Question about baiting deer

[Varmint Hunter]

I was in N. Carolina a few weeks ago on a whitetail hunt. We hunted on an 8,000 acre managed farm. Most of the time I hunted over soy bean fields or peanut fields. However, most of the other guys were hunting over dried corn which was replaced regularly. One of the spots that I hunted allowed long shots along a dirt trail that was plain to see from my elevated tri-pod stand. I saw many deer come out of a thicket and cross the trail on their way to the riverbank.  They didn't spend much time getting across. I was wondering if it would have been legal to use "Deer Cocaine" or a similar product in the dirt trail to slow or stop the deer where I could get a shot opportunity.

Are these products legal in N. Carolina where baiting is a regular hunting technique?

[quickdtoo]

It appears to be illegal for game birds and animals on game land, see page 56 of the NC regs.

Tim
Other Restrictions
 Use of game lands for purposes other than hunting, trapping and
fishing is subject to the control of the landowners.
 It is unlawful to release pen-raised or wild birds or animals on
game lands without written authorization from the Wildlife
Resources Commission.
 It is unlawful to hunt while under the influence of alcohol or
any narcotic drug.
 It is unlawful to litter or dispose of refuse, except in receptacles
provided for the purpose.
 Live wild birds or animals may not be removed.
 It is unlawful to obscure the sex or age of any bird or animal by
mutilation of the carcass.
 Placing bait on game lands is prohibited without written
authorization.
 Game birds or game animals may not be taken with the aid of bait.


http://www.ncwildlife.org/

http://www.ncwildlife.org/pg02_Regs/2007_08_Regulations_Digest.pdf

[Varmint Hunter]

 Game birds or game animals may not be taken with the aid of bait.

Is this a reference to "gamelands" or to the entire state.

Something odd about this. All the outfitters in N Carolins that I spoke to were hunting over bait. It's inconceivable that they were all violating the state game law.

I'll have to look into this further.

[quickdtoo]

I dunno, seems ambiguous to me,  perhaps a phone call to clarify the rules would be in order. The first line says you need permission to use bait, then on the next it says baiting game animals is illegal, maybe they mean you can bait non-game animals on public land, and any animal on private land??

Tim

http://www.ncwildlife.org/pg11_CommInfoContacts/pg11a.htm

[kudzu]

Deer may be taken in the state of NC by the use of bait on private lands. This includes, but is not limited to corn, beans, apples, or any other manufactured baits (come-er-deer , deer cocaine).
Bait is prohibited on "public game lands".

[Varmint Hunter]

I may just give that Deer Cocaine a try if the outfitter is OK with that. I hope the poor deer don't get addicted. 

[woodchukhntr]

In New York it is illegal to hunt over bait.  Maybe it is because I grew up there, and never had the opportunity to bait, I question the sportsmanship of doing it.  It seems one step removed from live trapping deer and shooting them in a cage from 300 yards.  The only case where it would seem ok to do it would be if you were trying to eradicate them from an area due to chronic wasting disease or crop destruction.

[~Ace~]

What is Bait ? To me, Doe in Heat scent is Much more powerfull that some Corn ! Anytime you can make a male critter think with the wrong head, you are Baiting... but Somehow these "Ethical" hunters are able to convince themselves that some bait is not really bait, and some fences are not High fences... Give me a break, we are alone in the woods, Ethics is in the eyes of only the man hunting, his location, products he uses, shots he takes are all His.

If they land you can hunt is a Travel Route.. and In Season they seer are moving Scared.. is it More Ethical to take a damn near running shot ? or to use some form of Bait to stop them ?

[kudzu]

IMHO, taking deer over a corn pile is no different than hunting an acorn ridge,honeysuckle thicket, or a planted food plot. All of these should be considered then same and considered as hunting over a food source. Baits are normally broken into two groups, food (something that can be  beneficially digested by the wildlife) or scent bait. With either you are hoping to up your odds.
Each hunter has the right to or not to, provided it's legal in your area.

[Brett]

If you are still uncomfortable about using a bait or scent to stop or slow the deer crossing your shooting lane try a whistle.  Deer will usually stop momentarily to see what the strange noise was. 

[Varmint Hunter]

If you are still uncomfortable about using a bait or scent to stop or slow the deer crossing your shooting lane try a whistle.  Deer will usually stop momentarily to see what the strange noise was. 

I'm fine with baiting even though I've never used that technique. Woodchuker had the problem with it.

For several days I hunted in NC over a soybean field. Deer came into the field regularely and I killed two of them at just over 300 yards. I could actually see deer in the field out to about 750 yards, lasered with my Swaro Laser Guide.

It just so happened that another tower that I hunted had long shot possibilities over a dirt trail. Lots of deer walked over the trail but did not linger too long. It takes a bit of time to get a laser reading on them before setting up for the shot. That's where I thought some free cocaine might just give me the edge needed.

