Bait or Not to Bait?
Kansas
I wanted to start this thread and share my opinions and experiences. I know this will cause some controversy and I am OK with that. I grew up in Texas where baiting is taught and expected, hunting from box blinds and shooting houses. Even using corn spreaders to drive along and put out corn on the roads etc... Until the last few years I did exactly what I was taught my entire life. I have 6 children and we never bow hunted throughout all of my life. 2 years ago we started hunting in Oklahoma during archery season. I have hunted Kansas now for 11 years with a gun and 1 year of archery.
As previously stated hunting over corn was a way our way of hunting so to speak.
Fast forward over 40 years I leased a piece of property in Oklahoma and with a short rifle season I decided I was going to give archery hunting a go. I set up multiple stand locations based on wind and guess what? I did not set up a single feeder. I simply set up to hunt trails, pinch points, travel routes, adjacent to bedding areas etc.. I did set up 9 trail cameras which I am not a huge fan of because they are all junk in my opinion. Leading up to the rut we were only getting photos of younger bucks. November 4th I had a picture of a mature 6.5 year old main frame 10. I noticed based on camera location he was traveling in and out of a overgrown hilly area that was a major bedding area. I watched the weather and wind closely waiting for the right wind. On the morning of November 9 I noticed the wind was expected to be out of the North West which was perfect. I had all of my gear ready and left town at noon. I arrived at the property and checked the wind, perfect! I only had photos of this buck starting about 1-2 hours after dark. I slipped into the stand and sat quietly and passed on several young bucks that were chasing does. Roughly 1 hour before dark, I began a rattle and grunting sequence and then sit quietly, my intention was not to try to bring him in immediately rather than possibly get him out of his bed and on his feet sooner. At the last 15 minutes of shooting light I see a large bodied buck and confirmed that it was in fact, my target buck. He came in at 41 yards and I sent the arrow in flight, blowing through both lungs. I waited 30 minutes and crawled down out of the stand and headed to the truck. At this time I met up with my wife who was also hunting with a bow. I gave the buck roughly an hour and we went after him. He ran about 60 yards and expired! I have never been more excited from that hunt and my family was able to share my excitement.
As I previously stated we hunted Kansas for 11 years with a gun and yes, corn piles. This year was different, we leased 2 pieces of property that had creek bottoms, drainage ditches, crp and crops. We set out this year to archery hunt in Kansas and not hunt over bait. To make a long story short I failed to draw a tag in Kansas although my wife and daughter were successful. After multiple trips through the summer we were prepared for the wind direction and had multiple stand locations. After 3 hunting trips to Kansas we were not seeing mature deer. I felt it was due to the all of the crops that were still standing. My farmer called me on a Monday and said that he was cutting the milo the next day, I knew that we needed to head to Kansas. So on Wednesday morning we were in the stand. Mf wife started texting me at first light and she was covered up with young bucks chasing does. At 8:58 I received a text. I just shot a mature deer! I sat until 11:00 with my daughter and passed 4 younger bucks. Myself and my daughter headed over to my wife's location to see her glowing with excitement. I immediately found blood and her arrow. After a short 50 yard track the deer was expired in the bottom of a creek, a 7.5 year old main frame 6 point. This buck was a true brute of a warrior.
Throughout this year I have read articles on baiting, read comments on baiting and not to bait. I have also reviewed both meat pole threads. My opinion is simply this, I am at a place in my life where I feel that I have experienced the best hunting season of my life. I feel that I hunted harder and planned more. Even at times, I chose not to enter the woods because of the wind. Is baiting wrong? Well, that is up to you. I simply choose not too! I didn't say that I never have, I am truly enjoying not baiting and I am completely crazy over archery hunting.
I wanted to wish all of you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. To those of you that post live updates of your hunts, Keep it up!
Happy Hunting!!!
I think KS should ban baiting. I hope they do. It's not my chosen approach, but until it's banned by KS, I'm not casting judgment on those who do. Given KS approach to "management", I have no faith they'll do the smart thing about baiting, so here we are.
