Who’s just going to bait now versus food plots?

They're both a form of baiting. One's just more easily defined and excoriated as "unsporting."

Hell of a lot cheaper to do food plots, but yes I agree, there's no difference between the two, IMO.

If it's going to cost me $50 to hunt over a feeder, I won't.

All this is going to do is make it easier for people who already simply hunt to just shoot something.... that being mainly young deer that will ultimately show themselves at a feeder during daylight hours. In particular ammo sales will go up if we get some cold weather. Young Bucks and Does will be the victims. You won't be able to beat them off the feeder with 5 boxes of shells. Same deer that show up first to the food plots... first one that sticks it's nose out gets it blown off. Same group of hunters.

Kill more spikes. Kill more does. Still won't report their kills. Less Effort.

Result = Pretty much no serious impact.

I agree with most of your post but here in North Alabama we already don’t have a lot of deer, I think it will make an impact because of all the doe killing that’s going to happen

Agree... If you have low numbers and neighbors that like to kill anything with hair on it.... this should seal your fate.

wont hunt over the feeder, or wont pay? ha

For those who don't understand the difference, come to my house and I will explain it.

I don't know what part of North Alabama that you're talking about. The part of North Alabama that I stays in is covered up with deer. More than were around in the 70's, 80's or 90's. Kill em all.

Marshall County has areas virtually devoid of deer. Parts of Morgan County, too. By that I mean a huntable population that can withstand hunting pressure and mortality, even extremely limited, along with natural mortality.

I imagine the old guys I hunt with are going to go “corn crazy” if this bill passes we already have 2 feeders on our 300 acres. I imagine we’ll move those 2 feeders into a field or infront of a stand, or well put a stand 50 yards away from the feeders.

One of the guys has already talked about what greenfields he would like to put a feeder in if the bill ever passed. To answer tquestion though, we’ll definitely still plant greenfields.

And like Clem said food plots are just a legal, less frowned upon method of baiting.

I hunt Central Alabama. Deer density is average. We have some nice bucks on the place. We had 8 members last year. 4 of them used corn regularly. None of those 4 killed anything to write home about. One guy killed a basket 8 point. Maybe a doe or 2. Now they had a million pictures of nice bucks. But all they did, was turn a nocturnal animal into an even more nocturnal animal. Those shooters were showing up every night around 11:30 PM to wipe out the corn. Repeat the next night and so forth. They couldn't understand why they wasn't seeing the good bucks during their hunts. Jackwagons…

I bow hunted in Laredo, TX a few years ago. Corn is legal. You can pour the corn there, walk to your blind and by the time you zip it up, the deer start coming. I haven't seen it work that way where I hunt in Alabama. It hurt us this year. In my opinion. But to each his own.

Deer are crepuscular, not nocturnal. They move every 4-6 hours no matter what but mostly at dusk and dawn. Hunting pressure, noise and and unfamiliar smells are more apt to keep them from being seen than corn.

https://crepuscularstuff.com/are-deer-crepuscular-nocturnal-or-diurnal/


Like you, I've seen deer and hogs show up at a spincast feeder within minutes of it going off. They know what it is, where it is and when it goes off. Have seen this in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Texas and 5-6 other states during hunting season or outside of it. They're highly trainable animals.

Won't hunt over a feeder.

Always do everything I can to stay legal. Now I guess you'll be able to follow the "area definition" rule and risk officer discression (from what I've read), or as a NR pay $51 and hunt where you can see it and not worry about a ticket? Seems silly to me. Easier not to bother with a feeder.

The one private place I can hunt over a feeder in Fl, the deer don't really seem that drawn to corn that much. I imagine it could very well be different in Al. I know they dont give a darn about salt in Fl, and they sure seem to in Al. I guess it will still be alright to have a feeder to get pics off of in the off season (without extra cost)? Would have been nice not to have to worry about a granule or 2 that didn't get consumed by season.

I believe corn and protein in Texas are different from here because they run feeders year round, not just during deer season.

