I heard that the baiting bill will be re-addressed in the legislature, and with a couple of changes will pass this time. Deer and hogs only.

Probably. They have followed the same path Ga. did. 1st the 100yd, out of line of sight yada, yada, yada for a couple seasons. Then while everyone is relaxed seeing corn in the woods they pass it.

In reference to deer hunting, I wish the wording was a little more black and white. I really don't care if baiting is legal or not. The current law is too ambiguous to me. Some people on this site have commented about not being able to hunt certain areas because of their neighbors having corn on the property line. It seems like a simpler law would be easier on law enforcement and hunters. Just my 2cents.

This^^^^^

I think there will be a permit per feeder for a fee.

It should be free.

This^^^^^ we already pay taxes on the feed we put in them. Why should we pay the government anymore than their already getting?

Because double....triple and quadruple taxation ain't enuff....

I always thought baiting was such an ugly word. I prefer the term feeding.

It will pass. Conservation Advisory Board laid the groundwork and the Senate will take it from here.

Putting out corn "Ain't the devil"

If it is legal I will do it. Once baiting was legal in GA, I put out corn and started seeing many more deer. Meaning, I was the only one in the area following the rules and not putting out corn illegally.

I'm too cheap feed corn to the wood goats when I have cows that need it, more power to those who do.

I don't have a problem with it. I'm too cheap to do it though.

Doesn't make a difference to me......got too many dang bears on my club to even consider it.

Anyone else hear anything?

i do not think it is a wise move to legalize baiting. I think you will offend more than you make happy. The average demographic of hunters in Alabama leans heavy to white males over the age of 50. Those people are traditionalist and set in their ways. They are unlikely not going to bait anyway nor allow it in their club if they are president. It is going to lead to a mass club fallout.

Im assuming the driver is economics however the best way to increase revenue is to have more customers. I don't see how baiting will attract new hunters. Instead when clubs break up you are at risk of some of the hunters giving it up all together.

I don't see anything that drastic happening. And as to the increased revenue I suspect they would have a per feeder permit that you would have to purchase.

It happens every year. When a club of 10 breaks up 1-3 of them don't rejoin a new club.

Makes no difference to me. All I have ever seen it do is make some very fat coons.

Say whaaaaaaa? There's plenty of 50+ who bait but they don't want anyone else in the club baiting..We don't call those guys "traditionalist". And i dont know of any hunters I would classify as traditionalist this day in time.

Back in my grandpa's day they didn't sit on there asses in shooting houses hunting greenfields, they didn't wear camo or climb trees. They put on man drives & dog hunted which is on the brink of extinction in Alabama...

It also will offend the non- and anti-hunting folks who hear "baiting" and think about hunters shooting a deer with its head stuck in a pile of corn.

Whether you think "they" are here or significant or not, anti- and non-hunting groups already are here in Alabama and in great number. They're just not extremely vocal here because the majority tolerate hunting as long as it's done in a legal and, in their mind, ethical manner ... and that doesn't include "baiting."

I've had civil conversations with non-hunters about this over the years. Every one of them has said something to the effect of, "I don't care for hunting but know it's going on and will continue, but shooting a deer eating something dumped out on the ground or in a trough isn't right." That's the gist of their belief and it goes straight to the heart of what a lot of people including hunters believe is ethical or non-ethical hunting.

We can say "This is the South, they're not going to change our traditions and lifetstyle!" but they can. They already are with other things in society. We can split hairs about wild vs. fences, food plots vs. native browse vs. a corn feeder, putting out minerals or deer pee drags, sitting in a shooting house vs. stalking and so on for years. But the bottom line is that one thing - baiting, shooting a deer over or near a feeder and/or bait-food - gives a lot of people the wrong idea about hunters and ethics.

Coming from Texas, baiting was the only way we hunted. Not so much to attract the deer, but to attract the hogs. I going to miss shooting at a group of hogs, killing 5 or 6 at a time before they finally outrun my effective range of fire.

Why are these problems exclusive to Alabama?