When in Rome - do as the Romans do. Almost every outfitter I spoke to in NC widely used baiting as a hunting method. It's obviously a legal means of hunting deer and I'm fine with it. I'll be back down to the Carolinas in 3 weeks. I'll keep you posted.

[usmc2111]

As Dancoman said, you can hunt deer over anything you want to put out as long as your not on game lands. I usually spread about 1-2000 lbs of corn a year on my lease. And thats after the farmer cuts the 300 acre corn field. Just because you use a bait doesn't mean that they will come in to it. I have had corn sour it set so long. If you want them to stop in thier tracks try some peanut butter. I use it to get then use to eating at the feeders when I first put them out. They will eat thru a small tree if you keep putting it on it.

[slim rem 7]

 in N.C. you may hunt baited stands on private property.. not on gamelands..

[Wildbuc]

To each his own but baiting seems unsportsmanlike to me, as does using a scope. 

[woodchukhntr]

To each his own but baiting seems unsportsmanlike to me, as does using a scope. 

 

I agree with the baiting, it just doesn't seem right, but scopes??  Why stop there, take the sights off completely then?  Before shotguns with dedicated slug barrels with rifle sights were common, everybody just used the barrels that came with the guns with bead front sights (it's funny but I couldn't imagine that they would think that to be adequate with rifles).  After great, great, great grandpaw didn't need more than that with his musket!  All you have to do is to get close with stalking or by being in a blind to just about touch the deer with the barrel before shooting

Isn't it great though?  There are methods and equipment to satisfy most tastes.  I heard a fellow talking down the AR's and the likes as "killer guns" that were only to be used for killing humans and not for sporting purposes.  I asked him what he used and found out that it was a scoped bolt-action rifle.  I asked him why he hunts with a long-range sniper rifle that was only useful for killing humans.  I also pointed out that the bolt-action rifle was the state-of-the-art military rifle not that long ago.  If you subscribe to that kind of thinking, then you will be forced to hunt with a Brown Bess (which was the state-of-the-art military long gun a couple of hundred years ago).  Sharpened stakes, anyone?

[slim rem 7]

if i couldn t use a scope i couldn t make a single so called ethical shot..

[shot1]

I know this is an old post but here is something I have learned over the years of hunting in NC. Use corn still on the ear. The deer will paw it or bite it off. Turkeys will not bother with it because they have to peck it to get it off the cob and it is too much work for them. When I used to put shelled corn out the turkeys would suck it up like a vacuum cleaner.  If you want to stop deer while crossing a path just put you some corn out where they cross. It will take a few days for them to find it and get used to stopping and taking a few bites before they move on. 

[charles p]

I hunt in NC and we use a lot of corn.  During the rut, it is not uncommon to see bucks cruise by bait stations in their search for doe.  They rarely stop to eat but they are either trailing doe deer or looking for a fresh track.  Many times they are observed back tracking.  I had the same problems back in my college years. 

[slim rem 7]

 shot 1.. these days if i see a nice fat turkey eating corn out back..that boys going in the freezor..
 times getting a little harder for me..slim

[shot1]

I know the feeling. BUT! The game wardens really frown on that.  I can purchase quite a good pile of store bought food for the price of the fine, court cost & loss of hunting license. I am the kind of person that has never even had a speeding ticket. If I killed a turkey out of season or over bate the game warden would be standing on top of me with a movie camera.    They would jack up the jail and throw me under it. I was very tempted this year though. I had 9 great big toms with beards that almost dragged the ground walk into my path at 111 yards away. They stayed out there for a while. I would put the cross hairs on ones head and say to myself BANG. I could have clipped ones head off so easy.

[kansasj]

About 10 years ago it was illegal to bait in Kansas.   Since they have amended the rules there are so many corn piles that the countryside looks like a checkerboard.  Some hunters dump up to 4 or 5 trash cans of corn at one time.  I have used them myself with very mixed conclusions.  Since I am a bowhunter it might seem more ethicalhunting over corn than shooting them with a rifle at 100 yds but it really is not.   As previously mentioned big bucks (B&C) rarely feed on these but more or less just pass by and check out any doe sign left.  Putting cameras over corn will inventory a lot of deer but it seems like I might get one pic of a large buck and never see him again.  I think the kind of bucks we all want to shoot have a lot more figured out then we give them credit for.  Corn piles to them mean humans as they have probably encountered human smells, cameras, and frequent disturbances at these sites.
To each his own but I am saving my money and hunting bottle necks, crossings, rub lines etc. and having more success.

[Dave in WV]

Putting out a piles of corn in some parts of NC will get bears coming around. Better to scatter it so the bears don't bother with it.