There are no deer on the low fence ranch I hunted near Laredo last year that can remember a time with no feeders. I am aware of 11 deer over 5 years old killed in daylight hours on that ranch, 4 during the 4 days that I was there.

I killed two of those, and personally saw another 12-15 mature bucks, over 4 years old, at or near feeders. Some came to eat, and some came for the does.

Corn is legal in Georgia, and the feeder in my food plot was turned on last year when that changed. It will be filled and run at least a little year round as long as I own the property.

He who has the does, will draw the bucks from his neighbors.

I had an outstanding season this past year. 6 bucks total, 2 chasing does, 2 at/near feeders, and 2 on green fields, all low/no fence private land. Personally, I don't see the difference between feeders, food plots, and hunting near estrus does. They are all attractants, same as persimmon trees, fall apple trees, and good acorn crops. Whether you planted or scattered it has little to do with you hunting an attractant/food source.

I like it when our neighbors are running feeders. All the hogs disappear and we get to shoot deer for a change.

I keep reading how feeders make bucks more nocturnal. How so?

I have no real experience with feeders, so maybe I'm missing something. I just dont see why it would.

I don't buy it either, I wouldn't think any more than over hunting plots or over hunting a general area.

I concur , newbie should get out more. Maybe some pockets of NA don't have many deer , but they may have a young, expanding herd and can't support a lot of deer anyway. Can't paint all of NA with the same brush.

extra traffic to and from to fill and check cameras, the unnatural sound of sheet metal slinging corn, the fact that the food is always there so no need to show up in daylight. mature bucks are strange I've killed 130-140 class deer I've only had one or two pictures of and they were never at a feeder the younger bucks they ran with were all summer but the biguns almost have a 6th sense they were always 50 yards away and never at the feeder.

Sounds no different than too much pressure during season, over hunting plots, ripping and roaring on ATVs , checking cameras every other day. Too much human intrusion of any kind will make some bucks nocturnal. Some may still be on their feet in daylight, they just shy away from the high pressure areas.

The feeder I run holds 300 lbs, and will last 7-8 weeks at 5 seconds, twice a day, at 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM. There is no corn left for the nocturnal deer.

Last filling is 2 weeks before gun season comes in here (Georgia) in mid-October. I don't mess with it again until after Thanksgiving, then not until season closes in January.

I saw deer every time I sat, including a big 8 that I aged at 4.5+, and hoped my wife would get a shot at. She saw the same deer once, but couldn't get on him as he walked through.

I have heard this many times before but still don't get it. I can make a 50 bag of corn go for nearly 2 weeks on my feeder during the off season and still get more pics of deer eating than I care to look at some times. It's corn that folks like 257Weatherby have paid for equipment, fuel, herbicides, fertilizers and prayed for rain(or lack there of) to produce.
I just pay $7 and load that 5 gallon bucket with a spinny thingy up and check batteries on the camera.

What am I missing? If you already have the equipment and don't buy it special to food plotting maybe but most folks don't own a tractor nevermind the accessories.

With all that said, I like growing my own little plots and watching them produce but cheaper...I ain't so sure especially if you figure in time with growing bigger plots.

Is this why mature bucks don't show up at and around feeders in Texas, Kansas, Ohio and other states?

Or is the "big bucks are wary and "nocturnal" because of feeders" only happening in Alabama?

Except for that $15,000 tractor and disc.

Pressure (messing with cameras and looking for tracks) is the main thing that make deer nocturnal.

I think the primary difference between ‘baiting’ and planting a plot is that baiting, generally, creates an unnatural feeding instinct in the deer herd. Supplemental feeding out of troughs is the same thing. You take a wild animal which nature has created to walk around the forest and fields and nip and nibble it’s way through life, making use of what natural forage is appropriate for a given time of year. No where in nature does corn spill regularly from a metal drum. Acorns my fall from trees, for a while, but when they are gone they are gone until next season and the deer finds something else to eat. A planted plot, although man made, planted and maintained, mimics the old fields lost to pine plantation and the like. They certainly aren’t as important in places where large agricultural fields already exist as they are for people hunting thick forest areas. It’s plants growing from the soil, like any number of other growing things deer would normally nibble. Standing corn is also in a more or less natural presentation. Deer find it and feed when the corn is ready until it’s gone. Then move to another browse.
Baiting deer, with a recurring food source presented in a way unknown in the rest of their environment is not unlike encouraging bears to frequent your trash can. It isn’t good for the bears and isn’t really helping the deer.