Our hunter numbers are dropping at the same rate, or faster, than other State's. So, I just don't see the correlation.

Yep...And danny I've talked to 3 of my buddies that run sporting good stores. And all 3 have seen a decline in resident hunting licenses while the out of state licenses increased..Bottom line is I think folks r getting tired of the political bullshit and all the other BS..

Times are hard for a lot of folks and it cost a lot to hunt these days.

quote] Yep...And danny I've talked to 3 of my buddies that run sporting good stores. And all 3 have seen a decline in resident hunting licenses while the out of state licenses increased..Bottom line is I think folks r getting tired of the political bullshit and all the other BS.. [/quote]

Or more people could be buying their license online..

Declining license sales have been and are a huge concern for the DCNR, and not just tiny declines.

It's all about revenue. Then if you don't have a permit on your feeder the game warden will write you ticket. More revenue.

DCNR is not too blame for that idea. I know several big landowners who brought that idea to the table several years ago..

You obviously don't have the same exposure as I do to hunters in Alabama.

Most hunters hunt for the experience of fair chase. There isn't many who are mad at them yet there are few who are. Most like to share that experience with someone they love... a child, grandchild, neighbor, and even sometimes a spouse.

Most wouldn't bait more-so than an avid golfer kick his ball out of the rough. It is not in their repertoire. Hell, most hunters don't frequent aldeer anymore than pinterest. What drives them to hunt has nothing to do with baiting nor killing. And baiting is not going to influence the way they hunt. The talks of legalized baiting is going on behind the backs of the majority of hunters by political figures. It has little to do with hunters request or desire.

I know these things because I talk to hunters daily and have asked.

It will impact a small percentage of the hunters. These hunters are the aggressive ones. 'They are mad them.' They are likely illegally baiting now. Legalizing it will only make them more comfortable to look over their shoulder when they hear a stick break.

Baiters gonna bait.

Don't hate the baiter, hate game.

Hmmmmmmm

Either my I-pad just went full tard or some crazy shat just happened here.

It's called protection....

Went from a discussion about baiting and ethics and traditionalists to accusations about leasing land and cousinhunters and such, with a deletion.

Bait is the devil....

And I was looking forward to the entertainment this thread could have possibly provided this evening.

You at the wrong place if you looking for entertainment here anymore...

Baiting I hope they pass it! Cause I'm gonna buy 5 dump truck loads and sit on it and strangle them dayum pine goats!

I hope it passes cause I'm planning on selling the hell out of it!

IF it pass, I may hire airplane OR bribe the guys at National Guard to fly over and dump a few tons on our new 300 acre cutover!

I really don't care one way are the other. What I do find funny is that all of you who condemn it, don't have a problem in the world sitting on a man made greenfield, shooting deer with their head down eating.......

Same here. Everyone has their own opinion. One thing for sure now is the guy who is baiting now will have competition from next door neighbor who has tried to be legal this whole time. The game will change for him.

Guess I missed it. Probably best...

hahaha...

This is what will happen. You'll have to out corn your neighbor

It's called the halo effect....

You right.

If this is such a big issue, just farm deer, like cattle. The hell with the traditional aspect of hunting. "I need bait to kill a deer". You're a shitass excuse of a hunter if that's the case Stop your bitching. If you can't kill a deer buy some potted meat for 69 cents a can. If you hunt and cannot get at least one shot on a deer, of either sex, without bait, by all means bait them. But if that's the case you probably live in another country where whitetail deer do not exist.

Potted meat is good on saltines with a cold co'cola.

This is pretty much exactly what I was referring to in my first post. You are condemning others for wanting to bait, while you have access to ag land covered in food...... You are lucky to have land that you really don't need to feed to keep deer on it. Many many many clubs that lease timber land, do not have the ground available to draw many deer by planting. Like I said, I don't really care if it is legal or not, but If you think sitting on a huge cut corn field and killing a deer is a lot different than sitting on a corn pile, well....

I'm sure some of you are masters at it.

What is the difference in siting over a white oak dropping acorns? A deer comming to feed is a deer comming to feed.

