Are Baiting and Food Plots the Same Thing

Join me as we discuss if Baiting and Food Plotting are basically the same thing,.

[@mag7mm1]

First I want to say I have baited and now have switched over to food plots since I own property. I want to hit a couple of your points here since I believe there has been a lot of miss information from food plot seed companies and DNR. You say plots create less disease spread, but let's really think about this. Deer in general spend little time at a bait pile, and these piles are only allowed for the hunting season in most states. Deer in general are going to use the same trails coming in and start feeding in plots all year round, so if you have 30 deer every day think of how much contact to other deer they have year round because of the plot. Plus very few baits on public land are always in the same spot every season, but food plots are always there and most diseases that kill deer can sit dormant in soil for years. Now let's talk about ethical hunting, if you have a bait most hunters will wait for the target to be at bait were they know distance and can wait for proper shot. Plots have led to crazy amount of poorly shot deer, way to long archery shots, moving, wrong angle. You made it clear why you do not like baiting, because you have all this work and money invested, yes your right and wrong. Are we not just baiting a larger more expensive pile? I think jealousy gets in the way here, when you work your but off and see a nice buck you want than a neighbor kills it on a corn pile. Well that is our choice to invest into a multi thousand dollar bait pile, yes there needs to be restrictions on bait amounts for deer health. For the 16 year old kid that sets out corn on public land and draws a deer off my plots and kills his first big buck, AWESOME!!! We as land owners that can help the herd and still benefit from time to time why not? You said yourself the plots are fun, and it should not be all about me me me but enjoying the hunting community, killing isn't everything, sure it makes your year a little better but helping others be successful can be even more rewarding. I do not believe you mean to be rude towards baiting but maybe some different points to think about.

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

If we put 30 deer on 9 acres, that would be one deer every 13,000 square feet. It's a stretch to call that a big bait pile. Now, deer tend to like to feed within 20 feet or so of each other, but they do end up feeding through the entire field. I have used corn feeders in the past outside of hunting season. The area with the feed turns into a muddy mess covered in deer feces and with CWD coming into the state I decided to stop. Bacterial TB, as well as other bacteria and viruses, can not live in the soil for years. I would be interested to know which diseases are able to live in the soil for years, so let me know. I'm against baiting for the multiple reasons I listed in the video. But as mentioned, on a personal level outside of the facts, it is the concept of feeding deer for months at a time and creating habitat vs putting food on the ground in hopes of attracting them I find morally and ethically differentiating. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but that's my take I hope folks will mull over as they come to their own conclusion. I appreciate you taking the time to respond with such a well thought out response!

[@codydulmes804]

@@huntingscienceexplained9825 Agreed

[@codydulmes804]

@mag7mm1 To your reply on plots leading to a crazy amount of poorly shot deer. Not being rude either on this, just an FYI ahead of time. This is where the hunter themselves need to make sure that the shot they are taking is a reasonable shot. It is our responsibility as hunters to make sure we take ethical shots and not ones that are outside of our limits. This includes practicing with your bow or gun and making sure that the range the deer is in, is within your ability to make an ethical shot. So many get excited and make unreasonable shots which causes a poor shot placement. I don't think this is a food plot issue as this can happen anywhere.