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The Rack Report Blog Contributors
The Rack Report Blog Contributors - Russell Graves

Russell Graves - Believes whitetails shouldn't be photographed in the back of a truck with their tongue hanging out.
Location - Texas

The Rack Report Blog Contributors - Brian Strickland

Brian Strickland - Has 369,518 acres of land that you can hunt on. Call him at (555) 281-HUNT.
Location - Colorado

The Rack Report Blog Contributors - Tony Hansen

Tony Hansen - Is pretty confident Michigan will release at least 300,000 archers into the woods this fall.
Location - Michigan

The Rack Report Blog Contributors - Jake Fagan

Jake Fagan - He's really just here to hang out, so don't mind him.
Location - Georgia

The Rack Report Blog Contributors - Will Brantley

Will Brantley - Loves hunting in a dorag because it makes him look Ramboish. Some may call it Little Man Syndrome.
Location - Tennessee

Thursday, September 11, 2008

 

Food For Thought, or Should I say Corn!

It's a reasonable assumption that where deer feeders and baiting is allowed, hunters have a higher success rate. Being born and raised in the Lone Star State where baiting is darn-near a religion, that has just always made sense to me, but is it true? Well, while I was flipping through a recent issue of Perersen's Bowhunting, a story by Bob Humphrey caught my eye, "Does Baiting Increase Deer Harvest Success?". He looked at a four year study done by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources biologist Charles Ruth, and his findings might cause you to think twice next time you hang your stand near a feeder.

The study looked at the Piedmont region where baiting is not allowed and the Coastal Plain region where it is allowed. Although deer density is similar in both areas, the study did concede that there are slightly more deer in the Coastal Plain region, and that the area has a longer season by about 30 days. Other than that, no significant differences were noted.

In the Piedmont region, where baiting is not allowed, hunter success was 33% greater. Furthermore, in that same region, doe harvest alone was 41% greater. What was even more interesting, is hunters from the Piedmont region spent 6% fewer days in the field chasing deer. In a nut shell, where baiting is not allowed, hunters killed more deer in less time!

Now I know this is only one study, and in different regions of the country, variables like mast crop, hunting pleasure, deer density, farming or just plain old tough country, could make a difference in these findings. But it made me wonder, does baiting equal higher hunter Success? Quite frankly I don't know, but this study might make you think twice before you slap that stand over a feeder this season!

Just Food for Thought
-Brian

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