Is baiting really hunting?

This is an amusing thread. Different cultures. Different upbringings. Different perspectives. Different laws. Different locations.

I was watching an episode of Swamp People the other day. My mom, who spent her entire life in MI, thought gator hunting was cruel. Later on she said, “ The alligators are pretty cute as long as they are dead.” Haha.

Years ago, when I though shooting a big buck was going to make me feel better about myself, I hunted this one male deer hard. After an entire bow season and 3 12 hr days into a gun season, I got it. Never used or thought about bait. After over 200 hrs of hunting this one deer and to have it all end with a snort behind me and 3 seconds later, movement to the left of me, and less the. 3 seconds later me firing, it was pretty anticlimactic.

This was all without “bait”……other than the 50 acre soybean field over 100 yds away….which was a corn field the year before and a winter wheat field before that and on and on.

I have a relatively small property hardwood forest and cedar wetlands that is just like all the surrounding land. To make it a destination for deer, I've been planting lot's of native bedding, browse and some fruit trees. While the fruit trees need to mature a bit before producing fruit, the deer have definitely found that native browse and hit it hard in fall/winter. Each of my 3 stands is within shooting range of these native browse and bedding plots.

Do I consider it hunting? Sure. And my freezer is consistently filled with venison.

.38 Special said:

I simply mean that "ethical" can and should be tied to a real thing, namely the suffering of an animal. We can argue about the definition of sportsmanship all day long, but hopefully there are not many THR members who would argue against trying to make a quick, clean kill.

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I suppose, that might even a case for baiting and a blind, leading to a cleaner kill. Certainly a lot easier to ensure better shot conditions than many other field conditions encountered when stalking or pursuing game.

earlthegoat2 said:

This is an amusing thread. Different cultures. Different upbringings. Different perspectives.

Years ago, when I though shooting a big buck was going to make me feel better about myself, I hunted this one male deer hard. After an entire bow season and 3 12 hr days into a gun season, I got it. Never used or thought about bait. After over 200 hrs of hunting this one deer and to have it all end with a snort behind me and 3 seconds later, movement to the left of me, and less the. 3 seconds later me firing, it was pretty anticlimactic.

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It is indeed amusing and different.

I hunted a buck in 2019 and got him. Killed him almost a mile from where my trail cam pics were.
I wasn't hunting him over bait either, but the rut was on and I had sprayed Tink's 69 attractant all down my shooting lane.

It was far from anticlimactic.
To this day I get goosebumps when I walk in the living room and see him hanging on the wall.
My wife laughs at me because I just stare at him sometimes. lol

mcb said:

The only "fair chase" hunting would be for the would-be hunter to walk into the woods naked, hands empty, and then start their hunt; crafting any tools, gear, and weapons from the resources found in the immediate environment.

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But with the unfair advantages of the ability to reason and opposable thumbs. Where does it end?

The property where I bait, I generally kill 2 or 3 deer each season at most- assuming I didn't get any from other locations through the state where I hunt from time to time. There's LOTS of deer on the property where I bait. I hardly ever go a day hunting and not see at least 1 deer- I've seen up to 8 at a time on 1 feeder (I have 4 there). Vehicle/deer collisions are normal here in NW Fl. and coyotes are another issue. I probably go through around 1,000 pounds of corn every season. I'm feeding way more deer than I am shooting.

DM~ said:

Well, obviously I didn't harvest the apples, or they wouldn't be on the ground, now would they??

DM

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As long as you didn't pack the apples in it's not baiting because you found the apple tree, it's a natural growing tree so It's not baiting.

mcb said:

Why is harvesting the crop vs brush hogging it down make any difference. In both cases its a artificial food source that you are using to attract your targeted hunting species. Why does removing 99% of it make it ok.

How is this different than hunting over the stands of persimmons you found? What if your grandfather planted that stand of persimmons?

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Hunting over a harvested field when most of the crop has been removed is kind of baiting but it is accepted because there is always some spillage when you remove a crop, the spillage is not going to be there long enough to feed much deer. Hunting over natural growing persimmons you had to watch the deer to know they what to feed on persimmons so you have gained the knowledge of that to make yourself a better hunter.

whughett said:

No one can argue that in this country any sort of hunting is necessary for a food source, there may be exceptions but it’s by choice.
So what’s the difference in the methods used, baiting, ground blinds, tree stands, stalking, trapping or reservation shooting. It all comes down to the same thing. I spent many years doing just that but never tried to justify it. Just saying.

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Certainly, we can argue this. There are plenty of people who live in areas where they don't make much of an income (if any) and derive much of their sustenance living off the land, whether it be growing their own food, raising their own livestock, hunting, fishing, or combination thereof. To say that these people "have a choice" in the matter is stretching it for a variety of reasons. Sure, some may. But others will not.

The majority of the population just doesn't think about that as they're accustomed to getting their food from grocery stores and restaurants.

And you're right...what's the difference? Heck, what's the difference between baiting and raising livestock, when you come right down to it.

earlthegoat2 said:

This is an amusing thread. Different cultures. Different upbringings. Different perspectives. Different laws. Different locations.

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Yep. Amusing...and fascinatingly civil for all the differences!

Hunt how you want to hunt and do so legally as allowed in your state. Worrying about how others do so is simply a waste of time and energy.

Peeing in my yard will not make yours any greener! Mind your own biscuits and your life will be gravy.

JDeere said:

. . . Deer have a mind all there own and quality deer are very smart creatures

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This ^ ^ ^ ^ as much as anything
Deer don't look at clocks or have schedules.
They pee and poop whenever they get ready
no matter the time of day. They eat when
they're hungry. They do whatever they want
to regardless of our agendas. If it wasn't
for their curiosity, everybody would be very
lucky to ever see one let alone kill one.

As far as " quality " deer, that depends on
the individual hunter. They're all trophys
to me and I could care less about antler
size or age

I'll be 69 years old next week and have taken my fair share of deer without bait. A few with a bow. A few with muzzle loaders. A few with slug shotguns. Scouted, read sign, dragged deer for miles. Paid my dues so to speak. Nothing to prove. All my life I swore I would never take a deer over bait but we have twenty deer infested acres. I do not have permission to cross property lines to fetch a downed deer. So with taking the wind into consideration and the places a hit deer can run to and die narrows down the places I can hunt. I very well may bait this year.

Right now my hunting ethics and common sense are fighting against each other.