Baiting Mature Bucks.

[bowhunter1023]

I'm confused. They want it banned yet they were buying pallets of it? I kinda get it. I bait on one property very scantily, but its in pure self defense as every single neighbor had corn out year round. Id love to see baiting banned but I still put out corn occasionally due to everyone else baiting. Is this the general consensus of others?

I want baiting banned. I have one spot behind the house and one at the farm. Both are dedicated to the kids, with a dose of "self-defense" as you put it. I saw one neighbor down the road from the house pull in with 1,000#s on his trailer the other day. His feeder is 150 yards from ours, but mine is a smarter layout, so I'm just fighting fire with fire in a more thoughtful way. At the farm, there are 6-7 other guys baiting inside the 640-acre square mile. That feeder is once again, 150 yards from another feeder and again, mine is a much better layout. I'm 1,000% behind banning it, but until they do, I'm going to participate in the nonsense for the sake of Kaydence and the other youth hunters I take out.

 

[LonewolfNopack]

I want baiting banned. I have one spot behind the house and one at the farm. Both are dedicated to the kids, with a dose of "self-defense" as you put it. I saw one neighbor down the road from the house pull in with 1,000#s on his trailer the other day. His feeder is 150 yards from ours, but mine is a smarter layout, so I'm just fighting fire with fire in a more thoughtful way. At the farm, there are 6-7 other guys baiting inside the 640-acre square mile. That feeder is once again, 150 yards from another feeder and again, mine is a much better layout. I'm 1,000% behind banning it, but until they do, I'm going to participate in the nonsense for the sake of Kaydence and the other youth hunters I take out.

I hear yah and 1000% agree. I wish it wasn't this way but it is.

 

[Bighoun52]

I keep my feeders filled purely to try and keep deer from wondering to other corn piles. Was hoping when I first saw the odnr post that is was their way of starting the thought of banning it. But that’s prob just wishful thinking.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Might help if I add my reasoning for supporting a ban since it does appear odd that a certified Master Baiter would want baiting banned.

1. Combined with the butchering of our lands (smaller and smaller parcels) and the rise in popularity of deer hunting that parallels the adoption of social media, baiting has drastically altered the natural movement and behavior of deer. As Seth and I have lamented, in some areas, without bait, you are not going to see deer.

2. Combined with long archery seasons and very proficient equipment (crossbows and compounds alike), baiting has made hunters incredibly efficient killers. Efficient killers have lowered the overall quality of Ohio's buck herd. This may be a "correlation doesn't imply causation" anecdote, but I can walk you through a progressive decline in the # of, and total size of my best bucks from 2010 to present, which coincides with a DRAMATIC increase in baiting pressure around our farm and here at the house.

3. Baiting spreads diseases and we're flirting with a CWD disaster that will force the decimation of our herd (another reason insurance and farm lobbies want it to remain legal).

I'm not the same baiter I used to be. I've grown. My observations and perceptions are different, and I'm now ready to embrace a ban. I can only hope it happens sooner than later...

Was hoping when I first saw the odnr post that is was their way of starting the thought of banning it. But that’s prob just wishful thinking.

I think that's plausible. I doubt it due to the near certainty that the aforementioned lobbies will lose their shit if that happens, but there's an element of "We told you guys to stop doing it like that and you didn't listen, so it's your fault we have to ban it..."

 

[5Cent]

I too thought it was finally being banned with their post today....bummer!

 

[giles]

I hope tape measures go with the banning of bait. Go back to real hunting for real reasons. Keep the trophy in the eyes of the beholder.

 

[jagermeister]

I think there's a lot of potential "upside" if baiting is banned... but very little upside if it's left alone.

I do have a fear, though. So many hunters nowadays started hunting knowing no other tactics other than baiting. There's a large segment of our deer hunters who would be absolutely clueless (and inherently unsuccessful) if their go-to strategy was taken away from them. What will that do to the statewide deer population? High deer density is more dangerous than baiting, from a disease-related perspective... in my opinion. To me, the issue of baiting seems like a catch-22 at this point.

