A topic for discussions

[Dan Salmon]

A twist to my original theme ... is a planted food plot any different (in effect and in practice) of a "spinner" type game feeder?

To my way of thinking, no, there is no difference. They are both artificially placed with the intent to draw in game animals.

I don't have a long and drawn out dissertation about the subtle nuances of why this is and that isn't different.

In my mind, it is an unfair and unsporting way of hunting.

You can't, by federal law, hunt waterfowl over bait, but you can hunt them in a picked crop field. Why should it be deemed okay to hunt deer with bait? Hunt them to your hearts content over a picked cornfield.

[Deebz]

Wrap your mind around this... the IL DNR made a statement this year concerning hunting waterfowl in picked fields.... while it is completely legal to hunt around picked crop fields (i think the term is something like, normal agricultural processes), this year many farmers were cutting corn for silage due to the low yields with the drought and all. Because cutting a corn field for silage is not a "usual practice", it would be illegal to hunt a field you hunt every season if they cut it for silage and left grain on the ground. It would only be legal to hunt it after it had been plowed to bury any loose grain. There was also a reminder that if there is any appreciable rain after the plowing, it is quite possible that some of that grain could be uncovered, thus causing the field to be illegal to hunt over again.

[Dan Salmon]

In my opinion, that is a terrible interpretation of the law.

Farmers most certainly cut silage as a normal farming practice.

It sounds like a concerted effort to gain more money for the state coffers.