Interesting.It’s illegal here in Louisiana on public, I know people that do it. I’m against it 100%, for me it feels like cheating. But idc what you do and if it’s legal in your state go for it.
Interesting.It’s illegal here in Louisiana on public, I know people that do it. I’m against it 100%, for me it feels like cheating. But idc what you do and if it’s legal in your state go for it.
When you think about how much potential shine gets fed to the durned deer every year, it's no wonder this country is in the shape it is.Baiting is super effective. When I read/hear people saying it scares off bucks, etc....I think they might be noticing seasonal shifts, something else is happening, they are going to check the bait/cams way too much, or they are leaving scent everywhere due to not being careful enough. Or it just could be a mental cope (want to think baiting is similar to hunting down a buck on 1,000 acres of public).
Almost all mature bucks taken with archery equipment in WV are taken over bait.
I have hunted over bait, but once you've done it without bait enough (and been successful at times), then, for me, hunting over bait is kind of boring. Folks that have only hunted archery over bait might not always know the difference (here, baiting is hunting and hunting is life...so corn is life I think).
This gets into the process- vs results-orientation split I see among hunters. I'm more process-oriented (I'd rather kill a 6 point on public than a nice 8 over bait).
I'd rank the following from easiest to hardest to harvest deer as a hunting technique:
bait
food plot placed for deer hunting
food plot that is meant for human nourishment (because you have more constraints on crop and placement)
prominent natural food sources (like that killer white oak)
hunting terrain and other features (pinch points, topo saddles, game trails, etc)
I think our internal feel and rankings (at least mine) might be somewhat innate/common sensical and come down to energy return on energy invested.
Just to put legs under that using the baiting example and assuming that our instincts better match an ancient context instead of our modern civilization:
If you hunted for food only, would it make any sense to dump 200 lbs of corn on the ground over the course of a year to maybe harvest 100 lbs of deer meat? Whether you look at it regarding calories, time, or money....it's a tradeoff that only a modern and well fed person would consider. I suppose that would change if folks only used refuse food items that they could not eat directly. Otherwise, you're better off making 200 lbs of corn chowder and then kill 100 lbs worth of doe meat while sitting over a trail.
When you think about how much potential shine gets fed to the durned deer every year, it's no wonder this country is in the shape it is.
Filter that through a 5 gallon bucket of mashed muskydimes and I would arm wrestle you for it.Here here!!!
Wish I could give this two thumbs upWe started slidin' down hill when they took away a man's right to drink a cold beer in the truck on the way home from work.
agreed 100% but they are supposedly seriously talking about doing away with baiting in 2025 they have already gave a lot of farmers a heads up on this because farmers make a ton of money on bait during the season in Jersey
where do you hunt at? I am in Cape May and would be cool to meet up with some people and go scouting some areas.
I would love to scout someone, as I hunt alone because the 2 people I know that hunt are typical NJ hunters. Scouting to them is dumping a bag of corn 1 week before opening day. Unfortunately we are at polar opposite ends of the state. I need to learn though, so PM me if you have a large window on a Sunday.agreed 100% but they are supposedly seriously talking about doing away with baiting in 2025 they have already gave a lot of farmers a heads up on this because farmers make a ton of money on bait during the season in Jersey
where do you hunt at? I am in Cape May and would be cool to meet up with some people and go scouting some areas.
Playin with my emotions.Well now….I just so happen to have a giant vine trellised in my yard and picked the first few off of it today.
Soon…..very soon
I agree 100%.Robert Loper, I also live in Cape May Co. Although I do most of my hunting in Salem Co. Baiting is so prevalent here that I don't think I know anyone that doesn't bait. My hunting partner and I hunt over about 10 set stands. Where I hunt, Zone 27, you can hunt with bow from around September 10 straight through January 31. As the season progresses, I find we'll see less and less mature deer. Early season you will have some visit the bait, during the rut you'll have some bucks checking out the bait scent checking for does, and winter bow mature deer come in because natural food availability is dwindling down.. Our deer have become so educated, some walk through the woods looking up into the trees. At the end of last season I decided to become more mobile and try to go where the deer are instead of luring them to me. This year Ill be sitting more in unbaited spots in my saddle. I typically take a doe or three and if lucky a buck for the season. Nj has been doing their best to eradicate the deer population over the years. Probably from the urging from insurance companies and farmers. We have longer gun seasons now with liberal bag limits. In Zone 27, a bow hunter can take 5 does and one buck in each of the 3 archery seasons. If you wanted to, you could kill 18 deer a year with your bow. I don't like that during the 6 day shotgun week every hunter can shoot 2 bucks. And then there are the deer drives. I think it was about 25 years ago NJ starting allowing hunting over bait. I believe it was to knock the population down and they have been successful. Now I have heard rumor the state is considering rescinding the baiting law because of the deer diseases going around. Down here in zone 34 (cmc), the population is so down a bow hunter can take just one deer per season. On a positive note, Nj has so much public land to deer hunt, I don't think we'll ever run out of new spot to try
There are other ways to bait without dumping piles. Fertilizing/relocating natural browse flies waaay under the radar. If you haven't thought about it, consider this a pro tip.....lol.
Read "food source management" lol. AND... It's a thing.
definitelyThere are other ways to bait without dumping piles. Fertilizing/relocating natural browse flies waaay under the radar. If you haven't thought about it, consider this a pro tip.....lol.