It's the pressure IMO. Put it out in a thick area , don't hunt it, put a black flash cam on it and bet it'll light up like a pinball machine. You want deer to go nocturnal, put out a pile and sit over it, they gone. Shoot several times on a plot, same thing, human pressure.

And that is exactly what I'm saying. But everyone seems to state CORN makes them nocturnal while others will do the same. I know people who feed other than corn.

Direct quote from the study

"Deer are normally selective browsers with feeding activities occurring widely over their home range. However, due to changes in movements associated with bait, deer concentrate their foraging activities around the baited area and research has documented that the habitat around artificial feeding locations can be negatively impacted due to this concentrated foraging.9 The unnatural movements and congregations of deer associated with bait sites may suppress the ability of plants to regenerate which can change plant species composition and ultimately affect the entire local ecosystem."

On hunted deer I would have to agree.

N2turkeys, all the study says is that deer in areas with feed were in better physical condition than those in non feed areas.

Corn is just the feed of choice for most hunters, the concept applies to anything that is poured out behind every other tree for deer to eat. They learn very quickly to associate human activity with corn piles and feeders, even if you only go in occasionally to refill the older deer still know what the deal is. I can't tell you how many times I've seen or heard a deer hang up in the woods down wind waiting for dark when hunting a feeder(FL) back when I used them on a regular basis. And I NEVER have killed a nice buck when hunting around a feeder. I hear stories of others that have but that hasn't been my experience.

If I had the room to post all my pictures from the last 5 years when I had no corn on my place verses the pics from this year when I was talked into putting my feeders back out, it would be easy to make my case for this. Almost zero daytime activity of any kind this year, and multiple pics of plots full of deer and even quite a few mature buck pics in the daytime until this year. There is only one thing different, so you tell me...

No, I left you in the pepper!

I guess it just because I know people who feed other feeds than corn. They are not necessarily doing for hunting over.

Creative....not.

Point is, I think it's fairly understood that "corn" has just about become a generic term for "feed"...kinda like "Kleenex" or "Clorox".

Well what if you put that feed in a timed feeder that only fed at certain times in the daylight only a certain amount of feed. Throw it on the ground= nocturnal.

It'll still be there after it gets dark.

It may help to some degree, but I have mine set to go off once a day in mid afternoon for only 4-5 seconds and the deer are still mostly nocturnal. I think if you have feeders going year round for several generations of deer, with little human activity around those feeders, then I think you might be right to some degree. I still don't believe the big boys are gonna go to them without checking them out down wind of the feeder before coming in...

THIS^^^^^^^^^ X10000

Very interesting about the feed concentrating browsing near the feed area. I dont use corn or rice bran on my hunting club at all. I only go into my hunting areas to hunt. No cameras, no feed keeps my presence and scent out of the area as much as possible. If I'm there, I'm there with gun in hand hunting. Now in my backyard I put out corn and rice bran to get pics and I kill a buck or three a year there. The privet along my property line near where my corn and bran is, are stripped up to above chest high. In other areas it's not nearly browsed as much. I guess I'm observing what the biologists observed in the study. It makes sense. It also goes along with my premise that as a whole, hunters are lazier than ever. Sitting in shooting houses, some times with heat, ahem, wusses, over a corn pile or food plot ain't exactly how I grew up hunting. Just not my thing. I'm pretty sure this phenomenon is leading to fewer deer sightings and decreased hunter satisfaction. I just think the more you go into your hunting area to do things beside hunting, like putting out corn and checking cams adds additional unneeded pressure. Back in the day we didn't enter the woods during the season unless we were hunting. I've tried to follow that rule as I believe it gives me the upper hand over the guys in my club that put out corn and check cams once or twice a week.

Since feed apparently makes it more difficult for most folks to kill deer, then why would it be considered cheating? Seems that most folks think that it makes it harder. SMH

Have any of you guys been to texas when that feeder goes off deer come running.

I don't have a good answer for that other than it may allow folks to kill all of their dumb deer..........then cry that they never see any deer and want the state to do something about it. Can't you hear it now.................I never see deer on my food plot/ corn pile.....our population must be down.


No feed of any type gets put out where I hunt while season is in.

Deer only use my green fields at night. I guess I shouldn't plant my fields next year, going by the logic in this thread.

I never plant mine to hunt on anyway..........unless it's raining and I don't want a wet azz. I plant them for extra food and attractant to property. I surely don't mind if they eat on the fields at night.