In Missouri hunting over bait is illegal...all bait must be completely removed 10 days before hunting season opens. It's a regulation I approve of, but some of my hunting comrades believe it is antiquated...what is your opinion?
?
Oh come on. Any decent hunter, with the least ability does NOT need to play the game like that. If that is how people hunt, why not just pull the window open and shoot your Deer in the back yard ? Honestly I do not hunt Deer, this kind of stuff DOES have something to do with that. I do go "Deer Hunting " almost every year, buy, all the tags and stuff, see plenty of Deer, and have only once ever shot one, and that was to help a boy recover his poorly shot animal.
If I want a Deer normal hunting, without the need for feeders, cover scents, trail cameras and all this other ridiculous marketing, I have never needed. I see plenty of Deer without it. You know what they say though....A fool and their money.........
Every year there is always a new must have idea, OH, and of course a product to sell with it. My opinion ? I would simply learn to be a better woodsman. Wild Turkey make Deer look STOOOPID. Deer really are not at all difficult to beat. No product is EVER going to result in any Deer you could not have gotten just the same without the product.
Kenny
Hunting by a feeder was illegal in Texas but after the who ever did studies that showed that feeders did deer and many other birds and animals so much good that the ban was lifted . I have feeders on my property and have hunted feeders on deer leases . I suppose it is not as sporting but like Tex said here it helps insure more deer are harvested . Feeders are an overall plus for wildlife and my game camera has taken one picture with 23 coons at one time eating corn at a feeder . I archery hunt all deer season so taking a deer is still no snap . Hunting a grain field or other crop seems to me to be the same thing .
The Freak Show
It really depends on whether you view hunting as a game, or a way to produce food.
If it's a game to you, then you have to decide just what level of advantage you need. After all, if you really wanted to be fair, you would go out with nothing but hooves strapped to your hands. A rifle really isn't fair by that measure anyway.
If it's not a game, then you should take every advantage possible.
We have food plots planted in several key spots, and we lease a part of our hunting land to a farmer to plant corn. It generates money that covers taxes, but the real reason is to attract deer and other animals onto the property. It works. You still have to do your part, but it's nice to know there's a population out there that's used to being on your land.
Jackrabbit Slim
Steering deer is unpredictable at best. Even with bait piles. Its much more consistent to set up in a narrow shelter belt that they travel between food and shelter. In my estimation, its less work to find out where they like to be than it is to keep restocking a bait pile. I don't hunt bait piles, because I don't need to.
Anonymous
We can hunt deer and turkey over bait in Texas and many people use corn feeders or grain feeders with timers set to go off at certain times. The animals learn to come when they hear the feeder go off. Personally, I have never shot a deer at a feeder, seems unsporting. I have used feeders on my property but it was to provide supplemental feed during the winter.
On the other hand, whitetail deer are so plentiful that they need to be harvested. Shooting at a feeder is an easy way to fill the freezer. But you can't call that hunting, in my opinion.
I guess you're stuck with whatever your state law says.