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Post by 76chevy on Jun 12, 2011 5:41:36 GMT -5
A big old Can of worms is about to be opened....
I created a salt lick last spring using a mix of salt and trace minerals.
I made ONE application of about 30-40lbs of the material and mixed it very well into the soil.
This spring the deer were still tearing it up at this spot they have in fact dug a big hole and are eating the soil and trace minerals and NaCl over a very broad area.
It is in an area that I do not hunt BTW
I know lots of guys setup mineral and salt licks in the summer and then hunt that spot come fall.
How do you totally get the salt and affected soil out of the area before hunting season??
This lick was still clearly affecting deer movement 12 months later.
Frankly it seems VERY difficult (or impossible) to every remove all of the affected material and that's why I don't hunt in this area or near any summer salt licks.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2011 5:59:42 GMT -5
You can not hunt in the "area of influence", which could be any distance dertermined by a CO who might be investigating your property. Could be a 100 yards or a 1/2 mile, as long as he says the deer are travaling to the lick, your in violation. If your found in violation, he'll want you to remove ALL the soil that is effected, which means you'll need a back hoe to remove enough to make sure. I know of one case that required a 3' dig below the bottom of the hole that the deer had made, and 3' around the circumference of the lick.
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Post by tenring on Jun 12, 2011 6:47:07 GMT -5
What's the worry if you don't hunt it?
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Post by 76chevy on Jun 12, 2011 7:36:12 GMT -5
no worries, I was just actually very surprised to learn they were still using the area a whole 12+ months later after the application of the material What's the worry if you don't hunt it? |
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Post by tenring on Jun 12, 2011 8:48:50 GMT -5
Just an indication of how much importance that wild animals place on their diet. Clark McCready's master thesis of a few years ago when he did the salt study of rabbits at Attebury shows that. My salt lick [over 10 years old now] shows deer usage parallel to the graph that Clark found as a side result of his rabbit study. Hiding behind hay bales near my lick with a set of binoculars, have shown me that rabbits and squirrels use the lick as well. I have salt sticks like Clark used in my back yard that some times last only a week because pregnant doe rabbits chew them up trying to get at the salt in them. Deer very seldom, if at all, use my lick during the gun season, but occasionally use it during the early bow if the weather is hot. The does really tear it up starting in mid March until they give birth, and then it starts to taper off.
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Post by huntingman on Jun 12, 2011 9:00:07 GMT -5
What about a natural lick? We have one on our property that a guy came out and determined iit was natural. Is it also illegel to hunt over that?
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Post by dadfsr on Jun 12, 2011 9:00:11 GMT -5
What seems kind of odd about this whole baiting/salt lick debate (if I have the right take on this?) is that my elderly neighbor, who doesn't hunt, can put out a salt block/lick on his property within sight of my property and it's perfectly legal for me for me to still hunt my property. I don't really know if he does but that is my understanding of the way this works??? OR my other neighbor that raises cattle (and doesn't hunt) can have all of these supplements out just on the other side of my fence line and I can still hunt my property???
Something is not making a whole lot of sense here.....
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Post by tenring on Jun 12, 2011 9:12:43 GMT -5
The CO's will call that a "gray" area of the law, and there is a lot of them out there. Have Matt come out when he has time and have him make the call. I asked our Master CO before I started mine, and he called it OK.
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Post by hornharvester on Jun 12, 2011 10:30:05 GMT -5
I personally think they should allow baiting on private property but not on state.
Most people who hunt deer on their own property are planting food plots to hunt over and too me that is just a legal form of baiting.
Salt blocks mainly work in the spring and summer months. Bucks are usually not working salt blocks in the fall or winter.
Guys who hunt in woods in Oct usually try and find oak trees that are dropping acorns to hunt by........
I really see very little difference in putting bait down and using legal baiting techniques. h.h.
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Nuge60
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Post by Nuge60 on Jun 12, 2011 12:11:40 GMT -5
I've wondered about this topic as well. I have a small rural property where I put out a mineral salt block and planned to remove it a month or so before I hunted it. I would also like to plant a brassica type food plot there as well. I believe if you spend all the time and money putting in a food plot the good you do the herd may outweigh the stigma of hunting over blatant bait. I guess it demands more study and I DO plan to ask the local DNR officer to make sure I'm on the right side of the law. We also have a LOT of oaks on the property; is it illegal to collect the acorns then put them out during the season since they're naturally occurring in the area?
