Why is baiting illegal here?

[Bear55]

Originally Posted By: Bear55

If I can shoot a deer every year with a bow if shouldn't be hard for guys with rifles to tag one.

Yeah, if you own your own land complete with food plots(legalized baiting) then it is probably a snap.

Big Dave, I do 95% of my bowhunting on public land in central MN. We only own 80 acres up north where I hunt rifle season, if you spread that out over 10 guys it doesn't work out so well so I hunt public land up there too.

[Eskimoman]

Originally Posted By: sticknstring

You don't get the unfair advantage argument? It's not a legality issue of whether or not you can do it. It's to the guy who hunts fair chase, scouts 12 months a year, spends long hours and money planting food plots, or saving vacation to spend time in the woods making all the hard work pay off but can't because the guy next door has got piles of corn over over the place. And if you think food plots are the "lazy way" in filling a tag, think again. Just because you're not willing/able to put in the time, don't harp on others on a subject you know little about.

Wait a minute here. What if I do all the things you state in your reply like saving vacation and spending time on stand and plenty of scouting but because I don't own my own hunting land "The guy next door" as you put it, just plants 10 rows of corn and leaves it up for the deer to eat and for him to hunt over, keeping the deer all in his yard while there are none on the neighboring property that I am hunting. What is the difference between this scenario and one where I dump a 5 gallon pail of corn out a couple of days before I hunt?

I am not harping, if anything it is all those who think there is such a thing as fair chase when hunting animals that don't know they are being hunted that are doing the harping. I am simply stating my opinion. And BTW I grew up on a farm so I know how much work it is to pull a corn planter through a field. So I do know a little about this subject.

You don't think deer realize they are beeing hunted? You must hunt on a ranch where hunting pressure is strictly controlled. But wait, you keep using the public land argument. Anybody who doesnt think deer, especially large bucks, dont realize they are beeing hunted once the guns start blasting and people tromp through the woods are dead WRONG.

[Eskimoman]

Originally Posted By: Bear55

If I can shoot a deer every year with a bow if shouldn't be hard for guys with rifles to tag one.

Yeah, if you own your own land complete with food plots(legalized baiting) then it is probably a snap.

Do you know anything about food plots at all? They are way different than a pile of corn.

A- It actally takes some time and effort to set one up

B- You have to hope for the right weather for them to grow

C- You cant change whats in it once its planted. Deer feed on different things depending on seaon and what else is around. Its not what it looks like on the tv

[cribbageboy]

I said food plot NOT cornfield. VERY big difference there. Let me clarify

If I plant a 1/10 acre stand of corn in the middle of the woods (food plot, not harvestable cornfield) it is legal to hunt it, but if I cut it down and place it in a pile, it is now illegal. Would you not agree? No "farmer" is going to plant and harvest a 1/10 acre food plot of corn, but as the rules are written, this is all you would have to tell the CO. It is there for the sole purpose of baiting. This is why the DNR NEEDS to clarify the regulations, because this would alter deer movement the same way a pile would, but for some reason it is legal because it is simply standing upright instead of laying down?

[Tipup101]

I love this topic every one gets fired up and the trash talking starts.

Note from Admin, please read forum policy before posting again.

Thank you.

[harvey lee]

Lets keep these posts civil and no attacking members.

[Deitz Dittrich]

People get very fired up about this issue and need to stay level minded. My only addition to this post is this. Anybody who thinks that just because you put out a little corn(IN A LEGAL WAY, WI OR MI) means your automatically going to see tons of deer and its going to be easy.. is dead wrong.

I'll come straight out and say, I have hunted over bait before. I own land in WI, and have tried it. Usually the deer will eat the bait after dark. Its helped you not one bit. Or right at sundown, 4-5 will all come in at once. You can never get a shot off because of all the eyes.

its not the chip shot many of think it is. Would I ever do it in MN, No, I dont break game laws.. its just not me.

