What would you do?

Lawnscaper

Eight Pointer
Contributor
Okay here's the scenario, some of you may have read earlier on a post that I had put up about an opening day confrontation with a landowner, well the turkey that I ended up shooting on game lands when I cut the crawl open it had seeds, clover and bugs and normal things that turkeys would be eating in a woods and pasture area.
Well fast forward a week later I had to work Saturday morning but was able to get in the woods later that afternoon so I headed back to my favorite spot the catch the turkeys coming back to roost and ended up calling one into shotgun range and put him down with a load of number 5's, so when I get him back to the house I cut open the crawl and find it full of corn this time, I was hunting a few hundred yards from where I shot the one last week and within a hundred yards of the property line.Now I'm wondering should I call the local wildlife officer and inform him? I'm wondering if the property owner has bait on his property somewhere and that's why he was so upset that I was in the area opening day or did he go out and bait up the area where I was hunting in hopes that I would get caught hunting near corn if he called the wildlife officer to be checking out the area on game lands because I didn't go back completely to the same area that I hunted opening day so I don't know if there might be corn right there in that vicinity where I was sitting? I've tagged out for the season and won't be back in that area till next year oh, so should I just leave well enough alone and let him continue baiting or contact the wildlife officer and let him do his job? What would you do?IMG_20190420_210302211_compress_56.jpg
 

grim reaper

Ten Pointer
Could there be a field close by that had corn growing last summer? I see turkeys feeding in a cut corn field almost every day near my house. Still plenty on the ground they can find. Thatd be the first thing i looked into before making a decision
 

SamCo89

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
If it was me, I would at least reach out to WLEO & give them a heads up. Very “coincidental” that the corn shows up after your “friendly” encounter...

We all know, but folks are funny about “their” hunting spot..

I had posted earlier about getting a new turkey only spot this year, gentleman that hunts it, has hunted for yrs before it changed hands in the family. LO tells me I can turkey hunt, that he’s never seen the other party there in turkey season.

He asked me to reach out to this other guy as just a courtesy , I did & the gentleman seemed fine as long as I was only turkey hunting. He proceeds to call me back several hours later & said “ oh yeah I do turkey hunt there, can you come on such & such days”. Still not sure if either the LO just isn’t paying attention, or if the guy simply tried to bluff me off.


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Rubline

Twelve Pointer
Okay here's the scenario, some of you may have read earlier on a post that I had put up about an opening day confrontation with a landowner, well the turkey that I ended up shooting on game lands when I cut the crawl open it had seeds, clover and bugs and normal things that turkeys would be eating in a woods and pasture area.
Well fast forward a week later I had to work Saturday morning but was able to get in the woods later that afternoon so I headed back to my favorite spot the catch the turkeys coming back to roost and ended up calling one into shotgun range and put him down with a load of number 5's, so when I get him back to the house I cut open the crawl and find it full of corn this time, I was hunting a few hundred yards from where I shot the one last week and within a hundred yards of the property line.Now I'm wondering should I call the local wildlife officer and inform him? I'm wondering if the property owner has bait on his property somewhere and that's why he was so upset that I was in the area opening day or did he go out and bait up the area where I was hunting in hopes that I would get caught hunting near corn if he called the wildlife officer to be checking out the area on game lands because I didn't go back completely to the same area that I hunted opening day so I don't know if there might be corn right there in that vicinity where I was sitting? I've tagged out for the season and won't be back in that area till next year oh, so should I just leave well enough alone and let him continue baiting or contact the wildlife officer and let him do his job? What would you do?View attachment 27748

I'd report it, maybe the GW will find those responsible and write em up , then there's less chance of that happening next season.
 

QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
Honestly, there's a million places turkeys can get corn. People feed all kinds of critters, all the time. I killed a pair of birds in GA a couple years back. I was waaayyy back in the Nat'l Forest big woods, and they both had craws full of corn...

I wouldn't report anyone, unless I had facts. OMMV
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
dilemma dilemma

technically you killed that turkey with the "aide of bait",,,,whether you knew the area was baited or not,,,,

heck - if it's that concerning,,,go in there and check
 

turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
Chances are nothing may come of it no way to know where that bird been eating so hard to accuse a specific person but you could just let LEO know so they are aware never know coulda been other reports in area
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I wouldn’t do anything. Turkeys travel a long ways. He could have gotten that corn from 5 properties over. Could be a field, could be a legal corn pile (feeding deer but no hunting), or illegal, but there’s no way to know where it came from.
 

ditchbank

Banned
Leave well enough alone, your not going back and it’s just corn. Like mentioned, you may have been sitting next to it. He will ask you where you were and you show him, then he finds corn near where you were and guess what. You get a ticket.


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Firedog

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
If I call a warden to report something, I would have a lot more facts than you seem to. On a side note, I have never really been that compelled to look at what a dead turkey had for his last meal.
 

NCST8GUY

Frozen H20 Guy
Simple fact is he took a bird on gamelands which had very recently been eating corn. Where and how the corn is or got there might be something the GW's would like to know.
 

ditchbank

Banned
Simple fact is he took a bird on gamelands which had very recently been eating corn. Where and how the corn is or got there might be something the GW's would like to know.

He isn’t hunting far enough into the game lands, he is hunting next to private land that could have feeders out for deer or just simply feeding turkeys. I wouldn’t want to be caught or show anyone where I killed the bird. Be different if I found the corn and had t shot the bird. GW is gonna give a citation. Whether he knew corn was in the area doesn’t matter to game warden. I wouldn’t put myself in that situation.


