure most of us here have a hunch on someone you know that illegally baits.

[walleye365]

hi all a buddy of mine feeds deer in his yard watches takes pictures video tapes. hes got some nice pictures of all kind of animals at the feeder. yesterday as he was walking in from hunting to get his truck to put the doe he shot in it he was confronted by mr dnr said he got a tip on him. a day before he kicked a room mate out for not paying his share. his stand is 300 yards in the woods dnr measured it. they took samples of corn he used the deer he shot the stuff he had in the freezer and that wasnt it his bow, video camra witch his brother tape the hunt and his truck. he wasnt baiting deer there was no bait buy the stand. the dnr said its elegal to take game that is on its way to a feeder that no diferent then hunting buy or on a food plot. the dnr said it doesnt matter if you have 1000 acres if you feed deer dont hunt it. the dnr never gave him a ticket for any violation just said he was going to contact the county procecutor and get back to him.im sure theres alot of people on here that feed deer in the yard and hunt the woods around it be careful.

[fishinmajishin]

Is that 300 yards on his property? If it is that's baiting for sure in my book. His feed/his property/his loss.

[tealitup]

his stand is 300 yards in the woods dnr measured it. they took samples of corn he used the deer he shot the stuff he had in the freezer and that wasnt it his bow, video camra witch his brother tape the hunt and his truck. he wasnt baiting deer there was no bait buy the stand. the dnr said its elegal to take game that is on its way to a feeder that no diferent then hunting buy or on a food plot.

This post was very hard to read, but are you saying the CO took his deer, vehicle, bow and video camera without giving a ticket?

Also are you saying that a DNR CO said it is illegal to take game on a way to a feeder and that it is illegal to hunt on a food plot?

If this is the case I would say B.S. on your friend. A CO is not going to confiscate property without giving a ticket of some sort. Also, hunting on a planted food plot is not illegal - baiting is illegal.

[timberghost]

If what you say is true, was the officers intials J.F.

That co has tried this before.And yes he does not issue tickets. Believe me you will get a court date in the mail.

Eight yesrs ago I went to court against him and won.

He tried to take our guns for hunting over unregistered bait sites.

[Froggy4371]

One thing you have to remember (not by any means defending the CO) is that IF a violation is a Gross Misdemeanor or a Felony there is no ticket to give. It must go though a County Attorney for charges. A citation (ticket) is only good for Misdemeanor charge. That means a formal charge must be made by the attorney and they send you a court notice for you to appear.

Froggy

[walleye365]

what i was saying is the dnr said it is illegal to take game on the way to a feeder, im saying that is the same thing as a food plot.he wasnt baiting deer its not like he had it 20 yards from his stand it was 300 yards away in his yard. the dnr never gave a ticket for any thing. if the feeder was in the woods 20 yards from the stand or in eyes view then throw the book at him but thats not the way it was.i feel it was a waste of time, but they can do pretty much what they want.how do ya know that the deer was on the way to the feeder could of been going to bed down or anywhere.

[Roofer]

I agree with walleye365. People brag about spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on a food plot, and they hunt right over it like a hawk. As for the hunting and ethics part of it, THAT IS hunting over bait no matter how you look at it. Doesn't matter if it's a pile of oats or a 40 acre field.

As far as disease spreading and deer competition, yes, the piles MAY be worse than a food plot. Not by much. Who's to say that deer won't be nose to nose for hours in a small 1/8 acre food plot.

The dnr laws are vague for a reason. It's up to the interpretation (or mood) of the CO.

[WittleWaldo]

Why not just go shot some cows grazing? It's just as challenging.

[Jameson]

Roofer, have you ever planted and watched a 1/8 acre food plot? If you have any number of deer in the area, they will wipe out a well placed 1/8 plot in a hurry. So, for a 1/8 acre food plot I would have to have it tilled to black dirt for several weeks to control the weeds and get good seed germination, rain to have the seed grow, than the "food" of the 1/8 acre plot may be wiped out by the deer in a couple of days. Where as a bait pile would be attracting the deer from day 1, and would continue to attract deer as long as I chose to continue to put out bait.

