BowtechTurkeyHunter Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 today was at my pro shop talking and the DNR officer came in to talk with the guy about safety course he was gonna be teaching and we got on the subject of me buying minerals for my licks. Heres where I put the oficer in quotes he stated and I quote. If I ever catch anyone hunting over a mineral lick in this state I personally will see that they are punished to the max .... I dont have a problem with that but the statement that he followed up with about killed me he said I qould even go as far as to say I qould give anyone hunting a trail leading to a mineral spot a fine and the max on that to. I was like ok so in my case the like is int he middle lof a 10 acre field surrounded by my food plots and some wetlands which is surrounded by the hardwoods I hunt in and have about 9 stands. I asked him how he could right me a citation for hunting the trails leading to the field and he stated he would cause of the mineral lick. now keep in mind it is illegal to hunt deer in Iowa over bait/mineral I am fully aware of this but I do not see that hunting a deer going to the mineral lick/food plot/ water which is in the 10 acre field would be jsut cause to fine me. What we are doing wtih the food plots and mineral licks is giving nutrition to the deer keeping them on our property (benefits the farmers around us in a small way) helps/promotes antler groth and nutrients needed by the does, both the minerals and food plots do this why would this guy single out the mineral lick. I was quite irratated by this statement and am thinking about writing a letter to the Sate office about this. to me it says hey im gonna rewrite the laws to accomodate my needs and wants what a joke . What do all you think about this is it legal to hunt deer over bait in your state what rules do you all have about this does anyone have mineral licks for there deer what other ideas do you guys have about how to keep deer on your property. Let me reitterate I am not hunting this lick or anyother mineral spot on my property this is purposely put in the open middle of this 10 acre field along with feeders (only full in spring summer and fall) no feed in them durring any hunting season. I purposely did this so I couldn't be accused of hunting over bait. but this officer thinks he can rewrite our state laws. It specifically states you cannot hunt deer over bait. nothig about the path to the bait. My mineral licks are about 4 feet square by about 1 and half feet deep the deer love the stuff they leteratly eat the dirt lol kinda funny. Sorry about the length but Im kinda ticked off about this hes training our youth and he incoprorates this into his safety lesson. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisherguy Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long Well personally i would hope he was meaning within reason..as in if there is one route to a mineral lick and you are set up just around a corner from the lick for example. That is one of those things where they get to use judgement, and hopefully do so wisely. He may have just been stressing the point that they are enforcing teh mineral lick/baiting rule...i hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horst Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long Dont be to quick to assume hes just being a jerk.Theres actually a cetrain distance you must be away from any mineral licks or you can be arrested, even if your on a trail and cant see the bait site from your stand.Im not sure how far you have to be away from a baited site but Id strongly recomend emailing the DNR to find out.Considering these rules apply to gun season as well Im sure its a considerable distance you gotta be set back. The thing about minerals is unlike your feeders once you put them in the ground theres no getting them back out.You take your feeders out 2 weeks before season your perfectly legal.But as long as theres detectable minerals in the spot youre dumping them the areas considered baited and its illegal to hunt there. Theres a lotta things in our gamelaws that are left up to the discretion of the officers, if he busted you hunting 200 yrds away from your bait on a trail he would be well within his rights to do so and you would be found guilty.Hes not necassarily being a jerk, just doing his job.Whenever Im unsure of the legal aspect of something I just email them, theyll get back to you in a day or so and then youll at least have some verification of the rules if your not breaking them and the DNR is hassling you anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IowaDeerHunter Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long So is deercane considered and attractant then? I don't know the rules or laws for sure about bating. But I do know you can not bait the deer. I don't know if that means hunting over the bait or hunting within a certain distance like Horst said. Just email them and you should find soon. that is what I would do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdoc Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long you need to get the regulations out and find out exactly what the law states. some states don't allow any form of baiting or hunting over minerals. this means the minerals have to be removed for a certain amount of time--i don't know what that is for your state but you really need to find out. yes---deer cane is a mineral mix but mainly an attractant. IMO any mineral mix that has higher than a 50% salt content is an attractant. I don't know how your state defines an attractant. In Oklahoma I can hunt over salt, corn, apples, actually about anything you want as baiting is legal. todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntingInMaine Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long [ QUOTE ] some states don't allow any form of baiting or hunting over minerals. this means the minerals have to be removed for a certain amount of time--i [/ QUOTE ] That's how Maine does it. I think any sort of bait or lure has to be removed a few weeks before the start of the hunting season. I don't think this game warden is being very fair though. What if you are hunting in an area where someone has put down a mineral lick, unknown to you? I really wish the laws weren't so wishy washy, it leaves the interpretation up to the warden that is busting you. (At least that is what it is like in maine....and our fishing rules are even more confusing than the hunting ones... ) You almost need to take a lawyer with you to make sure you aren't doing anything wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horst Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long The rules in the regulation books are very vauge concerning this.I spent an hour looking in the DNR websight last night and couldnt find anything. As far as someone else putting stuff out you dont know about the DNR does say its the hunters responsibility to make sure the areas clean.How exactly you can tell if someones been dumping minerals on top of the ground im not sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long In Indiana you can have salt/mineral licks all year unless you plan to hunt the area. If you intend to hunt the area the mineral and all affected soil must be removed at least 10 days prior to hunting. Hunting trails leading to bait sites is also illegal here. Like stated above, read your state's regulations thoroughly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowtechTurkeyHunter Posted August 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long [ QUOTE ] The rules in the regulation books are very vauge concerning this.I spent an hour looking in the DNR websight last night and couldnt find anything. As far as someone else putting stuff out you dont know about the DNR does say its the hunters responsibility to make sure the areas clean.How exactly you can tell if someones been dumping minerals on top of the ground im not sure [/ QUOTE ] This is my point it is not defined in any rule book he even stated that he didnt state a distance I had to be from it the mineral lick is surrounded by food plots I mean common I could argue it 3 different ways what the deer was going to he can argue 1. My pro shop guy even asked if he wqas hunting a trail that leads to a corn field and the other direction is minerals he would ticket still I mean common the guy just has a problem with mineral spots or something. But I will do the research and maybe call down to the DNR today and see if I cant get ahold of what the boss says about this Im kinda curious to know. I personally am not worrried about my setup but if this is something they are watching what about the next guy. My closest stand to my minerals is about 150 yard and there are about 40 trails leading to the field where it is =) lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newarcher Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long Sounds like a typical blowhard jerk DNR ranger who is a little full of themselves. That is not to say all DNR are this way...most aren't. I am saying it is typical banter from one who IS that way. Find out what the regulations say and if they are silent, seek clairfication from the DNR head/director. Do it in email form and keep a copy of it. If anyone hassles you about it later, show them the email that tells them you are in compliance. If they continue to proceed with citing/harassing you, it is their job. The logical question to follow a rule such as "you cannot hunt over a mineral lick" is...how far from it should I be. IMHO, if you cannot see it or cannot reach it with a firearm, you should be okay but check with the DNR because they might not agree. New Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaskMan Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long It seems to me that if having a lick is legal, why can't hunting over it be. I see it as a real pain in the rear having to remove it before the season if I was planning on hunting the area. I'd rather not even put one there if I had to go remove all the affected soil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowtechTurkeyHunter Posted August 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long I am not sure you could remove a mineral lick once its started I mean this thing is huge I got an email into the DNR and will post what they repkly if they reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long Minerals stay in the ground even if you have not put any out in a while, and cannot really be removed. Here the law is you cannot hunt over non supplemental bait. In other words you cannot legally hunt over a pile of corn or buck grub or etc. on the ground or from a feeder. Those types of bait must be removed from within a certain distance from where you intend to hunt a minimum of 10 days prior to any hunting taking place there. Minerals here are considered supplements and are legal to hunt over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bond Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Re: Talked with DNR \"officer\" sorta long I don't know why this guy is so worked up about mineral sites, I can understand bait piles in general but I personally have never seen a deer use a mineral lick after the bucks lose their velvet and the fawns lose their spots. If the deer are walking on the trail that's "leading to the mineral" it would probably be walking that way even if the mineral wasn't there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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