 

[hickslawns]

I think there's a lot of potential "upside" if baiting is banned... but very little upside if it's left alone.

I do have a fear, though. So many hunters nowadays started hunting knowing no other tactics other than baiting. There's a large segment of our deer hunters who would be absolutely clueless (and inherently unsuccessful) if their go-to strategy was taken away from them. What will that do to the statewide deer population? High deer density is more dangerous than baiting, from a disease-related perspective... in my opinion. To me, the issue of baiting seems like a catch-22 at this point.

They will wander around trying to figure out how to hunt. They will blow deer off properties. You will see deer move into properties with low pressure. Others will continue to bait and not care.

I'm not saying every guy who baits will do this. That is silly. Plenty will figure it out.

 

[Wiley E Coyote]

Seems to me we have a lot more deer diseases now then what we ever had in the deer boom decades of the 70s,80s, and 90s before everyone was pouring corn on the ground. For the people that only know bait hunting there is tons of information out there to learn how to hunt If they really want to put in the work. If they don't I would just assume they stay home and watch football on the weekends.

 

[LonewolfNopack]

Less deer being killed is exactly what some areas of the state need, so i think banning baiting would be a blessing in those areas. Im way more concerned about non residents leasing huge farms and never killing any does then i am about banning bait leading to a deer overpopulation. I think three things would happen if banned.

1) There would be a lot less giant bucks killed and a bunch of arrogant self righteous assholes wondering around not knowing what to do with their lives now that they don't have the internets attention. I didn't read all of this thread but baiting absolutely does work for killing big bucks and I bet if folks followed the law we would see a giant reduction in big bucks killed the following year. I can think of all the bucks I know killed last year over 140" and there were more killed over bait then those that weren't.

2) People would figure out how to actually hunt and become better hunters moving forward, which is good for the "sport" of hunting

3) A percentage of people would continue to bait and break the law. Hopefully we would self police and weed the shitbags out over time.

 

[Jamie]

I think there's a lot of potential "upside" if baiting is banned... but very little upside if it's left alone.

I do have a fear, though. So many hunters nowadays started hunting knowing no other tactics other than baiting. There's a large segment of our deer hunters who would be absolutely clueless (and inherently unsuccessful) if their go-to strategy was taken away from them. What will that do to the statewide deer population? High deer density is more dangerous than baiting, from a disease-related perspective... in my opinion. To me, the issue of baiting seems like a catch-22 at this point.

Those deer are not going to go unkilled just because all those bait people stop dumping corn on the ground. You either hunt for the right reason(s) or you don't. We live in a time when all the information we can stand is at our fingertips constantly. Heaven forbid that you might actually have to work at it or invest some more time or more of yourself into getting a deer dead. If a hunter is not engaged enough, motivated enough or smart enough to actually learn how to HUNT a deer, then I would be just fine with waving good bye to them. They can all take up golf for all I care. That would be a short-term problem, methinks, and would correct itself in a few years. Baiting is a long term problem now that it has devolved into a contest to have the biggest pile of corn. The argument that I have to bait because everyone else does is bullshit. Every property around me (including the one that hates hunting) puts corn on the ground most of the year by feeder, dumping or both. I do not do that, and I still see lots and lots of deer.

 

[giles]

Have you guys seen my new 132 Sq ft bird feeder?

In order to get around that, I think it will start with the amount put out. See a limit of 2 gallon buckets, 5 pounds or something along those lines.

 

[Hedgelj]

Seems to me we have a lot more deer diseases now then what we ever had in the deer boom decades of the 70s,80s, and 90s before everyone was pouring corn on the ground. For the people that only know bait hunting there is tons of information out there to learn how to hunt If they really want to put in the work. If they don't I would just assume they stay home and watch football on the weekends.

fixed it for you

 

[LonewolfNopack]

The argument that I have to bait because everyone else does is bullshit. Every property around me (including the one that hates hunting) puts corn on the ground most of the year by feeder, dumping or both. I do not do that, and I still see lots and lots of deer.