What you did there. I saw it.

I've fed the last two years and have seen no difference in my deer. They come to my fields in daylight then go eat corn after dark. I do get lots of pics in daylight of deer eating but it doesn't help you that much.

Yea guess your right. Condemning folks, well said. Your are a worm with words. So any place in the country with a corn field is the same as baiting? I must be an awful hunter because I cannot get that buck to come eat the one corn cob that's 20 yards away from my bow stand. However if I had only had one pile of corn in 900 acres I bet I'd know where to set up at. I'm not condemning anyone pal, just my opinion.

I always thought that the people who bash it were the ones who sat on the greenfield morning and evening. One of my good friends said he planted the green so it was ok in his eyes. If it were 100 years ago and you did it with a mule or team or horses...I can get on board. But hoping on a tractor with air conditioning ismt exactly what I call working hard. The hardest part about that job is making the payment on the tractor. I've hunted timber company property where the biggest patch of green was the size of a living room. They wouldn't let you take down any trees. So I sucked it up and hunted other areas. I like hunting green fields I make no apologies. Some may say it's not hunting to them but I like it. But some people don't have access to hunt them and if they need to throw corn to attract deer and to get them to feed then get after it. Long rant but whether you throw corn or hunt food plots the deer are eating either way.

Yea I love potted meat on white bread and mayo and a very light touch of salt, pepper, and Tabasco.

with a dash of cholula chipotle hot sauce.

Atoler, btw, how else do you shoot a deer other than head down feeding? Is that the best way, they are not expecting it, less likely to duck an arrow. Do you wait till they sleep? Yell at them and shoot when they look at you? And btw I may have crops around my land but I slug hunt and bow hunt mostly in the woods. That 10 point I shot season was with a rifle but I got down from the pile of dead limbs I was sitting on and stalked him and the bucks he was with until I was 60 yards away at tops. I'm not a greenfield hunter/sitter.

I hope it passes. I want all the deer I can get on my property and I will feed it by the tons. I have no interest in shooting anything but a mature buck with mature being 4+. If I can keep all the young bucks on my place that will increase my odds of preventing the neighbors from shooting every young buck that walks by them.

For all the guys against it....I don't think the law will state that it is mandatory for you to feed. It's optional just like dog hunting. If you don't like it...don't do it.

Thinking on it more I have decided that I hope it passes too. I also hope that everyone around my lease puts out all the corn they can afford.........maybe I will see more deer that way when all the dang bears are on their place

FIFY to add my thoughts.

If we were just talking about baiting in bow season you might have a minor point. But a corn pile or a corn field makes little difference with a 30-06 across your lap. LOL!



Aren't license sales already on the decline? So why would that problem get blamed on baiting if this passes? I'd lose good money betting that the main reason for a decline in hunting license sales is a combination of less kids getting into hunting and people not having access to decent land to hunt. Large timber companies and hunting clubs now control the hunting access to a helluva lot of land that used to be hunted by a lot of people that, in the past, simply had permission from the landowner or a permit from the timber company. Those days are mostly gone.

A lot of people, especially the ones who just want a few deer for meat, won't (or can't) pay 1200 dollars to join a hunting club in order to maybe kill 3 deer. That works out to 400 dollars per deer before you even factor in any other hunting related expenses. Not exactly an economical way to get your meat anymore.

Yeah there is some public land but the hunting can be tough on it and many people are scared to venture out on it during gun season. I would be too. I read about a guy that got shot off a 4-wheeler riding down a logging road one year. Stories like that don't bolster my confidence of an orange hat protecting my ass.

It's not illegal to feed it by the tons now.

Very difficult on smaller tracts of land without limiting yourself to just a couple of stand location. Oh and I fed 3 or 4 tons last year...it just made it difficult with 100 yd rule

Lease more land. If you have money to feed wild animals then you surely have money to lease more land.

