You simply cannot, with a straight face, make ANY argument that a food plot is different from a corn pile. That's not a valid comparison about a gun and an F150. The better example would be A .300 Remington rifle vs a .270 Browning rifle. They are the SAME thing, accomplish the SAME thing.

A " high octane" plot surrounded by a mountainous , hardwood clear cut IS legal bait. Ya'll carry on.

MmmmmHmmmmm...Wished I knew a spot like that... I might could see a deer every now and then...

Then why has the State differentiated the two since the inception of Regulations?

If you order a steak at a restaurant and they bring you a can of Vienna sausages, is that the same thing?

A food plot and pile of corn are used for the same thing, to bait deer in. Just because law makers put something in place doesn't mean that green fields aren't baiting and corn is, they both are.

And just to make sure that everyone is on the same page here, it ain't like you can go put up a feeder and kill a 4.5 year old deer in the state of AL year in and year out. If it was then there would be a hell of a lot more mature deer killed each year.

It.
Ain't.
That.
Simple.

I got 8 like that to spray this week.

Yes. Both are FOOD, both exist for the purpose of human consumption and nourishment. Albeit wiener-shaped bologna isn't very nourishing!

A majority vote does not establish truth, it simply creates legalities. The proper way to frame this argument would be to say that the USDA has declared hamburger meat legal to eat, but baked beans are illegal to eat. Now, we all know that baked beans can be eaten just as well as hamburger meat, except one just isn't legal to consume. There's no friggin logic to the illegality of beans, just as there's no friggin logic to the illegality of hunting over corn. We are NOT debating the legality of food plots vs corn, we ARE saying they are the exact same thing for the same purpose. They are both food for deer, used for the purpose of bringing the deer to a desired spot. A kernel of corn, an acorn, a blade of grass, a granule of salt/mineral, are all FOOD for deer. And they are all used by hunters to know precisely where the deer will come to. I cannot believe someone actually disagrees with this...are we actually debating this??
Now corn or other fabricated attractants (like Acorn Rage) might pose some sort of threat (like mold) to deer health, that can be debated I suppose. But the intent of this whole thread was about the sportsmanship of someone hunting over corn. As if someone hunting over a food plot had some moral high ground over the guy hunting over corn.

Unless somebody is using a spotlight to shoot deer at night I dont have a problem. If its legal with the state game laws then its ok. I hope this discussion doesnt get sidetracked to crossbows vs compound.

Those little corn fed butter ball spikes sure do eat good.

I personally don't think a pile of corn and a foodplot are the same.

I used to hunt hogs over corn in Fl every year. A deer would come in to the corn and would smell me...then proceed to sloooowly ease in to the corn pile, even though it had gotten my scent. The corn is only there for a while and then it's gone, forcing the deer that wants corn to compromise its safety to get the corn. I've never seen a deer scent me and continue by to the foodplot I was sitting on, they would just go elsewhere or come back after dark. The foodplot would still be there.

I've hunted over corn a good bit and never witnessed this behavior (legal in the southern half of Georgia and also in several other states). Even tried to encourage this behavior by making feeders go off in the mornings to try to get the deer to come out during the day. Not disputing that you saw the behavior, just saying I can't get my deer to do that.
Seems to me that corn piles (feeders, troughs, thrown on the ground) make deer more nocturnal than anything. I pretty well went away from using it even though its legal where I hunt.

Because like most politicians and government employed bureaucrats they are very often complete dumbasses that would struggle to find their own ass even with two mirrors, a magnifying glass and a book on human anatomy to help them.

Are you saying a law or regulation can't be stupid or wrong?

I had a neighbor who shot deer over corn in his front yard.

My mother's daddy used to have a window looking out of his farmhouse bedroom that was a ground level. It was right next to his bed. He kept a 12 gauge loaded with buckshot right between his bed and the window. He would plant a small little garden right outside the window and had some aluminum foil pans hanging on string around it. He kept the window slightly open. He would hear the deer munching on greens in the garden rattling the tinfoil pans and he would slip out of bed grab the shot gun and shoot them out the window.

Probably not very ethical, but he had 10 kids to feed and I guess needed all the extra meat he could get.

as far as corn is concerned, its LEGAL to plant corn, cut it down and hunt over it, place a feeder or a pile that weighs a ton in the woods and hunt 101 yards away and out of sight, and thats legal, so its hard to argue the merits of corn being bad for them, or wrong to shoot them over. Now I prefer a foodplot, cause its better, long term for the deer, doesnt attract as many predators, and in some ways is cheaper and healthier. But I dont own a tractor or 4 wheeler or alot of land or much of anything. So why is it so terrible for me to spice up a spot, that I might want to hunt. Sometimes peo0ple need to remember everyone aint as fortunate as yourselves, and dont have the same options. Sometimes a mans gotta do what he gotta do.

Totally agree!!

I like to do all kinds of hunting and shooting. Here is my take.

Hunting: Pursuit, skill sets, woodsmanship, stealth, challenge.
Shooting: Right place, right time, can happen to most anyone with basic shooting skills.

Dove hunting is really dove shooting. You sit and wait on one to fly by and then shoot it or at it. Takes skills to be a good shot but not a lot of "hunting" required. You don't have to be quiet, you can move around, even listen to a ballgame and talk. Love a good dove shoot.

Continental pheasant events are shooting events, not actual hunting. Stand in a big circle, shoot at bird as it flies by.

Quail/upland bird hunting is actual hunting though...walking, working the dogs, positioning, covey rise and wingshot often through thick stuff. There is pursuit involved which takes it to a different level.

Turkey: This is hunting. Period.

Deer Hunting: To me there is hunting and then shooting activities when it comes to deer hunting. I enjoy stalking, playing the wind, working a thicket or hillside shelf, working draws, etc... anything where there is active participation, pursuit, required skills and knowlede and effort into getting a deer in my sights. This can often happen in a blind or stand too....setting up at the right tree/fence row/terrain feature in the right place at the right time...anticipating the deer movement and playing chess with ole mossy horns. There is pursuit, game of wits, skill sets to be used. To me this is real and actual hunting.

Deer Shooting: The opposite of hunting is more like "finding". Using a artifacts analogy: One can go hunt for them by working a creek or piece of land. One can also be strolling and happen to look down and find one. Picking a green field, setting up in the shooting house and waiting with gun out the window, and then shooting what walks out to me is more finding than hunting. By chance, you find yourself in the right spot at the right moment. Any hunter with basic skills could have done the same thing, but you signed out for this particular field this day. Got lucky. (Some exceptions might be trail cam scouting told you to expect a buck at a certain time of day.) Typically this to me is mostly shooting, not hunting. And I enjoy this too, especially with my kids. 10 year olds aren't really hunters yet, but we all have seen kids with dead deer and huge smiles taken from a shooting house. It is awesome! Yet, there isn't much pursuit and the only skill set is some basic quietness and good bench type shooting. Having a big pile of bait isn't too far removed in my mind. I have no desire, but to each his own. But let's be intellectually honest about it at least: Sitting over bait or a green field isn't really hunting in its truest sense.

Game Animal Ambushing (Deer, Elk, Moose, Bear, Antelope, etc...) : If you are specifically setting up on a travel corridor, bedding area, watering hole or some terrain feature where wind, time of day, scent, weather and movement make significant impacts....then this leans more to the hunting side of the spectrum in my mind. There is some luck involved (animals decide to move), but there are multiple skill sets being used that move it to a more difficult challenge in my mind. Perhaps not yours.

Just my opinion.