What's your definition of bush hogged corn?

Bush hogged corn or soybeans or claypeas, etc, would be like any other offal from currently accepted agricultural practices. In my opinion if you planted, grew, and knocked it down in the same place that is no different than when I let winter wheat go the seed before mowing it back down.

Good explanation, sir.

Should the grain from perfectly good standing corn be defined as offal? I believe one should look at why the corn was grown and bush hogged, to entice deer. Is your mowed wheat to entice deer?

"The State" tells us we can clear a spot in the woods , plant a corn patch , bush hog it in fall , hunt over it and it's not bait. I call BS.

And "spillage" from harvesting grain is, well, y'know, "spillage" and that's OK.

But putting corn in a field is baiting.

Well there is a certain amount of spillage and knocked down rows in normal farm practices. Opening up the auger or the screens so perfectly marketable corn goes on the ground isn't normal farm practice, same as bush hogging .

State says opening the screens up on the combine, letting the grain go straight through out the back isn't baiting. They've done it on Skyline / Martin WMA. But that's not bait, I call a big ol' BS!

If the bill passes as it looks like it will, I will continue to plant food plots and put a feeder along the edge of the field. I've hunted with that combination a lot and usually the deer will come in and nibble around, go to the feeder and eat for 30 or so seconds and then go right back to the oats. A feeder by itself isn't a magic bean.

They only do this at night, though, right? Because feeders make deer nocturnal.

Yes

Well, if it does pass I hope all the DAs that put corn out in the woods to get pictures over will just put the damn corn and cameras in the foodplots. They will still get pictures of the same deer at the same time of the night and still wonder why they aren't seeing and killing the ginormous Midwest deer in the piney woods of Alabama. I said DAs didn't I??

Food plots do the same thing!

I believe both are beneficial if used right especially during off season.

We aren't there yet.....

Well keep in mind that this bill has been "an annual feature in the Alabama Legislature and has never passed both the House and Senate" and in so much as I have read and tracked the bill the approval of the Senate has not happened nor the approval of the Governor, who, I would guess, will most likely follow the path of the legislature. Last year the bill came up for vote 3 times and never passed the Senate.

This bill also only allows the use of baits on private or leased land. So baiting in the WMA and other public lands will remain illegal.

The bill contains the following verbage in regards to section 9-11-244 of Code of Alabama 1975.

the proposed subsection labeled (b)1 says this in regards to the preceding section that lays out baiting as illegal ("no person shall bait etc...").

"This section"... (the aforementioned section prohibiting the use of baits) ... "shall not apply to a person hunting whitetail deer or feral swine with the aid of bait on privately owned or leased lands; provided, that the person has purchased, and is in possession of, a bait privilege license issued by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as follows: " ......... and from there it goes on to outline the who, what, and how of the fees and goes on to talk about the commissioner may establish Chronic Wasting Disease management zones. Also goes on to state that "...no person shall use bait in any county containing any portion of a CWD management zone or other disease management zone..."

So take aways.... baiting is only going to be permissible on private to leased land is something of a take away.

"So take aways.... baiting is only going to be permissible on private to leased land is something of a take away." This is exactly why it should not be legalized! Given a choice the VAST MAJORITY of hunters would choose hunting PRIVATE land over PUBLIC land because it is BETTER hunting in the vast majority of places. If baiting is going to be legal it should be legal everywhere and the State public lands should be REQUIRED to set up permanent baiting stations and fees charged to ALL hunters the to pay for it.

