Man admits to baiting. What would you have done?

[Hookeye]

Baiting is frowned upon b y many because it reduces or appears to reduce, the idea of sport.
Same for Xbow in bow season.
Don't like the similarity? Don't give a flip.
Think P&Y rules of 65% max letoff were fine (private club- don't like it go do your Buckmasters type of thing).
Xbows were frowned upon socially (but within that most thought them OK for those who needed them- inured/aged).
The archery press changed its tune when the advertising money started to roll in.
I found a 2010 D&DH mag at work tonight......................mostly X bows ads.

I do know of some old timers that were anit X bow until they got crippled up and needed them. 3 of them still curse X bows, but it gets them afield when they couldn't otherwise and that's OK (one might even say they've paid their dues with reg archery tackle over the years).

A couple claim enlightenment and try to blow smoke up our arses. They can't stomach the idea of being labelled "Xbow hunters"..............as that might give a clue to something along the lines of "has been bowhunter". Not gonna name names, but had my fill of that crap on another forum.
The problems with them seeing their reflection in the mirror are theirs, not mine. I'm getting older, it sucks, but it beats the alternative. I don't wear a toupee or dye my friggin beard, or drive a Corvette.

But since society in general sucks, we have X bows being a hot selling item.
Why not allow baiting too?

Other places have both of them legal?

One is somehow OK and the other not? I think that pretty friggin' lame.

Make them both legal. And use what you want within the rules. No bait or X bow for me, even if both were legal.

 

[Hookeye]

BTW, I think the DNR put a robo deer on my bud's dad's place a few yrs back. Don't think anybody fell for it (they've had probs with road hunters up there for some time).

 

[w_ADAM_d88]

I was actually just talking to a gentleman that showed me a picture of a NICE 10pt. and the deer was actually laying in a pile of corn. I asked him where that buck was shot at and he told me the state in which it was shot. I asked him... "Oh you're allowed to bait deer down there?" His response was... "Well you're not supposed too, but we just hang a sign on the tree that reads, not for deer use."

 

[cschwanz]

 

[yote hunter]

I would of acted interested and got as much information as possible (Name, Lic. plate number and whatever else I could get) and called the DNR with the info and let them handle it as they see fit... From then on if he got bust its on him for being a dumb ass and poacher... Its against the law plan and simple at this time... Now if he wanted to plant a food plot that's a different story and is legal to do.... Right is right and wrong is wrong... So at this time he has poached 3 does... Hmmmm, sad just sad and he wonders why he isn't seeing any deer.. I for one am glad he's not seeing any deer from the sounds of it he would kill every one he got a chance at, again prob. more then the county allowed....

 

[AGarbers]

Any thought given to possibly this being a DNR baiting trap?

I remember very clearly a few years back some young buck DNR officers dressed in camo, carrying fishing rods discretely checking licenses and catch limits on the trout stream.

No. I know both of the ICOs in this area. It wasn't Knoy or Labonte.

As far as crossbows, I use one. Elbow damage from 36 years of work has made it so I can't tolerate pulling back a bow. Trust me, after lugging a heavy crossbow through the woods, a compound or recurve would be preferable. Not to mention I can't have the fun of going to Nancy's Broken Arrow every month.

Food plots are not all they're cracked up to be. I hunt over one that cost me $$$ to plant and maintain. In the past four years I have seen two does in the clover. That's it. Most of the deer prefer the raspberry leaves that surround the food plot. In Indiana there is so much natural food, a food plot isn't a huge attractant. What chance do I have with my small clover plot when the non-hunting neighbor across the road has ten acres of it? Not to mention the thousands of acres of corn and soybeans that surround me.
I do run a feeder outside of hunting season so my elderly father in law has something to watch. It brings in squirrels, chipmunks, crows and turkey, but even all of them may go absent for days.

 

[JNG]

Not to hijack the thread, but I don't get the anti-crossbow mentality. I shoot a 12-year old Mathews compound, never been an x-bow hunter. But for guys who don't have the time or ability to shoot a lot of arrows, an x-bow is going to be a much safer bet for them to avoid wounding a deer. Fewer wounded deer seems like a pretty good upside to me.

As far as the OP's question, I would have shaken my head and left. Baiting deer is illegal and foolish, but it's not immoral (unless you think all crime is immorality, in which case I hope you always wear a seat belt and never speed). If some dude wants to risk serious criminal penalties over a deer that could be taken legally with a little more knowledge and elbow grease, that's his mistake to make.

 

[phylodog]

But for guys who don't have the time or ability to shoot a lot of arrows, an x-bow is going to be a much safer bet for them to avoid wounding a deer. Fewer wounded deer seems like a pretty good upside to me.

That misconception brings about a good bit of the issues many people have with crossbows. We've helped two people in the last week and a half track deer they shot with a crossbow onto our lease; neither of them were lethal shots. A responsible, ethical hunter practices with their weapon(s) of choice, the adoption of crossbows as a legal method for taking deer during the archery season brought a lot of the idiots who buy a gun the day before gun season starts into the archery season.

 

[JNG]

I wish we had a good way to track good data for this. Solid data that x-bows (for example) don't increase the ethical harvest rate would make a convincing argument (to me, anyway) to walk that rule change back.

 

[Hookeye]

If one didn't have the time or skill to use a regular bow..........they had this thing called "gun season".

No time, or skill................could be justification to allow baiting. Closer shots should lead to reduced wounding..........and that a "good upside".

 

[cschwanz]

If one didn't have the time or skill to use a regular bow..........they had this thing called "gun season".

Still need to practice with a gun too. Make sure you know POI at various distances, etc. Being proficient with whatever weapon you choose is vital to success.

 

[Hookeye]

No sheite.

But regular archery tackle I think on avg requires a fair amount of practice (more than gun).

With sights and release it's (for me) no big deal. Trad I shot weekly.

Judging yardage and learning sight pictures...........that may require more practice than mastering the bow.

You'll also note that in my prev post I didn't say that practice was not required with a gun, simply stated that if one did not have the time or skill to use a regular bow there was an (easier) option.