As for the two poles, just because a person doesn't put their picture on the "bait free" thread doesn't mean they use bait. They may just choose not to diss legal hunting practices by posting on the other.
Thanks for your story. I and many others have spoke about this in the past. What we should really be saying is what you mentioned. Work a little harder and think a little smarter on setting up, Entering and hunting. It is way more fun than just expecting animals to show up in q.
I don't see that baiting affects management much if any.Not all big bucks are shot over feeders.I am sure some are but I run cameras on corn and most of my mature bucks that I get on those cameras are not at the feeders.They are in the field or way back behind the other deer.Like I said I am sure it happens but to say it would happen less if they were hunting ag or a food plot and no feeders anywhere around,can't say for sure.
I have a story similar to yours but a little different. I hunted without baiting for the first 16 years or so, then went heavy with the bait for a couple of years, then went away from bait. Through experience I found it much easier to hunt old bucks without bait. The years I hunted with giant piles of corn were the worst years I have ever had for mature buck sightings. Now I hunt movement patterns, rut funnels, and decoys. Decoys are by far the easiest way for me to get close to a mature buck, so I take the easy way out and do that most of the time when appropriate. Don't put too much stock in the two different meat poles. I didn't post my kill this yr in the "Bait Free Meatpole" because I see having the pole itself as baiting. The deer I shot this year was neither on a corn pile or in front of a decoy... 100% fair chase as some would say, but certainly not on the bait free pole. Congrats to you and your family. It sounds like you've had some good hunting!
Sounds like you've got it figured out to me James! Baiting is an unneeded scourge that's ruining real hunting in KS, and many other states. I agree with Tony, and many others...it needs to be banned. I've heard that our new deer biologist is weighing options, hope he makes the right decision.
I always get a chuckle out of the guys that "only put out failure piles for cameras" or "don't really hunt over the sadness spreaders" or say "I never had any mature bucks coming to the scourge"...why on earth do they do it then? Hmmmmm...Hmmmmm? lol
Merry Christmas to you as well, and to all a Happy New Year!
P.S. Jason, I realize you're "baiting" me with the decoy comments, I'm just glad you started hunting again and had success! It's a win for me, and most certainly a win for our hunting heritage in KS...so thanks bud! If you've "fingered out" a way to get mature bucks coming to a decoy day after day please share!
Sito, I fit into the "I never had any mature bucks coming to the scourge" category. That is precisely why I quit doing it. It was a practice/method that made me less successful. Not sure why that makes you chuckle. Do you discredit my experience and choices because I baited over a decade ago? Do you not believe that I shoot better bucks when I don't bait and use a decoy instead?
I applaud your choices Jason, as I said...I'm glad you've started hunting again!
Thanks for the comments. I have hunted on 2 large ranches in Texas, both over 10,000 acres each. Both ranches have corn feeeders, protein station's etc... The first few years it was very exciting to sit in a nice box blind over a wheat field that had a corn feeder or even a protein feeder in the area. Why was it exciting, because you could possibly see 20, 30 or at times more deer in a single afternoon. Over the years, we had a section of property that was untouched, no stands, food plots or feeders. This is where I really did my own research. I started seeing the biggest deer in this area, they were un-pressured.
I look back and see that I did not due my 5 youngest children any justice teaching them to hunt over a corn feeder. Now, that being said my children are very good at aging deer on the hoof. When my boys were teenagers they became very good at aging deer because we were seeing so many deer. My youngest daughter who is now 12, killed her first deer with a bow this year. She does not have the experience ageing deer because she is not seeing the numbers the younger kids did but she is understanding how to determine if a deer is mature.
I agree, I hope that both Oklahoma and Kansas bans baiting. Texas never will but that is a different matter.
I don't see KS banning baiting for two reasons:
Too much money coming into the state for guides and leases who depend on bait to get multiple clients on deer during the season. I feel that a lot of outfits would end up loosing clients without them consistently seeing deer and then the state would end up loosing money.