However, if one believes that placed bait is the only way to kill a deer in Alabama, then maybe one needs to reconsider their hobbies.

I’m waiting for the “Why are there no deer at corn pile” thread

Nailed it

Well your only feeding one or two deer per day, whichever gets there first. A food plot will feed day and night 365 days a year(with rain). By only feeding one 5 gallon bucket of corn every 2 weeks your really just giving the deer a snack, which is fine, if that's what you want to do. You'll spend $7x26 weeks= $182 dollars. I can Feed deer year round on a food plot for that, plus I don't have to walk back in there every 2 weeks. Human intrusion is part of the problem in killing mature deer, but if your not interested in that, then carry on.

I don't use either to plant my plots.

Or how about a white oak that's the only one dropping in the area?

I can tell you the answer. Its the same for big boar hogs too. It doesn’t make them more nocturnal, they still move when they move but they get used to the food being there so they don’t have to rush to it like the young animals do and thus most times they choose after dark to come into the feeder. Many folk set there feeder in late afternoon or close to dark to put out so much that it doesn’t get eaten at once. I don’t use feeders because I rather it look like I’m not there. I think setting a corn feeder for just before daylight ONLY works best for having a big boar or buck pop in for a look see.

I know guys who get deer running in with only the sound of shaking of a bucket or a deer feeder on a predator call.

If you hunt over a well located green field or feeder and spend enough time doing so, the big boys will make a mistake sooner or later.

I haven’t tuned in to the new changes but I can tell y’all a trick that keeps them coming by. You take a block of Record Rack Wild berry and dig a hole to set it in, thats your feeder. They will tear the place up. You set it in the ground so they don’t roll it all over the woods. It’s natural color makes it vanish too so others won’t know. Once they get used to it you can just bring a chunk with you when you go to the stand then LOOKOUT !

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/sportsmans-choice-record-rack-deer-block

Can you imagine the safety concerns, fights etc that would develop with corn piles on public lands? You could have 2 guys hunting the same corn pile and unintentionally pointing rifles at each other. There's no possible scenario where this could be safe or smart.

I agree, allowing baiting on public land would be extremely stupid and hazardous. Hell allowing baiting on private land is stupid enough as it is. Buncha dang lazy ass hunters in Alabama who just want to pour out there corn and kill a deer so they don't have to work for it.

I’m not a big bait person myself, usually its just to entertain myself or see what or what methods work. This debate will ALWAYS go on but in the end we must remember that if it gets more folk outside, its a good thing. The trophies killed over bait will still be slim unless the hunter really puts the time in and its a good location.

If it gets adopted like it is here in Tejas, you will be looked at terribly if you protest feeders.

"Given a choice the VAST MAJORITY of hunters would choose hunting PRIVATE land over PUBLIC land" Given a choice? Everybody has that exact choice right now. All you have to do is stroke a check if you want to hunt private. Therefore, the rest of your argument does not hold water. "Everyone in the state should have to pay so that there are bait stations on state land for public use to make sure that the people that make the choice to hunt state lands can hunt over public bait stations" ? Grow up man and look up the definition of Socialism. It dont fly with me. If better hunting is what you want, work a second job, marry someone with private land, friend someone that has land, budget better to be able to afford it. There's always options if you dont like your situation. For the record I'm 100% against baiting and think the fines should be 10x higher if you're caught hunting over it or it is found on the property you hunt.

If you don't want to hunt in an area with a feeder then don't. If the club/group you hunt with chooses to do so and you don't approve, then go somewhere else.

Fine job of missing the point and knowing nothing about me and I don't plan on educating anyone.

Thanks

I’ve personally come to the point I don’t care if its legal because its not the magic potion to taking a significant game animal.