How bout I lease the same? Plant less acres of greenfields, bush hog fewer roads, not add more ground that has to watched for trespassers, etc. you my friend can lease as many acres as you want and not feed or plant. Heck you can even pick up the acorns off ground the if you think it gives you an advantage over the deer.

well that's one way to add fuel to the fire.

not exactly sure what you mean by a worm with words, but if that is code for ability to directly quote you, then I guess I'll take it. "You're a shitass excuse for a hunter" pretty much sums it up. That is condemning in my book.

I also bow hunt most of the time. and I don't really care how others choose to hunt. I actually don't have any corn piles, ag fields, or green fields where I hunt. I just hunt acorns, honeysuckle, in the thick, etc. I just can't see a big difference between planting a plot, and dumping corn on the ground. I saw the change happen in georgia, and I can tell you, most feeding is to keep deer on the land, not hunt over. 2 or 3 deer get shot over a feeder and you can pretty much hang it up on that spot.

Just for the record, hunter satisfaction has been proven to decline sharply where baiting is allowed. Hunters are much more satisfied on areas with no bait. Hunter success is also higher.

I wonder how Kentucky sells so many NR tags every year.

Of course....there's an extinguisher over the shoulder somewhere...

I just don't understand why everyone thinks a 140 is going to walk out 20 yards from your bow stand and let you stick him. It's not going to happen. If you have ever fed much corn and had a camera on it you would know this. Feed does not make them stupid. People act like if we go to feeding that folks are going to be riding around with pick up loads of deer.

I just don't see how it can be any different than having the only green grass around come January and sitting there watching it with a rifle.

Sad thing is some people think it will...

Shot a wild 144-inch with a .308 in Kansas 100 yards from me eating at a feeder. It walked hundreds of yards across brushy open ground straight to the feeder on a rope at mid-afternoon.

So, nice bucks do come to feeders during the day. If corn/pellets/beans/food is there and they're used to it and it's consistently provided, they will come.

What time of year was this?

First week of December. Was cold as an icebox.

This was after watching a crew of does with one young, skinny-necked 130-inch buck and some smaller bucks eat at the feeder during the day for two days.

Truth. Which is what I did a poor job describing in my original post on this thread.

I understand what your saying but it's also a lot different climate and less grocery options in Kansas. Kind of like in Saskatchewan where there is nothing to eat so they are coming to a pile of Alfa Alfa regardless. The deer at my place may be different but I never get daylight pics of mature bucks at a feeder and I don't get many in the dark.

If it makes people happier to not feed then that's great. I'm all for everybody getting full enjoyment from the great outdoors and support them hunting in anyway they see fit. If hunter success is higher then I would think the guys against it would change their view. Y'all will be killing all kinds of deer while us guys that feed won't have to worry about sharpening our knife.

The state of Alabama tells us how many bucks we can kill which is 3. So what's the big deal with feeding...you can still only kill 3. The outlaws are going to be outlaws. There are guys shooting more than 3 and the same guys are hunting over corn illegally anyway. You can't stop all the outlaws there are not enough boots on the ground. So why not let the guys that follow the rules and spend a lot of money on their properties feed if they want to. Most of the guys out there that are going to be willing to spend money on a feeder permit are carrying a conservation mindset and typically aren't out there to see how many they can kill in a season. Let the DCNR take their 75% cut and we will be a step closer to having the funds to implicate this tagging system that a lot of people would like to see put in to action. Let them hire more wardens since we are already short handed anyway.

Lol. Fill in bait with "gun", and that's what I secretly think about non-bow hunters. That argument don't work with bait or guns though...

If it's legal, I ain't got no issues with either.

Now that's funny there!

There is nothing more boring than sitting over a greenfield. The thoughts of sitting over and watching a pile of corn sounds even less satisfying. The thought of HAVING to put out corn to compete with neighbors sounds frustrating.

We feed cause we hunt in Florida. We do not kill any bucks over the feed. You might see some small bucks, but thats it. Just because you feed, doesnt mean yo gona just fill your freezers. Only thing I think is good about feeding is you helping some farmer that needs it. I am like others to, your only can kill 3 bucks, so is it gona make that much difference?

the 2 high dollar La Floresta clubs have feeders going year around. when the feeders go off, you can dang near close your eyes and pull the trigger and kill a doe. they see bucks on a regular basis too. doesn't sound like fun to me but if killing large numbers of deer is your thing, that's the place to be.

