At this point, I should have followed my first instinct and not posted on this question
but now that I have, I will make this final post and then, not defend my position any further.
Daddywpb ask us for our opinions
and thats what I gave him. I didnt want to step on anyones toes either, but the subject lends itself to controversy and strong feelings.
I started out by saying that this was MY feeling about baiting. Im certainly NOT trying to make others conform to my feelings, but I also certainly have a right to have my own feelings about the question. I am giving my opinion, as requested.
I have expressed my "VALUES" as concerns "baiting"
I never said anyone or everyone must share those values. However, this subject is a hot button with me
and I tend to go further and say more than I should in expressing my feelings about baiting just as I do about my other two "hot buttons"... the sexual molestation of children and wife-beating.
To me, we hunters ALREADY have a big advantage over the deer, bear, elk, moose or whatever game we hunt
we have nice, warm, comfortable living quarters in sleep in. We have wonderfully nutritious, hot food to fill our bellies and give us strength. We have rifles that can reach out and kill the animal well beyond our reach. We dont have to out-run and catch them, then pull them down and use our teeth or hands to kill them. We can simply aim our rifle and even at long ranges when they are not aware we've even "there", we can kill them if we choose to kill them.
On the other hand, the deers sense-of-smell and hearing are MUCH better than ours
and their eyesight isnt all that bad either, but if we dont move, they dont see us
a big disadvantage for them because a hunter can sit very quietly in the woods and, unless the wind changes, the deer can and do walk up to within just a few yards of the immobile hunter and never realize the hunter is there.
Ive had both bucks and doe deer walk or feed within 30 feet of me as I sat, motionless, in the woods leaning up against a tree watching them. Ive even experimented with sounds and arm or body movements to see how the deer would react once I determined I didnt wish to shoot the deer standing, feeding or walking nearby.
As careful, successful hunters, we wear clothing that doesnt make noise in the woods
clothing that tends to make us blend in. My own top, outside hunting clothing is bright orange, as required by law, but it has dark cammo patterns in the bright orange to break up the outline of my upper body. I wear "cammo", water-resistant "bottoms" that blend in with the natural surroundings.
Regarding the use of "bait", I probably should have said, How you do it is up to you as long as you obey ALL the game laws, but dont ask me to approve of how you do it even if its legal.
and left it at that.
Butttttt
I didnt, so here is a little insight into my feelings that may help you to understand why I feel as I do.
If you own land and pay the taxes on that land, or even if you hunt on public land
you can do anything the game laws allow
and if you wish to use bait or plant crops which are attractive to deer strictly for the PURPOSE of attracting deer to your rifle, then more power to you if thats what you WANT to do and you feel it's ethical to do it. Just dont ask me to agree that doing so constitutes "fair chase".
I hunt with a classic Model 99 Savage lever-action rifle manufactured in 1953 in .300 Savage caliber. The rifle was designed over 100 years ago
the cartridge was designed over 80 years ago. As you can see, its not a whiz-bang, shoot em beyond the horizon magnum
and its certainly not the newest hot shot rifle available. The .300 Savage is a little less powerful than a .308 Winchester, but its all the rifle I need since I limit my shots to 250 yards or less
and on only slowly walking or standing deer.
A hunter has the responsibility to make a quick, clean kill and not allow the animal to suffer. Therefore,. I wont shoot at a running deer unless Ive just jumped it and it is very close (less than 25 yards) and I have an open shot at it
theres just too much chance of only wounding it otherwise.
I dont use scents or scent-killers, rattling horns, decoys or anything else on deer to attract them to me. I have never shot a deer that was asleep in his bed nor would I, but I would shoot a deer in his bed that was wide awake and watching me if I had the opportunity.
When I hunt deer, I take my rifle and my handloaded ammo and go hunt deer
either by stalking very slowly and quietly (aka still-hunting) through the woods, stopping often and using the binoculars to scan ahead and to the side
and by finding a good tree to sit against that overlooks multiple, heavily-traveled deer trails that I might sit at for up to an hour (aka taking a stand). Then, if I get bored or cold or if there's no "action"
or if the mood strikes me, Ill get my fanny up and still-hunt some more.
I dont use tree stands because I'm not as agile as I once was... and, at my age... closer to "70" than to "65", I find tree stands HARD to use & EASY to fall out of. But... I'm not "against" a hunter using a tree stand. I don't feel using a tree stand is "unfair" or not consistent with "fair chase".
After all, if you're in a tree stand, you are NOT "artifically" causing the deer to come to you. You are merely using your intelligence to out-wit your quarry. To me, this falls under the same category as being a good tracker, a quiet stalker and an excellent rifleman.
Have I seen a lot of deer using "still-hunting" and sitting on deer stands? Yes
usually I see at least 2 to 4 deer a day where I hunt in the Moshannon State Forest in north/central Pennsylvania.
Will I see as many deer as I would probably see hunting over bait? No
probably not. But most of us hunt for the pleasure of the hunt and the camaraderie of being with our loved ones & friends.
Ive found this system works for me. Ive been known to go out before dawn in 6 inches of new snow when the temperatures were hovering around zero degrees
and at those temperatures, you have to do some still-hunting to keep your toes from freezing. Youll also find at those temperatures, the woods is very quiet and still
and, yet, it's also exciting.
Why? Because I ALWAYS expect to see deer, but you have to go VERY slow & know where to look... and WHAT to look FOR! At those temperatures, the deer are staying in their beds as much as they can. Unlike us, theyre too smart to get up and walk around in the woods at THOSE temperatures! :-)
Ive found most hunters still-hunt FAR too fast and too carelessly. You cant be in a hurry when you still-hunt. You can make SOME noise in the woods because deer make noise in the woods... as do all creatures that move in a woods, but they make noises that are DIFFERENT than the noises a human makes
unless the human SLOWS DOWN and stops sounding like a biped (two legged).
Naturally, I wash my hunting clothes, but only in plain water
no soap or scent-killing agents
and I try to stay out of the campfire smoke. None of the animals we hunt light fires
and they dont stand in the smoke, either. I avoid anyone who is smoking as well
thats a dead give-away a human is nearby.
I have participated in a few deer drives because that is one method of hunting deer, but I would not fertilize an oak tree to make the acorns grow.
I agree with Longwinter who wrote (above), But if a human puts it in the ground and then hunts over it (in any form) it is baiting. Dont let the politically correct change the facts to fit their purpose. Whether in pile form or food plot . . . it is all baiting.
To Longwinters remark, I would add, If it was put in the ground as a cash crop to later harvest and sell in the marketplace, then thats NOT baiting because it wasnt placed there to draw game to the hunters gun.
Strength & Honor
Ron T.
