Baiting

[Barrell]

I started bowhunting in NJ in the 70's and was a real bownut for years until the day they legalized baiting. I never hunted the Jersey woods again. Since its legal in NJ I dont have a problem with other guys doing it I just felt it wasnt realy bow hunting but some other sport.
I always felt that 90% of bowhunting was scouting and nailing down the deer movement to a given run at a certain time of day. Only 10% of my hunting time was actualy on stand.
Are there any guys in NJ who still hunt the old ways? Is it because you love scouting and studying deer movement or some other reason.

[50 yard fred]

they have legalized it in pa and it sucks, you have people just dump out food and shoot deer it not hunting at all, im totally against baiting and crossbows

more than half ther battle is scoutinhg im in the woods 10 months out of the year

just my opion

[bluecollar$]

I'm to lazy to bait:D. All of my big deer have come during the rut and patterning.
Shotgun season I will bait and pray for snow.It's tough when every one around is baiting.

[PhilCVG]

I don't think it is really hunting either. It is like driving deer, if you enjoy it, great, but it isn't for me and I'm not impressed with guys that hunt over bait or deer that are shot off of it.

As stated above though, I've found it very difficult to hunt public land because the deer go to the bait and often times it appears they go nocturnal.

[Broadhead]

I have found that baiting only help's the first part of the season and after that the deer only come to the bait after dark. I prefer to pattern the deer and hunt natural bait (acorns, persimmons, farmed field edges),it seems the deer are more at ease this way compared to baited areas and them being on alert.

[ub1243]

there is no reason to bait.
learn the trails and patterns.

i have tried it, and shot a few. just don't like to sit over a pile.
i do put a truck load of cob corn out in january for the deer and turkeys. but don't hunt over it. i'm usually trapping by then.

[jross]

We bait does and use them as bait, setting up a couple hundred yards or more downwind as possible. I have seen too many nice bucks scent upwind towards a baited area in the daytime and if they do not smell what they are looking for, they move on and if you are over bait you will never know they were even around, and I guarantee you they knew a human was near the bait. I would much rather have one pair of eyes that are focused on one thing , than 10 pairs of eyes just focused on everything around them. However, it is who has the tastiest and secure bait that wins around here, so we bait with more than just corn, namely alfalfa.

[BUCKSHOT]

Baiting is legal so i did it.but the price of corn this year i will be sitting on everyone elses run like they done to me the last 10 years

[MattG]

It is most sportsmanlike and I'd argue the most successful too when "You Do Not Hunt Over It" I won't hunt over bait, never have but I do absoulutely beleive "feeding" deer gives you hunting oppurtunites you'd never have without doing it in areas devoid of agriculture. 1) When you don't hunt over the bait, they won't spook away from it and go nocturnal on you. 2) It creates a perennial/seasonal area no different than an agricultural field for the deer herd to feed at & you hunt it no diffferently...learn the routes to and from the known bedding areas and the feeding area using an approach to & from you won't spook them. This type of baiting/feeding is most certainly a tool that if you spend the time and money to do each season consistently at the same spot using a no hunt over approach will pay greater dividends each year as you pattern the deer movement you've created thru your strategic feeding program.

So, "feeding" is a tool well worth the investment, and that is what it is..an investment of both time and money into improving your hunting and the health of the deer herd, especially when continued into the winter months which any good feeding program should be saved the most for, in my opinion.

[stephenf]

Matt i couldnt agree more ! it is no different than planting a food plot or putting out tinks 69 , if doen correctly it does work .


Have you been skating? I havent in 2 months i am starting to get fat ! theseason starts soon , I cant wait for both the bow season and hockey to start.

[MEAT-WAGON]

i hunt crowded state land in jersey so scouting runs and deer activity is useless because 2 weeks befor opening day the access roads look like parking lots and all those runs you scouted might be vacant. i bait and bait heavy apples sweet potatoes anything i think a deer will eat i dont get alot of time to spend in the woods so i try to make the time ive got count :shoot:

[MattG]

Matt i couldnt agree more ! it is no different than planting a food plot or putting out tinks 69 , if doen correctly it does work .

