Feeders and baiting....Petition for Ban?
Ohio
I am seriously considering starting a petition to make baiting and feeders illegal again in Ohio.......they really just rub me the wrong way and after having problems with people setting them right on property lines and just this weekend finding one on my parents property from a trespasser, I am about at the end of my patience.
Am I the only one that feels this way?
Can someone explain why they are legal.....as in what is the possible benefit?
The only argument I can come up with was when numbers were high, it was a way to get deer killed faster. Plus....some could say it a better hunter experience as they may see deer more often over a corn pile.
Argue all you want.....I think they suck.
cas-hntr,
SIGN ME UP !!!!!!
I AM IN COMPLETE AGREEMENT WITH YOU ON BANNING FEEDERS !!!
HUNTING IS SUPPOSE TO BE HUNTING !!!
I personally do not think using a feeder is hunting !
Hunting is a life learning experience. If I cannot depend on my skills to scout, or read signs and rely on my woodsman-ship to get a deer close enough to harvest then the question becomes, am I really hunting ???
When a feeder is used it is programming an animal to come to you for food. (I have used a feeder on a bear hunt so I have used one.) "IT WAS PROGRAMMING."
WE HAVE A WILD HOG PROBLEM IN OHIO.
If you do not have one (hog's) currently.....you will.
FEEDERS ONLY PROMOTES THE WILD HOG PROBLEM. ODNR TAKE NOTE:
Some of the folks posting on this forum have big problems with what type of hunting implement is used but they readily condone feeders.
Why ??????
That's just like hunting over food plots.,but it's the norm any more.deer will come to where the food is.its not fair imho.
Look, I've lived and hunted in states with all types of baiting laws. It's impossible to enforce on private land anyhow, so I feel Ohio has it right to make it illegal on public land only. If someone wants to take the easy way out, then they're missing out on the challenge and satisfaction gained from "hunting" deer on their grounds (kinda like using a crossbow during the bow season :)lol Private landowners can just plant a food plot anyhow. It's just an opinion, so don't take it personal and start throwing insults cause my opinion, like yours, doesn't really matter to begin with.
I'll sign it. twice if you'll let me... I like Ned's opinion even though it doesn't matter. :-)
Cas Hunter, the thing that pisses me off, is how people plant food plots(bait plots) set their stands all around them and their cameras. Then hunt them. Then they tell you that they don't bait their property. Even Pat L from the bowsite is baiting in Pa. on his property. An people can not tell me they are NOT baiting. YES, it is BS.
Am only responding since I seen Jamie's post... How goes it, well I hope... Sorry to hear about Dean, my condolences...
When done right, food plots benefit all kinds of critters all year long. But let's not get sidetracked.
I really would like some legit reasons that it's actually beneficial for hunting and wildlife.
A number of years ago WI DNR published a fairly long paper on baiting deer which showed that over time it did not really change state wide harvest numbers but did change hunting styles. It also pointed out all of the negative impacts of baiting. I send a copy of the article to Mike Tonkovich at ODNR and talked to him about. To his benefit he did not telling me what I wanted to hear but stated very plainly that ODNR was all about hunting opportunity and that they felt that baiting provided an opportunity for people of certain skill and time restraints to hunt. At that time ODNR was very much pro baiting.
Now I would like to see baiting go away. To be honest the deer go to where the food is. If there are crop fields in the area that is where they will be. Same with bait piles and food plots. It is our job as hunters to find out what they are feeding on, where they are bedding and how they are travelling. I have access to crop fields and food plots and guys baiting are presently drawing a lot of deer off of our area. If I had access to only a small piece of property with very little food and bedding habitat I would probably feel differently.
I have never done it and probably never will. I do have a friend that has a very small spot to hunt in a very large woods and he baits. I understand why he does it. He sees very few deer without baiting.
Why not consider a ban on the air rifle that shoots an arrow/bolt that has been made legal in other states already? Seems more plausible. Once they pass a law, it's twice as hard to get it reversed (baiting on private land for example).
Lets get back to real bows and arrows,hand held,hand drawn and holding the actual bow weight at full draw,allthe other junk used to take out the human hunter part of the equation would just fade away if that were to happen!
Where have air gun/bow's become legal???? News to me.
A friend of mine told me they were legalized up in Maine I believe, or one of the Northeastern states, but I have not researched it yet myself, so that could be misinformation. Sorry cas hntr I didn't mean to hijack your post.
Charles,
If we did that (trad only) the woods would not have many hunters in them.
A fellow might hunt all season and only see 4 or 5 other hunters.
We both know the compound changed bow-hunting forever. :-)
I would rather sit and see nothing vs hunt over a feeder or hunt baited deer. Very distasteful to me. That's me and I don't expect others to agree with my values. You wouldn't ever see me hunting baited deer in Kansas or Saskatchewan even if the hunt was free. I'm not happy hunting baited animals.
That said I think baiting deer and hunting deer over bait in Ohio is more about cultural preferences and values than about what's right or wrong for deer and deer hunters. I have seen no evidence of it harming deer or deer hunting in Ohio despite all the years it's been legal. Some day that might change. If I had the tiebreaker I would probably vote to make it illegal simply because I see it as another form of cheating the process and I think that's not healthy for future hunters.
Hunting over a feeder isn't hunting. Sign me up!
