Hunting near mineral sites

[iowabucks]

I'm trying to find some info for another fellow Iowan on another site, (not IO), about hunting around mineral.

I tried doing some research on the DNR website and can't find anything specific on it. I thought you could use any kind of mineral, or deer cane and such throughout the summer. But it had to be gone before season started. Anybody know the exact wording on this?

He wonders why Wally World is still selling Cmere deer and deer cane if it is illegal to use during the season.

 

[JNRBRONC]

It's not illegal to use those products during deer season, just illegal to hunt over it as it is considered baiting.

 

[sureshot]

It's considered illegal if you are using the bait (corn, mineral, apples, etc) to alter deer movement in your benefit. If an officer is able to prove that you used the bait as a way to alter movement in an effort to increase your success of harvest then that is considered baiting. There is no set guideline or rule to how far you have to be from a bait pile, or when it needs to be gone. Hope that helps...

 

[Iowabowtech]

I've seen several of these threads over time and the best conclusion I can draw is that it's a gray area and it's mainly up to the CO's discretion as to what is "too close". I don't take any chances and have my licks set well apart from my stands. I've heard certain yardages thrown around but have never been able to verify. Called the DNR last year to make sure I was good and basically was told that it shouldn't be close to any stand and also shouldn't be located on a trail that leads to the stand. Further, just because a block is gone doesn't mean you're good. They said if they suspect foul play, the'll do a soil sample and if it comes up positive, it's still considered hunting over a lick. That's the best I've got.

 

[dbltree]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">He wonders why Wally World is still selling Cmere deer and deer cane if it is illegal to use during the season. </div></div>

It's not illegal to sell it.... /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

Kinda like buying a broadheads in July...not planning on shooting a deer with it! /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

I just stay clear of putting any of that type of stuff out until after season is over, why take a chance?

After season it's fun to put up trail cams and get some pics but I know that our CO says his #one headache is people using some sort of bait during hunting season...so buying it and putting it out is two different things. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

[tlambert]

I spoke with a CO about this and was told that its up to the local CO as to what's legal or not. They make a decision based on what they see. I was told that even if a neighbor has a bait pile on his property and you're hunting fairly close to it, even if you don't know about it, you can be ticketed for hunting over bait. Apparently we're supposed to know exactly what everyone around us is doing in the woods.