Baiting elk...

[ridgetop]

I have never hunted under a feed station before but have killed elk at a water hole.
I don't really get why people are so upset about "baiting" anyway.
A dead deer or elk is still dead.
What if someone is just trying to fill the freezer and nothing more and they don't care about how "sporting" it is?

Now if someone kills a record book animal at a feeder and then makes up a story of how challenging it was, then that's wrong and the animal shouldn't be entered in the books under the hunters name. IMHO

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

The only place where I have hunted over a feeder (similar to the picture) was in Texas where it is legal for everything I guess. I only shot feral hogs. Lots of deer came in to the feeders, but I didn't buy a tag. This method was great for the pigs, but not my cup of tea for deer.

 

[AKaviator]

It really isn't a big deal in the big picture of life. I do get that some people are just filling the freezer and not too concerned about what an animal scores. So it should be no big deal then if they choose to hunt a ranched elk in a fenced pasture either.

I just personally feel that as "sport hunters", as opposed to hunting for subsistence, we should leave "sport" as a factor. It seems that lately, hunters want to take all the challenges out of the hunt. Shooting over 1000 yards at some unsuspecting animal, all while in $500 worth of the best camouflage available. Using airplanes to land as close as possible to a sheep, bowhunters that can shoot 100+ with fancy archery gear, etc etc! you can imagine all the ways hunters have evolved in making it easy to kill animals.

Animals may have adapted to us a little, but sure can't keep up with how fast technology has made us effective in killing them.

Trail cams, drones, baiting, extended effective ranges, optics, laser range finders......... they still only have eyes and ears and good senses.

I value hunting for a lot of different reasons, I just hope we don't become so effective at it, that no animal stands a chance against us.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Well said my friend!

 

[rammont]

...I just hope we don't become so effective at it, that no animal stands a chance against us.

Don't worry, there's always a few people that will always fail.

Not to make light of what you posted though because I agree with everything you said except your opening remark, if baiting is illegal then I really think that it is a big deal, mostly because it is counter to well thought out harvesting rules but also because it reflects badly on all hunters. The very same people that take shortcuts are the ones that will illegally bait animals. If it's legal in your area then have at it but if it isn't then I have no tolerance for those that want to take the quick and easy way because they are lazy slobs who have no appreciation for a fair chase.

 

[AKaviator]

I completely agree; if it's illegal, then it is a big deal and should be dealt with as the crime that it is.

 

[Dark Mavis]

Guys, this is another one of those discussions where we need to be careful with drawing lines in the sand. In some areas baiting is legal and in some areas it isn't. It's our job as ethical hunters to follow the game laws, whatever they are, whenever we are in the field. If someone chooses to bait an animal, and its legal in that area, we shouldn't be pointing fingers and trying to shame them for doing so. We are all HUNTERS.

HUNTERS need to do a better job of sticking together, or we are going to continue to lose hunting opportunities across the country. Mule deer hunters vs elk hunters vs snipe hunters. Horseback vs backpack. Hound vs pointer. Recurve vs compound. We all need to stick together, or none of us will enjoy the final outcome.

To the original posters question: Its not a good idea to be baiting any cervid because of CWD. Concentrating all the animals in an area into one location is going to help spread the disease even faster. Not a good thing to do if you have CWD in your area. Except for the whole disease transmission/herd decimation thing, I'm all for baiting. Especially when kids and first time hunters are involved. Controlled shooting location, predetermined distance to target, more time to identify the right target, more time to pick a perfect shot. It all equals up to a higher chance that an excited, nervous, inexperienced hunter will be able to make an ethical, quick, humane kill.

All I'm asking is that our forum family look at both sides of any debate before we start condemning each other for our chosen hunting tactics.

 

[ridgetop]

Guys, this is another one of those discussions where we need to be careful with drawing lines in the sand. In some areas baiting is legal and in some areas it isn't. It's our job as ethical hunters to follow the game laws, whatever they are, whenever we are in the field. If someone chooses to bait an animal, and its legal in that area, we shouldn't be pointing fingers and trying to shame them for doing so. We are all HUNTERS.

HUNTERS need to do a better job of sticking together, or we are going to continue to lose hunting opportunities across the country. Mule deer hunters vs elk hunters vs snipe hunters. Horseback vs backpack. Hound vs pointer. Recurve vs compound. We all need to stick together, or none of us will enjoy the final outcome.

To the original posters question: Its not a good idea to be baiting any cervid because of CWD. Concentrating all the animals in an area into one location is going to help spread the disease even faster. Not a good thing to do if you have CWD in your area. Except for the whole disease transmission/herd decimation thing, I'm all for baiting. Especially when kids and first time hunters are involved. Controlled shooting location, predetermined distance to target, more time to identify the right target, more time to pick a perfect shot. It all equals up to a higher chance that an excited, nervous, inexperienced hunter will be able to make an ethical, quick, humane kill.

All I'm asking is that our forum family look at both sides of any debate before we start condemning each other for our chosen hunting tactics.

Well said!

 

[hunter25]

As a kid I took deer while watching an apple orchard in Michigan's U.P.
Taken a few deer and hogs in Texas over corn.
Taken 2 coues in Arizona after hiking and glassing for days.
No trophies in the real sense just decent bucks. All legal and enjoyed them all. I just love to hunt.
But the greatest feeling of accomplishment was after taking those coues on the border

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Ikeepitcold]

I'm with you on this. It's illegal to bait anything in Nv.