Have you been skating? I havent in 2 months i am starting to get fat ! theseason starts soon , I cant wait for both the bow season and hockey to start.

Yo Steve, I haven't skated for like a year and a half now, moved a little south, too far to go now. Yeah, I'm not in ideal shape anymore either, i foresee a lot more sweating lugging the climber in this year :D

My brother's still playing so u should be seeing him soon. They won 3 in a row now.

Saw your pics on the other forum, looks real good to me bud, good luck with that big tined bruiser!!

[PhilCVG]

Those of you that bait, do you think your chances of shooting a nice buck are good off the pile? Or would they be better away from the pile? Do you do it just to shoot a few does?

In my opinion, what Matt says above about sums up what it takes to be successful using bait/feed. In over 3 years of hunting with guys who hunted over bait, hunting over it myself and viewing trail cam pics over various bait piles in various spots, I saw a total of 3 nice bucks. Two that were shot and one on the cameras. All three showed up on the bait during cold weather. One showed up after the second of two snow storms in a 4 days span. One showed up on the first 20 degree morning in November. And the picture was taken in Febuary. The cameras, my hunting partners and myself got more action from nice deer when placed/hunting along trails/runs in the same areas.

I said I above I don't consider it hunting, but that isn't to say I wouldn't put some corn down to harvest a couple does off of. I just wouldn't be impressed with myself.

[MattG]

Yeah Phil, cold and especially snow cover brings the whole herd in to feed, that's when you really want to be near it. Unfortunately, in NJ not getting a whole lot of snow while the deer still got horns. Be sure to let me know how everythings goin bud.

[Deadeye]

I have hunted over bait 1 time. I had a nice 6 point come in put his head down and eat all the bait that was there. I watch that 6 pointer eat for 10 minutes. He had no clue I was there. He picked his head up and I let him walk away. Way to easy for me. I did not think that was fair to the sport of hunting. I will never hunt over bait again. However I do have a freind who hunts over bait every year and always gets a nice buck. If it is for you then so be it. Diffrent strokes for diffrent folkes. I like to hunt. Have a great deer season and hunt hard.

[bobmetzg]

ive seen baiting make deer become lazy and even more so nocturnal. the deer dont have to search for anything with all of theses bait piles in the woods. changed the whole deer pattern at the gun club i use to hunt, far as i am concerned it ruined it, became a competition on who could dump the most stuff. the woods i hunt now are surrounded by corn,soybean and apple orchards so bait piles arent a big problem around me.

[onthehunt]

I watch the deer behind the house. Come in eat, walk back and bed, get up in half hour and eat again. The deer don't have to move away..... unless spoked by you coming into your stand:razz:. IF you want to bait, timed feeders are the way to go. Keeps them honest;). Hunt the staging areas for early season trophy's. Leave the baiting to the meat hunters.:)

[coqui]

:mad:Bait your hook for fishing and let the deer find thier own food!!!!!!!!!!!

[grtwhthunter/fisherman]

i do both i hunt bait to get meat and to attract does which in turn draws bucks in rut. you think its easy but NOT. as mentioned the deer dont just waltz rite in and educated deer know better than to come in to a pile till well after shootin time (legal) hunt zone 65 and tell me how good you r i never baited and got my fair share if i knew how to put pix up youd say wow this guys good ,because i am. guys bait then think they own 250 yards around it NOT...... just sayin they r smarter yet knowing about bait the guys who do feed turkeys

[keppy382]

I also do both, one peice is bait the does and hunt the bucks, others are all runs. As stated earlier, it kills the state woods, if you don't bait you have to cut some off that is baiting. I talked to a guy two days ago that said the state woods season doesn't start till Oct 3rd and he has already put out about 400 pnds of corn,,,,,thats to muck work to see nothing but faws and does feed for hours.

