“Baiting” - What is and is not considered.

[Scotty]

1. 
   https://www.tn.gov/twra/guide/hunting-regulations.html#:~:text=No person shall make use,10 days prior to hunting.
    
2. “No person shall make use of bait to hunt (TCA 70-1-101) wildlife unless the bait has been removed and any electronic feeder disabled at least 10 days prior to hunting. Salt and mineral are allowed if the salt/mineral contains at least 51% salt by weight of salt minerals or it does not contain whole grain or other non-refined food stuffs.”

When it comes to firearms and anything related I don’t mess around. I follow the law to the letter. I recently had a neighbor poach a deer (backstraps cut out and rifle round to the head) that ended up getting dragged into my property. I called TWRA and reported it and after an hour and a half of calling random numbers someone told me they could get there 3 days later. As I hunt on my property I wanted to proactive and report it so if something came up down the line I hopefully wouldn’t be subjected to any searches/seizures.  I told them not to bother. The turkey vultures and coyotes cleaned and dragged it in 7 hours. 
 

I’ve done my own internet sleuthing, and this seems like a very gray area. I do not use a feeder, I do plant natural foods such as clover,kale,  don’t cut down pokeweeds, etc. I’ll toss a mineral block in the spring to help them out w antler growth.

I didn’t get any pears this season, but my persimmons are starting to drop. Am I 100% in the right if I were to collect and store them and then throw them in the field on the 15th when gun season opens up? I wouldn’t consider this baiting as it’s already the 6th and with a soft winter I still have many on the tree. They go crazy for persimmons and I just sit there and wait as I haven’t had the time time to be confident bow hunting yet. 
 

Also worth noting, I have a small home and not setup for processing my own so I pay a processor. Common sense tells me that after field dressing if the processor sees corn or other bait still in the tracts that he would call it in. It’s persimmons, that occur naturally. I generally feel I’m in the right, I’m not dumping sugar or corn or nailing peanut butter or sorghum to a tree… when it comes to firearms I do not mess around because this is one hobby that I generally enjoy. Any advice or knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks!

[KahrMan]

If you collect the persimmons and put them where they would not naturally drop I believe that would be considered baiting.

They way a game warden explained it to me was if you are hunting in an apple orchard you are fine shooting deer that eating the apples off the ground around the trees.  If you collect the apple and move into the woods and then hunt over them then it would baiting.

[Omega]

If you put out a food source, it is baiting.  I don't think it matters if you scatter it under the same tree that produced them or not, especially if you purposefully time it to coincide with your hunt.  If it naturally falls, grows, or is dropped in the performance of harvesting, then it is not considered baiting.  It may be hard for a GW to prove you scattered them under the tree, but if you are following the law, then don't do it.

[Scotty]

Thank you for the responses. The tree is opposite of the stream 100 yards where they sometimes bed down. Won’t be moving any. Couldn’t find this info on my own. Much appreciated. 
 

Id be lying if I said I weren’t feeling the food inflation that were all currently living in. Being able to fill the freezer for a couple of bucks in bullets and processing certainly isnt worth monkeying around and gaming the system to then be paying $10 per lb for chuck roast. Hoping to get a couple dumb deer to wander in for me and mine to feed us through the summer.  Appreciate it. 

[Scotty]

Hoping that they’re this dumb to lineup at pretty much 33 meters. 
 

I also have a lot of bourbon barrels I cut in half for planters. They were fresh from distillery in 2020. Seems they love lapping up the old mash any rain water that ponds in those. 

[10-Ring]

Man, you really need to start processing your own deer. It really can be done with almost no space or tools, depending on what you want to do with it. I did one for a buddy last weekend, probably had 2 hours in the entire thing and half of that was grinding the hind quarters. 

[Scotty]

You’re right man I really should. She’s not squeamish and will help me drag and dress but I’m not sure how’d she feel about the butchering. My kitchen is tiny, I wanted to make some jerky in the laundry room she wasn’t exactly thrilled. She puts up with my hobbies and is great, having that extra set of hands would be clutch. Maybe I’ll ask around at work, my hunting buddy moved. Everyone else I go out with is an hour and a half away. I’m pretty generous but frugal so doing it myself and saving the $80 on fees would make me happy and probably be more enriching. 

[Alleycat72]

Funny thing. If you have standing corn, you can hunt over it. If you bush hog some of it down and corn is on the ground, you can hunt over it. If you pour the same exact amount on the ground from a bag, you cannot hunt over it. That is baiting.  You can hunt over anything that falls from a plant or tree.

[gregintenn]

1 hour ago, Scotty said:

You’re right man I really should. She’s not squeamish and will help me drag and dress but I’m not sure how’d she feel about the butchering. My kitchen is tiny, I wanted to make some jerky in the laundry room she wasn’t exactly thrilled. She puts up with my hobbies and is great, having that extra set of hands would be clutch. Maybe I’ll ask around at work, my hunting buddy moved. Everyone else I go out with is an hour and a half away. I’m pretty generous but frugal so doing it myself and saving the $80 on fees would make me happy and probably be more enriching. 

I hang deer up in the barn for skinning and deboning. Before the barn, I hung them from a tree limb. I put the meat in a large, industrial strength trash bag and chill in the freezer. From there, I do about all the butchering on the tailgate of my truck on a cutting board I made from a piece of 2x10 lumber. When I’m done, I spray it off with the garden hose. Easy peasy, and momma’s kitchen ain’t dirty. If the weather allows, I even run the dehydrator on the tailgate.

[gregintenn]

56 minutes ago, Alleycat72 said:

Funny thing. If you have standing corn, you can hunt over it. If you bush hog some of it down and corn is on the ground, you can hunt over it. If you pour the same exact amount on the ground from a bag, you cannot hunt over it. That is baiting.  You can hunt over anything that falls from a plant or tree.

I never really understood why doe in heat scent is legal. Any guy knows that’s more irresistible than food!

Edited November 7, 2023 by gregintenn