Thoughts on baiting

[Big Bore]

Something to understand about Texas specifically is that it’s 98% privately owned. So in most cases if you hunt, you lease from someone. My lease is a perfect example. 6 guys on 1000 acres of low fenced land. You can’t spot and stalk on my lease as a general rule, otherwise you’ll step on someone else’s spot, so to speak.

i completely understand those who say it isn’t their cup of tea however. I’ve spent my entire life hunting in Texas and love it. I also love my one trip a year out west chasing elk on public land.

 

[Pucky Freak]

To those who think you need to use bait (or dogs, or drives) to hunt deer on flat terrain with thick vegetation, if you didn’t use these techniques you would be forced to learn how to turn up the animals through decoying or patterning their movements, which is completely doable.

Deer baiting spreads like cancer. It amplifies baiting on surrounding properties, encourages high fence use, and eventually it’s a crutch you couldn’t avoid if you wanted to. It becomes a new normal. IMO the practice is best contained to where it is currently in the middle south and southeast where high fences are legal, and fazed out of use entirely where high fences are not legal in the Midwest, East, and Mid Atlantic.

 

[RafterH]

In parts of Texas there are way too many deer for the habitat. These deer remind me of Pavlov's dog. The spinner goes off, the deer step out. This and high fences are what many think of when Texas hunting is mentioned. However, many parts of the state do not have anywhere near these densities.

Where I hunt deer (North central Texas), our densities are stable but not high. As moist of us do, I try to study the animals behavior in order to increase my chances for success. In my area I have seen numerous times that a mature buck will never come near a feeder unless scent checking for does. In fact, many times I have seen mature bucks pushing does away from a feed/bait area to get away from other bucks. I have never shot a mature buck under a spin feeder.

As Big Bore mentioned above, Texas has very little public land compared to other states. However, Texas does have some pretty good draw hunts available on what little public land there is. I have drawn several times with great success and will continue to enter.

Most of my hunting is on leased land that I lease alone. The place is not very big, but I can hunt without competition. My buck from last year was nowhere near a feeder. The country was rough and I had to carry the quarters out. That suits me to a T.

If one wants to hunt over feed and it is legal, that is fine by me. I have in the past. I might again. Don't know. One thing about spin feeders in Texas that I do like is that they can keep the blasted hogs out of my way!

Oh, I don't hunt high fence either.

 

[Big Bore]

In parts of Texas there are way too many deer for the habitat. These deer remind me of Pavlov's dog. The spinner goes off, the deer step out. This and high fences are what many think of when Texas hunting is mentioned. However, many parts of the state do not have anywhere near these densities.

Where I hunt deer (North central Texas), our densities are stable but not high. As moist of us do, I try to study the animals behavior in order to increase my chances for success. In my area I have seen numerous times that a mature buck will never come near a feeder unless scent checking for does. In fact, many times I have seen mature bucks pushing does away from a feed/bait area to get away from other bucks. I have never shot a mature buck under a spin feeder.

As Big Bore mentioned above, Texas has very little public land compared to other states. However, Texas does have some pretty good draw hunts available on what little public land there is. I have drawn several times with great success and will continue to enter.

Most of my hunting is on leased land that I lease alone. The place is not very big, but I can hunt without competition. My buck from last year was nowhere near a feeder. The country was rough and I had to carry the quarters out. That suits me to a T.

If one wants to hunt over feed and it is legal, that is fine by me. I have in the past. I might again. Don't know. One thing about spin feeders in Texas that I do like is that they can keep the blasted hogs out of my way!

Oh, I don't hunt high fence either.

Sounds like you have the perfect set up. Specifically the part of having land to yourself. My lease is just west of Junction. Good luck this season.