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for those that use them, do you notice the large mature bucks or even does for that matter avoid them ? at least during daylight hours? im talking midwest deer that see moderate to high pressure. curious as to others experience..
I don’t think the corn pile affects them negatively and a lot of times not positively either. If they are going to be in the area in daylight a corn pile is not going to keep them from being there. A corn pile could potentially pull them to a spot. If the deer aren’t moving in daylight though then they aren’t going to come to corn in daylight. To me the biggest influence corn has is that you can pull the deer closer to a tree as I live where there aren’t many trees. The corn also serves to hold deer on your property. If I don’t put corn out the deer will be at the neighbors corn. They most likely won’t be on the neighbors until after dark but once the rut hits all bets are off. In OK our rut usually coincides with a 16 day gun season and if you don’t feed corn the deer will be at your neighbors. I often feed corn even if I’m not hunting a spot in an attempt to hold immature bucks and protect them from them neighbors long guns. Bucks will cruise during the rut from corn to corn checking does so keeping them off the neighbors can be tough. There have been bucks I have no doubt killed because of the corn and bucks I likely would have killed sooner without the corn.
When baiting was legal here, many large bucks were killed over corn. Most I knew did not place the bait in a pile, but rather spread it out more naturally, similar to how acorns fall. Today, food (bait) plots are the norm and seem to be a real draw on private lands. Unfortunately the public land hunter experience suffers a bit as the majority of the deer and other game tend to prefer the private lands where habitat, including food has been improved. These deer are then protected from the masses. There is a reason many QDM hunters were (and are) against baiting on public lands.
Sito will be by here to get you guys straightened out.
I love corn piles, but the biggest bucks on the lease avoid them, at least during daylight. A few of the biggest bucks on the lease have never been on camera at an established bait site. During the rut they will go downwind and scent check the does at the bait.
The best luck as mentioned is scattering corn in the hidey holes to catch the big bucks "natural feeding"
not in daylight,what midwest states allow it now has it changed?
Ohio allows baiting on private only, I think Michigan just did away with it all together this year or last.
There’s a lot of bucks killed on corn. I’m not against it ethically but grand scheme of things it allows People to pull deer from any area without contributing to your round habitat. They throw some corn out for a few weeks take from the herd whereas if it were not legal people would plant food plots and it would contribute to wildlife habitat.
When baiting was legal here in southern Wisconsin, it manipulated the movement of deer to the best food source, but I think it made deer go nocturnal due to the fact it was predictable, and safer to come at night. I see crop rotation here in farm country showing the same affect on deer as far as their desire for the preferred food source, but I don't think it makes deer go nocturnal like a bait pile does. I'll add that hunting for everyone really improved when baiting was made illegal. It's all some people know, but I feel like natural deer movement is a much better hunt.
I use corn feeders as well as food plots. I mostly kill hogs or an occasional doe at the feeders, but the food plots are the real draw. FTR, I feed corn through February most years, long after hunting season is over. I also grow spring/summer plots for nutritional value. I do this on all three places I hunt.
It has long been a tradition here to feed corn to deer. It works much better for hunters in Central Texas, South Texas, and West Texas where there is less good browse overall. I’m in East Texas and when acorns start dropping the corn will all be eaten by hogs. The same happens in the parts of Texas that have live oaks. Deer greatly prefer acorns over corn IMO.
I use feeders with corn in Ks and have for about 10 years. My experience is that does and small bucks come to the feeders readily late in the day and first light in the morning. I see larger bucks on cameras but almost entirely well after dark. I’m baiting to attract does to my property in hopes that they will attract bucks and larger bucks during the rut.
Spreading corn out in a large area works best, and even bucks will come in during daylight too, but it depends on the location. Field corners seem to work best since they're already travel routes and many farmers don't plant the corner, so they tend to grow various weeds and grass that deer like to naturally browse on.
Michael I do both on my property. On the other private I hunt a foodplot is not an option.
The combination of HECS, Scentlok, Nose Jammer and Ozonics whilst sitting in a Redneck Blind over a cornpile is a sure ticket to success.
“ The combination of HECS, Scentlok, Nose Jammer and Ozonics whilst sitting in a Redneck Blind over a cornpile is a sure ticket to success.”
Silver lining being those guys won’t have to share a camp with u
If you use Nose Jammer correctly, you will not need the others.
