Corn is not a magic answer

Some of y’all probably already know this though. We have been feeding for a couple years. We feed about 8 months out of the year, mostly to keep the doe population on the property and well fed. With the change in regs we put broadcast feeders on every plot and I’ve been jumping around sitting in different spots as the wind dictates. I’ve seen deer on 8 different hunts and I’ve yet to see a deer stay at a feeder longer than 5-7 minutes. I have however watched deer spend hours browsing food plots and natural edges.

I figured this all along so I wasn’t surprised at all but I thought I would share.

5-7 minutes at a feeder is all I need.

Therefore, corn IS the answer.

Looks like your master baiting skills are weak.

It’s all about where you put it and how. No feeders. Not in food plots. Not in high traffic areas. Keep scent down and let them eat it without interruption. Other factors. I can get mature bucks on camera with well placed locations and they will use it in the daytime and stay a long time if you just leave it alone.

Scatter a couple bags in the woods where deer live. See what happens when it gets cold and the acorns disappear

You just need to put some additives along side the corn. Ie peanut butter rice bran and PBJ granules
https://i.imgur.com/vHBKGx5. https://i.imgur.com/xzU3HnC.png
https://i.imgur.com/oHWTwVj.png

Being able to hunt over corn this year is what is finally going to transform me from an average, kill a nice deer every couple of years guy to the world class hunter that I have always known I could be. Or it could just make me a couple of hundred $ lighter by the end of the season.

I didn’t say I don’t have mature bucks on cameras at different feeders. I rarely post deer pics on social media anymore. My comment and experience is that feeders will NEVER replace a well planted and fertilized food plot. As a matter of fact I think food plots are even more important now vs before being able to hunt over feeders. Lazy hunters, there’s a bunch, will half a$$ plots thinking corn is better.

I’ve watched WAY more deer in day light hours feed all around it without ever coming to it this year than deer that fed on it. I’ve had several hunts where I saw 15+ deer and less than a third came to corn. Had nothing to do with me not hunting smart, being in a feeder or any of that other stuff mentioned. It had everything to do with there’s tons of natural vegetation and acorns out there that are just as preferred and palatable as corn. I’ve also got tons of day light pics of big bucks on it. To think they somehow are addicted to it like it’s an uncontrollable urge is just false.

Josh, our food plots are filling up with deer in the afternoons, and although they will come to the corn, they really don’t care if it’s there or not. A well fertilized food plot is highly desirable.

Is it a throw and mow plot Matt?

Heck no!

I agree with that statement. I still think there’s ways to use corn where older bucks use it more frequently and more often. And a lot of factors play into it.

It’s like anything thing else with hunting, some are going to do it well, and a lot of hunters are going to struggle with it, if that is how they try to kill deer.

I honestly don’t like it being legal, especially in a club setting, seeing how medium to large hunting clubs are about to get some more drama - over things clubs haven’t thought all the way thru yet. Going to be an interesting year IMO. And some of the stories from the clubs should be entertaining.

Everyone is STILL missing the point of the original post lol. I’m getting PLENTY of daylight pictures, of mature deer, at feeders. My point is they utilize our really good food plots MORE than they do the corn and that corn is not the “secret weapon”. Pressure is the ultimate weapon for killing big bucks (lack of pressure).

This is for dang sure!

I guess this is what I think of first and foremost when this comes up - in regards to hunting pressure. A lot of hunters will hit the easy button with corn, and will be clumsy with it and have bad experiences. Spook a lot of deer in the process also.

My Texas experiences indicate that feeding year round may be the difference.

I'm one year in at the farm, and will continue to feed year round as an experiment. Feeder is in a food plot, also.

Give it 4 years. Deer in AL will be imprinted to feeders and corn. And that’s fine. In a lot of areas they already are

X2. That's my hypothesis. The mature deer in Texas sure dont seem to mind feeders

Y’all are comparing apples to oranges when it comes to TX and deer and anywhere else.

You’re right. TX folks for most part all respect the resource. Here in bama it’s a totally different mentality

I agree to some extent but on properties that are properly managed, I bet you see very similar results to Tejas

A 2 year old buck that starts feeding at a feeder will still use that feeder at 6 years old IF you don’t pressure them. Same goes for food plots. We have foodplots that haven’t had but one deer shot in them in 5 years. I can first hand tell you what reducing pressure and trigger constraints can do to a property. Matt Brock can attest. It’s taken 6 years but we have completely turned a piece of property around 180 degrees. Six years ago I saw 1 deer on roughly 600 acres THE WHOLE SEASON. 1 deer! But the property had a good layout and decent genetics. So I kept it and spent a lot of time, blood and sweat to get things right.

It’s beginning to pay off.

My deer come to corn better than anything, but then again it is in the form of 4-8 acre corn fields. But when there, they also spend time in the greens and other things planted.