I think if it passes all it’s going to do is increase hog sightings

I don’t see what the big deal is about the baiting. A ton of people already do it regardless of the law and I dont think it’s gonna change. If your in a club the rules in the club determine if you can put it out or not and the people that have their own land probably have been feeding for years. If your place is bad off with hogs like mine you will let your neighbors feed so all the hogs will be on them and the deer will be on our food plots. Then all the locals that pour corn out under the night light in the back yard to get them some meat will never be stopped and have been pouring corn all their lives. Just my opinion but I don’t really think it’s gonna matter people are still gonna do what they want when they want

They are literally banning feeding in Mississippi, county by county, as we speak. Once there’s a confirmed case of CWD in Bama, same thing will happen.

And there is no true scientific basis for banning feeding. Deer are social animals. I see more contact with the licking branch near one of my plots (which also has a feeder) than I ever do on a particular square foot of dirt. Literally every deer that can reach it, licks and rubs their face on it. I have also seen fawns stand on their back legs to try to do the same.

And they lick each other, regardless of the time of year or presence of bait/food. Banning feeding won't change that.

So, get married to someone for their land? That’ll last...
A “friend” that is “friends” with you because of what you have is no friend at all. If that’s really the way you think, I’m sure you’re a great friend and husband.

I personally don't care either way. In Washington and Choctaw county the majority of private land hunters are already baiting and hunting over it so i don't see a big change coming. I will not feed on my lease during deer season because all it does is attract hogs to the feeders and i don't shoot hogs during deer season unless they are in the woods away from fields to minimize pressure on the deer.

Right on

Just listing all the options for you slick. Didn't say I agreed or supported any of them. And I am a great friend and husband. Been married for 27 yrs.

Regardless of opinion, we're all gonna me master-baitin at the end of the day. And I aim to be this states best master-baiter.

Wait until the fights break out. There are gonna be those at certain clubs that are for feeders, they are gonna foot the bill for the equipment and bait then get ultra pissed when someone else hunts over it. This is gonna encourage a possessive entitlement mentality for supreme locations that would otherwise be free chase. It also forces everyone in the club to buy a permit whether they want to or not because they may have to hunt near bait or be cock blocked by feeding equipment.

They will use the excuse that “you have X-Amount of other acres to hunt, go hunt somewhere else”.

These type fights even break out on federal lands that I hunt with supposed civilized GI’s, Retired GI’s, Dependents, and Civil employees. Some folk don’t wanna share a shared spot.

And, when I’m hunting a shared spot I disable the feeders because I don’t want the noise.

A glimpse into the future

Wonder what % folks bait already. I would think this number is high. The Evergreen Piggly wiggly keeps a pallet of corn at the front door for $6.00 a bag and I will bet it ain't just for chickens.

I’m often accused of being cynical and not seeing the best in others but if I had to guess I would venture that at least 50% of every person that hunted in Alabama this year broke some kind of law WILLINGLY. The way people just non-chalantly talk about doing things like bait, or cross lines or shoot too late etc leads me to believe that.

Like most hunting clubs need another reason to squabble. If it wasn't that it would just be something else. To each his own.

jacannon.... there is no telling how many people were already baiting. I'd bet over 50%.

[quote=abolt300]
Just listing all the options for you slick. Didn't say I agreed or supported any of them. And I am a great friend and husband. Been married for 27 yrs. [quote]

I must’ve taken you’re post different than what you were saying then. Congrats on the 27 years!

Game check is only getting 35% participation, so your 50% is way too high right off the bat

You’re exactly right, so at a minimum 65% of hunters broke the law

Says who? Where does the 35% come from? I know Mr Sykes says it but is it accurate?

I stay within the law and if it passes I’m gonna put the feeder right under the skinning rack.

That's a dumb question. Dont you know everything Chucky says is accurate? Us peons have no business questioning him

Man, I'm really glad someone posted this. I was thinking we really needed to discuss it.

Im surprised no one has ever brought it up before.

The food plots I plant are FAR more beneficial to my deer herd than a corn feeder. I can grow more tonnage of deer food cheaper than corn.

There IS a difference!!

Give me food plots and I aint' talkin' ryegrass, either!!! "Oh, my food plots look so greeenn!!!" says a hunter. They're ryegrass, sir!! Anyway...