...Who's to say that deer won't be nose to nose for hours in a small 1/8 acre food plot....

Yep, a few deer may be very close to each other on a 1/8 acre plot for hours out of the year. On a bait pile many deer could be nose to nose for hours of each and every day of the year.

I do agree that hunting over a good food plot is much like hunting over a bait pile. The big difference is I have to try and time my food plots to be attractive when the hunting season is underway, well the food plots that I want to hunt over anyway. Food plots are not attractive when they are nothing put a plowed up field, or when the deer have already ate all the food from the plot. Where as I can easily make a bait pile attractive 365 days a year.

I'm curious Roofer, what do you consider the Aspen clear cuts of the North to be? Man made food plot or natural food? Man has cut those trees down, that's just not natural right? Must be a food plot then, because the deer sure are attracted to those clear cuts for food.

The last couple of years I have hunted on/near food plots in the southern part of the state, shot a total of one deer. About 10 days of hunting each year.

The last couple of years I have also hunted on/near clear cuts in the northern part of the state, shot 4 deer two years ago, and 3 last. About 5 days of hunting each year.

IMO deer that have a year round food source from one location are much easier to hunt than deer that are switching food sources as the year progresses.

[Roofer]

Roofer, have you ever planted and watched a 1/8 acre food plot?

[timberghost]

Why not just go shot some cows grazing? It's just as challenging.

I've been illegaly baiting cows for years without a license. Yet still can't get a good quartering away shoot.Since I would like a trophy, how large do the horns get waldo..lol.

[Mark Christianson]

So Roofer,

If I plant corn or beans, you give me the stamp of approval to hunt over it?

Corn, beans, apple trees, turnips, clover, alfalfa, etc, etc....

Where do you draw the line for what a person plants and hunts near? What do you say constitutes baiting, if thats what you are getting at?

Sillyness if you ask me.

[Roofer]

I think I was misunderstood. Planting anything is legal, but I still think it's baiting if you hunt over it (my opnion). Sillyness, yes, but those are the rules in the handbook.

[Mark Christianson]

So where do you draw the line of hunting next to a corn field?

I plant corn, but its not sold as a crop.

Corn is corn.

I see tower stands all over the state lining fields full of corn and other crops. My 3 acres of corn that I plant pales in comparison to the hundreds of acres of corn that a farmer down the road plants.

I gaurantee you there is more corn on the ground after a farmer harvests it, than I have in 3 acres of standing corn.

I just dont have the luxury of leasing out 80 acres of field to a farmer to plant some crops. Otherwise I would gladly let someone take a crop off the land, and hunt over the residue.

I see this arguement too often, and it holds no water.

[Roofer]

Do you harvest the 3 acres of corn? If not, I consider it baiting because the sole purpose of it is to 'entice game to an area'.

[Mark Christianson]

Get a life.

Why is hunting over an 80 acre corn field any different?

You or anyone else that has a stand on that field is utilizing it to their "benefit".

Talk to the hand, the face dont want to hear it.

[Roofer]

The only difference explained to me that made any sense is that, a bait pile is only there when you put it there. A field or food plot is there 24 hours a day.

It's a fine line, but that is always up to the game warden to interpret.

[Roofer]

What does the handbook say??????????

“Bait or feed” is grain, fruit, vegetables, nuts, hay, or other food that

is capable of attracting or enticing deer and that has been placed by a

person.

If it's only purpose is for deer hunting. It is baiting in my book.

This restriction

does not apply to foods resulting from normal

or

accepted farming, forest management,

wildlife food plantings, orchard

management,

or similar land management

activities.

You could consider it a "wildlife food planting".

I hunt in the woods up north where the deer are actually wild.

We have 80 acres with trees in every direction for miles. If I went out and planted a few acres of corn. What would a CO think that was for? Is that legal? What if I planted apple trees in a small area???