Politics

[wesheltonj]

Deer corn, 40 or 50 pound bags You guys crack me up. If you checked the price per bushel at a local grain elevator, corn is 56 pounds per bushel. You are paying a lot for the convenience of those bags!

I haven't added up how much corn equivalent we feed per day as it's a bit complicated by the various commodities such as distillers and corn gluten feed. For example 6 pounds of corn gluten feed is roughly equal to 4 pounds of ground corn and 2 pounds of soybean meal. Then there is corn silage which is our main feed ingredient.

I know about 2 or 3 years ago we looked closely at our feed consumption in Kansas because i wanted to justify whether or not we should build an enclosed feeding facility. We were feeding right at one million pounds of feed per day there (about half our cattle head count, but heavily on the younger and smaller side so way less than half the pounds of cattle, or feed consumption). We had 10% shrink, mostly wind loss. Needless to say, we built that feed mixing shed Put in electric mixers, etc.

Yes, I could save money by purchasing the thousand pound bags. But the savings would be offset by having to buy a 1 ton truck and corn blower.

 

[Tanks]

Regarding Ukraine vis a vis the election.

Ukraine May Cost Trump the Election — Rolling Stone

Donald Trump’s stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine is motivating some Republicans to abandon their party and vote for Kamala Harris

apple.news

From the article:

Ukraine is an obvious vector of attack, because it is an issue where Trump is at odds with the general electorate.

More than 62 percent of Americans say their sympathies lie with Ukraine -- including 76 percent of Democrats, but also 58 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of independents, according to research by the University of Maryland.

 

[freefall]

How is feeding corn different than putting out a salt lick?

 

[mdwest]

How is feeding corn different than putting out a salt lick?

I typically put a mineral block out at each site as well…

Corn is like candy for deer.. they’ll come eat it every day… it’s not necessarily the most nutritious meal they can get… but it’s an easy one… typically they’ll come to a feeder like clockwork

 

[Tbitty]

The US is investigating an unauthorized release of classified documents on Israel’s Iran attack plan

The documents, which are marked top secret, were posted to the Telegram messaging app and first reported by CNN and Axios.

apnews.com

This has got to be at least a factor in why Israel didn't share plans of their exploding pagers attack with the US.

 

[freefall]

I typically put a mineral block out at each site as well…

Corn is like candy for deer.. they’ll come eat it every day… it’s not necessarily the most nutritious meal they can get… but it’s an easy one… typically they’ll come to a feeder like clockwork

And this is legal? Do you consider it sporting?

 

[mdwest]

And this is legal? Do you consider it sporting?

It’s not only legal, it is common in Texas…

My guess is every Texas hunter on this forum that owns land or hunts a lease, hunts a feeder. Anyone that does not will fully acknowledge they are an exception, and among a very small % of the population in TX that does not..

I actually do consider it sporting. The amount of work that goes into building a good blind, quality feed site, etc that attracts deer, and then properly managing the deer population is substantially more difficult than when I used to hunt over farmers bean fields in Tennessee and Virginia (basically sit in the woods along a couple of hundred acres of beans and wait for deer to come to eat… which required no work at all)…

 

[jeanes]

And this is legal? Do you consider it sporting?

Yes and yes

 

[freefall]

I can see using a feeder for hogs, which are invasive vermin, but on a game animal...
Many peoples up here bait bears, which are kind of native vermin. It's legal, but I can't see it as sporting. Possibly a contributing factor in my lack of success as a big game guide.
If you're just going to shoot something over a feed pile, why not just buy a steer from Action Bob and shoot it at the feed bunk?

 

[wesheltonj]

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And this is legal? Do you consider it sporting?

Of course it legal. Of course it sporting. However, I don’t shoot them at the feeder, might have a bad shot and hit a metal leg.

And if you think you can spot and stalk in uncleared South Texas brush, you will not be hunting. The area either has to be chained or you hunt a clearing.

 

[freefall]

Explain to me the "sport" involved in sitting over a feeder that broadcasts corn at 1/2 hour to sundown.
I'm willing to listen, but dubious.

 

[mdwest]

Why not come to Texas and try it for yourself?

Again, it’s not nearly as simple as “build it and they’ll come”.. there’s actually quite a bit of planning, work, and maintenance involved.. do it wrong and you won’t have deer… no different than doing spot and stalk hunting wrong and not finding deer…

if you’re looking to condemn deer hunters that hunt over “bait” be prepared to condemn about 90% of them…

Whether they are hunting over food plots they have planted, a farmers field, or a corn feeder… the over arching majority of deer hunters south of the mason Dixon line and a huge sum in the NE, Midwest, and other parts of the country do this, and have done it for generations upon generations…

If you’re a guide, certainly you are not ignorant of this, and were well aware before you asked the question..

 

[freefall]

I DO regard food plots as bait and unsporting.
Finding a deers access route to a field and staking it out is, in my mind, significantly different than putting out a pile of corn and a salt block and sitting over it. Placing salt licks has been illegal everywhere I've ever lived. As possibly gleaned from above, I'm not a fan of baiting bears either.
Do you sit over a dozer path to a water hole to hunt game in Africa? If not, why not?

 

[Hunt anything]

Alabama legalized baiting a few years ago, another way for the conservation department to make more money. I personally don’t use “bait” but do plant corn, beans and food plots for the wildlife. The majority of my deer hunting is in a thick swamp where baiting would probably help me kill a few more deer a year. On my planted areas behind my house I think I’ve shot 3 deer in the 30 years we’ve lived here. I do hunt back there, if you want to call it that, sitting in a stand with a rifle watching wildlife.

