General Hunting Discussion
Baiting Bans
Here is some common sense talk from Steve
https://www.facebook.com/deerhuntingmag/videos/10155397095871187/
I want to speak to a point that was brought up. Ego of hunters. I've met many really good dudes in my time. I've also met some real D-bags.
There is no right or wrong way to hunt. whether you kill the first thing that walks out or wait all year for the one you are going to put on the wall.
I've heard people say "elitist bowhunter". Why would you call me that? Is it because I choose to get a deer close and kill it on their terms and not blast it at 300 yards? Why am I labeled a horn hunter and looked down on? Isn't it good that I let 12 different bucks a year get older knowing that the neighbors will kill at least half of them?
Many can talk smack about Elitest bow hunters or horn hunters or whatever. People talk the same crap about Tournament fisherman yet those guys rarely keep a fish. So to me, trophy hunters as many call it, really are the most conservative people in the woods.
So let me pose this question for all the "can't eat the horns guys". If you can't eat the horns, why shoot a 1 or 2 year old buck? So now a 4.5 year old buck walks out, you can't tell me you ain't gonna shoot! You also can't tell me that you won't have your picture all over facebook and a mass text to everyone in your phone.
My point is, EVERYONE wants to kill a big buck. It's a fact whether their pride will let them admit it or not. Some just can't control themselves in the woods. They want to be a killer so the first animal gets an arrow.
As far as ego and all the shows and scoring of racks and inches talk. I'm not into that. I don't support shows, I don't make hunting a competition like the drury shows that pair people up and compete. That's hogwash...but that's what hunting has become. An inches game. I don't care about inches of rack, i'm concerned about shooting a old mature wise buck. I'll kill a mature buck that has a broken tine or even half rack. The inches game is way out of hand.
If you follow any of my posts especially last year I continually talked about how we slaughtered the herd from 2000-2005ish and took all the blame!! We as a deer camp have learned are lessons and we no longer shoot many does if any at all!! We blamed ourselves took responsibility and vowed to never repeat the past! We are finally(10+ years later) starting to see deer like the 90's again!! In our camp the future looks great because we will never forget the past and we learned are lesson!! Our 10-12 year olds might take the first doe off our land in over 10 years but that's it! Anyway enough rambling-- it's almost go time! I will be in stand by 4:20 am Saturday morning!! Good luck to all my bow hunting blood brothers-- Casedog
I'm not sure exactly how many bow hunters there are now but I know it's north of 200,000 and it's a big state but the way the population of people and deer are scattered from all four corners to the middle heart and soul of this great whitetail state is were I will argue that most of the problems and complaints are from! From my little rose colored glasses I see and hear a lot of the same things that the few(( out of 200,000+ bow hunters)) folks on this thread are spewing about and I'm 20 miles south of the exact center of the state ((Pittsville according to there sign on hwy 80)). From all my conversations with all the people I know who hunt across the state-it seems there are pockets of total different goals- the southwest is part of the famous golden triangle for horn porn and the couple guys I know hunt there all seem to really enjoy shooting there monsters and talk in inches! The buddies up in the north east are happy to see a deer let alone get one! My in laws in waupaca have been in fist fights over hunting and my camp in Juneau kind of fog caught up in the horn porn for a while but now where back more like the northern folk! Ultimately I believe most of us 200,000+ bow hunters are the real hunters and we have are differences but ultimately we are the ones who should stick tight together!! Best of luck to all as I will be in favorite public oak tree come Saturday even if it reaches 90 degrees!! I hunt for the hunt and not the deer! Its mind cleansing season in a matter of hours!! Can't wait- Casedog
Actually horn hunting = horn hunting. You are likely shooting more bucks than me and a higher ratio of your total killed deer are likely bucks, yet I'll be labeled a horn hunter. I'm starting out Saturday targeting does, but still I'll be called a horn hunter.
As for egos, are you really going to argue that the guy who eats tags 3 out of 4 years waiting for something nice to come through has an ego problem, but that the guy who bangs down 1 or 2 small bucks every single year so he can tell everyone "I got my buck" doesn't have an ego problem? Egos are completely independant of hunting choices. There are big egos in every crowd, whether you want to admit it or not.
publiclandhunter, your full of it.
