OK, I have my permit like most of y'all (if you are in hunting clubs). Some of my friends have automatic feeders out. I have never been of the opinion that mature bucks would come to a timed feeder during daylight? Am I wrong? Just wondering what some of your thoughts are as far as how you are going to use the corn? I guess I will put some out when I can, but I can only get to the club once a week or so and that is if I get lucky.

I have 5 mature bucks coming to an automatic feeder at 4pm every day. Once a few guns go off on the property, I am sure that will change.

It's all about pressure and keeping the area pristine and devoid of human scent and intrusion. Mature bucks dont come to feeders in they daylight?????? 95% of the bucks killed in Texas are shot in daylight over feed. Look at the "cool pic" thread in the general forum. That buck was walking into a bait pile in broad daylight in KS. It's all over the ground in the foreground of the picture.

Set the feeder up so you have both ingress and egress to the stand without disturbing deer on the way in or out, or while they are on the feed, then just leave it completely alone until conditions and wind are perfect. Go in and kill your deer. Really pretty simple.

The other option is the tried and true AL method. Hunt it everytime you can, dont worry about the temp or wind, bump deer coming and going, check cameras on it twice a week, shoot a couple does or young bucks off it, and yes, you will definitely have a hard time seeing a mature buck on it in the daylight.

They come before the feeder goes off and then they wait. Setup a cell camera and you never put any pressure until you are ready to kill the buck you want.

Until Alabama folks feed like they do in Texas, which is year round on timers, then feeders will have less than ideal results.

There are some low fence places in Texas that have been feeding year round for decades. All the deer grew up eating at feeders, so yes, the mature bucks will come in the daylight -

IF YOU DID EVERYTHING ELSE EXACTLY RIGHT!

Banging windows, hunting the wrong wind, unusual travel, crossing their trail, excessive or sudden movement in a stand, all will result in the big dude not hanging around to see what is wrong. Most places out there put the box blind 150-250 yards from the feeder pen also. Almost all feeders are in pens because the hogs are so bad.

And even in Texas, the mature bucks are reluctant to visit a feeder in daylight where I hunt. You will see some stud 4 year olds but those 5 and older bucks are usually seen nearby chasing does, if they are seen at all, but not at the feeder. At least that is how it is where I hunt in Texas. Now, I hunt a small 1000 acre no fence ranch and that is not representative of a lot of Texas ranches.

If you watch this feeder cam, near Refugio, you will see some nice 4 year old bucks but very very rarely any 5 or older. And i promise you there are some true giants in that area:

https://www.carbontv.com/cams/live-...context=Recommendations%20-%20Cam%20Page

Because the internet is so full of conflicting stories, we are not going to put feeders in our fields and hunt over them. However, we are going to put some feeders in the woods in certain locations (mainly travel corridors between fields) to spread corn, because all of our neighboring clubs have decided to put feeders everywhere. In other words, we aren't going to hunt over them, but we are going to use them just so our area doesn't become a deer desert.

It is all trial and error right now. We'll see how it works this year and if it doesn't work we will try something different next year.

I will say that mature bucks don't seem to have near as much reluctance to eat corn scattered on the ground with no feeder in sight as they do under a feeder. This has held true where I hunt in Texas too.

Maybe put your stands on those travel corridors and the feeders in the fields? Just sayin.

If one is banging windows or at a feeder, I’m of the opinion it ain’t “hunting” anyway.

I like to put the “hunt” in “ hunting”, feel the connection.

Master baiter up in here! No different than hunting a spot without bait like good hunters have been doing forever. Bait won't change the game if you've been screwing up all along and continue to do so.

Exactly 2dogs. We are not going to bait on our place even though it is now legal. We will plant the best stuff we can year round and hunt like we always have. Not gonna waste a bunch of time or money on corn. It’s pretty simple. Scent control, very low pressure, right wind and right conditions. All this stuff about corn making deer nocturnal is a load of crap. I’ve shot deer in TX at long range, over corned up scenderos because that’s how they hunt them. Mature bucks go nocturnal in AL not because of corn but because of human pressure. Guy asked how to do it effectively, I told him how and also exactly what not to do too. It’s just common sense whether its a good woods spot, power line crossing, greenfield, or a dump truck load of corn.

Find you a good straight away through a young pine thicket and spread the corn out up and down the road from a bag spreader. When I say a young pine thicket I’m talking about one where the tree’s have gotten to 6-8 ft tall or better and its become a prime bedding area. Use the wind to your favor and don’t spread the corn all the way up to your blind. Leave yourself some room.

Another option is to put the corn in a bag spreader and spread it out just off the outside edge of a bedding area….like maybe where it meets a hardwood bottom or something of that nature. Just spread it out like akerns falling from a tree.

I know guys that have been killing big bucks over corn for a long time. When the rut kicks in it will definitely help. After this year there will be some people changing their mind about the corn issue. It's no different than a food plot but it's like candy to a kid, they will eat it up. We are not putting bait in food plots or around plots and I think that will take pressure off the plots and the deer will be less nocturnal on plots.

Leave your seed spreader on your atv, and keep corn in it. When you drive out from your hunt spread corn where you will be hunting that afternoon or in the next day or two. Hanging feeders, where a mature buck doesn't see the feeder, work well, but I hate the sound of a slinger. Its loud as hell. Mature bucks don't have a problem with corn, they love it. They just don't like feeders unless they have grown up eating from one.

We will have a couple of lock-ons set up in the travel corridors somewhat close to the feeders, mainly to catch them coming and going. But our thought is not to hunt the feeders themselves because we want the deer to feel very safe and secure about them. We like hunting the fields and have had a lot of success out of them in recent years, so our theory is that we shouldn't need to put the feeders there. We will see!

There is a lot of positives for not hunting the feeders.