When does a site become baited?

I'm lucky enough to have a buddy that allows me to hunt his property. It's in urban zone over near Geist the property is a a long skinny 8 acre parcel that backs up to dnr land that is off limits.
The neighboring property now has someone hunting it as well. There's plenty of deer around the area so I'm not upset and would actually like to work with the guy to share pics and get an even better idea of what's coming and going.
My concern is that he now has a feeder right on the property line. It's the automatic kind that flings corn everywhere including onto the property I hunt. My stand is about 150 yds away from where the feeder is and there is a lot of scrub in between. I can't see the feeder, but there is a heavy trail running towards the feeder past my stand.
Am I in the clear on this since it isn't on the property I hunt?

How is he legally hunting the property if he has a feeder up. If you are 150 yds away and lot of scrub in between, how could you know it was there???? hint hint

Administrative code 9-3-2

(u) An individual must not hunt deer with the use or aid of:(1) bait, which includes:(A) a food that is transported and placed for consumption, including, but not limited to, piles of corn and apples placed in the field;(B) a prepared solid or liquid that is manufactured and intended for consumption by livestock or wild deer, including, but not limited to, commercial baits and food supplements;(C) salt; or(D) mineral supplements;

It's influencing movement and you know it's there, I'm guessing you would catch a ticket. Otherwise, anyone could just slide a 50 over to the non-hunting neighbor and get them to put a feeder on their property that happens to influence the deer movement on the hunted property.

Risky business, and the COs don't mess around.

For him the feeder needs taken down 10 days before he hunts. For you given it is not on the property you hunt it should not be a legal issue. IANAL

smokingman said:

For him the feeder needs taken down 10 days before he hunts. For you given it is not on the property you hunt it should not be a legal issue. IANAL

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Feeder has to come out and all affected ground removed. So no salt lick effect.

I'd call the local C.O., have him meet you at the property and show him/her the situation. They'll advise how to proceed and since they're the one you'll be dealing with if there is an issue it's going to be best to have things already worked out in advance.

I know this may not be the preferred method for many but the code is entirely too subjective for you to obtain reasonable advice on here. You bring 30 different officers out there and you'll get 15 different opinions on the situation.

As an example with what Patience0830 brought up. What exactly is affected soil? Is it soil that still has corn pieces visible? Is it soil that still has traces of mineral in it if the area was used for minerals? If so, how deep does one have to dig to remove all? Do we have to dig until we're confident, take a sample and have it sent to a lab to verify there are no trace minerals left before we can safely hunt within 100yds of it (because that's exactly what the state will do to prosecute)? What about the path into the spot? If there was no path before and there is one now, is not the path "affected ground"?

There is a lot of room for interpretation in this area of the law. We've not had a problem yet having a conversation and taking a ride around our property with the man/woman who will be making those interpretations before we've hunted. Gives us peace of mind, gives the officer an idea of who is hunting the property as well as an easy way to reach us if needed down the road.

So lets say I own some property. Lets say 40 acres. I dont hunt so no hunting on my property. But I do have neighbors who like to put up stands close to the line to reap the benefits of my deer movement. So I just put out a few feeders and then call CO and complain that neighbors are hunting over bait??????? Hmmmmmm. Interesting scenario.

Purely hypothetical of course.

phatgemi said:

So lets say I own some property. Lets say 40 acres. I dont hunt so no hunting on my property. But I do have neighbors who like to put up stands close to the line to reap the benefits of my deer movement. So I just put out a few feeders and then call CO and complain that neighbors are hunting over bait??????? Hmmmmmm. Interesting scenario.

Purely hypothetical of course.

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It's been done before. Thought about it meownself.

phatgemi said:

So lets say I own some property. Lets say 40 acres. I dont hunt so no hunting on my property. But I do have neighbors who like to put up stands close to the line to reap the benefits of my deer movement. So I just put out a few feeders and then call CO and complain that neighbors are hunting over bait??????? Hmmmmmm. Interesting scenario.

Purely hypothetical of course.

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They aren't your deer so their movement isn't your deer movement. I try to be cordial to my neighbors but there's certainly no shortage of people to don't.

Just make it illegal to feed wild animals and all this goes away.

Had a similar problem a few years back. A neighbor put up a stand right on the fence line and then dumped 4 bags of corn across the fence on my ground.

Asked my local CO about this very thing.

I am in a reduction zone, me neighbors bo not hunt but put out salt blocks for the deer.

The blocks are about 100 yards from my stand. My neighbors hate that I hunt the deer but nothing they can do about it.

Had a conversation with the local CO and he said he was fine with it. " You cannot control what your neighbors do with their property as they cannot control what you do on yours.

JTKelly said:

Just make it illegal to feed wild animals and all this goes away.

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Yep, let's just go and make more things illegal, I'm sure that will solve all of the problems.

two70 said:

Yep, let's just go and make more things illegal, I'm sure that will solve all of the problems.

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I read JT's post as sarcasm?

JTKelly said:

Just make it illegal to feed wild animals and all this goes away.

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So non hunters or anyone won’t be allowed to feed the birds?… lol good luck with that happening!