Hunting over feeders?

[QuickDraw]

I recently had a discussion with an outfitter putting his clients over feeders. Legal in this state. I would NOT hunt over a feeder, but I have small tracts that I hunt and keep corn in my feeders to keep the turkey on my properties.
What do think about feeders?

[tomstopper]

I just place the corn on the ground in front of my trail cams just to see what's in the area, but I would never hunt over them. It just takes all the challenge out of it for me IMO.

[WildTigerTrout]

I recently had a discussion with an outfitter putting his clients over feeders. Legal in this state. I would NOT hunt over a feeder, but I have small tracts that I hunt and keep corn in my feeders to keep the turkey on my properties.
What do think about feeders?

I can't believe that's legal anywhere. What state are you located? IMO if you have feeders to keep turkeys in the area you hunt it's baiting even if you don't shoot them over the feeder. A feeder out during hunting season is unethical even if legal.

[howl]

I think I've been glad that feeders are more often empty this year due to the high price of corn. In years past it was uncommon to find a bird with no corn in him. Haven't seen a kernel this year. 

[QuickDraw]

I'm from Oklahoma which is illegal to hunt within a 100 yards of a feeder. The outfitter is Kansas, which he claims its legal to hunt over bait.
I have 3 different spot I lease. A 200 acre tract I keep corn in a feeder because I never can get birds to roost there, a 160 acre tract I don't even have feeder on, cause they roost on it. The biggest is 600 acre tract on a river there's not enough turkeys to hunt there. Hoping that changes if we don't kill them off.

[30_06]

Never have done, and its illegal in my state, but really don't see how it is much different than baiting any other game animal. Maybe I am missing something?

[BrowningGuy88]

We plant and supplement feed for turkeys and deer year round, but we abide by the AL game laws. We don't hunt within the legal limits of the feed.

It is a fact that if a game animal has nothing to eat on your property they will not be there!

[guesswho]

I figure mother nature kept them fed long before I was born, so I'm not going to interfere now.

[TauntoHawk]

I know an older lady who feeds them year round, every day you can drive by and there will garenteed be about 9 Toms, 4 Jakes, and 20-25 hens strutting and feeding in her yard. All day, All year they roost 200yds away every night and fly down and spend all day hanging out there.


If it was legal to hunt them like that I wouldn't, its a 180 degrees from what makes turkey hunting.

Upredictable and challenging. foodplots and hunting a distance from supplemental feeding is different than sitting in a blind 30yds off a specific spot where there is known bait no calls required.

[CntrlPA]

I like hunting way too much to ever bait any animal

[QuickDraw]

The animals got to eat and I know everyone, whether they bait or not pattern (scout) movement to and from the food sources. I don't hunt over the feeders, but I've set up on wheat field trails to catch the deer and turkeys moving to their food. That is where most trails lead to, a food source.

[GobbleNut]

First of all, my personal opinion is that hunting over a feeder is not hunting, PERIOD,...and nobody will change my opinion about that.  Anybody that sets up shop on a feeder and shoots an animal that comes there, regardless of whether they do some calling, or put out decoys, or whatever, is not hunting.  They are merely shooting live targets.

...However, I agree with the notion that there are circumstances nowadays where if a person wants to have animals on their property to hunt at all, they have to do something to entice those animals to stay there, or come there.  If it is the norm in an area for landowners to put out feeders,...and the place you are hunting does not have them,....then unless your place has the only water, or roosting habitat, you are probably going to have few birds on it. 

Feeders ruin "true" hunting.  They concentrate game, and habituate animals to a point where they no longer exhibit natural behavior and movement patterns.  In many cases, hunters that refuse to hunt around feeders, or along routes between feeders, have their chances of success significantly reduced because the birds will not alter their habituated patterns of moving to and from feeders.

The increasing use of feeders by landowners, whether they are hunters or not, is seriously affecting turkey hunting in its "purest" form.  That is very unfortunate for all of us.

[Onpoint]

If I had to feed a turkey to kill him I'd quit huntin. I'm surrounded by baiters and it kills me when these guys kill their birds  at the same spot year after year and then brag about it killin a baited turkey. I bet packin the corn in is the hardest part of their hunt.

[QuickDraw]

A