In the off season dump it out by the truckloads and piss all over then by hunting season the deer will be use to your scent. .
I love these corn bashing threads!

Nobody is corn bashing.

In 4 years CWD will be found here and you can kiss baiting bye bye.

I had deer in my field for thirty minutes before they went to the corn pile to eat.

You bunch a damn rookies. If you want to know how to kill big bucks, just follow ol Timber around. He dont need no stinkin corn

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that deer love freshly planted food plots, good browse and freshly dropped acorns more than corn, however, when your plots are mowed to the ground, most of the browse has diminished, and all the acorns are gone and its cold, the deer will be all over the corn. It's not a cure all, it's just another tool in the shed. We felt our doe population strayed from our property late last year, so i'm throwing the corn to them to keep them on the property so maybe the bucks will be here.

Looking forward to what we see happen opening weekend. I bet its the same thing, deer mowing plots then moving to the feeder for a few minutes. Its an added attractant that is all. If nobody did the whole corn baiting thing, then nobody would have to.

They've taken the magic out of it. It's just ain't no fun no more

lol @ james. OP is right though corn isn't the magical answer. ITS THE ONLY ANSWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Huge mistake legalizing corn. This is gonna result in an explosion of hog propagation. If you like hunting hogs, great.

I guess you can consider our place all in!

Nah. All in is getting it by the dump truck load

We kept getting the he dump truck stuck, The bags are more portable and discreet!

Legal baiting evens the playing field. We have rich neighbors who can afford tickets. We can’t. I’m glad it’s finally legal it makes it fair for everyone.

Over the past month I've seen dozens of trucks hauling those pallets. I saw one a few days ago in a 1/2 ton truck with a full pallet and another 15-20 bags thrown in. Poor truck was dragging the ground.

Hunters then:

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1...0i131j0i67.2I0Qzd3Vp0I#spf=1573587321950


Hunters now:


https://www.google.com/search?biw=1...BOQQ4dUDCAY&uact=5#spf=1573587675209


From Daniel Boone and the Kentucky long hunters to >>>>>>>>>> Snow flakes with corn piles.

When we have as many acorns as we do this year, corn won’t be a factor until January. This is imo a one in 10+ year bumper crop of acorns on my place. I’ve seen multiple white oak trees with acorns not eaten because there’s so many. I have so many water/red oak acorns it’s not even funny. I still have saw tooth acorns and that’s almost unheard of.

How?

Just hang on fellers I'm still betting on a positive cwd test any day....that reminds of a song I believe the title is TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN

Maybe. I dont know if itll show up this year but I'll bet on it in the future.

Any no skill sucka can kill a deer over corn. Just look at the tv hunting shows.

[img]http://[img]https://i.postimg.cc/85KcDRRH/20191112-125204.jpg[/img][/img]
If it was the answer id have it out everywhere 🤣 but i just got some on my driveway to see em pulling in at nite

I think even Fred Bear hunted over apples, no joke. It doesn't make sense not to.

Everybody hunts over some form of bait, whether its acorns, green fields, fruit tree's, native browse, or a doe in heat.

Hogs love corn even more than deer do. They will also scare off deer when they take over your feeder. They also are nocturnal so there ain't much you can do about it.

I wouldn't fool yourselves. see my post, huntings no longer a sport. I dumped one bag of corn out and within 1hr. of dumping it deer were all around it. but peoples gonna do it, and when they shoot that big buck they will convince themselves that they accomplished something.

I’m guessing a lot of people will leave this part out of the story. But don’t get me wrong a lot will admit it and that’s fine it’s perfectly legal so nothing wrong it.

You dont say! I thought I could just sit over a pile of corn and kill all the deer in the woods. Obviously I'm joking . I really dont care if you use corn or not why are so many obsessed with how others choose to hunt? You hunt how you like I will hunt how I like. Whats the problem here?

Public servants seeing themselves as masters instead of servants and getting away with it.

Yep, we didn't have any hogs in Alabama before now because no one put out corn. That's all screwed up now because of this baiting law.

Wait and see!

Hogs eat tons of stuff and have been thriving here for a while. Corn will not add or subtract to that equation one bit. If you don’t like hunting over bait, go spray spike 80 on your oak trees and don’t dare plant a greenfield! That would be unethical! Or, you could just stop hunting if it makes you so mad. You could take up embroidery........

Hunting near existing oak trees is not "hunting with bait." That's natural food.

What if I fill up a bag with those acorns and dump them in front of my stand in a pine thicket? ,

Or scrapbooking...😀

All I can bait is coons.

So I heard they had a great weekend at TATSOULS old club. 25 bucks were killed during the youth weekend. All on greenfields with most shots around 4 PM. Feeders are 100 yards off the fields. Perhaps the tender grass is highly desireable because natural browse affected by drought?

Is this for real? Wow that's a lot of deer!

Those hogs like akerns too, Clem. Let's cut them all down...