The Great Debate

Sitting about 17 feet up in a tree sure gives me, the hunter, a great view. It also makes it a little less likely for the deer to notice me, smell me or hear me. And, when they’re coming in to the apples and corn I put there for them, they are distracted.

This gives me a better chance to slowly reach for my bow or rifle and make my move. It also gives me a clear shot at very close range when the deer are relaxed and not expecting danger.

The subject of baiting for the purpose of hunting can be quite the nasty debate, to say the least. In some states or provinces, baiting is highly illegal and shunned upon, while in some it’s not. In Ontario, where I live and do the majority of my hunting, it is perfectly legal to bait deer for the purpose of hunting. It’s not however, in Alberta. But, it is legal in Saskatchewan. It is illegal to bait in Minnesota and but it’s fine in Michigan. So, clearly, it’s a regional thing and the laws vary from state to state and from province to province.

A lot of guys I know in my area do bait deer, especially the archery hunters who like close shots at relaxed deer who are not walking or running. There are a lot of bear hunters in Ontario too and almost all of them bait for bear. The shots are often less than 15 yards over a bear bait. Baiting for the purpose of bear hunting has been accepted for a long time now by many hunters. But, many of those same hunters think it is unethical and unsporting to bait for deer. Hmmmm… interesting.

First, let’s look at what baiting is really all about and the various types of activities that may not actually be called, “baiting” but are baiting, no matter how much you try to “pretty it up” or make it sound like something otherwise. Let’s look at food plots, for starters. If you don’t know what food plots are, basically, they are small areas of anywhere from an acre to maybe 10 or 20 acres of land that has been developed and planted with seeds that grow crops that deer just love. In fact, the seeds are manufactured specifically for hunting deer and “food plotting” has become a multi-million dollar business. But, did you know that there are areas where baiting is illegal, but putting in a food plot is perfectly legal? What’s the difference?

If you develop some land and plant it with crops specifically to attract deer for the purpose of hunting them, that’s baiting. I don’t give a sweet shit if it’s not normally called baiting, but it’s baiting. It just looks a little nicer, with neatly grown rows, rather than a pile of corn or apples thrown on the ground. It is something that you put there, that wasn’t there before, naturally. And, you put it there to attract deer so you can kill them. That’s baiting.

What about salt licks? You know - those big blocks of compressed salt that you can buy at the farm supply store for about five bucks. I hear them called, “mineral stations” a lot of hunting shows on TV. Call it what you want, it’s still baiting.

Now, I have to admit that I am one of these guys who is not all that supportive of hunting bears over bait. I’m stuck somewhere in the middle. I have done it – I’ve shot a half dozen or so bears over bait at less than 20 yards, all with my bow. And, my two best friends are planning to come up to my place next season to hunt bears with me – over bait. But, in the last few years I’ve been struggling with the ethical side of baiting for bear hunting. I think I now know what’s been bothering me. It’s not necessarily the act of baiting for bears that’s been the problem for me, but rather, the fact of “what” we bait them with.

Many bear baiting sites look like mini garbage dumps. You’ll see barrels, some tied to a tree and some lying around. You’ll also see and smell old oil from the local restaurant’s deep fryers throw all over the site. You’ll see old bread, old cookies, candies, gallons of molasses, old rotten parts of beavers or fish guts… and basically, a bunch of shit that would never be fit for humans to eat.

Bears aren’t fussy. They love sweets and they love the smell of old French fry grease lofting in the wind. And, if twenty gallons of old grease has been spread all over the bait site by the hunter, the bears walk through it and then spread that scent all the through woods when they walk to and from the site. But, when we bait for deer, guess what we bait them with? Well, at my stands you’ll see apples, corn, barley, soy beans, oats and hay. All good stuff. And, there are no barrels either that make most bear baiting sites look like a garbage dump.

If you think about it though, am I really doing anything different when I bait for deer as apposed to the guy who is baiting bears? Well, not really, other than the type of bait I’m using. It’s still baiting, whether it’s looks nicer or not. Just like the food plots we so often see on hunting shows on TV these days. Looks nicer, but it’s still bait.

There are SO many damn products on the store shelves these days that are made to attract deer. They differ from food plots, since you don’t plant them. Rather, you just dump them out onto the ground in front of your stand, or in some cases you spray it on some bushes near your stand. Is that not baiting? You’re damn right it is! And, I happen to think doing so is just fine as long as you take an ethical shot at your deer so you kill it quickly and humanely and you don’t leave any garbage around your stand. Some of the bear baiting sites I’ve seen are disgusting and give us hunters a bad name.

Now, if you are hunting in an apple orchard or on the edge of a corn field… is that baiting? Kind of… but probably not. You could sort of say you’re hunting over bait… kind of. But, maybe not…

The great debates continues. What do you think?