And also a shortage of game wardens. I think we are understaffed when in comes to enforcing game laws. A general rule of leadership is to never implement a rule that you either can't enforce or won't enforce. Making bait illegal would create an impossible situation for our wardens.
The only way I see KS banning bait is if there is conclusive evidence that baiting is transmitting disease and it's going to severely hurt the herd.
One important piece of information that I left out:
While hunting in Kansas with my wife this year, I heard her make a comment that really stuck with me. She began to say, I feel like when I am bowhunting in Kansas that I truly may have an opportunity at killing an "old warrior". She later explained it's not about the score, how many points, tine length etc.. But about age, maturity...
My wife has killed 5 deer over 150 in her life and 1 of those was over 5.5 years old. Guy's what Kansas has is special and it needs to be protected. I used to hunt in a camp in Kansas where each day of the hunt everyone's expectations were lowered with each passing day of the hunt until everyone had killed a deer.
This year I watched my daughter pass on several deer that were not mature. We did have one encounter with a mature deer that was not within range. She came home empty handed, Thankfully she understands that it is ok to leave without killing a mature deer.
Catscratch, Baiting is crucial for outfitters I agree. Baiting is simply this, corn is poured in the area you want the deer to frequent. Deer make these areas part of their normal travel route, feeding area and the hunter shoots the biggest deer he or she see's over a few days of hunting. The outfitter puts out more corn and puts the next hunter in the stand or area in the next few days. That is how it works.
The biggest problem with this approach is that you are not killing the mature deer, you are killing the biggest deer that is seen which may be, 2-3 year old deer.
Some of the biggest deer in Texas are killed over corn piles. Those ranches are large enough they have the privilege of guiding the hunters to killing mature deer, not the biggest buck. Not all ranches practice this process but some do.
Bull, that is precisely why I said I don't see mature bucks over bait. It's was mostly really nice 3.5yr olds that I was seeing and tempted to shoot, very seldom something older.
Lol, Sit you're alright! I don't agree with your approach but I smell what you are stepping in... catch my drift? I didn't see your edit until just now. Lol. I may be baiting you some, but the truth is I have shot all of my oldest and biggest bucks over decoys. It is absolutely true that I feel decoys are the easiest way to kill an old buck. A decoy affords me the luxury of being several hundreds yards off on stand placement and still get the shot (and he is distracted so drawing the bow is easy). I only need him to come in once, repeat visits is not needed. ;)
Shortage of game warden argument is pretty weak
Do you think we have enough wardens? Is the state in a position to enforce that law if they put it on the books? I honestly think both reasons I posted are weak, doesn't mean they aren't true.
Game wardens have to enforce how many bucks are shot, that you do it on property you have permission on, and that it’s done during the proper season with the proper equipment. No different to enforce no use of bait than shooting a deer without a tag or on someone’s property which you don’t have permission on.
I agree 100%, but I think our wardens are understaffed and cover very large area's as it is. I feel it would pull an already spread thin workforce even thinner. I would much rather have our local wardens tracking down poachers than chasing down guys leaving the co-op with a few bags of corn. I say this as I highly doubt the state is going to higher more staff to work extra laws. I could be wrong though and the law would either; add no more workload to the existing wardens... or the state could higher more to deal with it. I'm not saying I don't want baiting banned, I would be fine either way. I just don't see the state actually doing it.
Less people would do it just because it is illegal. I’m sure a decent amount still would but a decent amount still shoot out of the truck and shoot deer without tagging them.
Cherney - I agree 100% and that is the very point I'm making, people are breaking the current laws almost blatantly and getting away with it. I think our wardens are great and do a great job, but are woefully spread too thin. I would love for the state to double the warden staff and have more of a presence here. I'm not seeing it happen though. And you are correct that many would stop doing it because it's illegal. Maybe it would be enough...
People are still murdering each other and smoking crack... make it legal since our enforcement efforts are coming up short?