[vister]

musky, the reason i hunted over beans this year is the land is my dads, a crop farmer. he plants corn and beans rotationally. last year was corn, this year was beans, next year will be corn. cuts down on fertilizer costs this way.

but for everyone saying baiting is bad, how many of you spear through the ice in the winter? ever spear anything without a decoy, live, wooden or both? i'm not opening a different can of worms here, but aren't spearing with decoys down and shooting a deer over a pile of corn the same thing.

[kkahmann]

Deitz hit the nail on the head--baiting is just another way of hunting and the only guys who really get upset about it can't do it. It's not the chip shot everyone thinks it is.

I've deer hunted in several places in MN as well as Wisconsin. Lots of people work at baiting in Wisconsin but lots don't and it just doesn't seem to be the controversy it is here.

To my way of thinking the only difference between a food plot and a bait pile is the amount of work involved.

Guys in Wisconsin have some very strict rules regarding bear baiting--no meat products allowed. A lot of the bear hunters I talk to would just love to bait with meat. I'm allowed to bait with meat here in Ontario and I just don't see it as any advantage.

Disease transmission is a no go to me--even the scientists aren't too sure about how CWD is transmitted anyway.

Fair chase?? Define that for me will ya. I hunt deer here with hounds--it's perfectly legal--and it ain't no chip shot either.

[james_walleye]

Last fall i bought a camera and put it on a farm i've hunted for years and years. I put the camera over a pile of corn for 3 weeks right behind the farmyard about 100 yards. I've never shot a "wallhanger" on this farm. In 3 weeks i had 3 different "wallhangers" at this pile of corn during daylight hours. Every morning and every evening during shooting light there were bucks on my camera at the corn. Had i been hunting over this pile of corn it would have given me my first shot at a big buck there in 14 years of hunting, or rather i could have taken my choice at which of the 3 big bucks to shoot that were coming to the corn. So to say that its not a guarantee, of course its not, nothing is. To say it wouldnt heavily sway your odds would be false though.....

I forgot to add i put this pile of corn on the edge of a darn picked cornfield, and they still hit it that hard....

[Fish&Fowl]

I didn't read any of the other posts because I didn't want to get mad and I don't care what others' opinions are either way. I have my own and they are as ANTI-BAITING as anyone can have.

We have a family friend who lives in Hayward WI. He is a very serious whitetail and big game hunter and he said he's watched baiting turn the deer in his area completely nocturnal. They go from pile to pile at night and no one shoots anything decent.

Oh wait, I guess the people going out and shining illegally are shooting nice deer, and the number of nighttime poacher apprehensions has increased 7-fold.

So yeah, let's bait in MN. Shooting a deer over a pile of corn is not like fooling it with natural attractants and calls. That's like saying calling ducks to decoys is like baiting them...I can't even begin to say how stupid that comparison is.

[cribbageboy]

Im not saying I like baiting, I'm saying that there is no difference between a small foodplot and a baitpile. It's the same thing, just a different name.

I don't want to start an argument here, but don't you think its a little selfish of you Fish&Fowl to not only not read the other opinions, but not care what others think, yet still feel bold enough to post your thoughts loud and clear???

[jltimm]

Exactly, I put out some bad apples last year in my woods and put my camera over it. Out of 7 years of hunting here I have never seen a decent buck at all. In a couple days I had 2 decent bucks and a whole lot of does.It would be gravy to hunt over bait IMO. Especially when you hunt in a very wooded area with not many food sources around.

[timberghost]

WOW! Salt is the cure for disease. Guess we just need to add salt to the corn and everything is fixed?

[Fish&Fowl]

I don't feel it's selfish because people are either for it or against it, and nothing I read would have made me consider baiting a good idea. If I didn't write that would you have known the difference?

I think it's selfish that people bait illegally. It's one thing to cheat yourself, but to screw up all the people who hunt the honest (not to mention legal) way nearby by throwing out corn and apples is disgusting. I love hearing that the DNR is confisgating guns and not just giving people a slap on the wrist. It is a serious offense and that deserves serious punishment.

[Jim Almquist]

WOW! Salt is the cure for disease. Guess we just need to add salt to the corn and everything is fixed?

Look up curing in Wikipedia

Concentrations of salt up to 20% are required to kill most species of unwanted bacteria.

