http://m.startribune.com/outdoor-enthusiasts-support-cwd-bounties-program/508699042/
Without being an A**hole, any thoughts on this? We do not all have to agree on everything but we need to understand that we as hunters/conservationists need to work together to protect our resources.
Sometimes a picture is worth way more than someones opinion or a bunch of words. Saw a clip from the nightly news of a deer dying of CWD. The emaciated doe was lying in shallow snow watching the cameraman, shakily trying to raise up its head. Nasty, nasty stuff....
wow. this thread went sideways. I don't care if you bait or do food plots because I do neither. I hunt public, baiting is illegal and so is planting a food plot on the public.... I get along fine without both.... if it was legal I say hunt with how you want to hunt. Although I will say a food plot/field has many more benefits for wildlife than a bait pile.
To the original question. The way a question is worded can elicit a response from the public. Why so many yeses?? Benefits of the bounty program to the hunter. 1. If I turn in a cwd positive deer I get 1000$--wow that sounds much better than turning in a cwd positive deer and getting nothing. free money for me equals a lot of yes votes.
Reality. This does nothing to stop CWD. If you could recognize a sick cwd deer and shoot it, I would be all for this. But cwd does not show up til the end so you can not shoot just the sick deer. It has to be shoot every healthy deer that moves and hope you find cwd. Very few hunters will do this.
Bottom line. spend the money on research and hoping for a cure. (by the way did we cure cancer in humans yet)
real bottom line-- deal with it, accept it.. it will never change in my lifetime or my kids lifetime.
Michigan is not worth hunting, so no, i'd never hunt Michigan.
I personally couldn't care less about mineral. I don't run mineral, it does nothing anyway. I suppose the people that need a hit list or inventory of the bucks they have that's about all it's good for. If you think it's actually grows better antlers on a free range deer people are mistaken. Especially not when almost half will die before they see 2 years old.
PUNISH.....LMAO, man you are in La La land. Punish local gas stations. That's a good one. First it's wolves, now no baiting....hilarious. Let me guess, global warming and no snow so all of northern WI and MI goes bankrupt. SMH
"I hunt all over the midwest, I can honestly say I never once heard of them talk about baiting. "
Ever hunt Michigan?
"Mineral is a bigger problem than bait piles. If they really want to enforce no baiting. The DNR needs to start fining folks that sell branded mineral bags that are solely intended for deer and shut down the little places on every corner. There are other avenues to get mineral and corn, but make it harder to do so and that will stop some people. At that point it's work, and for many, they are lazy."
Really? What will that do? Punish local gas stations and sporting goods stores even more? Start regulating what people can sell in a free market? To what end...to attempt to stop a disease from spreading that cannot be stopped from spreading? What problems do you have with people using minerals? Are they ruining your hunts by making the deer go nocturnal 
Bagoboy, good point. It cracks me up when i see signs "deer apples" or "Deer Corn". What is even worse is that people think you can't kill a deer unless you lay down food.
I had permission once to hunt a property, it was 300 acres, only couple oak islands and a fenceline. the neighbor also had permission. 100 acres of beans, 150 acres of corn and the moron had a corn pile. Tell me that's not the most idiotic thing you've ever heard?
I hunt all over the midwest, I can honestly say I never once heard of them talk about baiting. Except for Ohio, they would put most people to shame. 500 lbs of corn down at all times. most don't hunt over it though, they do it to keep the doe around.
Mineral is a bigger problem than bait piles. If they really want to enforce no baiting. The DNR needs to start fining folks that sell branded mineral bags that are solely intended for deer and shut down the little places on every corner. There are other avenues to get mineral and corn, but make it harder to do so and that will stop some people. At that point it's work, and for many, they are lazy.
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the intent of a bait pile or food plot to bring deer into a concentrated area to feed? One just has more labor involved then the other but both accomplish the same task at hand. If there was truly an issue with baiting you wouldn't see pallets of corn being sold at gas stations in counties where its illegal to bait. The squirrels and bluejays must eat real well in those counties...
At the end of the day if congregating deer increases the risk of CWD a bait pile or food plot will accomplish both.
I don't knock any deer anyone shoots with a bow, i've always made that clear. Sitting near a food plot or on a food plot is not the same as sitting on a bait pile. Till you understand that fact, you'll never move on with your rationalization. You keep saying 1/4 acre food plot, sure, that's a kill plot. What about the guys that are planting 15 acres of corn or beans and acre plots. Do you think their ultimate plan is to kill on them? I don't think so. Myself, I plant 15 acres of beans at $75 an acre, you add it up. Then the lime and fertilizer and time. Plus 2 acres of a something different in both acre plots. I plant it for the deer. i've been doing it for 8 years now and think i've personally shot 2 deer on that property in those years. Last year I never even hunted it. I enjoy to watch deer eat the crops i plant. I like that they winter there making shed hunting decent. I like the fact that come april i have a already green food source that helps the deer and attracts turkey. The manure i spread takes time, attracts turkey and all sorts of wildlife. There is so much more involved that dropping a bucket of corn in a pile for 2 months. So you can do what you please and shoot what you want, but don't be mistaken that planting food is the same as placing food on the ground in one spot with sole intent to kill.
next time I do maintenance on the tractor or fix a rough cutter or fix something that broke on the grain drill i'll give you a call. you can put down the bucket your fixing the broken handle on and come help me.
I'm not saying i'm better than you or you are better than me. i'm just pointing out the fact that you are mistaken about your comparisons. Do as you please, but stop making rationalizations and comparisons as they are totally different in some cases. I'll agree that a 1/4 acre kill plot is to kill, but if it's planted and continues to grow, it's not a pile.
"Rationalization is the second most powerful driver of human behavior. 3.5 120” public land buck over bait is satisfying, you’re so good at hunting, or shall I say waiting."
I am not a good enough hunter or fast enough to chase down a deer like a wolf. I have tried dozens of times to chase down a deer in the woods, and spent years speed training at our local high school, bought myself a Bowflex, and spent over a year power lifting and performing squat thrusts at the local YMCA. One time I was able to jump down on a young buck like in the movie First Blood, but those animals are stronger than you think. Even after all of this strenuous training, the young buck pummeled me into oblivion. I woke up a day later (and it was cold!), found my survival knife, and sewed up the 8 inch gash in my arm. I realized at that point my years of speed training and squat thrusting was never going to get me to the precipice of being known as a great hunter.
So, after several years, after hundreds of futile attempts, and realizing I simply am not skilled enough, I wait for deer to walk close enough and use a weapon to kill them. I may patent this waiting idea, and waiting near food sources such as baits, acorns, food plots, and ag fields has actually worked for me. I share this here as an effort to help those that are not good hunters, like myself, be able to enjoy a bit of tasty venison.
Everyone waits, either over a pile or over a plot or an ag field or somewhere in between. The main issue is that we've become a bunch of stand sitters with masculinity problems.
Ma nature didn't get CWD under control and people didn't either. I think that's the point, throwing money at something with no results.
Have to admit I do enjoy reading how everyone rationalizes their hunting strategies. I think everyone's arguments are flawed including my own, but we sure are adamant about it. Whatever makes you cool in your head I guess.
Success should not be gauged on, the only way I know to hunt is to do one or the other.
What should success be based on?
This topic is to open narrow minds and entertain the idea of slowing it down (cwd) the best we can and let Mother Nature wipe out the weak
15+ years of baiting and feeding bans since its discovery in Dane and surrounding counties. For the wide open minds that hope to slow it down, how did that work? Ma Nature got it under control down there?