I have no problem hunting over a feeder or food plot I do both no difference between thoughs or cyt corn field. Plus hunting over a feeder i can make sure i take the most mature animal. Everyone gets choices nothing wrong with which one you choose.
I would like to know how many people actually harvest a mature buck over a feeder. My thought is very few.
true Lone Wolf, but people would just argue that not everyone is a "trophy" hunter. I would sign the petition, but like I said it would be hard to enforce on private land anyhow. I once had a shot at a HUGE buck, I mean HUUUUGE over a baited site, even though I was not an advocate of baiting at the time, I still gave it a try. Let me tell you, my heart was pounding so hard I couldn't settle down enough to make a good release of the arrow, regardless of how that animal ended up in front of me. I ended up missing high ( naturally)and never saw that buck again. Did I outsmart that buck to get the shot? No, but I out waited him because I sat long hours for 2 weeks until he finally showed himself. So, it would be a hard argument to win in Ohio, especially since it's been legal for so long.
I think it would be a hard argument to win unless it could be proven as unsound or unhealthy for Ohio deer. Michigan outlawed it several years ago due to disease spread. There was huge vocal resistance to the ban, but I don't hear much about it now. Private land enforcement problems would not be part of the equation. Turkey baiting to hunt is illegal on every acre in Ohio and people know it. There will always be those who flout the law however.
I think deer baiting is one of those things that people think will never change but history shows it can...if a good reason exists.
I believe baiting to be about the same as inviting me to dinner at a great restaurant, and when I walk in, I have an assassin waiting with his weapon to end my life. Sort of like way back when, the Capone era in Chicago. The animal doesn't even have the chance to turn down the invitation, only looking for the easiest way to fill the stomach, in the deer's case, stomachs
Show me where to sign...........
I would never sign ur petition. Feeding helps all type of wild life not just deer. i feed and i dont hunt over my feeders or food plots. I like setting up and hunting the deer. So if ur land has a wild apple tree or any nut tree and u set up near it thats hunting over food. I dont like trespassers.
Kelly it's a shame this politically incorrect add can't be run daily on national TV with no sound. The said part is many who this pertains to wouldn't be able to read it. DANNY
Here's my issue with this talk. You say feeders and baiting but does that include food plots. If I plant a small patch under my stand that is intended for nothing more that attract deer, isn't this baiting. What about a 100 acre turnip feed. Isnt that baiting too? The purpose is the same only the means is different. I'm a meat hunter. I fill my freezer with venison every year. A little corn or apple pile to position a deer for a clean ethical shot should be legal. If you don't like it then don't use it. p.s. if you have a pig problem, I would be happy to help you out.
IMHO,
Having / planting a food plot does differ a great deal from baiting.
Deer are not a grazing animal, they browse for their food. A food plot only allows for deer to utilize another area to browse. IMO, a more beneficial health-wise browse. In addition, food plots can be beneficial to the overall health of a herd. I see a food plot no differently than an open meadow or a farmers field of corn or soybean. etc.
I do not presume to know the statistics of deer harvested from food plots, but I cannot imagine it is any more (#'s) than deer harvested from an open meadow or a farm field ? I would guess the success rate is negligible from hunting a "food plot vs ???" (baiting excluded)
Benefits of baiting ?
Baiting only assures the programming of deer to come to a specific spot in order for a hunter to have a shot opportunity.
There are no overall health benefits for the deer. :^}
I agree jeffb. I have asked this question an got blasted. These so called food plots are nothing more than a BAIT PLOT. They do the same thing. attact and hold game animals in the area. I am looking into starting to bait this up coming season in Ohio. As long as it is legal and these so-called PRO HUNTERS on videos are doing it. WHY NOT.
We have beat this subject to death in the Wisconsin forum and I'll give ya my 2 cents!! I bait deer and I am pro-baiting!
Granted, I only bait about a month in the Fall and then at the end of our season in WI from December 15 -January - but because I hunt with and without - I believe I have some interesting views.
First off - yes, food plots are nothing more than glorified bait plots. They are put there for one reason and one reason alone. Too place as many deer on your property as possible and then make them available to shoot in the plot! Period. Anybody tells ya different I would have to question their motives.
Bait stations do not make deer "nocturnal" as I have tons of day time photos. They do not alter deer movement anymore than a "bait plot". We are limited to a 2 gallons bait placement. No one can tell me that 2 gallons of corn is going to change the entire movement structure of deer on a woodlot. Deer are browsers. They'll eat the bait corn and move on eating many other plants/twigs they need for growth and life.
Bait piles encourage node to nose contact! Yes, they do absolutely.
Deer are SOCIAL animals - anyone watching deer in groups from the stand will see them interact. Some of that interaction includes nose/nose contact. That is just what they are - SOCIAL.
That is just a brief synopsis!
For you that look down upon baiters as lazy people, unethical and scum of the earth - here's what I say.
As long as it is legal - you hunt your way - I'll hunt mine. Who are you to judge me? Just because I don't hunt the WAY you hunt all of a sudden I'm crap?
If it's legal everyone should be able to hunt the way they like - no harassment!
I'm done!
Thanks bloodtrail. You believe the same way I think about food plots. Even Pat F. showed pictures of his food plot on his property. Nobody blasted him for baiting. Why? I am talking with a guy I met that does baiting in Ohio, which is legal. An will probably start this fall. Right now. I put mineral blocks during the spring thru winter.
