Corn

Has brainwashed my son. He thinks that if he doesn’t have a pile of corn in front of him he isn’t going to see a deer..

Watched 2 does in my field this morning walk right by the feeder and eat in the greenfield . A good greenfield or a cutover with a lot of browse is a lot more attractive to a deer .

An entire generation of hunters in Florida now feel this way. It will be that way in Alabama in 15 years.

The art of actually "hunting" is dying. No real skills required anymore. Scouting entails pouring out a bag of corn with a camera on it.

I’ve killed way more without than with. It’s a tool like anything else. Not a guarantee.

It’s done that to several folks

Depending on the location, he’d be right.

I’ve seen 20+ deer in 2 sits and not a kernel of corn on my place. Just woods, food plots, and hay fields. I already got a hog problem and don’t won’t to draw more of the worthless bastages.

Same here. I have ZERO issues seeing deer on my little slice of heaven, and I'm surrounded on all 4 sides by masterbaiters.

Not a kernel of corn on my place, unless a neighbor has slipped in and put it there...which I highly doubt.

This is the first year I’ve ever used corn. Only difference I can for 100% tell is hunting is more expensive

Not a kernel on our place either. Last time I went I saw 18 for the morning and evening hunt. I have never hunted over corn and I have zero intentions of ever using it.

I have a feeder set up with the intention of getting deer on camera easier, just to see what was out there. I found I fell into the temptation of sitting over it while hunting, but never see anything. Realized how much the corn was costing me and I think I'm gonna let it run dry for the rest of the season.

Do I put out corn? Yes. The main reasons are my age, and type and size of the property I have permission to hunt. I don't have feeders. Every few days I scatter some corn on the ground in 3 or 4 select small areas. I then hunt near those areas, just like I used to hunt natural food sources when I was on a large lease and young and spry. A couple of the spots, I refuse to shoot a doe, just to keep them in the area to attract the boys during the rut. Win, win situation for an old fat man like me.

Corn works a lot better later in the season in my experience. Same with green fields. We have a lot more success on Green fields in late January. My guess is all the forage in the woods is gone.

Hell i know plenty of middle aged (and older) folks that feel that way because that's the way they've always hunted

Don’t take a 2 year old to the pumpkin patch with a corn crib and then take him to put out corn for the deer. If you know, you know. 🤪

It would've been 50+ deer if you had a couple kernels of corn out

Seeing the exact same thing happen with a few people I know;old and young.

Yup, the typical guy has 20 cameras out and gets a ping on the cell phone when a deer walks by one of them. Real hunting, for sure.

As for the corn, it used to be unethical to bait deer. Its ok now though, the state is getting their (your) $$$. Possum cops gotta get paid. You either pay them to bait or they fine you for baiting.

Yelp, can't get a deer over corn, but your neighbors sure will.

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I have feeders. I have multiple cell cameras. I also plant some pretty good looking plots and work hard to manage my property. I've only hunted maybe 3-4 afternoons so far this season. I don't really give a rip what others think about how I hunt my own personal land or whether someone else thinks I'm a "real" hunter. Think it's hilarious how so many grown ass men care so much about how others hunt.

I really don't care how anyone else hunts. Just an observation that I've heard multiple people say they won't hunt a spot because they hadn't recently sweetened the spot up.

That makes perfect sense if you are hunting that spot because you're feeding it.

Well, we dont care that you care about what you think we shouldnt care about.

Maybe I think unless you hunt barefoot and gut your deer with a sharpened stone you aint a woodsman. I'm not that extreme, but I do believe there are a bunch of deer killers out there and very few true woodsman hunters. Deer killing is ok and I do it sometimes, but it can still be defined as different.

Example:
I absolutely tear the heck out of trout with my bass rigs and lures. But yet, Im not a trout fisherman. Just ask any true trout (fly) fisherman. That is OK by me because they are right.

Made me sick when Bama decided to allow baiting. Gonna be a generation of hunters growing up with no scouting or woodsmanship skills. Just dumping corn. Already seeing it with people who automatically call a tracking dog if the deer doesn;t drop right in front of them. Tracking is a fun part of hunting but seems very few have the skills or patience to do it anymore.

Whatever trips your trigger and makes u happy/successful is good enough for me..

Nobody has the skills a dog does........not even in the same ballpark......its not even the same sport.

I only hunt about 6 weeks every year. The rest of the year i feed deer and look at pictures every year. The way it looks this year its possible i wont kill a deer. But im getting mire pics than i ever have before. I sat in my shooting house one evening three weeks ago and saw more deer than ever. But we arent seeing or getting many pics of bucks. Deer hunting to me has just become alot more than killing. Its become mostly taking care of them and watching them. Corn and cameras is a big part of it to me.