Just because your observations are one thing, doesn't mean its the universal truth. Every property is set up differently and has different variables involved that influence deer movement. I hunt in 3 different counties and they all have deer movement heavily influenced by baiting, which have negatively impacted my sitings on non baited properties. On one property the guy literally has a semi truck deliver his corn on pallets and the bait pile looks like a crater. Our property is 4x the size of his, and much better habitat, and the deer spend most of their time on or bedded near his bottomless corn pile. To say that argument is BS is not accurate in many and likely most places.

 

[Jamie]

Yes, yes, of course every situation is different. There is no such thing a "universal truth" when it comes to deer hunting, and we all know that. Deer hunters were killing plenty of deer without bait before it became a "thing" 25 or 30 years ago. I have been listening to people defend baiting for at least that long, and I have never heard a single argument that has moved me enough to start dumping thousands of pounds of corn or whatever on the ground so I can see more deer or attempt to habituate a particular antlered deer to an artificial food source. I'll say it one more time, nobody HAS to bait deer. People choose to do that for whatever justification they have, and apparently, based on what I've read in this thread lately, that is no longer just fine with all of you. I have never bothered, and still choose not to do it, and I definitely won't start dumping corn by the ton just because my neighbors do it, although, I have been known try to use their stupid bait piles to my advantage on occasion when possible. Maybe I'll see less deer, maybe not. Clearly, baiting is now more of a problem for most of us than a remedy, and if the state won't put a stop to it, maybe hunters ought to before it's too late.

 

[giles]

I bet the quality of deer would come back. Corn ain't real good for growing healthy deer. Ohio deer today are living far to long on junk calories in GMO corn. Me thinks the fawns are never dropped for coyotes to eat. Simply because the nutrition isn't there for the does. I would be very curious to the the numbers from the 90s compared to today.

 

[Knelly]

Less deer being killed is exactly what some areas of the state need, so i think banning baiting would be a blessing in those areas. Im way more concerned about non residents leasing huge farms and never killing any does then i am about banning bait leading to a deer overpopulation. I think three things would happen if banned.

1) There would be a lot less giant bucks killed and a bunch of arrogant self righteous assholes wondering around not knowing what to do with their lives now that they don't have the internets attention. I didn't read all of this thread but baiting absolutely does work for killing big bucks and I bet if folks followed the law we would see a giant reduction in big bucks killed the following year. I can think of all the bucks I know killed last year over 140" and there were more killed over bait then those that weren't.

2) People would figure out how to actually hunt and become better hunters moving forward, which is good for the "sport" of hunting

3) A percentage of people would continue to bait and break the law. Hopefully we would self police and weed the shitbags out over time.

I agree with all that was said. Let me add that I think the firearms season hunter population would grow, like it used to be. I think the main reason we all barely hear any shots during those times now is because most have already filled their buck tags in archery season, over bait...

 

[cspot]

baiting has drastically altered the natural movement and behavior of deer.

Yep. Hunt a state without it and you will see more natural daylight movement.

 

[gjs4]

I heard a podcast not that long ago (believe it was Huntr with Skip Sligh) where they talked about lobbying, its power and what people can do. Why dont we start a petition to ban the chit? Id put some money toward that lobbyist too if desired. Ohio would be so much better without baiting.

I have the 1.5ac neighbor with a spinner and a dbag outfitter buying everything in tons.....

 

[hickslawns]

I heard a podcast not that long ago (believe it was Huntr with Skip Sligh) where they talked about lobbying, its power and what people can do. Why dont we start a petition to ban the chit? Id put some money toward that lobbyist too if desired. Ohio would be so much better without baiting.

I have the 1.5ac neighbor with a spinner and a dbag outfitter buying everything in tons.....

Save your money. We could never compete with money dropped by insurance companies to KEEP baiting legal. They don't want to see any deer.

For what it's worth I really don't care if someone baits. I choose not to. Too cheap. Takes too much time. Not as satisfying. I may have seen my son take his first deer with some apples or corn in its belly. I'm forever thankful for those memories with him. It has its place I suppose. His second deer was natural movement. Now he is 19 and not really into deer hunting. Oh well. He was exposed to it. The seed was planted.