JC- I agree with you. I know several tools that won't shoot doe and run to public for gun. I'm right there with you. Save your deer and shoot up a spot you don't care about. Those guys need a kick to the nuts. I'm on a every 5 year for a mature buck. It's not easy. I'm mainly on private...but it still not easy. lot's of knobs on surrounding properties. Just cause they own private doesn't mean they have any clue on how to hunt or kill deer. They do shoot em up come gun season though. absolute free for all. put a bow in their hands and get one close, they aren't too successful
I love this comment:
"Granted, it's really damn hard, but if killing a deer is so important as to haul an artificial food source out there into the big woods a few times a year is what you feel it takes to kill a deer there, why hunt there? "
Wish it was that simple, and in my opinion the main reason we are losing hunters - less and less quality land to hunt. The MFL-C rule single handedly removed most of my accessible private land to hunt on in my area. As a result, it focused more and more public land hunters onto the same parcels - forcing me to walk further and further to get away from people. This is the only land accessible within an hour of my home. You either decide to hunt the few deer in the woods with little food or land topography, or you decide to hunt a night or two on the weekend far from home. A few times a year for me is 3 times a week during archery season, and if you want to hunt after work it is the only option. I WISH I had more quality land to hunt.
Like SaronaFish, I hunt only mature bucks and go home deerless most years. I bait, and like many others who bait, am not a slob hunter baiting on public land. I shoot on average one mature buck every 3-5 years, and haven't shot a 1.5 year old buck or doe in at least 20 years.
To pigeonhole baiters as slob hunters isn't accurate. Slob hunters to me are the guys with private land who make deer drives below my stand on public land at the opening bell on opening day for their "meat run", and then sit on their food plots in the evening for their trophy buck. I have a lot of that in my area. These people use the public land as their grocery shopping, and their private land as their preserve. None of these guys would think of shooting a 1.5 year old buck or doe on their own land, but because it is public land "who cares?"
JDkoz, I actually agree with you. Especially the part about sitting on a bar stool to brag about the fork you shot. Zero self control from many if not most of WI hunting community.
At least in the northwoods if you can pull it off and shoot a mature deer, you did something gratifying. You can hunt with little to no pressure from humans and did it where it was a challenge. If you use bait it's nothing more than luring a deer in. If you can figure some deer patterns out not using bait in the northwoods and be successful, I'd imagine you could be successful in just about any plot of ground in any state. The public land hunter is and can be some of the most woods saavy dudes around. I've met many...and they don't bait.
You put a good, knowledgeable public land hunter on some good private ground, WATCH OUT! Oddly enough, I said I agree with JDKoz, but i know a chit ton of private land lazy azzes too, probably more so that public land guys. I know some public land guys that drag back a 50Lb bag of corn 2 miles. I wouldn't even do that.
what is the conversion of gallons to pounds? If it's 600 lbs per gallon then yeah, 2 lb bales.
7thSon, that's kind of the same issue all over. Many go out and finish tower stands the weekend before, get all baited up and ready to roll. I haven't gun hunted in a LONG time. I'll wait till the orange army is gone and go back in Jan when the deer finally dig out of their foxholes.
I'm sure LB's alfalfa bales are less than 2 gallon bales and within 50 yards of his house too..... 
I will give the anti-baiters a nod with the idea if a guy wants to shoot a deer in big woods he doesnt need bait. True statement. BUT thats only if the guy just wants to shoot a deer and doesnt care what it is.
I bait. I am pro-baiting. But I just want to shoot bigger deer. Like 135"+ or bigger. Its hard to find a deer like that let alone get him on camera just hanging cameras on one of the 1,000's of deer trails in the big woods. Hanging cameras on trails is about the only way I have seen deer get camera shy too. Camera over some bait and they dont care. So for me the bait is a tool to find a deer that I want to hunt because it gets me excited. Just so happens at this point in my life it takes a 135"+ deer to get me excited to hunt it.
