No it’s not good at all. I also just spent my first hunt ever as a guest sitting on a baited greenfield at a club. Fucking gay, I’d never want to spend my season hunting that way.

It still is free if you want to do it that way. The dcnr redefining "area" to 100 yards away and out of sight was what opened the door for almost anyone to bait, and once everyone was baiting, that made it possible to get the corn license passed and make them a lot of money. And making money for the dcnr is the whole point of having wildlife in the state.

Well don’t then. God made everyone different. If we were all the same it would be pretty boring around here.

No... The state only allows it because of the revenue it produces. There is no doubt that some folks wouldn't be seeing or killing deer otherwise.

you are correct, Pwyse. finding a big white oak that is dropping delicious acorns, and then placing your stand nearby, is using bait that is naturally occurring. planting a field that provides delicious non-native turnip greens for weeks during deer season is baiting, via manipulating the environment.

Complicated question. For those who take pride in figuring deer patterns out, strategically setting stands between food sources/bedding, working the land, etc. the answer to this question is probably "no". There's always a segment of people who excel in something who aren't very fond of anything coming along with helps level the playing field. For traditionalists, the answer for them is probably "no" as well because that wasn't the way it used to be done.

On the other hand, for the hunter who doesn't have time to do everything mentioned above, legalizing baiting has helped him/her to have success in harvesting deer because it's obviously a game changer. Also, baiting legalization has also changed the game for the hunter who only has 2-10 acres to hunt - now lack of bedding, food, etc. isn't as much of an issue as before.

For me, baiting has allowed me to be more successful because we're able to hold our deer more successfully. As a leasee, I don't control the habitat of my land... and up until recently the majority of our land was mature timber stands. In years those stands produced acorns, our deer stayed on us and in years when there weren't acorns, our deer would leave. Baiting changed that cycle and helped us avoid the years when we wasted lease monies. Early in my life, I can recall when this same discussion was held in regard to planting food plots. Old timers were very resistant to accept the idea of sitting in a house and watching a field instead of being in the woods or letting dogs run deer by them. Yet, just a few decades later I don't know of anyone who is against the idea of food plots. Will see what a couple more decades reveal about baiting.

And hamburger is the same as Prime rib. 😂

They’re both cow after all

On a base level it’s the same. In a less simple view it’s not. No need in thinking. Make it fit your narrative does not make it’s 100% correct cause it is more to it.

That’s not even getting into the possible increased harm we are exposing our herd to with cwd coming.

This is pretty much the only part about this thread that matters ^^^^^

Agreed to a point. "Success", though, is in the eye of the beholder. For me, it's not about the killing but enjoying the sport. I haven't really killed any more deer/bigger deer since baiting has been allowed. But there's no doubt we consistently have more deer on our place than prior to it, so that means opportunity is increased.

I don't think what you possibly insinuate, however, is always true. For some hunters, indeed it's all about personal satisfaction. But I think for most I know, there's also a balance between "what's best for me" compared to "what's best for the entire deer herd". IF the state and experts could successfully convince people that baiting is bad, then I believe most would pay attention to that. The problem is that both the state and "experts" often have skin in the game that distorts their opinions - and thus can't be trusted for reliable information.

Corn has been a tremendous help for me. Most of my guys now think that a deer can’t be killed unless you’re sitting over a pile of corn. They each got their spots with their corn piles. I love it because it keeps them out of my way and leaves 95% of the property for me to hunt as I please. However this morning I’m actually in one of those stands because it was the closest stand to the camp and was able to get here without getting wet. But now the rain has gotten heavy and I’m stuck in this thing till it stops.

Baiting was so "Bad" in past years that it was considered to be ILLEGAL and it was technically a crime to do it. Yet over half the state was still baiting the heck out of them. If you think that the state telling people that baiting is bad would cause people to pay attention and change people's attitudes toward it, you are sadly mistaken. This cat is out of the bag, long gone, and is never going back in, unless the state makes it fully illegal again and the fine for getting caught is confiscation of weapon, vehicle, and several thousand $$ or jail time. Unless it is going to really really hurt, anything you try to do is just peeing in the wind.

This is EXACTLY right!

Both are cow. Both create the same result, a turd.

One person may like prime rib better than hamburger, or vice versa. But the goal and result is the same.

Baiting is the same exact thing. It doesn’t matter which bait you use. The goal and result is the same. They all help you kill deer.