[MEAT-WAGON]

i was THAT concerened with sportsmanship id be out there with a longbow and wooden arrows :thup: now thats sport

[MEAT-WAGON]

id have to think hunting an alfalfa field with a 30.06 and a 10x scope would kinda be the same as hunting an apple pile with a bow :huh: just one mans opinion

[Uncle Buck 31]

I have been baiting for years. Not to make my hunts successful but for my kids. I have a 9 year old boy and 8 year old girl. They have been helping me bait since they could walk. Not only has this been exciting for them but it has helped me be able to take them both with me and actually see and shoot deer. My boy turns 10 in may and you can bet that he will shoot his first deer in September 2009. I felt this was a great way to introduce them to the woods and now I cant put camo on without them wanting to go. I have had both of them in a buddy stand with me and taken deer. Now that they are bigger we all cant fit in the stand so I put up a blind. Not only do we deer hunt out of it, we turkey hunt and the most fun of all is squirrell. I did not think I would have enjoyed myself so much, but to watch them pick off squirrells that just keep coming back is priceless. Through baiting my kids have started to learn conservation. When we have 8-9 deer on stand they know which ones to take and which ones to leave. As they get older I can now hunt away from the bait as I do when I am alone. It does not take much. The mountains of apples, beets and sweet potatoes left in the woods are not necessary. Less is more.

[coqui]

:) Uncle buck. if thats what it takes for getting the younger ones intrested,, that I am all for that! Hope they continue to show the same enthusiasm when they get older

[DoubleDown]

i also do both.bait the pines,trail hunt all other woods.my biggest rack has come off bait.yea,the small piney body,but nice thick rack and 17 1/2 spread,8 pt.my heart was pumping as much then hunting over bait then it does when i see them on trails.
when ya carry 100lb bags of bait over your back 100's of yards into the woods,shooting your trophy when it comes to your pile is just as rewarding to me + u get a more ethical shot!:thup:
baiting was alot better when it was illegal:eek:

[bigolebuck]

I usually bait once or twice before the season starts not durring!
For years I have always hunted rub lines with no bait and had great luck! I have killed deer either way, just baiting is more work with the same payoff...

[fletch]

I love baiting ,it keeps those guys stuck staring at their pile of corn all season instead of sneaking in all my spots never hunted over bait and tagged out in archery 5 years in a row my buddy's bait and watch the same does and fawns all year i hunt all different spots early then pin down my best chance at a slob so i'm set for rut:D

[stephenf]

If done right you CAN kill big deer on bait ! as for the not real sporting crowd , then hunt with out deer lure like tinks or code blue , saying it is not right is like the anti saying having a conversation at dinner "how bad hunting is and killing that poor bambi " while chomping down on a chicken parm or a big rib eye steak. just like fishing with a chum slick ,i guess that is ok ! give me a break. I would bet that everyone that thinks it is not right to bait deer ,baits for fish ! and uses some type of doe in heat or dominate buck lure . Think about it ! really think about it ,they are the same and you can argue till the cows come home, dont hunt near a corn field either go deep into a forrest ! stay hundreds of yards away form any standing crops , or water when it is hot out .

[TroutSlayer]

I love how people blast baiting but they will sit over a corn field!!! Also it gives u a chance to observe the animal better to decide if u want to shoot.

[PhilCVG]

Comparing hunting over a pile of bait to hunting next to a 30, 50, 100, 300, 500 acre ag. field is a joke right?

Bait all you want, but a 100 lb pile of 4 different fruits and veggies in the middle of the pine barrens is a bit different than trying to figure out at which point a deer is going to enter a field.

["String Music"]

Dont believe the hype about big deer not coming to bait! I took this nice buck on the corn pile...had him on the camera coming in every morning around 6:45 a.m. ....well guess what? OPening day guess who got double lunged at around 6:50 a.m.?

http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/qq358/mikecassady/th_008_8.jpg


http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq358/mikecassady/008_8.jpg?t=1221527943

Also here is a pic of some bucks on my pile this year! This is in shooting light around 6:30 a.m.

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq358/mikecassady/buckpics.jpg?t=1221528278

[Hunter24]

I bait to bring in deer and where I am at, that works. I'm not so interested in horns, they look good on the wall but you can't eat them. I want burgers and steaks on the grill in the summer. Shotgun season, snow on the ground, bait on the ground, been successful last few years.