# Baiting Bill Impact on Bears



## sthompson72 (Mar 2, 2018)

With the passing of SB 450 in the Senate and likely passing in the House, I’m curious of the impact on Bear Hunting. Maybe those in the Southern Zones can provide some feedback. The bill makes it lawful for hunting Deer over Bait but not Bear. So it will be the same as in the Southern Zone.  I hunt deer and bear at the same time. I want to bait for deer but I still want my bear. Are those of you in the Southern zone just finding a pattern for the bears heading to the bait and taking them from a legal distance (200 yards. From the bait and out of site)?  Or is the DNR more relaxed about baiting and bears?  Is the DNR questioning you down south on the precise location of your harvest?  Thoughts???


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## PappyHoel (Mar 2, 2018)

When I feed the deer in Lumpkin county, the deer don't eat it the bears do.  The bears will run all the deer off and camp out on the feeder till it's gone.  Baiting deer will be useless if there's bears around.


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## thumper523 (Mar 2, 2018)

PappyHoel said:


> When I feed the deer in Lumpkin county, the deer don't eat it the bears do.  The bears will run all the deer off and camp out on the feeder till it's gone.  Baiting deer will be useless if there's bears around.



X2    I hunt in SW Twiggs and you will only see bears if you bait.


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## goshenmountainman (Mar 2, 2018)

Most bears I have ever got pics if at my hog traps have been at night, they go in, throw the trap,eat all the corn, and climb over the side bending the wire panels. I have one trap that is like a big rabbit box, I have let 3 different bears out of it, all caught at night. Pretty tricky to get on top and slide up door with a snarling VW in it that is mad at the world.


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## sthompson72 (Mar 2, 2018)

I’m hoping DNR has adopted a “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Policy about bait and bears.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Mar 2, 2018)

If you think fed deer go nocturnal, wait till you have a bear coming around.


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## humdandy (Mar 2, 2018)

Putting feed out year around has always been legal.  

I don't understand how legally hunting over bait now causes all these problems......it causes deer to go nocturnal, causes CWD and now bears......and makes them easier to kill....

Corn is amaizing.....


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## ripplerider (Mar 2, 2018)

goshenmountainman said:


> Most bears I have ever got pics if at my hog traps have been at night, they go in, throw the trap,eat all the corn, and climb over the side bending the wire panels. I have one trap that is like a big rabbit box, I have let 3 different bears out of it, all caught at night. Pretty tricky to get on top and slide up door with a snarling VW in it that is mad at the world.



I'd love to see some video of that!


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## tree cutter 08 (Mar 2, 2018)

I'd say you can expect to have to take dnr man to kill spot if this passes. Maybe not on public but private land. If you bait and have bears around, you will have bear, not deer.


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## Rich Kaminski (Mar 2, 2018)

Haven't killed a bear in Georgia and don't intent to. But I have heard of Game Wardens making the hunter take them to the kill site and checking the bears teeth for bait (ie: corn).


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## j_seph (Mar 2, 2018)

humdandy said:


> Putting feed out year around has always been legal.
> 
> I don't understand how legally hunting over bait now causes all these problems......it causes deer to go nocturnal, causes CWD and now bears......and makes them easier to kill....
> 
> Corn is amaizing.....


Feed does not cause CWD!!!!!!!
What Causes CWD?
The most widely accepted theory is that the agent is a prion, an abnormal form of cellular protein that is most commonly found in the central nervous system and in lymphoid tissue. The prion “infects” the host animal by promoting conversion of normal cellular protein to the abnormal form.

The CWD infectious agent is smaller than most viral particles and does not evoke any detectable immune response or inflammatory reaction in the host animal. Based on experience with other TSE agents, the CWD infectious agent is assumed to be resistant to enzymes and chemicals that normally break down proteins, as well as resistant to heat and normal disinfecting procedures.

