Seems like there are alot of TX hunters defending using feeders, so I feel I should chime in myself. Where I hunt in West TX, if you're not feeding, your neighbors are! There are so many hunters around that if you don't do something to attract and hold deer, you likely won't see any, period. You are also competing with agriculture. We farm wheat, and if deer aren't drawn in by a feeder during daylight hours, they tend to only feed at night. We feed protein during the offseason for two reasons: 1. The health of our deer population. 2. To hold deer on our property. Food plots are not an option for us as cattle and massive hog populations would make short work of a food plot even with a fence around it.
Now, there is the argument of bow vs. rifle hunting over bait. Bow hunting is a difficult proposition, regardless of whether it is done over bait or not. The majority of what we do is bowhunting and the amount of stealthiness and preparation (camoflage, scent prevention) truly make it "hunting" in the eyes of some here. We only have 2 rifle blinds on our property and they are both 200+ yards from any potential target. One overlooks a mesquite flat where deer tend to bed with a feeder in one corner. The other faces a 100 acre wheat field with a feeder in the corner. Neither provide a "chip shot" by any stretch.
Now, along the same topic. There are plenty of hunters who take the sport out of it completely. Most "city hunters", as we so affectionately call them, hunt from their taj-mahal blind with heat and A/C (believe me, I've seen it) set up 75 yds from their feeders with their 300 Ultra Sendero or 30-378 Weatherby Accumark topped with a Zeiss 6.5-20x50. For example, I have family who hunts with a 7mm Rem Mag from a pop-up blind 40 yds from their feeder...and they've been known to miss deer. They also wounded two deer with a compound bow at 15 yds last season that had to be finished off with a rifle.
