Hunting question

[Richard]

I've attached an aerial pic of the place I live. I've outlined the basic shape of the farm in yellow with an arrow pointing to a dot. The specific shape doesn't matter, it's just to get the point across.

I live on what is essentially, a peninsula. Water on 3 sides of the farm. TVA owns the land TOUCHING the water and the farm is everything else in the middle.

Yesterday, I was taking the (4) dogs out on a walk through the woods and fields. I was in one of the back fields (see arrow) and I found something quite interesting.

I found a sectioned apple. 1/2 of an apple to be exact, cut, not bitten.

Now, we all know that if you have an apple and let it sit out, it's going to turn brown pretty fast. This apple was about as fresh as fresh could be. I'd say it didn't have 10 minutes on it.

With that said, I ALSO know if you dip an apple in water/lemon juice (I think), it will stay fresh for a LOT longer.

As I was the only one home yesterday, I know it wasn't me. Given the holidays we had, I know it wasn't anyone with the family.

The one guy that we DO let hunt on the farm, hunts on the other side. I asked him anyway, and he knew nothing about the apple.

My basic question is this... is a sliced apple something that "some" hunters will use for bait?? (I dont' know if it's legal or not to use bait, but if it's NOT legal to use an apple for bait, this will tell you the kind of hunters we get out our way)

This apple had me fairly concerned because it was 100% CLEARLY and unarguably ON the farm and they HAD to be trespassing to put it there. If they put it there (for hunting purposes), then that means their hunting and shooting there.

If on the other hand, deer don't take to apples very much, I'm left to really scratch my head figuring out who/where/how and why it landed where it did.

A hunter setting up bait is the only thing that really makes much sense given it's location, time of year, freshness...

How about it you guys that know? bait?? do I have some trespassors that I need to somehow try to find?

(note, this is NOT about anti-hunting, it's about perhaps illegal hunting and clearly, trespassing)



Oh, just in case someone misread something, I want to reiterate and be 100% clear... there is absolutely NO way anyone can get to this location unless they either cross the farm or walk through TVA's woods and then climb over a fence and enter a recently cut field. You can still see the tire tracks in the fields. This can not possibly be a case of "oh, I thought this was TVA's land"

 

[riptides]

I never got past the trespassing part.

That said, could be bait, could be a share attempt gone wrong. could be a marker.

Hope your wearing something bright orange.

-Mike Z.

 

[CharlieTR]

Sounds like a hunter shot something on your land and went to retrieve it.
That is not allowed and no excuse but, that is the only thing that makes sense to me. A hunter would not bait with a single half apple, I think he just dropped it and ran as soon as he heard you.

 

[EddieWalker]

Richard,

Here in Texas, baiting is legal and a pretty normal way to hunt. One of the main goals of baiting is to get the animals coming to a location on a regular basis. To do this, you need to be very consistant, and have enough bait out for them to eat and keep coming back. Feeders that put out deer corn are about the most common method there is.

They put out corn once, twice or more times a day. EVERY DAY. The animals learn that the corn is there and come to it to feed on a regular basis. In my case, it brings in the hogs out of the heavy woods to a place where we can see them and shoot them. Of course, it's usually dark out and we only know they were there by there tracks.

If I just put out corn once, it might get eaten, but it would probably sit there for weeks until something happened to find it. More likely, it will rot on the ground. Both my feeders have hogs comeing to them, but it took a few months to happen with ALLOT of corn rotting first.

Half an apple won't accomplish anything. Like you said, it will turn brown and rot in hours. Once that happens, it's lost any apeal it may have had. If somebody was baiting with apples, they'd have a bunch of them there and they'd be putting more there on a daily basis.

My guess is that somebody was walking through the land and droped it by mistake. It could very well have been a hunter that was tresspassing on your land who stoped to have a meal and left it behind.

I also have my doubts to the how much deer like apples. I know they love apple leaves and will kill a tree trying to eat all the leaves, if they can, but it's rare for them to eat apples on the ground. I know they will, but it's not a first choice for them.

Good luck finding your tresspasser,
Eddie

 

[Richard]

Thanks everyone.

I might take the dogs on another walk today and see if it's still there. If so, I'll have my camera with me.

I simply found this to be so bizzare. Had it looked weathered at all, I'd still care, but a bit less. Because it was SO fresh in its appearance, it had me wondering if I was being watched.

Because we've had theft, vandalism, 2 dogs killed... I'm pretty cranky about people trespassing on the farm.

 

[thingy]

I've seen dummies doing that,,I wouldn't think an apple or two would draw any deer in but,,,,if you was bow hunting,where you need to get close,,and you had some half tame deer,,that were used to being fed and were getting close but not close enough,,yeah,,could work. Deer love apples probably more than anything,,and they can smell better than a dog.
How many acres in that yellow area? Do you have your land posted with signs? thingy

 

[Paddy]

I have land on a lake. The state owns a strip surounding the lake. Boats land and folks go for a walk. Happens all the time. It's when things start disappearing I get bent out of shape

 

[PBinWA]

Richard,
I also have my doubts to the how much deer like apples. I know they love apple leaves and will kill a tree trying to eat all the leaves, if they can, but it's rare for them to eat apples on the ground. I know they will, but it's not a first choice for them.

Depends on the deer. Up here in WA they spend a lot of time eating the apples off the ground (as well as everything else).

PB

 

[BTDT]

Time for your sign: Trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again.

 

[George2615]

It could have been someone, maybe a hunter, maybe not, who crossed your land and had the sliced apple as a snack for himself and accidentally dropped a piece. Unless you find a whole bag of apple slices around I doubt someone is baiting with one slice of an apple.