HB 1618

Lost Lake said:
I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this then. If a person wants to bypass ethics, sportsmanship, and fair chase under the guise of hunting, then I'll call it what it is.

All who are in favor of baiting can rest easy. With politicians and money involved, it'll pass eventually.
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First I'm against baiting, if it happens to be legal I won't bait. I find it ironic the ones that push against baiting the hardest hunt food plots.
 
timberjack86 said:
First I'm against baiting, if it happens to be legal I won't bait. I find it ironic the ones that push against baiting the hardest hunt food plots.
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I can't speak for or condemn others who do, but I've never put in or hunted a single food plot.

But that's my choice.
 
MidTennFisher said:
There is absolutely no way that license sales are down in TN. The only way that could be presented as fact is if there is some shady methodology for how they're calculating it. And if you wish to dig further, USFWS data clearly shows that hunter numbers are not down.

If TWRA is claiming they have less operating budget then someone needs to call DOGE on their butts because they're wasting money. With hunter numbers clearly not declining, as per USFWS data, and so many people moving into TN, it's impossible that hunter numbers in TN are down.

But other than that, baiting should remain illegal in TN and there is a long thread elsewhere in which we all laid out the numerous negative effects on wild game and other wildlife as a result of piles of corn on the ground. All it does is make it significantly easier to kill deer. The cons way out-weigh the one pro.
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Agree hunt your hunt. But as a land owner I want to bait year round. My choice if passed. USFWS showed 20,000 decrees in the US last year. I hunt several states and yes most bait. Does not mean I pull the release or trigger every time. I'm not a trophy hunter, I am a meat hunters. There is a difference. I soon shot a doe. I shot one buck this season a cull buck IMO. That's a subject for another day.
HUNT YOUR HUNT...
 
Food plots done correctly can provide year around healthy food sources for a variety of wildlife. Majority of corn feeders or corn piles are not managed year around...fact.

Food plots don't concentrate animals in tight areas.....feeding stations and bait sites do...which could encourage the spread of disease...fact.

Then there are aflatoxins that can develop in todays corn. Especially in humid southern climates. For this reason the state of Texas only allows certified aflatoxin free feed corn. Aflatoxins are deadly to wild turkey poults and song birds...fact.

A land manager can add more healthy forage per acre to his property with a few gallons of chainsaw gas than he ever will with a sack of corn...fact.

Corn can also prop up coon populations which are known turkey nest raiders...fact.

And I'm not sure what shooting houses and buddy heaters have to do with us doing whats best for wildlife? So no comment.

So, as managers we have to decide if we want to be a good steward for all wildlife or do we want to serve ourself with a single goal of killing a deer.

And who really needs corn to kill a deer?
Is the return on investment worth the risk?

Not for me...manage the habitat and provide way more healthy food and cover for a variety of wildlife.
 
Like i said this was brought up months ago and I seceded to be quite and only really got involved when the name calling started . IMO if you can't have a discussion like men and have resort to name calling like a kid would do then it'd be best to just let the ruling party do their job to even see if this thing passes . And for the record I don't bait but a few years ago put corn out to see what was coming to my little property with trail cameras. I quit putting out corn when I found out it was harmful to some wildlife and no longer run trail cameras either....the cell trail cameras are like cheating ....so here's another subject to discuss . Free range ...not quite .

To also set the record straight I was only arguing the bait part so as to evening the playing field to those that don't have the means to put out food plots ....not everyone has tons of property and the machinery either . But once it just got to people getting mad I stopped discussing it . But now here we are .....again !! Wished I'd kept my $.02 out ..
 
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How does corn even the playing field? If the big money neighbor has more money, more free time, better equipment, and better land, doesn't it stand to reason they can still out-bait the little man?

Maybe instead we should just legalize trespassing so the little man that doesn't have time, means, or want to, can access the same habitat and wildlife that the "rich landowners" have to themselves?

Why should the government be concerned with equity among hunters and properties? Equality of opportunity? Sure, everyone gets the same bag limit and season length. But that's where I draw the line.
 
Snake said:
Like i said this was brought up months ago and I seceded to be quite and only really got involved when the name calling started . IMO if you can't have a discussion like men and have resort to name calling like a kid would do then it'd be best to just let the ruling party do their job to even see if this thing passes . And for the record I don't bait but a few years ago put corn out to see what was coming to my little property with trail cameras. I quit putting out corn when I found out it was harmful to some wildlife and no longer run trail cameras either....the cell trail cameras are like cheating ....so here's another subject to discuss . Free range ...not quite .

To also set the record straight I was only arguing the bait part so as to evening the playing field to those that don't have the means to put out food plots ....not everyone has tons of property and the machinery either . But once it just got to people getting mad I stopped discussing it . But now here we are .....again !! Wished I'd kept my $.02 out ..
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I'm sorry for bringing it up. I saw the Hb1618 on another site and thought it might be interesting to talk about. But as normal and a reason I left this site for awhile is we can't talk like grown men and I like to hear other opinions on the matter. I am a property owner and what I do on my land should not matter to anyone else. For how I hunt should not matter either. Thank God we are different. I'm 66 and I've hunted all over the US and I'm thankful. Over 50 years of hunting experience and have a degree in Wildlife Management. We don't have to agree but we have a right to our own opinions. SORRY....
 
Wait until your neighbor starts baiting heavily. It can completely change deer travel patterns.you won't see as many deer if you don't bait as heavily as the neighbor. They may stop baiting before turkey season to be legal, but the turkeys remember and are clustered around their feeders even after they are empty. I don't see the sport in shooting a deer with his nose in a corn pile.
 
Double-D-Team said:
I'm sorry for bringing it up. I saw the Hb1618 on another site and thought it might be interesting to talk about. But as normal and a reason I left this site for awhile is we can't talk like grown men and I like to hear other opinions on the matter.
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No apology needed. You asked for an opinion on HB1618 and several shared reasons they are against it...and a few shared why they are for it...everyone can read through the conversation and determine for themselves what they feel is best for wildlife...everyone has an opinion on the topic.
 
MickThompson said:
How does corn even the playing field? If the big money neighbor has more money, more free time, better equipment, and better land, doesn't it stand to reason they can still out-bait the little man?
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I'm certain that the number of acres owned or whats parked in the tractor shed doesnt dictate whats best for wildlife.
To me, feeding bagged corn to deer, isnt whats best for wildlife (my opinion) and whats best for wildlife doesnt change based on ones circumstances.
 
DoubleRidge said:
No apology needed. You asked for an opinion on HB1618 and several shared reasons they are against it...and a few shared why they are for it...everyone can read through the conversation and determine for themselves what they feel is best for wildlife...everyone has an opinion on the topic.
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Yes sir, thank you.
 
Not for it. Wish they would ban it year round.

It will pass eventually it's all about money now.

The amount of people already doing it is probably astounding. Tsc, coop, Walmart all those places sell bait and sell it by the pallets.

I would say this careful what you wish for, because once it's passed it's not going anywhere ever unless there's a disease that stops it.

And our poor turkeys, we will be lucky to have a huntable population in 15 years if this passes.

How do you regulate that? Can you shoot turkeys over bait? Twra hands will be tied.

Aflatoxins, moldy ass corn, muddy bait stations, more predation, diseases, etc...

I don't think it would change anything but what will it do to hogs? We are extremely lucky in middle tn not to have them could this help move them around more? Probably not.. but who knows?
 

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