Now feed will help spread it due to congregation of an infected deer with other deer.

http://cwd-info.org/faq/


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## Buckman18 (Mar 2, 2018)

tree cutter 08 said:


> I'd say you can expect to have to take dnr man to kill spot if this passes. Maybe not on public but private land. If you bait and have bears around, you will have bear, not deer.



Years ago, I had them pull out a topo map once and try to get me to tell them exactly where I killed. Like I'm really gonna tell someone where I hunt, just so they go stomping all around the buck sign I scouted for on my day off! I hope they found the goose on that chase that was no where I had ever been before... My brother and I have definitely shared some laughs in the years since the event of that day...


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## goshenmountainman (Mar 2, 2018)

ripplerider said:


> I'd love to see some video of that!


I had pics of me standing on top of the trap with the bear inside, my wife and dad took them from inside the truck while they watched. I lost them when my old phone stopped working.


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## C.Killmaster (Mar 5, 2018)

sthompson72 said:


> I’m hoping DNR has adopted a “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Policy about bait and bears.



Doubtful, there aren't many things in the wildlife laws that are aggravated misdemeanors. 

27-3-9...

(4) Any person who takes any big game animal, other than deer, within 200 yards of any place where any corn, wheat, or other grains, salts, apples, or other feed or bait has been placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered so as to constitute a lure, attraction, or enticement for any game bird or game animal shall, upon conviction of thereof, be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature and shall be punished as provided by Code Section 17-10-4.

 17-10-4. Punishment for misdemeanors of a high and aggravated nature
(a)  A person who is convicted of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $5,000.00 or by confinement in the county or other jail, county correctional institution, or such other places as counties may provide for maintenance of county inmates, for a term not to exceed 12 months, or both; provided, however, that a person convicted of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature which was committed by an inmate within the confines of a state correctional institution and sentenced to confinement as a result of such offense shall be sentenced to confinement under the jurisdiction of the Board of Corrections in a state correctional institution or such other institution as the Department of Corrections may direct for a term which shall not exceed 12 months. In all cases of a conviction of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, the sentencing court shall retain jurisdiction to amend, modify, alter, suspend, or probate sentences imposed under this Code section at any time; but in no instance shall a sentence imposed under this Code section be modified in such a manner as to increase the amount of fine or the term of confinement.


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## NCHillbilly (Mar 5, 2018)

It's been legal to bait deer up here forever, and we have one of the highest concentrations of bears on the continent. To be honest, bears around here just don't seem to go for corn very much. They'll tear your sweet corn patch up, but don't much seem to really care for dried corn unless it's a time of year when there aren't many other food sources. Very few people have had issues with it. 

The NC WRC finally made it legal to hunt bears over un-proccessed bait (corn) a couple years ago, I guess just to clear up any confusion.


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## Triton Mike (Mar 6, 2018)

During the pre season I baited with corn to get trail cam pics of deer to get a feel for what is on the property.  If you got a deer pic it was a treat.  Bears rule the roost when it comes to feed IMHO..  Heck the bear will lay down and nap in the corn until it's gone LOL  Some bears are gonna get killed for sure up in the mtns..


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## PappyHoel (Mar 6, 2018)

Triton Mike said:


> During the pre season I baited with corn to get trail cam pics of deer to get a feel for what is on the property.  If you got a deer pic it was a treat.  Bears rule the roost when it comes to feed IMHO..  Heck the bear will lay down and nap in the corn until it's gone LOL  Some bears are gonna get killed for sure up in the mtns..



Yep, ive had to run them off when i went back to check my cam.  Smelly nasty creatures, smells like pee and vinegar in the whole area.


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## kmckinnie (Mar 6, 2018)

Triton Mike said:


> During the pre season I baited with corn to get trail cam pics of deer to get a feel for what is on the property.  If you got a deer pic it was a treat.  Bears rule the roost when it comes to feed IMHO..  Heck the bear will lay down and nap in the corn until it's gone LOL  Some bears are gonna get killed for sure up in the mtns..