Some people just think prime rib is a sin because it was once illegal and socially viewed as a bad way to bait deer. It was viewed as lazy and if you had to use corn to kill a deer you were no hunter at all. But sitting over a green patch and killing deer was perfectly ok.

I’m glad you explained my point so clearly Carter. Thanks buddy.

🤦‍♂️ You clearly missed what I said.

" IF the state and experts could successfully convince people that baiting is bad, then I believe most would pay attention to that."

You clearly missed what I was saying. Even if they were able to fully convince them that baiting is bad, the hunters in this state will still buy their corn by the pallet load and hunt over it. It doesnt matter to the avg alabama deer hunter one bit, what is best for the herd, the state, what the experts say or whatever is legal or illegal. If they feel that baiting will give them a better chance to kill more deer, then to heck with what the state and experts say. Being able to attract and concentrate more animals and more easily kill more deer is the only important variable in the equation to them and exactly what they are going to do. Years of history from when it was taboo and fully illegal prove my point. Regs, laws, what's best for the herd and wildlife across the state, all take a back seat here in Alabama, when it comes to being able to attract and kill more animals. Only thing that will stop them is fear of jail time, losing their vehicle, their guns or bows, or being fined enough that it affects their lifestyle. Short of that, nothing is stopping the baiting train here in this state.

The hunters will never wholeheartedly agree on anything about deer hunting

This thread is a case in point. Any hunting club with more than a few member sis another fine example.

A group of humans will never agree especially as that number increases.

IF... If you read all of my comments, I clearly implied the state would never be able to do that. But... IF the state were to be able to prove that baiting would eventually wipe out the deer herd (again something that I don't think can ever be done), I'll stand by my statement that most of the hunters I know would halt the practice because I believe there are still hunters out there who want to preserve this sport for future generations. Would many selfishly continue to bait... absolutely. But I don't know looking back to the pre-baiting period gives any clear picture of what the future might be because ( I may be wrong here) baiting at that time wasn't ever proven as being detrimental to the deer herd. To the best of my memory, it was presented more from the view of "fair chase", not from a point of "it will destroy the deer herd".

Up here in Michigan baiting was legal for decades until a few years ago they outlawed it because the DNR felt it was helping to transmit disease. A few guys I know grew up baiting and some still illegally bait because its all they know. Others quit baiting and quit hunting cause they can't kill a deer without the corn. However now the DNR is crying about having too many deer and hunters aren't shooting enough, can't make this crap up. IMO a bad idea for Alabama to legalize it to begin with. Once you open that box its hard to go back. I grew up hunting in Alabama without bait and credit that to learning all the woodsmanship I know today. I tried baiting up here before they outlawed it and it is definitely easier to kill deer but I hate hauling all that damn bait around and feel like I am cheating. Give me a cutover or acorn flat any day over that crap.

Baiting has been bad for me. In general. I simply don't need a corn pile myself and since I own my own land I've been hunting it for 30 years. I've got a pretty good idea of the hunting dynamics under both scenarios. Legal/Illegal......

My takeaway is simply this..... We are living through the "Wild West" era of Deer hunting as it pertains specifically to Alabama. Since re-stocking at NO point in time before today in this State have rules been as lax while also being completely dismissed and ignored in this manner. And no other State in the entire United States is currently or has ever been this flippant about hunting while trying at the same time to claim they are "managing"

Nobody is managing a dam thing in Alabama. There are plenty of people doing research and trying to make it seem as if they are doing something beneficial, collecting pay checks and doing "studies" but whatever it is they are allegedly doing is a failure from top to bottom.

Hunters in this State have lost respect for game laws and the animals we are hunting. Seems like we are all dancing around something. I don't know what exactly that something is, but if the DCNR wants all the deer dead we need to start rifle season October 1st and lower the out of state license costs. Because there is money involved. Because large landowners make a lot of money off their hunting leases. And these have become the decision points.

Love shooting some crappy AL Bucks but it's getting harder and Corn is yet another headwind for those of us who enjoy the sporting aspect of deer hunting. There is nothing profoundly "sporting" about shooting a doe over a corn pile in Alabama. Pouring something out on the ground and hunting over it. That's not difficult given the deer population. The more difficult thing it appears for a lot of AL hunters is keeping their trigger finger in their pocket. The only way to worsen that tactic is to put a fence around it IMO. Baiting is not legal in most States because it's a bad idea. But Alabama isn't most States....Our deer are all 2.5 year old 4 pointers. However, THAT is NOT a shooting a doe over a corn pile problem. That took a lot of work over a lot of years to get here...