I don't plant ryegrass. Most people plant in the fall to "hunt" over... I'd like to think I do both. I feed my deer herd with quality food plots and I hunt over my food plots too.

Not real big into corn.

Ok

Would you hunt over a standing corn field? There is no difference, only in people's minds. Another elitist thinking their way is the only way. Food is food, period. Both attract deer, period.

Yer neighbor is gonna have all "your" deer, but they'll be nocturnal, so it won't matter.

I can't believe this thread is still going....

so now the real question Clorox brand vs. Dollar General brand bleach for your stumps?

Chlorox brand brings in the booners.

Stick with the good stuff. The cheap stuff grows cull bucks.

I would say that the difference is in the state laws and regulations instead of in people's minds. Your local GW would interpret it that way. I don't see anything elitist about that; it's just the law.

PCP, it's not against the law anymore, therefore there is no difference.

8/10

True.

Food plots were just legalized baiting. Now that baiting is legalized there's no difference.

Food plots = bait = not evil anymore = easy = "conservation!" = MONEY

Just curious, havn't read anything about it, but is there anything that is illegal to bait with? Brown salt, peanut butter, corn flakes, etc?

Only Tinks 69, .

Baiting is legal.....period. Give sweet potato’s a try. DeerLOVE the,!

CALD

Where, might I ask, do you get a truckload of sweet tat'rs in Alabama?

well, actually, there is a difference. One does not have to possess the "bait permit" to hunt a greenfield....so the State is saying that a greenfield is NOT bait.

High fence or a 4 ft barbwire

Yea, Fred, the state has been blowing that smoke up people's arses for years. I understand the legal difference, but i'm talking about reality.

Blumsden, I personally would not plant corn (unless I had acres of open, plantable land to "waste" on corn). Would I hunt over it? Yes, if it were there. But I'd rather plant something more nutritious and when done right, you can't tell me that, say, one acre of Triticale, Wheat, Oats, Brassicas, clovers, etc... is NOT better for wildlife than what the X amount corn that will be placed on hunting property by hunters. What's the comparison in nutrition and tonnage (given the food plot is fertilized, reasonable soil pH and a deer herd at carrying capacity) per acre of a higher-end food plot (I agree, rye grass ain't worth a dayum!) from late September - June vs. corn and what the average hunter is going to dump on the ground, feed from a feeder and keep in mind... most corn will cease to be made available to wildlife after Feb 10th!! And let's look at the ignorant feeding of corn where some hunters make an "ant bed style" corn pile that gets wet and produces alpha toxins.

You can call people like Antlerfluke (Antlerfluke and I work for the same company and hunt together on a rather large tract of land) and other dedicated hunters that believe in planting food plots in the fall to feed wildlife for several months AND kill deer over at the same time, an "elitist" group, because hunters like us don't put out food ONLY to kill over. We believe in feeding our deer herd the best way we can, in addition to putting out corn. Will we put out corn? Probably so, but it's not a big part of how we hunt. We "food plot" big time!

You say that "Food is Food" and coming from you after reading your posts, surprises me. That's like comparing a Hardee's double with cheese and bacon vs. baked chicken with steamed vegetables. Certainly you see the difference there!? So, "Food ain't food" when you compare the nutrition of a - say - brassicas vs. rye grass or corn.

No argument from me that "both" attract deer!!! I'm just saying that feeding corn and not planting food plots (with good cultivars) is not good deer mgmt. If you're all about the killing... then pour out corn! "Managing for the health of a deer herd" I supposed, when a majority of others are not, I supposed, if that's the case, I could be a proud elitists, as you say. But I don't think I am alone in my thinking.

