Leverdude

Where did I say it necessitated baiting? I said it rules out food plots. Sure it can be done without bait. My point is if its ok for people to bait by planting food for them then how can it be not ok for someone to attract them another way. If you hunt residential then you know the frustration of not being able to move over 100 yards when the deer decide to go the other way. Another thing is once baiting is legal just about everyone does it & it gets tough seeing deer if you dont happen to be in a place they go thru. Just as I'm sure a person planting food plots alters deer movement maybe screwing up a fellows honeyhole because the deer can now simply go eat from a garden.
I said above that I dont bait everywhere but if I need the deer to move away from a no fly zone a bit I'll give it a shot. I hunt over alot of plantings they like as well, whatever works, I dont see the point knocking another guys method tho.

Is eating in the middle of a crop field a natural occurence? If anything a deer finding food in the woods is more natural.

Everything we do is an attempt to swing things in our favor, thats about as natural as can be. If you dont wanna bait or cant, then dont, if you can & want to go ahead. If you want to draw deer into your area by planting food plots knock yourself out but dont lie to yourself & say its not baiting.
I'm not knocking anyone here just stating my opinion.

jcchartboy

You make some good points Leverdude. This thread is not intended to be pro/con baiting vs.foodplots.

It was intended as an area todebate peoples opinions concerning similarities/differences between the two.

For example..you make the statement..."Another thing is once baiting is legal just about everyone does it & it gets tough seeing deer if you dont happen to be in a place they go thru."

I couldn't agree with you more!!

Now compare that to the legal use of foodplots...I live in New York state where of course foodplots are legal...The fact is, I do not personally know a single person that plants foodplots to aid them in the harvest of their deer!! Even if they did they would need to be so large that they would be no different then any other agricultural field in the area. They certainly would not have any direct effects on neighboring hunters. (other than helping to support the herd)

I am certain however if baiting were allowed in NY I would be suffering from the same problem you earlier pointed out.."Another thing is once baiting is legal just about everyone does it & it gets tough seeing deer if you dont happen to be in a place they go thru." On top of that, once the season is over the deer are left to deal with the side effects that occur as a result of baiting.

I have stated on this board many times...if a hunter wants to hunt over bait so be it...however if that baiting activity is affecting other hunters that chose not to hunt over bait..then I believe it is detrimental to the sport.

Just one more pro/con comparison between the two...