Lol, nope. You are making stuff up and twisting things around. First - If people are smoking crack and murdering people don't create new laws that pulls short staffed LEO's away from those crimes and has them pursuing jaywalkers. Why in the world would the state be interested in CREATING laws when their staff already can't keep up with enforcing the laws existing in the books? Secondly - I never said I was against outlawing bait or that it shouldn't be outlawed, I said I don't think the state will make it illegal and why I don't think so. My side of this argument is very simple; I don't think the state will outlaw baiting because they will loose money and it would be difficult for them to enforce something that is currently so widespread. Do you feel we have enough wardens to add laws and effectively enforce them? Do you feel the state is interested in adding this law (banning bait)? If you think we have enough wardens or that the state wants to outlaw baiting then we have something to discuss. Otherwise we agree and there is nothing to talk about other than for the sake of going in circles.
I think it has to start with banning of baiting regardless of how this will be enforced. My opinion, it doesn't start at the local co-op. It start's in the field while making routine checks. Is corn/feed present in the trucks and or camp area? It is no different than enforcing proper tagging, proper use of weapon (gun or archery) As previously stated many will choose to abide by the law and do what's right without being checked by a warden. I choose to do what is right and I have only been checked once in 11 years while hunting in Kansas. Kansas really does have something special that needs to be protected. Baiting can be done on the right place under the right conditions. High fence ranches do it year after year. How do they manage the herd? Simple, they control what animals are harvested to not allow the younger deer to be killed. When you open up baiting to everyone, you get hunters that kill bucks just to not go home empty handed. They kill "Go Home Bucks"
We live in a instant satisfaction world where we strive satisfaction. It is ok to go home without a deer or end the season without killing a buck.
I guess I thought your point was that if you can’t enforce a law it shouldn’t be on the books? Our drug laws are not effective. That was my point. A significant amount less baiting will occur if it’s illegal because this is largely still a country of law and order. I think eventually the state will realize that baiting and crossbows in archery season isn’t sustainable long term. Your first reason was that it brings in revenue. As more and more people kill more and more bucks over corn piles and at 60 yards with crossbows the quality of the herd will diminish to the point that out of staters will no longer want to pay thousands of dollars to come here as they likely won’t havd a crack at anything over 140”.
Not at all (about the laws shouldn't be in the books if you can't enforce them), I'm good with laws and know that a lot of people would follow them... I just don't think the state wants to make baiting illegal. One of the reasons I feel this way is that it would require added resources to enforce the law and the state has no interest in spending more money on a newly created law that has no immediate financial benefits (in fact I think the state would loose money initially).
The quality of the KS herd is already on decline. I've hunted here since the mid 80's and the change you are describing has been in process for a long time. I believe it started with the advent of hunting shows coupled with the state opening the boarders to out of state hunters. Nothing against out of state hunters so please don't take that statement wrong. With hunting shows propagating horn-porn coupled with added competition from new hunters many turned to bait, poaching, over guiding leases, etc to capitalize on KS's natural resource. It was a timing issue with a perfect storm of the state needing money and a huge increase in the demand for large antlers happening at the same time. The state took advantage of the situation and used hunting for financial gain. A pattern that I do not feel has changed.
Honest question Cherney; do you think KS will reverse some of these laws once demand lessens and they start to loose money (because 140's aren't common anymore), or will the state liberalize seasons and laws to make it even easier for hunters to make KS their destination hunt? Remember I'm not asking what "should" be done, but what you think "will" be done...
I think they will figure it out before it’s too late. They know they have a finite resource and the biologists and DWP employees are probably mostly hunters. They are smart enough to portray the situation in the light of eventual decline in revenue coupled with irreversible deer quality decline. The majority of the state is privately owned, so as soon as outfitters struggle to sell hunts the situation can/would improve quickly assuming rifle season is kept out of the rut and it remains a one buck state. Easy to draw tags and legal baiting make outfitting pretty cushy right now. It’ll be a slow decline but a quick recovery. Not sure if Laura Kelly or Kris Kobach would have been better for the cause..
