Howler

So andrew, the guys that sit in a ground blind over looking a water hole waiting for antelope to come to drink, are they "cheating"? Might be the only water hole for miles, the antelope have to drink nearly daily!

What about a guy that sits in a tree stand overan elk wallow. Might be the only water/wallow for miles, so you can bet elk will come eventually. Cheating?

Sitting over a deer trail that leads from a known bedding sight into a planted food plot and has had a trail camera watching and recording deer movement for months ahead of time. Cheating?

What do they all have in common? hunters using thier noggins and using the habits of game against them in order to be successful at killing them!

Andrew, do you do spot and stalk only with a recurve. You can bet there are plenty of hunters that do, and YOUR way of hunting might seem a little like "cheating" to them! Your method doesn't have to be the same as the next guys method, as long as it's legal, why look down your nose at it?

Colorado Luckydog

We all have our own feelings and ethics when it comes todifferent waysof hunting. I won't shoot waterfowl unless they are decoyed birds, but I know a lot of hunters prefer pass shooting. Not my way of doing it, but if they are legal, not for me to judge. I would love to teach them them my way!

In answer to your question- after 3 unsuccessful spot and stalk bear hunts, yea, I think I would try abait hunt if it were legal.

Buckshot

Andrew, you really should try it before you knock it. Like a previous poster said, there are alot of places that hunting over bait is the only effective way to hunt. You could hunt your entire life in Maine, Ontario, Quebec or New Brunswich and without baiting never see a bear, much less shoot one, especially with a bow. I hunt WV and my home state of PA, 2 entirely different states when it comes to baiting deer. Like alot of people I had formed my own opinion of hunting deer over bait as beinglike shooting fish in a barrel. Let me tell you, I couldnt have been more wrong, in the 11 years Ive had my place in WV the grand total number of bucks Ive killed over bait has been a big fat zero, Ive actually seen bucks see the bait and turn the other way, and you wont ever ever see a decent buck at a bait in the day light hours. And the deer that do come into the bait are the most high strung nervous animals Ive ever seen, heck you cant break wind with out the dang things jumping out of there skins. Seems alot of people form knee jerk opinions without having any idea what their talking about. Just remember what usually happens when you assume something

Hiawatha

Ah yes someone who has the same thinking as I. We can bait for deer here and all of the outfitters use it as their #1 method as i would also if i had customers to please. I have tried baiting for deer several times and baited it well, every so often however i have yet to take a deer off of it. Big bucks do not show, they seen that movie once and didn't like the ending. You can shoot 150's all day but to get that booner chances are he won't come in. Yes the odd biggy will be taken over bait but in my experiences with it i have not been pleased and given up. I have changed my approach to not giving myself away and disturbing the area as little as possible rather than going in there every few days with some square bales and spooking stuff up and leaving scent. Bait is definatley not a sure thing.

AnnaMarie

To say taking an animal as a result of baiting is pathetic is harsh. I agree with the hunters who say it is all about preferance. I have hunted both ways with all types of game. I feel my "baited" hunts are just as rewarding and earned as my "non-baited" ones. Every hunter has their own ideas and should not be looked down upon for it. If you do not bait at all good for you, but do not criticize other's methods.

jhtrapper

Double nope, I think you should give it a try, I'm going for my first bear this May with bait.

_Dan

No. But I do have a problem with hunters bashing other hunters for their LEGAL methods of hunting. Stupid talk like this belongs on the anti's forums.

skeeter 7MM

I am with the nope crew as well. Baiting isn't foolproof and anything but easy, big misconception that you just throw out "trashcan" and they come a running. It takes everything that is required for other methods but as wellmore time attending vs hunting itself. Until you've seen what is entailed to be successful then you shouldn't cast stones to quickly.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion and I respect that, just extend the same curiosity.

Fuzzyballs44

[blockquote]quote:

ORIGINAL: wyomingtrapper

1. See my post in Andrewjoseph's thread.

2.You may have the idea that someone simply hikes to a nice looking spot, throws a barrel of garbage down, and then shoots the bear when it comes. Some forms of hunting occur well before the shot. In most places you don't get bear by just throwing a bait station anywhere. You need to know the area well enought to have an idea where the animals are traveling. You need to know the topography well enough to place the bait where the greater number of bears are "likely" to be. You need to try to find something to entice the larger bears out before shooting light is gone. Like other forms of hunting there are differing strategies that can be used to increase the reach of your bait and increase the odds of bear hitting the bait. You have to keep that bait well stocked everyday. Once bears hit it, they WILL clean it out. They come back and there is nothing there=they don't come back again. You are also feeding about everything else out there, helping numerous critters recover from winter.I've never baited for myself (just don't have the time and resources--it is a LOT of work), but have helped a few guys with their baits. It is a lot like trapping in some respects(Still a form of hunting, but set up to catch and hold the animal until you get there to either dispatch it or release it unharmed).

Try sitting over a bait once. Go ahead and leave the weapon at home. Take a camera. Many of us HUNT for reasons beyond harvesting an animal. You will see things over a bait that you seldom see through other methods of hunting. There is more to a good hunt than the kill....
[/blockquote]


First, I live by the saying "There is more to a good hunt than the kill..." and no matter how hard I have tried, I have not been able to truly put this into words when I'm explaining it to a nonhunter.

Second...you have a valid point and I always enjoy well thought out and educated answers. The only thing I would add to some of your explanation is the wind. Baiting requires more insight than most meteorologists have towards weather.

The terrain has effects on the thermals. Barometric pressure causes scents to rise to fast, or not be carried well. Moisture decreases the likely hood of detection...tempature cause things to freeze or and not be very aromatic. Finally strong winds or consistently swirling winds make the bait nearly impossible to find.

You have to take all of these variables and put the bait in a place that is most likely to be smelt and detected by an animal that is commonly scarce in most environments.

I have not bait because it takes so much work and so much effort and time spent that it makes it hard to do if you have a career of any kind.

The bears I have gotten come from shed hunting and scouting for hundreds of hours and tripping on one. Then I will only take the animal if it is noticeably large, or has a hide that is remarkable.....and never a sow if I even think she may have cubs.

But maybe if I would just spend the time to focus my efforts on YouTube so that I can become a noted expert in the matter of baiting....but unfortunately I have wasted my time hiking, camping, climbing, hunting, fishing, riding, shooting, searching, listening,watching, learning the rocky mountains of Idaho/Montana.....so many thousands of hours wasted!!!

~Cam

www.myspace.com/fuzzyballs44

_____________________________

HUNT STRONG!

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I post Idaho pics on there, let me know if you want to see more!

jones123

I have never tried it. Granted, my first reaction is that its not for me.

On the other hand, I do use bait to trap other types of animals. Once I get 'em trapped I jerk them around and tire them out until they are near death and helpless. Then I make them sufferwhile I admireand photograph them. I wait until they are just about to suffocate to death, then I let them go free. I don't even eat them - this is all for the pleasure of knowing I could have had them. The guys I do this with call it fly fishing.

I don't suppose hunting a different type of animal over bait is any worse. If I get a chance I will give it a try. And I'll eat it.