If both the pouring of corn out and planting food plots were equal, why would Wildlife Mgmt Solutions, Biologic, Pennington Seed, etc... even exist? Hell, just go to Walmart and buy the "Deer" corn (no other corn will work, ya know?!) and pour "deer" corn out and stop doing it Feb 10th. (Most feeding stops on Feb 10th)

Both methods (poured-out corn vs. food plots) are the same, you say? Food is food, you say? In attraction, maybe. Mississippi State University didn't include corn in its deer preference study, which Berseem Clover won (I think Fixation Balansa may have placed high too), so I can't speak to the corn vs. Berseem clover match-up. But it appears that you and I look at deer mgmt or deer hunting differently. And that's ok. I'll stick with what I'm currently doing and I'll stay in-tune with what's best for the deer herd.

But NOPE, they're not the same!!! Properly planted food plots and corn poured out on the ground is NOT the same, and the saying of, "Food is Food", is NOT correct, IMO.

There IS a difference as far as the health of a deer herd is concerned.

There is also a difference in the bacteria of a deer's stomach in being able to digest a majority corn diet. Just what I read somewhere, so if there's a biologist that could touch on this subject.

Also, how much corn is actually broken-down and "digested" vs. corn that will leave the deer's digestive tract unblemished.

And, 1 lb of corn vs. 1 lb of brassicas and the respective palatability of both in deer. What's the nutritional value of each and of that nutritional value, how much of each is absorbed?

I don't know the answer to those questions but I supposed each of us can use our basic reasoning skills and come up with a ballpark answer in relation to one vs. the other.

Blumsden, I do love your T & M system and I will be implementing that approach this fall!

It is for me, as I don't intend to buy their baiting license. As far as I know, I can still plant on my land and hunt around whatever is planted without the baiting license, so the state must still recognize a difference between them.

Yep.

But just wait. Because someone eventually will say "Hey, that's not right. We're losing money because of those food plot guys" and will try something.

I have a sneaking suspicion about some other things, too. All the "It's just $15 bucks, don't be a selfish asshole" have been complicit to help open Pandora's box and don't care. One day, though, you will.

I plant summer and fall food plots, and I am well aware of the differences between the nutritional values of the two. Ask yourself this one question and be completely honest. If you didn't hunt, would you still plant foodplots? If not, well then you are baiting deer onto your property with food plots to help hold the deer. I'm sure some people feed deer and don't hunt, but 99.9% of us use foodplots to attract and hold deer on our property. Everything we do, such as habitat improvements, fertilizing natural forages, creating bedding area's, sanctuary's, watering holes, etc. is to make our property more attractive to wildlife. IMO, that is bait, not by definition of the law, but that's how I feel. I'm okay with that. Corn, pellets, mineral rocks, all serve a purpose. Everybody knows food plots are high in protein, but in the fall deer need carbohydrates. They get that from acorns. If there was one white oak acorn tree dropping on 200 acres, would you hunt it? Very similar to hunting over a feeder. People are going to feel however they feel, and that's fine. I just don't get hung up over a play on words. Before supplemental feeding come along, I didn't put anything out except food plots and mineral licks. I started putting supplemental feeders out to help hold deer on the property, because the pines are choking out natural vegetation. We lease this property, so we're limited to what we can do. When winter hits, and the acorns are gone deer will move where there's more food. They're supposed to start cutting next year so hopefully that will improve our situation. Now, we don't have to worry about putting a feeder outta site, we can put it where it is more convenient to keep full.

There is no difference in scattering it on the ground than bush hogging standing corn at the end of the day. But the idiots in Montgomery say there is. IMO anything , that is not natural and is hunted over is bait. That includes rye grass or the highest end plot mix. Some folks just can't handle the truth!

Corn = carbs. Mammals need carbs in the winter.

I think it’s just natural of people. I think people like to feel good about them selves so they make up things in their head.

They think they are better than people because they don’t shoot deer over bagged corn.

Then they even go a step further to say that they are tremendously helping the deer herd by planting 1/4 acre of winter wheat.

People naturally just like to feel good about themselves and usually put other people down to do so.