I sincerely hope you are right. I've always believed that we had great biologist and used to have the best management plan in the country. Once the state merged the KDWP with the Department of Tourism I started to loose faith that biologists had much input anymore. I fear the people in charge (legislators) just want to milk the cash cow until it's dry. I hope I'm wrong. I have no clue which would have been better (Kelly or Kobach) for wildlife. I'm currently hoping Kelly is.
Nonresidents will always come here regardless of if you're seeing mature bucks or not. I guided, I met clients that were so wealthy they would buy ranches out from under outfitters and kick them off. Some of these guys have deep pockets and will spend whatever it takes to secure and manage a spot. There is a local realtor that has a call list of nonresidents he alerts everytume a new property comes up for auction in specific areas. I have lost out on several farm auctions to out of state hunters with much more money than this blue collar guy
Non residents managing a private chunk for big deer isn’t all bad is it?
I think you're right Jason...they'll come anyway. Sure lots will cheat, but some are honest and actual hunters. It would be good if baiting were banned, not only for us but for them and their kids as well, just like James family...they'd learn what hunting is really supposed to be about.
Some are on here saying KS deer are depleted. Yet every year I receive a lot of pics of great deer. Where’s the data? Has there been a study showing a drop in age or score? From what I have read, decoys seem to be the way to kill the big boys. Maybe the focus should be on outlawing decoys instead of corn?
If you guys answer honestly would you say that most poaching and what you call cheating, is it done by res or non res
Ya see Reed, the difference is that with a decoy you are actually hunting...while with a failure pile you're just shooting a trained animal.
It's not spaceship science.
I would guess most poaching is done by resident rednecks. Most “cheating” is done by guys trying to sell hunts.
I started a thread several years back about baiting and how people are doing themselves a disservice by educating and lessening their chances at mature bucks. I got completely roasted for it, by the majority. The "how dare you tell me how to hunt" types came out of the woodwork. They totally missed the easy button I was trying to lay out there, instead, folks took it as if I was trying to tell them how to hunt. My opinion... keep on doing it your way, I'll do it mine. ;)
As to our Game Wardens, I know that I haven’t seen one in Chautauqua/ Montgomery county in over 6 or 7 years. The only one I’ve seen in the entire state all year was on I-70 going through Topeka. They seem almost non-existent.
When it comes to non residents with money that love to hunt there is no end. I have met guys who spend 5 grand like I might spend $5. I have had friends in my Industry call and want me to guide them. There first question is what is the closest airport I can land my jet. So I think we will always have non residents which is fine with me. We need better tag alotment and smaller GMU's to organize the season and pressure a little better. On a personal note I have seen a lot of rather large deer on public ground more so than on my own private. I have also visited with several taxidermist who have been having a record year ( my boys deer was #171 ) for the guy I use. Let me tell you there was a lot of old heavy racks there waiting to be mounted. There was a true main beam 7x7 that was just fantastic as well. As hunters we see maybe 5% of the deer actually harvested posted on social media. These taxidermist seem to see a whole lot more. As for baiting and such I love Montana's policy. No food plots, mineral, feeders, or bait. Plus cameras have to be down before season starts for any big game animal.
The guy doing my last year's deer said he has taken in 5 over 200" and a pile over 170". He said archery season was nuts this year.
Lots of gun hunters taking up the crossgun. Still believe we should choose a season and weapon to hunt.
Ya see Sito. With a failure mannequin you are sitting over an unnatural object and tricking a deer into using his natural behavior against him. That is not hunting. Taking a “holier than thou” stance is not rocket science either.
Deer hunters can argue all they want about whose way is proper. Meanwhile lobbyist’s are working hard to find ways to make more money off the deer herd.
I never thought there was a great advantage to baiting.
I had never thought I killed a deer over “bait”, but I remembered that I did once...
We were cutting beans in a small field, the only way to the field was a small logging road. My dad accidentally hit the PTO on the grain wagon on his way out... he left a nice trail of soybeans all the way down that road and right by my tree stand. I hunted that Stand a few days later and killed a beautiful 11 point. He wasn’t a trained animal by any means as I hadn’t started toying with bait yet, but I was covered in deer that evening. Didn’t take them long to figure out there was an easy meal there.
