Bait or NO Bait?

[clayaw13]

Where I hunt in Indiana, any bait has to be completely removed 10 days prior to the planned hunting date. In their words: "An area is considered baited for ten (10) days after the removal of the bait or the baited soil. Hunting an orchard, or another area which may be attractive to deer as a result of normal agricultural activity, is not prohibited. Farmer's salt for livestock is not bait."

How about where you hunt? Is baiting legal, and if it is, do you use it as a hunting technique?

 

[TKA]

Most people here , cultivate plots with selective grasses, plants etc..... I know of several ares where saw toothe oaks have been planted. They give a smaller acorn that drives deer and turkey nuts. It is about a 5 year grow, but they are quick about getting some size. I think having a well thought out program really works.

 

[Dennis1209]

It's exactly the same here in Tennessee. I plan on Mourning Dove hunting my neighbors grain silos next month (legal). For some strange reason the doves don't fly over my property, even with corn and soy bean all around me. It's also illegal here to plant sun flowers for the purpose of drawing in doves (baiting). I guess I could let my chickens free range and throw down cracked corn and seeds for them to eat?

 

[gunnerbob]

In NC(last place I hunted), we laid corn down during the season.

 

[Huntnfooltwo]

That's not fair chase in my opinion.

 

[Raider-3]

That's not fair chase in my opinion.

I tend to agree. I live in colorado and was bear hunting last week where you cannot bait, and ran into two elk hunters from wisconsin. They told me when they bear hunt they put out peanut butter and sit in a tree above the peanut butter, wait for the bear and shoot him. Doesn't seem like much of a sport to me.

 

[twogunwilly]

Not legal to bait in NY, same 10 day rule. Doesn't mean a few DB's don't do it. Something like applesauce in a pumpkin; yup real master baiters.

 

[nogods]

Baiting is very limited in NY - you can bait coyotes but not other game. Even if I could bait deer and beer I probably would not.

But that is a personal choice. I don't agree with the "fair chase" argument against baiting. I agree that where baiting is prohibited by law anyone who baits is a criminal. But "fair chase" is a relative term.

Those of us who use a shotgun for deer could say that a rifle is not fair chase. For that matter, anything other than barehanded strangulation of game could be depicted as a violation of "fair chase."

So I don't and won't use bait for hunting. But that doesn't mean that those who do use legal bait are less ethical.