LOL. Generation of hunters with no woodsmanship or scouting skills? 75% of the people hunting in Alabama were hunting over corn long before it became legal to do so. They were raised that way. They had woodsmanship skills alright, they were taught how to hide that bait in out of the way locations so that it would be hard for other hunters and the GWs to find. I can remember driving to camp back in the 90s and every store on highway 43 had a pallet or two of corn sitting out front from the opening day of bow season until the end of gun season. One store owner said he sold more bags of corn during the season than he did soft drinks. Please spare us the "it's doing generational harm". Corn's been dumped in AL since before the first deer season in AL was opened. Dont even get me started about baiting turkeys with corn, scratch, and wheat. Theres a bridge on HWY 43 that's named after one of the biggest turkey baiters that ever lived. He was a great woodsman but he baited the hell out of turkeys.

And for the record, I too was disappointed when they legalized it. I was all for proper enforcement and hammering the people that were illegally baiting. Unfortunately, they couldnt hire enough GWs to actively address and deal with the problem, so they just decided to make it legal since the majority of AL hunters were doing it already.

Well, I don't care.

Let's face it, the bait license is all about the state getting the money.

Slight restatement of your statement. It's about the state recognizing something that the majority of people were already doing illegally and would continue to do, and then figuring out a way to monetize it. No different than legalizing pot. Find something that is against the law but totally out of control, where the laws cannot be enforced effectively, and then figure out how to "regulate it", while lining the government's and politicians pockets. It's the new American way.

If you offer more options, more people will likely participate and that benefits all of us as hunters. We need all of the help we can get.

Being completely honest, corn is pretty hard on a deer's teeth. There are a lot of better options of things to put out for the deer to eat. Not only considering the teeth issue, but just overall nutritional value. Corn is a decent option to get deer on camera and evaluate what kind/how many deer you have on your property. If you really want to help out your deer herd's overall health and be able to maintain a higher population, you'll be keeping mineral licks (true minerals, not a trophy rock salt lick), feeding higher protein and fat content foods, and fertilizing the already good forage that your property has. Just my 2 cents

Amen - Doe Slayer

I have a PILE of corn going out daily via spin feeders and plan on turning them up this month. I haven’t even hunted my property yet and don’t plan to until late January. I don’t put corn out to hunt over but more less to keep the does around and close by for when the rut hits. My property is less than 500 acres and I try to keep it as enticing as possible whether it be corn, plots or habitat improvements.

They never made it legal. They simply let you hunt using an otherwise illegal method if you are willing to buy a "privilege license" to do so.

Hunting over bait = unethical, non-fair chase, bad for herd management, and spreads disease....unless you pay the state extra to atone for your sin and then it is none of those things. In fact, it is so bad that even a 13 year old kid has to buy a privilege license to atone even though he doesn't need a hunting license. Makes total sense.

Just wait until they ban it again

Only the rich and politicians will get away with it like it used to be

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And u will wonder where all your deer went again

I sure pay more to hunt now

Nothing turns ALDEER brothers against each other like the “Corn” discussion….. The ALDEER version of Liberal vs. Conservative

Nobody hates Bama legalizing corn like the guys who had an unfair advantage over their neighbors by using it before it was legal.

It's not just corn, it's trail cams, scent blockers, tripod gun rests, and any other doodad that eliminates the need for skill. I'm not against using this stuff, and use some of them at times. I personally find it more rewarding killing a deer off nothing but reading sign and hunting the wind. That matters more to me than B&C score.

^^^This^^^ legalized corn levels the playing field for everyone!!!

For years and years, I have heard nothing, but people cry and cry because it should be legal to hunt over corn.

Comments like, "all I have is thick pines and a food plot and I can't see deer without putting out corn, got to have corn, make it legal to hunt with corn" or "my game warden told me to put out corn because that was the only way you were going to see deer, or "my neighbor has corn out and has drawn all the deer over to his place" or corn is like cocaine to deer, put it out and they will come" or "what's the difference in putting out corn and sitting over a green field or corn that is grown etc... It's legal in Ky why not here in AL" and "aww, deer aren't going to catch any diseases from hunting over corn. Make it legal!!!!!" and "heck, everyone is doing it any way"

We all have heard the same comments over and over for years. Now it's legal and people still want to complain and gripe.

Hunters are worse than a bunch of women at a Black Friday sale giving away free stuff with limited supply.

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Hole lot of drama over it here

I gone hunt legal and how I want to as long as it’s legal and hav only myself to answer to for it 😀