In the State of Minnesota
can I put out Feeders for Deer?

Before the season?

During the season?

What is legal ? what is not legal?

Thanks in advance

BK

In general deer feeders are legal in MN.

However, any deer feeding is considered baiting if the feed material is not removed at least 10 days in advance of hunting. I hope someone can bring the exact words, cause I don't know if its when YOU hunt or when the season starts.

You are not allowed to be feeding during the season, unless I suppose you can remove the excess feed and wait 10 days to hunt again.

The only legal attractants you can use while hunting are scents and minerals. No food product is allowed, that includes minerals or scents with food in them.

It's when you hunt. Here's the language from pg. 71 of the book:

• “Bait or feed” is grain, fruit, vegetables, nuts, hay, or other food that is capable of attracting or enticing deer and that has been placed by a person.

• Hunters are not allowed to use or hunt over bait or feed or hunt in the vicinity of bait or feed if the hunter knows about or has reason to know about the placement of the bait or feed.

• A person otherwise in compliance with this section who is hunting on private or public property that is adjacent to the property where bait or feed is present is not in violation if the person has not participated in, been involved with, or agreed to baiting or feeding wildlife on the adjacent property.

• An area is considered baited for 10 days after complete removal of the bait or feed.

• Liquid scents, salt, minerals, and bird feeders containing grains or nuts that are at least 6 feet above the ground are not considered bait or feed.

• This restriction does not apply to foods resulting from normal or accepted farming, forest management, wildlife food plantings, orchard management, or similar land management activities.

lcornice, thank you for the clarification. That's the type of info sharing that makes FM the great site it is.

Thanks LC. I knew you'd come to the rescue with the correct language.

Happy to help.

Thanks LC, The new buzz would be, What is in the vicinity, 150ft, 200ft 400ft. If the guy next door places hay and apples on his land, but it is closer to my deerstand than his that could mean I have to move.

That would be up to the officer. Certainly, if you come up on a bait pile, I'd run far away and make sure I wasn't anywher near the thing. No point taking chances.

If it's on your neighbor's land how could a CO do anything about it? You aren't supposed to trespass and therefore have no knowledge of it. "Geewhiz...he's feeding deer?" I wouldn't be changing my stand location on account of the neighbor. If he's got a stand he's hunting there, he's the one getting pinched. If he's legally feeding, I'd at least keep my stand beyond eyesight of it to confirm you haven't seen it. A friend of mine's next door neighbor feeds the deer. A non-hunter. Probably 150 yards from the best spot to put his stand. What's he gonna do, not hunt his own land? He'd be sitting there, feed or not.

Up until last year, he would have been in violation no matter what by the way the old regs where worded.

Like lcornice said, I think the end result would be up to the CO if a person would be in violation or not.

With the eye in the sky, it is nice to know what you neighbor is doing, or maybe not .

I've never fed deer or have had neighbors feeding either, so I guess I never really checked into the previous regs. I just meant that if I had an established stand location and the neighbor was insistent on feeding the deer relatively nearby, I would have a hard time changing my location on his account. Seems like b*lls**t that I would be responsible for my neighbor's actions. But I guess item #3 on Icornice's quote from pg. 71 pretty much clears it up,or am I reading it wrong?

fishinmajishin is right, your neighbor could stack corn 10ft high as long as your not part of it your ok.

i dont know for sure about that.. i think its kinda up the discretion of the game warden. if thats the case i could pay the neighbor for the cost of corn and have him put all kinds of it across the fence line and then hunt it.. the game warden wouldnt know you told him to put it there.

the real question is how the new mineral law will come into effect. 6 feet off the ground? how do you hang mineral 6 feet off the ground?

but then you would have a part in it. i think the rule is intended for hunters whos neighbors dont want them to hunt.

well ive got a few neighbors like that... hopefully they do the work for me! lol