HB 277: Deer Hunter vs. Deer Hunter
by PV
We received two opposing e-mailed views on the shooting of deer over bait. Without exposing two private individuals with two different viewpoints on this topic, we will refer to them simple as Deer Hunter #1 and Deer Hunter #2 in their authorship of their opinions:
Dear PV,
From the hunter’s perspective, I would argue that it depends on his or her purpose in hunting. If it is for sport, then why would you hunt over bait? If, on the other hand, it is about filling your freezer, why wouldn’t you?
I know plenty of people who hunt wild hog, deer, squirrel, rabbit and turkey for the purpose of reducing their grocery bill… but then I live in a rural area. We may have a little different perspective.
I’ve also had to deal with this issue from a law enforcement perspective as I was a Probate Judge and had jurisdiction over fish and game cases. Hunting over bait can be a very murky issue to adjudicate.
As for the farmers liking this idea… do you have any idea how much damage wild hogs and too many deer do to crops? Arguing that rural representatives actually representing their constituents across the State is a violation of house rules is a bit of a stretch.
– Deer Hunter #1
————————————————————–
Dear PV,
I hunt to fill the freezer as well and don’t hunt over bait for one reason aside from it is barbaric. When bait is in an area, deer do not have to move to feed. Under normal circumstances deer browse for many hours during the day and night. While you might shoot 1 or 2 deer easily over bait the deer will adapt and understand that coming to bait is dangerous. This is when deer become nocturnal. They only move at night and they don’t have to move for long periods of time because there is a giant food source at 1 spot.
To offset this many baiters use timed devices to broadcast bait only during daylight hours. These timed devices make a noise when dispersing bait. In some areas deer will respond to the sound a timed baiting device makes and will move to the sound. Some unethical hunters will hunt over the timer and distribution device and shoot deer when they respond to the noise after they have been trained to respond to the sound and food. Finally the timers can be set up to only disperse bait in a time each day when the hunter is present.
Example: Monday through Friday the bait is dispersed only at 7:45 am. The deer respond each day for a belly filling buffet. Saturday morning rolls around and BOOM. The great white hunter scores when Bambi responds to the week of month of conditioning.
– Deer Hunter #2