If you're talking about Helton's Pasture as one of them, that hasn't been my experience. Does, yeah, you see a few, but not like you'd think. Bucks, not so much. I hunt there several days a year as a guest (good friend of mine is a member), and I've yet to see a racked buck under a feeder there. Seen plenty of them in those peanut fields they used to have, though.

All of La Floresta, including Helton's pasture has decreased over the last several years (since Ivan). La Floresta requires every club to kill 2 does for every buck, so you definitely don't see as many deer as you used to.

But, La Floresta is proof that when it is done correctly you CAN kill bucks over feeders. Most of that is due to lack of pressure than corn, 1 member per 250-300 acres is the standard for the La Floresta clubs. That is one of the few places I have hunted in Florida that you can actually "see a rut" with multiple bucks chasing hot does.

the main one im referring to has very little pressure due to low member per acre ratio. also, does are archery only all season.

For each his own. For me, sitting on a greenfield in a plush shooting house with a Dr. Pepper, snickers bar, tobacco, and a good book with a field full of deer is what I like. I don't care if I kill a deer. Some may not call that "hunting" but its what I enjoy...just seeing deer. Now, I don't have a comment on the corn issue for one reason: I simply don't care, I won't spend the money on it. But if it's legal and someone wants to, have at it.

If I may ask, why do you just enjoy sitting there watching a bunch of deer? Do you kill anything or just watch?

Damn Clem! Ease up on the guy. It's obvious he is a convicted felon and can own a firearm.

There is some private land inside La Floresta where some very good bucks are killed over bait every year.

Yes, I kill one occasionally. It is rare even though I killed 3 last year I probably haven't killed a deer in 5-6 years prior. Some people like watching birds, some like riding bicycles, some like going to college football games. I like watching deer. And I like the habitat management part. For each his own. I don't argue or disagree with the way anyone "hunts" if they enjoy what they are doing. It should be about enjoyment.

Is that an ever so subtle sales pitch there Rebelman

Sales pitch or not, he has a point. It doesn't matter how many dump trucks of corn you dump on your property, you've not going to "hold" many deer on a couple of hundred or so acres. They roam...it's what they do. There may be special circumstances which help keep them on a particular property, such as terrain features, river, or major highway, but overall, a couple of hundred acres isn't much to a deer.

baiting is a cowardly way of killing deer. its embarrassing that the state is even considering this

Can't let this go, some don't roam, if you have 200 acres of bedding and dump yer truck loads of corn in the middle. Don't set foot on it till breeding just is getting started , I'm betting it'll be a blood bath. MOF you won't need the corn, bedding and stay away " till the time is right" small acreages will produce. Carry on , master baiters.

Exactly! Since they're normally chasing hunters trying eat them. Now they're all subtle and crap eating corn.
Since I had to reply to this brilliant comment, I'll put where I'm at on this.
I DONT GIVE A DAMN!! Just quit making up these stupid "rules" trying to make people guess what's right or wrong. Either you can have corn on your property and hunt ON the pile if you want to, or there should be ZERO corn on YOUR property PERIOD

I hope they dont legalize. Cause ive been working on a new product. Camo Korn. Legalizing corn is gonna ruin the market for me.

Already been done!

In that case, I'd like to change my stance to the pro legalization side then,

I agree... The whole Midwest should quit growing it.....

..A company in Georgia was making it..

My gun smith lives on 27 acres surrounded by La Floresta. He has 4 feeders in his "yard" and drives a Ranger with a spreader around twice a day. I have video of over 100 deer in his yard, with some nice Florida 8 points following the ranger.

But deer and bucks don't come to corn during the day with regularity. Right?

I killed my first deer on a corn pile in SC many years ago. Killed many more since. ...And I enjoyed it.
This thread is helping me come to grips that Im a horrible person.

Just horrible? You don't feel cowardly and like you're not a real hunter?