baiting deer

I just read an article in the Greensburg Trib that reports Representative Gary Haluska, a Dem. from Cambria Cnty, Pa. wants to legalize using corn for bait for hunting .He is a minority chairman on the Pa. House Fish & Game Comm. so unfortunately he has some clout. Even though the PGC own Bioligists advise people not to feed Deer on thier own property for fear of overcrowding deer in one area & possibly helping to spread diseases. His reasoning is that hunting near a corn field is the same as hunting over bait,so baiting should be legal also.Never mind that hunting near a cornfield that is possibly hundreds of yards wide & long, require you to use skill & effort to pick out a spot,whereas (hunting)? over bait lets you pick out a spot almost anywhere & let the deer find it.I guess that the Rep. doesn't feel that we are killing Deer fast enough now. This bill is H.B.679    I know that as an old codger I think that there are too many changes being sought to increase the killing of our Wild Game & that they are ruining the concept of Fair Chase. Seems like it is all about killing now & people wonder why we are losing hunters. I ask that you take the time to contact your State Rep. & let them know how you feel on this subject. I personaly feel that baiting is as bad as road hunting is.   sam

Here in Ct baiting is illegal. The exception being certain specifically designated areas  along the Coast line.
      In those areas the Deer herd is highly overpopulated, however, Urban landowners generally do not allow hunting or individual lot size is too limited.   The baiting exception is  designed to draw Deer from those properties and hopefully achieve some kind of decent kill rate due to the general overpopulation and avoid disease or starvation.
   Used in such a limited manner its a useful tool of Game Management.
       Baiting works when ya want a higher kill rate.
  Personally I hope never to see it Statewide here or anywhere - takes the HUNT outa Hunting.
 

There is no doubt that folks like to be successful at whatever it is they are doing.  However, I suggest that if they are seeing deer on a fairly regular basis and do not kill one due to missing, no shot, etc, their level of interest remains high and they will continue hunting knowing that the stars will eventually align and they will be successful.
 
On the other hand if they go long periods of time without seeing their quarry many will soon become discouraged and will look for another activity that gives them more satisfaction. 
 
I am glad that you said (for the most part) as several on here are normally successful but still do not like the direction the PGC is heading and the  resultant loss of the less hard core hunters and their monies.
 
 Myself, I would rather hunt deer and turkey than watch bluebirds and wood rats but as deer and turkey numbers decline the PGC concentrating their time and money on the birds and rats.

Noplacelikehome

I know a guy who baits deer in Ohio(legal). Said it made the larger bucks feed more in his area BUT they are feeding at 2 AM.

 
That's the same experience the folks I know who bait have had. You may get one crack at the better bucks before they go nocturnal but that's about it.  Lots of pics on trail cams but mostly after midnight.

Places  thick  as Texas or  heavily posted like many Urban areas likely NEED baiting to keep herds in control. Ohio may well have access issues - dont know.
    Wont find  folks who think like me in those kinda spots -big Deer numbers and big horns or not.
    You will never find this guy sitting in an elevated box over a dirt road with corn all over it - may as well be punchin holes in paper at the range IMHO.
 Cant get around like in the past  but  wanna HUNT - even if it means less opportunity- meat aint what its all about
   . Please dont respond that ya NEED the meat either- After taking a week off and buying a tag or three and spending all the related cash ya could go to the marked and buy lots.
   Agree with what Doc pointed out but its not the same for all--some still believe in good old fashioned 'fair chase' as opposed to gratification.
 Different strokes----

The motive behind the bill is deeper than it appears. With the recent find of CWD in Pa, there was a rather swift push for the elimination of all deer farms and a ban on the feeding of deer statewide.
 
Many feel that the ban on the feeding of deer would unfairly target sportsmen while ignoring the rampant feeding of deer by non hunters. Birdfeeders are a big deer attractant and they would get a pass but a pile of corn in front of a trail camera would get the pinch.

Perhaps  have misunderstood the initial post- Believed it said Baiting for HUNTING- not passive baiting like a like for a Cam or a yard feeder for birds Etc.  Still dont like Cams or corn for finding a spot- like to Scout and figure it out pre season the old fashioned way.
 Heck - put out bait in my upstate NY backyard  to see the occasional Deer or Turkey come by- dont hunt there though.
Also gotta say -consider it Hunting to be  sitting on a trail or in  a Tree with the bow like many here as well as Still hunting ( mostly still hunting) - wasnt trying to say stand hunting aint right IMHO - just the bait part. Even for a stand or post  ya gotta do your homework-its just the bait method that dont cut it for this old guy..

the biggest thing I see here is the baiting-feeding corn results in deer coming to the pile after hunting hours .. according to my trail camera of my feeding station since Xmas,  the majority of the deer come after dark.. in fact it is almost like they know what legal hunting hours are... one or two may show up about a half hour after legal hours with the most showing up from 11pm to  4am to feed...
 
NONE have showed up during daylight hours.. at least at my feeding station....
 
I had a great conversation today with two guys about licenses sales and hunter numbers dropping...
 
here's the question I will send off to Harrisburg... what about lifetime license buyers/hunters  ......
 
example.
 
let's say I buy my lifetime this last summer.. that will show up as one lifetime sold for 2012 ..
 
I now no longer have to buy a license.. so that is one LOST sale for 2013... and forever...
 
multiply that times the number of lifetimes sold for 2012 and that will result in a loss of that number for 2013.. 2014 etc etc...
 
As for the number of deer hunters... same thing the PGC now has no idea if I am still a deer hunter or not...
 
at best the total sales and number of hunters are estimates
for hunter numbers or the number that stop hunting because of not being satisfied with the sport
 
 
with all the "baby boomers" now getting lifetimes  I can see a steady down=fall in total sales regardless of deer numbers... since youth are not and will not be entering at any where near the number of folks 65 buying lifetime licenses and there is no real idea on how many lifetimers are still hunting or have given it up for what ever reason...
 
I'll see what the PGC says about it........

Doc, you still have to get a new license every year

 
NOPE.... it is NOT A SALE... you get license ...  a tag for your harvest of a buck or turkey...and an application for doe tags... no license sale...  that is why I still buy a senior license every year and not a lifetime....
 
it is not recorded as a sale....so as I said == total sales go down each year for the number of lifetimes sold the year before...
 
same as fishing --- only you do not even have to come back for a trout, erie or combo permit.. one and done..... forever ...
 
all though the PFBC is thinking about changing that ....

PALS treats it as a sale. They also enter it into the data system the PGC uses to keep track of such things.  At any rate, be sure to let us know what the PGC says.

Actually Doc, the way they treat sales appears to be a bit confusing.  They do count and report Sales as you stated in house.  However, when they give that information to the  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  they apparently include the renewals in the sales. At least the FWS reports it that way. That is why you sometimes see a different set of numbers. It may have to do with how Pittman Robertson funds are allocated.
At any rate those are the numbers the FWS uses to compare the states from year to year and with each other. That means that as originally posted, nationwide we have gained 9% more hunters in the last 5 years and Pennsylvania hunter numbers have declined during the same period.

Another example of flawed numbers. If something as simple as that gets screwed up, how can anyone trust the other numbers the PaGC spouts out. As I always say, you can force numbers to say anything...WF

PGC wants flawed numbers