Well I mean let's be intellectually honest..... there are differences..... corn just provides carbs...... no other nutritional value while you can pretty much pick and choose what nutritional value you want your food plots to provide. Also food plots continually reproduce that value while corn is just eaten up and then needs to be replenished. Finally I think the one no one likes talking about is that its a lot more work to plant and maintain food plots than it is to just walk a 50lb bag of corn out to the woods and dump it. Those are pretty big differences and doesn't make one better than the other across the board but each better in certain situations. That's why when I encounter a situation which is better for a food plot i'm going to plant a food plot.... when I encounter a place for a feeder i'm going to use a feeder. I usually just do protein through the hot months and corn once they've shed velvet.

I believe the real point is that food plots, feeders, corn piles, fertilized briers and honeysuckle, apple orchards, mineral licks, etc. are ALL attractants, and if you are hunting over them, as I personally do, then your brand/style of attractant is NOT morally superior to someone else's brand/style as has been inferred in this thread and other threads on this forum.

Neither the amount of work that a hunter's particular type of attractant requires, nor the dollar cost of said attractant, gives that hunter any moral "high ground" to stand on when talking bad about the other types.

That is exactly the point that I and many others have been trying to make, but some folks just can't see the logic. What the state of Alabama says is irrelevant for anything other than a potential fine/license fee. If you are hunting over a food source or attractant that you or someone else planted/scattered/altered, then it is still bait.

And I am OK with that.

All that's true, if you completely ignore the benefit to wildlife aspect.

Really? I see squirrels, doves, songbirds, deer, turkeys, and all manner of other wildlife at my corn and protein feeders, which happen to sit in the middle of a large food plot, with a variety of grains, brassicas, and legumes planted annually and fertilized regularly, right next to the mineral lick. I even mix birdseed with the corn, to expand the benefit to more critters.

And the benefit to wildlife, deer anyway, for most of us, is killing a few of them so there is more food remaining for the survivors.

Still no moral high ground to criticize others for their particular method of baiting.

Respectfully, the "benefit to wildlife" attitude is exactly what I was referring to in my previous post. Maybe not directly to you, but to the others who talk about cornslingers as if they are worthless scum with no hunting skills, and how their kill plots are so much more sporting and better for the deer.

Except the ones that they shoot, of course. Those are still hammer dead.

UncleHuck, I agree and concur with every single point you made.

But let's be honest...this thread is about CORN FEEDERS vs food plots. You can attempt to make it something else, but that's what it is. If you're mixing other stuff that's actually beneficial to deer and other wildlife, then good for you. But, you're in the VAST minority. I would wager that 99+% of feeders will be filled with corn...and only corn.

I know absolutely no one who only plants rye grass as their food plots...and if there are some who do, they're not killing many/any deer off them. Even if someone planted only wheat on their plots, they've provided the deer with something that's highly digestible with 20+% crude protein, and a forage yield of better than 4000 lbs per acre from October to March. Corn only is somewhere in the 8% crude protein range. The "sporting" part of it aside, I'm not sure how anyone can argue that a corn feeder is better for deer/wildlife than a "killing" plot.

Hunterbuck, I've yet to read where anybody said a corn feeder was better than a food plot. What I've read is that you can use both and shouldn't be considered a low down, scum sucking, corn baiter!. Deer don't gorge on anything. They are browsers who eat a little of this and a little of that. In Kentucky,Iowa,Nebraska, or anywhere there are 1000 of acres of corn, you don't think the deer stand in that corn field all day long gorging on corn, do you? It's another tool in the tool box, simple as that.

wow...11 pages. In before the lockdown!


Just go hunt guys...dont worry about what others do...just do what you want. And oh yea...try to have fun.

Its hunting. It is supposed to be fun..so..go have fun.

Hunt greenfields, over corn, in the woods, over acorns, persimmons (all are attractants...youve got to find something to hunt and food works best) or from a shooting house, the ground or a dang treestand ( no one style is BETTER or more macho then the other...sorry to tell you), use a bow, a gun, a crossbow...heck even a fancy air gun and kill yourself a deer. It isnt any different no matter which way you do it in my opinion.

The key is it is supposed to be fun.