I should amend this, if legal if people want to bait have at it . But I think you should bait with something besides empty calories like corn, soybeans have more nutrients I think. And do it year round.

I have shot a grand total of 3 animals using bait , 2 feral hogs that I actually had to get a permit for ( prior to the state legalizing bait ) and a bushpig in RSA.

 

[sgt_zim]

How is feeding corn different than putting out a salt lick?

Because they won't hit a salt lick if their normal forage and browse, or even spots in the soil that they'll lick, are rich enough in electrolytes. I've put out a number of salt/mineral licks, they never get touched.

 

[mdwest]

I DO regard food plots as bait and unsporting.

Then you are among the minority…

Finding a deers access route to a field and staking it out is, in my mind, significantly different than putting out a pile of corn and a salt block and sitting over it.

It is significantly different. No one is arguing otherwise…

So is an ambush vs a movement to contact… two different ways to accomplish a similar objective..

Placing salt licks has been illegal everywhere I've ever lived.

And a few places I have lived as well…

Abortion is still legal in some places, and is now illegal in other places… the speed limit is 80mph on I90 in Montana, but only 70 on I40 in Tennessee… that’s the beauty of states being able to pass laws that suit their citizens and not having one group of people in one part of the country determine what is best for people in another part of the country…

As possibly gleaned from above, I'm not a fan of baiting bears either.

Not being a fan doesn’t mean it’s illegal, immoral, or unethical… that merely means you have an opinion that some might agree with and others might disagree with..

Do you sit over a dozer path to a water hole to hunt game in Africa? If not, why not?

In Africa I’ve sat over water holes waiting to ambush game… and ive sat over food sources waiting to ambush game… and I’ve also walked more miles than I can remember trying to find game in the bush… I’ve also rode countless miles in a truck looking for game, that once spotted, we’ve dismounted for the purpose of stalking game…

Different animals, different terrain, different weather conditions, different times of day, drive different tactics and techniques to kill the quarry…


Are dove hunters that sit on the edge of a sorghum field at the break of dawn unethical?

What about leopard hunters that sit at bait in the dark of night?

Again - sincere invite- come to Texas… try a different type of hunting… then decide if it’s for you..

 

[CoElkHunter]

I typically put a mineral block out at each site as well…

Corn is like candy for deer.. they’ll come eat it every day… it’s not necessarily the most nutritious meal they can get… but it’s an easy one… typically they’ll come to a feeder like clockwork

Per a previous thread/post, what happened to the use of cotton seed everyone was raving about?

 

[deewayne2003]

It’s not only legal, it is common in Texas…

My guess is every Texas hunter on this forum that owns land or hunts a lease, hunts a feeder. Anyone that does not will fully acknowledge they are an exception, and among a very small % of the population in TX that does not..

I actually do consider it sporting. The amount of work that goes into building a good blind, quality feed site, etc that attracts deer, and then properly managing the deer population is substantially more difficult than when I used to hunt over farmers bean fields in Tennessee and Virginia (basically sit in the woods along a couple of hundred acres of beans and wait for deer to come to eat… which required no work at all)…

Not just Texas but many states and as @mdwest said it’s a majority; also if you start looking at some of the terrain the hunting blind/feeders are established it’s truly a testament to modern man.

Now having said that, I do enjoy sitting over a turnip field with a .300Wby and 14x Leupold, but see it no less sporting than my 30-30 over a feeder.

One place I hunt in Oklahoma got 75 DMAP tags, if it wasn’t for food plots and feeders we would never be able to take that many deer & also allows us to be very selective in our culling.

 

[Saul]

Then you are among the minority…



It is significantly different. No one is arguing otherwise…

So is an ambush vs a movement to contact… two different ways to accomplish a similar objective..




And a few places I have lived as well…

Abortion is still legal in some places, and is now illegal in other places… the speed limit is 80mph on I90 in Montana, but only 70 on I40 in Tennessee… that’s the beauty of states being able to pass laws that suit their citizens and not having one group of people in one part of the country determine what is best for people in another part of the country…



Not being a fan doesn’t mean it’s illegal, immoral, or unethical… that merely means you have an opinion that some might agree with and others might disagree with..




In Africa I’ve sat over water holes waiting to ambush game… and ive sat over food sources waiting to ambush game… and I’ve also walked more miles than I can remember trying to find game in the bush… I’ve also rode countless miles in a truck looking for game, that once spotted, we’ve dismounted for the purpose of stalking game…

Different animals, different terrain, different weather conditions, different times of day, drive different tactics and techniques to kill the quarry…


Are dove hunters that sit on the edge of a sorghum field at the break of dawn unethical?

What about leopard hunters that sit at bait in the dark of night?

Again - sincere invite- come to Texas… try a different type of hunting… then decide if it’s for you..

I think there is a fine yet distinct line between unsporting and unethical.

 

[mdwest]

I should amend this, if legal if people want to bait have at it . But I think you should bait with something besides empty calories like corn, soybeans have more nutrients I think. And do it year round..

Many people feed protein pellets, cotton seed, and other high nutritional value food rather than it in addition to corn…

It depends on location and budget in many cases..

For example, one of the places I hunt is almost all thick pine for literally hundreds of thousands of acres… there is little in the way of acorns or even grasses for the deer in the area.. so the land owner feeds protein pellets most of the year…

At my lease we have a lot of grass, and a significant number of acorn bearing trees… we also plant food plots of radishes and oats as well as clover that all do ok (clover has been difficult, but the radishes and oats produces exceptionally)… so the feeders are just filled with corn…