Fast forward to today. Bait is everywhere. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve passed mature bucks for years, watching them grow, only to see them taken down by corn piles. Outfitters, neighbors, etc. some piles are within rifle range of the road.
I’ll be in the front row applauding if they ban it, but until then I’m going to continue playing with it. Seems that some deer are fed better than some kids I know... and I have a huge problem with that ethically. As a farmer I also think it’s a waste of a lot of hard work.
I’ll say this from my experience this year... I have yet to get excited sitting over a pile of corn. I did it a few times with a kid and a friend during rifle season.
Give me a funnel, or hot doe any day. I still prefer to scout from the road and make a move based off my most recent information... killed my two biggest bucks by patterning them early. A lot of satisfaction was taken from beating them at their game.
Reed, you're a baiter "I work very hard to improve habitat to make the deer want to be on my place. Also dump corn to keep the does home...and use the does to bait the bucks."
You're training animals like livestock...maybe you could even get one of those siren's for your truck? Hope you do get to hunt someday, I'm betting you'll enjoy it!
Otis...you are right. I work very hard at "baiting" a couple hundred acres with NWSG, American Plums, Peking Cotoneaster, , corn, soybeans, wheat, rye, tillage radishes, clover, Oak trees and anything else I can to improve the habitat and make the deer happy. I get more of a rush watching the deer browse, bed and raise their young in habitat I have planted and nurtured than I do hunting. If you have not been totally invested into habitat improvement, you should try it. I think you will like it. The proverb goes "society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they will never sit". I am getting there. I relish in the idea that perhaps I may harvest a buck that grew to maturity only because I provided a sanctuary for him to grow old. And, that I may have grandchildren do the same. Maybe next year I will add a buck mannequin friend to the mix and see how that goes. I've always enjoyed baiting or luring in turkeys and ducks with decoys. So, I expect I will enjoy baiting deer the same. Not sure about carrying in a decoy though. I have always enjoyed the simplicity of sitting on a trail and hoping I was on the right one. Good luck to you and yours.
Well thanks for your habitat work and improvement, sincerely...just lose the corn piles and both you and the deer will be better off imo.
Good luck to you as well!
I agree with Orlando... the habitat work is extremely enjoyable. One of my favorite things to do... 2nd only to shed hunting.
I also agree with Kyle. It’s an easy button for sure.
Deer and other wildlife are a lot like humans. They will take the path of least resistance to get from point A to point B. They will eat what is close to home, and in abundance. Once a food source is discovered, they will visit it every day.
I have watched mature deer leave their bedding areas, head directly into grain fields where they stay until dusk. They then make their way towards the neighboring properties where bird feeders, grain piles, deer feeders and other food sources are located. Their fawns typically are the first to leave the fields heading towards the welfare feed sources.
I don't support the supplemental feeding of grain to wildlife, any species, at any time. I do not consider making food plots, planting fruit/nut trees and other habitat improvements to be baiting.
Putting out feeders and piles of grain is not for me, I prefer to hunt wildlife not livestock.
Besides the obvious reasons against baiting. It is nearly impossible to hunt on a corn pile for a mature buck successfully unless you get him the first day out. In the morning you cant hunt a fail because the deer are already there. In the evening you can stare at the fail but how the hell are you gonna get out of your tree!
5.5 agreed. Kind of like hunting a bedding area. The deer bust you once, and they will, that stand is done. My theory is to hunt the edges of my property waiting on the searching bucks and leave the center of the property for deer to do whatever it is deer do. I don’t even check cameras until after season is over...then it’s like Christmas to see what’s on them. Basically, zero pressure is my goal.
Deer decoys do not condition an animal to come and stand on an X.They also do not raise the risk of communicable disease.
Habitat improvement do not do it either.
Not sure Sito is feeling chicken winged over your comments,just trying to help you from the corner as I reach for a white towel. :)
Baiting must work to some extent on Big Deer. Pat's outfitter does it in a way that they seem to have regular success. Used sparingly maybe?