From what I heard some already do. 
I donor bear hunt.


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## ripplerider (Mar 7, 2018)

I'm more worried about deer being drawn off of National Forest land and being shot over bait than I am about the bears. Our deer are having a hard enough time as it is.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Mar 7, 2018)

ripplerider said:


> I'm more worried about deer being drawn off of National Forest land and being shot over bait than I am about the bears. Our deer are having a hard enough time as it is.



I bet you won't see one ounce of difference than it is now.  Do you have any idea how much "supplemental feeding" is going on right now?  Ask the sporting goods manager at Walmart how much corn they go through in a week.


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## lampern (Mar 7, 2018)

ripplerider said:


> I'm more worried about deer being drawn off of National Forest land and being shot over bait than I am about the bears. Our deer are having a hard enough time as it is.



Valid concern in areas of low deer density


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## ripplerider (Mar 7, 2018)

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> I bet you won't see one ounce of difference than it is now.  Do you have any idea how much "supplemental feeding" is going on right now?  Ask the sporting goods manager at Walmart how much corn they go through in a week.



I'm sure they go through a lot but I also know many folks who feed deer with no intention of ever hunting them. They just like to watch deer. Maybe that creates an opportunity for a hunter on a neighboring tract, maybe not.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Mar 7, 2018)

ripplerider said:


> I'm sure they go through a lot but I also know many folks who feed deer with no intention of ever hunting them. They just like to watch deer. Maybe that creates an opportunity for a hunter on a neighboring tract, maybe not.



But that's already happening.  Deer are already coming to those feeders, and enterprising hunters are already taking advantage of "neighbors" feeding deer.


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## ripplerider (Mar 7, 2018)

I get that, but this bill will make it possible to place bait more strategically and hunt directly over it rather than just taking advantage of other peoples desire to see deer. Lots of that corn is going out in the middle of unhuntable subdivisions. I just have visions of piles of corn all over placed just outside Forest Service land. Theres going to be a lot of people tempted to poach bears and I'm afraid our dwindling deer will get hammered in years with an acorn failure. I personally dont feel that hunting over bait is sporting. I'm not going to condemn anyone else for it if it becomes legal but I wont be doing it. I have concerns about CWD reaching Georgia and I dont think anything that concentrates deer unnaturally is a good idea.


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## NCHillbilly (Mar 7, 2018)

ripplerider said:


> I get that, but this bill will make it possible to place bait more strategically and hunt directly over it rather than just taking advantage of other peoples desire to see deer. Lots of that corn is going out in the middle of unhuntable subdivisions. I just have visions of piles of corn all over placed just outside Forest Service land. Theres going to be a lot of people tempted to poach bears and I'm afraid our dwindling deer will get hammered in years with an acorn failure. I personally dont feel that hunting over bait is sporting. I'm not going to condemn anyone else for it if it becomes legal but I wont be doing it. I have concerns about CWD reaching Georgia and I dont think anything that concentrates deer unnaturally is a good idea.



You are greatly overestimating the power of corn. It is legal here, we have about the same land and deer situation, and what you are fearing doesn't happen.


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## Buckman18 (Mar 7, 2018)

My thoughts are a little different than most. I hope baiting becomes legal, and I wish it would become legal to bait bears on private land for a couple of years just to see what happens.  If we could get rid of about 90% of the hogs and about half of the bears, I think the deer would benefit greatly.  As far as baiting for deer, the corn will rot when the acorns start dropping, so as long as the doe days in our upper elevation counties continue to be lower, early bow season and the late gun season will be a heckuva lot of fun with many more sightings?


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## robert carter (Mar 12, 2018)

I think when white oaks hit the ground it will be close to normal for bears. The bears away from people will eat acorns and your "town" bears will eat corn.


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## robert carter (Mar 30, 2018)

I also think that you will see folks that never kill much start killing a lot. RC


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