Baiting? Cheating?

Have any of you had any experience talking to non-hunters about baiting bears? What would your advice be on how to best explain that it's not "cheating."

I do have a friend who mentioned once that using bait for hunting bears seemed like cheating (non-hunter). I told him that I was going to be packing in some bait that weekend, and it would be great if he could join me. After the third trip in (over a mile, and about 500 feet of elevation gain at 8000 ft altitude with a 50 pound pack), I think he decided that it wasn't "cheating."

If you look at the bear harvest stats for any western state, I'd expect us to do much better if we were allowed to cheat.

Anyway, thoughts on how to discuss the subject with both non-hunters and fellow hunters?

I have to say that other than bears and hogs I feel uneasy about baiting. For both the bear and hog situations I guess I am good with it given the need to control pests in the case of pigs and predators in the case of black bears( and the fact that they are both far ranging animals). I have only hunted over bait once. I was invited to hunt on the friend of a friend's ranch in TX and took a nice buck and a couple of management deer. I have to tell you that while the deer I shot was my best to date I don't feel any sense of accomplishment with it. Sitting in a box blind watching senderos with corn feeders just isn't my thing and would find it hard to try and justify baiting other than the two instances I mentioned.

If its "cheating" to have an opportunity to thoroughly look over your intended target before shooting the answer would be, Yes. If its "cheating" to be able to assure yourself that you aren't about to shoot a sow with cubs, then again the answer is yes. If its "cheating" to set bait site and stand to assure yourself of an opportunity to make a one shot kill, then the answer is yes, again.

Gary said:

If its "cheating" to have an opportunity to thoroughly look over your intended target before shooting the answer would be, Yes. If its "cheating" to be able to assure yourself that you aren't about to shoot a sow with cubs, then again the answer is yes. If its "cheating" to set bait site and stand to assure yourself of an opportunity to make a one shot kill, then the answer is yes, again.

Click to expand...

All good reasons to bait, and I completely agree. I especially like the point about being able to get a good long look at them to judge age and sex and to look for cubs. Thanks.

Probably not much different than hunting pronghorn near a water tank.

You'll have people who hunt over food plots try and tell you how baiting is cheating. They are basically hunting over a giant bait.

A person who has never hunted over baits should not be alllwed to speak about it until they have ran one picked the spot and hunted over it

Gary said:

If its "cheating" to have an opportunity to thoroughly look over your intended target before shooting the answer would be, Yes. If its "cheating" to be able to assure yourself that you aren't about to shoot a sow with cubs, then again the answer is yes. If its "cheating" to set bait site and stand to assure yourself of an opportunity to make a one shot kill, then the answer is yes, again.

Click to expand...

That's a version of logic that suggests you'd have us shoot everything over bait. I have several WY friends who bait and they're welcome to it, but I've not been complied by logic nor desire. During the spring season I've averaged about a bear sighting per day hunted in my 5 years of living here and literally have yet to see one other spot and stalk hunter in the woods. I look at bears for as long as needed through the spotter and then make a stalk, or not. I'm not saying baiting is easy, and I get it's a hobby in itself, but I'm not convinced it's fair chase or necessary in most of the western US.
I guess Sask won't let me "speak about it" since I don't do it.

MTTW said:

Lots of hunting takes place near bait, you can make your own, or find it where it occurs naturally, or in many cases unnaturally.

Click to expand...

Exactly. I prefer to learn how the natural patterns of landscape and animal behavior overlap. If it's legal to make your own habitat feature and that's rewarding so be it. That's just real hard to sell to non-hunters, and plenty of hunters.

I have never baited in my life...... until last year. I can honestly say that it is one of the greatest experiences I've had in my hunting career. My daughter drew a bear tag here in Utah. I had no idea what i was doing. I thought of the places I had seen bear tracks in the past and where there was water near by. We picked two spots based off that. I really wondered if we would even see a bear. Setting up the baits and keeping them baited is no easy task, In fact, It was brutal. I will say that I worked as hard on this hunt as any other hunt I have ever done. Anyone who says baiting is easy doesn't know what they are talking about. Fast forward to the hunt. We had lots of bears hitting the bait but for the first three days we did not see a bear. the bears knew we where there somehow even though we had taken every precaution in scent control, blind placement and keeping absolutely silent. I had to figure out how to out smart them because this baiting wasn't as easy as it looked on TV. I came up with a plan to out smart their noses and the fourth evening my 14 year old daughter shot a beautiful bear at 20yds with her muzzleloader. It was awesome being that close to a bear. Being able to watch their movements and seeing how they can materialize out of nowhere or disappear in an instant is an experience my daughter and I will always cherish.

My son was able to get the same tag this year and we were able to see some of the same bears this year that we saw last year. it is very cool seeing how much young bears will change in the course of one year. My son was able to get a super nice bear with his muzzleloader and we had many, many fantastic experiences that we would not have if we hadn't been baiting.

Here's my short answer: You probably won't convince anyone of anything. If they haven't done it they won't understand it. Just go out and do your own thing and enjoy time hunting with family and friends.