Is baiting really hunting?

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1942bull said:
Technically baiting is not hunting, at least it is not if you use he dictionary.

From Merriam—Webster Dictionary
Definition of hunt
1: to pursue for food or in sport
2: to pursue with intent to capture
3: to drive or chase especially by harrying
4: to traverse in search of prey

Definition of bait
1: to put out bait, something (such as food) used in luring especially to a hook or trap.

So the two words are different in that hunting is going after the prey and baiting is bringing the prey a place.
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By that strict definition we could also argue that tree stands, ground blinds, and calling game with various calls is also not hunting since these are passively or active ways to bring the prey to us rather than us pursuing the prey.
 
Hunting has only recently been about fair chase. It started out as a way of putting food on the table even if it meant chasing the whole herd of buffalo over a cliff.

There will always be the debate over who is the truest hunter; the tracker who chases down his game, or the bow hunter who studies so diligently that he is able to place his stand within 20 yards of where his prey will walk.

Sitting over a bait pile in my opinion isn't really "hunting" but often it's used as a way to reduce over population in areas where that's a problem. As long as it's done humanely I don't have an issue with it.
 
Baiting is a good way for the farmers to sell off excess grain. It's good for the feeder companies to sell more feeders. It's good for the lazy hunters because they get deer that they would be too lazy to take in any other way.
It's not good for the insurance companies that have to pay for the auto collision damage because baiting pulls the deer away from the public land that is setup to reduce the numbers, on private farms they don't take enough deer. It's not good for the deer because they need to eat more than corn to be healthy & it brings deer together where they can pass diseases faster.(proven fact) It's not good for the good hunter that watches & scouts the deer to know their patterns then uses his knowledge to find the best place to hunt to take his deer.
I hunt by knowing where the deer are going at the time I'm hunting, that requires a lot of time in the woods scouting & studying deer.
In my opinion if you strive to be the best hunter you can be baiting is the lazy way out.
 
mcb said:
Interestingly, last year in Alabama (where I live though I do most of my hunting in Tennessee) they have pass a rule change that allows a hunter to pay an extra fee ($15 resident, $50 non-resident) to allow them to hunt over bait (on private land). Seems like an interesting way to deal with the issue.
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Interesting. The last I had heard on that was that you had to take down feeders ten days before hunting season.

Here is a report by a friend on his 2021 turkey hunting.
Camo, calls, blinds, and all, I think he is putting in the fair chase.
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=611236
 
1942bull said:
Technically baiting is not hunting, at least it is not if you use he dictionary.

From Merriam—Webster Dictionary
Definition of hunt
1: to pursue for food or in sport
2: to pursue with intent to capture
3: to drive or chase especially by harrying
4: to traverse in search of prey
Click to expand...

By those definitions if one is not moving they would also not be hunting. So if we are not moving in tree, after the squirrel, or stampeding them off a cliff that’s not hunting.

I can’t say I ran corn feeders ever for squirrels but I always knew where to find them and I have used pecans for “bait” to make it easier to find them.


I suppose your also not “fishing” unless your hook is bare?

verb:
  1. catch or try to catch fish, typically by using a net or hook and line.
    "he was fishing for bluefish"
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The way I see it, the State I do most of my hunting and fishing in as well, ones odds may or may not increase if using bait in either activity but one is engaged in the act weather they use it or not. Why I said it doesn’t really matter to me, I must follow the laws where I hunt.

“Fair”. What I think is “fair” doesn’t really come into play either. A firearm or being smart enough to come up with another method to kill prey makes things not “fair”.

Hunting in its natural form has never been about equity among species and never will be.
 
mcb said:
By that strict definition we could also argue that tree stands, ground blinds, and calling game with various calls is also not hunting since these are passively or active ways to bring the prey to us rather than us pursuing the prey.
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If you are hunting for your missing keys, are you sitting in a chair?An animal call is a means of attracting an animal.
Of course it is all semantics. If we observed every word in the dictionary as defines our language would be in chaos.
 
1942bull said:
If you are hunting for your missing keys, are you sitting in a chair?An animal call is a means of attracting an animal.
Of course it is all semantics. If we observed every word in the dictionary as defines our language would be in chaos.
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They are getting hunting advice from a dictionary??
No wonder they need bait to take a deer. LOL
 
AK Hunter said:
I hunt by knowing where the deer are going at the time I'm hunting, that requires a lot of time in the woods scouting & studying deer.
In my opinion if you strive to be the best hunter you can be baiting is the lazy way out
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I've sat/hunted/shot deer on the islands of Alaska, along the coast, waiting for the deer to come to the beach on low tide, to eat kelp. I've sat/hunted/shot brown bears along streams, that came to that stream for a fish dinner, and I've sat/hunted/shot black bears next to blueberry marshes that came for blueberry desert. (I could go on)

And as stated above, I sat/hunted/shot deer along my hay fields that came out to feed in them, so how is any of THAT any different from each of the others??

Are the hunts in Alaska "real hunting" because it was more remote???

DM
 
mcb said:
LOL, I don't believe water source natural or man made are even considered in that baiting law. It must be a food based bait.
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I don’t doubt it. Lots of things are not taken into consideration as laws are passed. If it’s about “fair” camouflage, scent blockers, firearms, any devices that improved vision, hearing etc, shoes/boots would also be considered unfair advantages.

FWIW Water is a food as defined in section 20l(f) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (2l USC 32l(f)).
 
South Prairie Jim said:
When my wife and I watch hunting shows with deer all fattened up and looking good and trained to eat on the planted food just near the tree stand or blind.
She says... That ain't hunting ... that's a deer resort.. what's the challenge to that ?

I have no answers.
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I see you have a scoped rifle which aids immeasurably in the taking of game at distance thus nullifying the need to be able to get in quiet and close. I primarily still hunt with a non-scoped handgun. By your reasoning I would be better hunter than you. See how it works? Being critical of others is a two way game made for hypocrites.
 
Choctaw said:
I see you have a scoped rifle which aids immeasurably in the taking of game at distance thus nullifying the need to be able to get in quiet and close. I primarily still hunt with a non-scoped handgun. By your reasoning I would be better hunter than you. See how it works? Being critical of others is a two way game made for hypocrites.
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Yep I have a scoped rifle, also a non scoped rifle also hand guns. I hike up a mountain in snow up to my gaiters and hunt deer elk wolf and bear on their turf.
What's your point again ?
 
DM~ said:
I've sat/hunted/shot deer on the islands of Alaska, along the coast, waiting for the deer to come to the beach on low tide, to eat kelp. I've sat/hunted/shot brown bears along streams, that came to that stream for a fish dinner, and I've sat/hunted/shot black bears next to blueberry marshes that came for blueberry desert. (I could go on)

And as stated above, I sat/hunted/shot deer along my hay fields that came out to feed in them, so how is any of THAT any different from each of the others??

Are the hunts in Alaska "real hunting" because it was more remote???

DM
Click to expand...

Did you pack in any the the feed that these animals were attracted by? No, if it is naturally growing food it's not baiting. Baiting happens when people bring food into the hunting area just to attract an animal to hunt. That's why I call it lazy because it goes around having learn about the prey you are hunting.
 
Is it fishing if you bait the hook?

Lets just say I get more enjoyment hunting without bait. It was illegal here most of my life but it got to the point where so many were doing it enforcement wasn't possible. They finally changed the law.
 
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