[bigsandynorth1]

In my opinion if you want to cheat and hunt over food plots or bait, then go ahead. Do you feel like a true hunter if you shoot a nice buck over a pile of corn or a food plot that you planted in the middle of woods, I would hope not. If you are just chasing big bucks to show off to your friends and tell them how great of a hunter your are or looking for a wall hanger, then you are only kidding yourself, your not a hunter, you are far from a true hunter! The record books should have two classess, baited deer versus wild deer! People are always going to bait and they will never forget how EASY it was to shoot that deer, is that really hunting??

[jerkbait]

Funny how everyone thinks it is so easy to shoot deer over bait. Look at how the sharpshooters struggled with shooting deer over bait at night with spot lights. Deer get smart really quick, that is why they had too start using a helicopter. I am not saying baiting is right or wrong. And like some hav said, standing corn is legal, shell it off the cob in a pile it is illegal. I feel that if people chose to hunt over bait or not so what, there choice. I don't think it makes that big of a differance over time because the deer get smart.

[hhguide]

upnorthbsl I have a food plot thats not in the middle of the woods but I get one paths were they are coming to and going from. Find a place near your place thats the same as this you will see some deer. dont think that i'm any less of a hunter because of it I put alot of time and effort into out woods and plots to try and get some success!

[CSTPETER]

Maybe I'm misremembering here but I think the outdoor news recently ran an article on baiting in Mn. and they referenced a scientific study done in Maryland that compared two adjacent areas of the state one where baiting was legal, the other where it wasn't. The results were completely opposite of what you would expect. Hunter success was actually higher in the non baited area. If I remember right, for some reason the deer were conditioned into becoming nocturnal by the baiting activity. If anybody else read this feel free to jump in that's about all I remember.

BTW I'm totally against baiting, I buy into the disease control argument, But am ethically opposed to it as well.

[cribbageboy]

I am extremely opposed as well. I'm just trying to get my point across that food plots and bait piles are the same thing, and therefore they should both be legal or illegal depending on your viewpoints. If the Minnesota DNR wants to keep one legal, and the other not, I think they should really tighten down restrictions on food plots. Because in my mind, I small food plot and a pile of corn are the same thing. Granted people who have food plots do put more time and effort into making them productive than those who throw out 5 gallons of corn. They are however still growing the food plot for the same purpose, attracting deer, and should therefor not be allowed to hunt over it.

[bigsandynorth1]

hhguide, I see plenty of deer without cheating by using bait! They may not walk up to me as if I had bait, but I do see deer. Again, there will always be cheaters in this world but it's up to you if you want to be known as one.

[hhguide]

I dont see how i'm cheating or why you say I am. I'm not going to get in a arguement on here. I dont agree with baiting deer! but I do agree with food plots for the survival of animals in hard winter years. Thats why I put up a food plot. Its 3 acres big in the middle of our Crp field. we hunt the swamps and woods that are probably 600Yards or more from the corn. Who knows I guess we can agree to disagree.

[minnesotahunter]

cribbageboy.... food plots are a totally different thing than baiting. why do you think the DNR lets food plots be legal? I mean with all do respect to you and all of us the DNR is a lot smarter then us about this subject, therefor they have a good reason behind why food plots are legal. number 2.... food plots do not attract deer as much as a pile of corn. for example.... one year plant a food plot and see how many deer are on it..... the next year just put out a bucket of corn and watch as deer you have never seen show up to eat the corn. food plots are no different than people hunting over corn fields or bean fields. They are natural attractants when planted.

[BobT]

I can agree with food plots but putting out food feeding bins or piles of corn or even mineral blocks to me is getting too close to baiting. I also think that in order for my ideas to be valid, the food plots should be required to be a certain minimum size.

When baiting, a person does something to bring deer to a particular narrow area. I'm talking square feet here, not acres. A good food plot may attract deer to an area but in order for it not to compete with baiting, it should have a considerable size like a few acres. This way, they provide a good food and vitamin/mineral supply without herding the deer into such close quarters as a mineral block would.

I think you're getting the idea of what I mean.

Bob