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oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
I don't know about that particular gameland but baiting on public is certainly nothing new. so it might not be the guy you think.
It's a honored tradition in Montgomery county, I have seen it personally in VA. where it's illegal on private as well.
Flip a coin or go with your instinct, what we would do is of no matter to you.
You gotta decide given your situation.
I think though if you decide he was baiting then you have the moral dilemma here.
How do you feel about killing one that close to the bait?
as woodmoose says, dilemma, dilemma. :)
 

Lawnscaper

Eight Pointer
Contributor
Thanks for all the input, I looked on my aerial map and there are no fields anywhere close to where I am hunting, I even drove the general area and the closest corn field would be at least three miles away as the crow flies or the turkey walks. I have seen no other sign of hunters in the area no fresh footprints or any other sign that they might leave,I'm concerned about next year hunting in the area if he is still baiting. I watch those turkeys for an hour flippin cow pies as they worked back towards their roosting area and then called them closer to where I was at to get a shot so there is nothing moral as far as I'm concerned, I walked and rode a bike and it took almost 2 hours so I killed that turkey fair and square. I'm limited to areas that I can hunt around home and I've only been able to go to x and I'll kill two turkeys so I really don't want to give up on this area just because of a baiting issue
 

ditchbank

Banned
Thanks for all the input, I looked on my aerial map and there are no fields anywhere close to where I am hunting, I even drove the general area and the closest corn field would be at least three miles away as the crow flies or the turkey walks. I have seen no other sign of hunters in the area no fresh footprints or any other sign that they might leave,I'm concerned about next year hunting in the area if he is still baiting. I watch those turkeys for an hour flippin cow pies as they worked back towards their roosting area and then called them closer to where I was at to get a shot so there is nothing moral as far as I'm concerned, I walked and rode a bike and it took almost 2 hours so I killed that turkey fair and square. I'm limited to areas that I can hunt around home and I've only been able to go to x and I'll kill two turkeys so I really don't want to give up on this area just because of a baiting issue

Couldn’t corn come from cow pies? I don’t know what they (cows) eat but I’m just wondering if there is corn in there crap?


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SamCo89

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Couldn’t corn come from cow pies? I don’t know what they (cows) eat but I’m just wondering if there is corn in there crap?


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You would think that if both turkeys were picking at the same field of cowpies, the 1st would have corn as well..


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stanley

Four Pointer
Whether the turkeys are coming back to game lands from the landowners corn pile or his clover patch does'nt matter if you like hunting that spot. because next season the land owner could turn this around on you very easy. If you cause the land owner to get in trouble with GW this will not turn out good for either of you . If it wasen't for the pasture you may not have had those turkeys you killed patterned so well JMO
 

useyourbow

Eight Pointer
Baiting
  • No wild bird may be taken with the use of aid of salt, grain, fruit, or other bait.
  • No wild turkey may be taken from an area in which bait has been placed until the expiration of 10 days after the bait has been consumed or otherwise removed
Since the person who placed the bait was not witnessed hunting over or harvested a bird with the use of the bait no laws have been broken yet. Some individuals do not hunt turkeys and supplemental feed deer year round. Some cast corn to observe wild life. The moral question now, which is mute since the op has tagged out is, since he knows the area is baited can he return and hunt there morally and ethically?
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
ref baiting,,,,

a bunch of years ago,,,when I was hunting Fort Bragg/Camp Mackall hard,,,the game warder (friend of mine - but a hard butt when it comes to his job) said "be careful out there, someone baited one of the fields with black oil sunflower seeds and we are watching it",,,,

I asked "which one?"

he said "can't tell you, but check them welll or you could get a ticket"

see,,,it don't matter if you "know it" or not,,,if bait aided in the hunt they can cite you,,,,

so again,,,dilemma dilemma!!
 

Soilman

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
If I ever got a ticket because someone baited the next property over of which I had no permission to be on unless I trespassed, I'd fight it to the end in court. I try my best to hunt honestly and within the law, but a person should not be held accountable for the foul deeds of others with absolutely no way to have knowledge of it.
 

turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
If I ever got a ticket because someone baited the next property over of which I had no permission to be on unless I trespassed, I'd fight it to the end in court. I try my best to hunt honestly and within the law, but a person should not be held accountable for the foul deeds of others with absolutely no way to have knowledge of it.
I agree totally its like you'd get punished for not trespassing. As long as I have no clue there is bait on another land I think I could fight that ticket
 

wolfman

Old Mossy Horns
I'd tell the game warden. And I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just my opinion.

Several years ago I shot a couple of birds that were full of corn from visiting the neighboring hunt club. The landowner (who already had problems with the club) informed the game warden. The game warden has since made visits to the hunt club while accessing it through my landowner's property. I haven't killed a turkey with corn in its craw since then. I also haven't heard near as many shots coming from the hunt club.
 

Aaron H

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
It is not illegal for the landowner to be feeding corn as long as he's not hunting turkeys so he won't get in trouble if you report him (unless he's hunting turkeys) I'd probably call it in. You won't get a ticket since you had no knowledge of the bait. The law is if you knew or should have known there was bait there. Off on that private property you would not know and should not have known so I can't see it causing you any problem. My opinion....
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Can you get a ticket for what your neighbor does on property you have no control over?
 
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