Steve, I have always agreed that habitat work is different because so many non-target species benefit from the practice, but I am starting to reconsider my stance on food plots because of CWD. I have 5 acres this winter of rye grain, winter peas, oats, and sugar beats. I planted it the weekend before Labor Day weekend. It was quite tall, the rye grain being 6" high. Today, it is mowed down to nothing. The cameras capture numerous deer in close proximity to each other. And this is in agriculture country. Green browse this time of the year, as you know, gets hammered. I hope I am not creating a potential CWD "hotspot" on my property.
I wish we knew and understood this disease more. The plots are fun and seeing the results brings a ton of satisfaction. But if states only allowed habitat improvements like edges, TSI, NG, mast bearing trees and shrubs, etc. I would probably support it at this point, at least until we know more about CWD. You are the scientist though, so my concerns probably are over-blown?
Steve, I appreciate your comments. I understand how decoys work and have no problem with people using them or hunting legally. I just get tired of the snarky righteous attacks on others. As far as I’m concerned, the only ones who should be able to dis another’s legal way of hunting is one who hunts with a self bow while wearing a loincloth. Even that could get exhausting.
Frank, I agree on the disease aspect. A better understanding of diseases would be great. My property usually has two to three resident does that stay until mid- December before they leave and yard up with a bunch of other deer, then come back in the spring. It would be interesting to know the disease risk rate of three vs 30 deer.
Habitat is just that.Whether aided by man or not.Even the great quality system you provide Frank still presents a tiered system in which deer will decide what they eat first and browse their merry way through life.
Non of that scenario increases the risk of disease.
Piling food in a spot conditions deer to move from their normal browsing instinct to stand in a spot.
Big bucks can absolutely be conditioned,many guys post here are very successful at doing it.
I preached hard 20 years ago about it here,but really nobody really wants to hear it so I accommodate them.
In other news,Mississippi,just found three deer in three different counties (first cases) and this is the first year baiting has been allowed.No way I believe this regulation allowance was the cause but hopefully it will be a fulcrum for the commission to ban baiting in our state.
No doubt,"why we hunt" in society is changing and I'm in a way a contributor every time I drop off wild game at someone's home.
My understanding is there has been no proof that baiting/feeding aides in the spread of disease, but it is speculated that it is possible because it "makes sense" to us. I wonder if eating at a corn pile increases the odd of spreading disease more-so than a deer's already social nature of visiting licking branches, scrapes, and physical contact. I took pics of two bucks eating ticks off each other's ears this summer... don't get much more contact than that! Lack of evidence for baiting and disease transmission doesn't mean it isn't true or doesn't happen though. Possibly more concerning is deer farms. It seems other states who have had outbreaks of CWD are blaming the shipment of animals to be the cause of introduction.
With that said I'm a habitat guy and know that it has been proven that the midge who lives in the mud of water holes is certainly known to transmit EHD. So I may be contributing more to disease transmission through digging a couple of water holes (in the name of habitat) than I would be if I dumped corn. Lots of unknowns... and lots of speculation.
Ask any Biologist his/her opinion on baiting, and artificially congregating deer...I think you already know the answer. If it stopped just one case of transmission it would be worth it.
Have you researched the spread of disease through baiting? Doesn't sound like it. I thought it was pretty well documented.
https://www.qdma.com/kansas-deer-facing-potential-outbreak-footrot-disease/
http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/document/41873-de-cease-supplemental-deer-feeding/de_to_cease_supplemental_deer_feeding.pdf
"Prions typically infect hosts in a species-specific manner, and CWD prions can be passed via direct transmission between susceptible cervids and by indirect transmission through contact with contaminated materials in the environment (Miller and others, 2004). Following a protracted incubation period during which there are no outward signs of disease, CWD-positive animals suffer progressive neurological degeneration that causes physiological and behavioral changes (listlessness, excessive drinking and urination, lowering of head, weight loss) and, ultimately, death (Williams and Young, 1980)."
