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.