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Post by drs on Jun 12, 2011 12:22:40 GMT -5
We also have a LOT of oaks on the property; is it illegal to collect the acorns then put them out during the season since they're naturally occurring in the area? If you physically place the acorns in a food pile, then I would say you're baiting. If you have oak trees growing in your hunting area why pile them up anyway?? If there is acorns, or any type natural foods, for them, the Deer should be there anyway. |
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Post by 76chevy on Jun 12, 2011 12:28:19 GMT -5
based on my experience, the bait will still be in the soil well past one month!!! ;D ;D I've wondered about this topic as well. I have a small rural property where I put out a mineral salt block and planned to remove it a month or so before I hunted it. I would also like to plant a brassica type food plot there as well. I believe if you spend all the time and money putting in a food plot the good you do the herd may outweigh the stigma of hunting over blatant bait. I guess it demands more study and I DO plan to ask the local DNR officer to make sure I'm on the right side of the law. We also have a LOT of oaks on the property; is it illegal to collect the acorns then put them out during the season since they're naturally occurring in the area? |
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Post by tenring on Jun 12, 2011 13:00:36 GMT -5
Just got back from checking my lick. Added 90 lbs. of salt back in March, the lick that started years ago by turning over a 3' circle with a shovel and adding 50 lbs. of salt is now 6' X 7' and 14" deep. It's poor ground in the area and it leeches out real quick, so it's 100 lbs. a year to keep it going. Those whitetails have been tearing it up this time of the year.
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Nuge60
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Post by Nuge60 on Jun 12, 2011 13:06:30 GMT -5
Thanks for the response, guys!! The squirrels clean up the acorns long before hunting season starts so I though of just spreading them out real natural-like for the deer ONLY if it was legal to do so!! I thought I read in the hunting rules that bait or salt licks had to be removed at least 10 days before hunting that area. Didn't know about the affected soil part...
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Post by Russ Koon on Jun 13, 2011 10:56:44 GMT -5
HH, I agree on the baiting. Might not be everyone's cup of tea, but some of us have worn out several pairs of hunting boots over a few generations, and are have worn out our knees and ankles as well, and are working on our hips. Enough already of putting in the miles like we happily did when we were younger and when we had (or felt we didn't need) permission to hike wherever the deer trails took us.
Times have changed, and we have changed, and if we could draw some deer legally to our smaller properties that we still have permission to hunt now, I'm all for it.
I think the studies done in MI have again shown that reasonable baiting practices have extremely little if any detrimental effects on herd health, and can have some effectiveness in drawing deer to the hunter, especially antlerless deer, which seem to be more vulnerable to the temptation than older bucks.
The poachers have used it always, with very little fear of being caught at it, and some folks have always been in the position of innocently violating some of those above-mentioned "gray areas" and becoming accidental poachers.
I think it's time for a modification of our baiting laws to a more realistic position that better fits the current land ownership situations and harvest goals.
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Post by boonechaser on Jun 13, 2011 13:01:47 GMT -5
Think common sense applies. If you think your doing something illegal you probably are. Most law's come down to INTENT. So why are you putting out mineral lick's??? If your intent is to help the health of your deer herd and product is removed before hunting season and you don't hunt over the sight you don't have a problem. Now on the other hand if you place a stand 10 yard's from a 3 feet round hole in the ground that contained mineral all summer and A CO see's you hunting there. Your gonna get a ticket.
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Post by buddylee on Jun 14, 2011 7:57:29 GMT -5
HH, I agree on the baiting. Might not be everyone's cup of tea, but some of us have worn out several pairs of hunting boots over a few generations, and are have worn out our knees and ankles as well, and are working on our hips. Enough already of putting in the miles like we happily did when we were younger and when we had (or felt we didn't need) permission to hike wherever the deer trails took us. Times have changed, and we have changed, and if we could draw some deer legally to our smaller properties that we still have permission to hunt now, I'm all for it. I think the studies done in MI have again shown that reasonable baiting practices have extremely little if any detrimental effects on herd health, and can have some effectiveness in drawing deer to the hunter, especially antlerless deer, which seem to be more vulnerable to the temptation than older bucks. The poachers have used it always, with very little fear of being caught at it, and some folks have always been in the position of innocently violating some of those above-mentioned "gray areas" and becoming accidental poachers. I think it's time for a modification of our baiting laws to a more realistic position that better fits the current land ownership situations and harvest goals. Might as well make it legal. The disease aspect is way overblown. |
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