Phil from Maine

No baiting allowed here, but in your case what is the difference if deer are coming in and out of apple trees? Most will use the same route over and over. So if I was to set back on the trail they use going to and from would I be baiting? Even though I maybe 300 yards away? I do not think so as the deer can and will go in what ever direction they want..

GMMAT

120"?? Bunch of 'em????

Wash....what's you biggest buck, to date? I admire your confidence....but I'm a firm believer in the deer we're seeing now not necessarily being the same deer we're gonna be seeing come deer season (at least not in the same places). It may be harder than you think to "pick and choose".

Good luck to you though.

mobow

I've read several books regarding the hunting of mature bucks this year, and there is a reoccuring theme......Use any and all legal methods you have at your disposal.

LOL.....I gotta laugh a little......"gonna be hard deciding which one to shoot." LOL.......that's just plain ole funny right there.......

The first one that gives you a good shot, that's which one......See, that wasn't such a difficult decision.

GMMAT

mobo.....

I've read Joe Brooks......and according to him....I should be baiting. Just not interested......but I have my own reasons (i.e. I think it's easier to kill them NOT over bait). Joe would (and probably still does) hang a stand in a yard. I hunt woodlots behind two houses.

Why do we (as a community, somtimes) want to make this HARDER? I hunt where they ARE. If Wash can bait to keep 'em on his property.....that's his decision. Don't be surprised, though, Wash......when it's not as easy as you're making it out to be for your neighbors. If I thought I could kill a slammer ('slammer' being relative) by baiting him in......I'd do it. It's legal.....and I don't much care what others think.

Rick James

Honestly, as someone that grew up around baiting (in Vermont) I would be absolutely shocked if the mature bucks were spending much if any time at all around that bait during legal hours. Great way to kill the little ones but 99% of the mature deer I know of that were killed in areas where others were baiting were no where near a bait pile when they were killed.

njbuck22

I have to agree with what others are saying. I know that it has been debated on here till we are all blue in the face, but baiting isnt as easy as everyone makes it out to be. To kill a doe or small buck over bait isnt that hard at all. Pick out a good spot where the deer feel safe during the day, bait it every day and dont hunt the spot when the wind is wrong and you will get your shots. To kill a mature buck over bait is a whole different story, atleast where i hunt. The old bucks know what a corn pile is and we never see them during the day here, we hardly ever even get trail cam picks of them at night over corn. Good luck with whatever you choose to do, but imo, i think the best way to get a crack at the big ones would be hunt funnels leading to the bedding areas and mock scrapes.

BowHunterJim

I dont think u will see mature bucks on bait during legal shooting hours during hunting seasons. I would try and find where thay go for food naturally and set up 100 yards deep on a game trail that leads to the food.

Bullet Hole Bailey

Well i am glad your having that problem wash!

mobow

GMMAT, I personally agree with you. Baiting is not legal in MO, and if it were I don't think I would. I'm not going to get into the baiting debate, I'll simply state I'm glad it's not legal here.

manuman

Baiting is a lot like food plots. In one place ai huint in Alabama, everybody and there brother are making food plots, but not for the typical school of thought on the subject. Their neighbor has 20 of them, so I had better have some too, or 'my' deer are going to be sucked in to their property to hit their food plots. It has become a vicious cycle rather than a 'mangement' tool. The good news is that you have somw well fed deer, but they are probably harder to hunt, because they aren't going to frequent the overhunted food plots during daylight hours, and are forced to be shrewder in their attempts to find security cover,eventually resorting to mostly nocturnal movement.