A big acorn crop in the surrounding woods turns a corn pile into a raccoon and hog feeder.
Last week I sat an looking over the edge of a 5 year old cutover with oaks (mix of red and white) to my back. We had a very wet summer (Piedmont region of SC). I watched deer browse 30 yards in the clear cut for an hour browsing out of sight never walking into the acorns.
I started using corn this past year for a couple of cameras. I have nothing against hunting over it other than I find it exceedingly boring. I have noticed there are mature bucks that avoid it (maybe they are avoiding the camera) and a couple that are very comfortable with it the corn.
My limited observation is that the mature bucks seem to like cob corn better than shelled corn.
When I had a lease in Central Texas, (mesquite country), we had all kinds of does and young bucks come to corn feeders. The bucks we killed were normally downwind of the feeders 150/200 yards. Why risk exposure when you can smell a hot doe that far ? Corn feeders don’t guarantee shooter bucks.
As Link stated above. I have a feeder strictly to keep the deer on the property I hunt. Every property around has a feeder on it. Also planting a plot is out of the question due to the livestock.
It is my understanding that mostly for big bucks the corn is not used to attract, just sprinkled around a bit to get them to pause when passing by using natural movement patterns and maybe position for a shot.
On many TV hunts in Saskatchewan, they cover their corn piles with hay. Is that an attempt to hide the bait from the viewer or a functional reason like keeping it from freezing or birds?
I thought the alfalfa was the bait
The bear outfitter we hunted with in Dorintosh SK also outfitted for whitetails.
He used a mix of ground corn, oats, molasses and covered the area with alfalfa hay. His whitetail hunters consistently harvested bucks in the upper 60's and mid-70s with at least one '90-class animal getting tagged each year. He explained he wanted his hunters to observe the deer before shooting it.
Some of the bucks were reportedly taken with their noses buried in the bait, others while scent checking does.
On a personal note - I don't have a problem with corn and have hunted over it in years past when I lived in TX. The leases we hunted at looked at corn as a tool to help manage the bucks by age class. It helped by allowing those 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year olds get closer to maturity and their full trophy potential.
Where my farms are in Kansas there is feed everywhere. I’ve put corn piles out before just for the heck of it and I was curious. Seen deer eat on it and also walk right by it. I’m 50/50 on putting it out. On the other hand if you put an auto feeder up they come to it as a routine kinda thing. Just gotta make sure it’s always full.
""Today, food (bait) plots are the norm and seem to be a real draw on private lands. Unfortunately the public land hunter experience suffers a bit as the majority of the deer and other game tend to prefer the private lands where habitat, including food has been improved. These deer are then protected from the masses. There is a reason many QDM hunters were (and are) against baiting on public lands.""
^...X2. This is the #1 reason why states (like Michigan!) that ban public/private land baiting but allow private land bait plots piss me off. IMO either allow all of it or ban all of it. Don't give preference to private land bait plotters. I have sent in numerous emails about this to our DNR/NRC folks to no avail. They are in the pocket of the QDM and MUCC crowd and provide no parity for the public land hunter. Between that and a couple of other brilliant regs, they wonder why they are loosing hunters. I think many folks are blowing off the no baiting rule. I notice alot of gas stations and feed stores selling beets, carrots and corn by the pallet full. Squirrels, chippys and birds don't eat beets!!
Don’t hate the private land owner. I see this all the time. If you don’t like it go buy you a piece of land and do it the way you want.
^...I hunt mostly on private land...360-something acres and run some great bait plots. I also hunt public land from time to time and see the glowing disparity. The public land folks needs to speak up if they do not like what their F&G or DNR is doing. That's why I speak up and offer suggestions to even the playing field so to speak.
I just hear it all the time. Public land sucks, slow, too many people, no shooters, people busted the deer I was watching. Just be grateful you have that to hunt. If you can’t get it done on public then look at another state or buy/lease tour own place and see the work it involves to keep it up. You’ll be surprised.
I don’t hunt public land in Mn, nor because of baiting. It’s not allowed in the state. But it’s over crowded and a waste of time and effort. No I have not hunted all of the public land here. But I’ve hunted enough to know what I know.
Bowlife...it's not the public land itself that sucks...it's (in our case) the DNR/NRC that make the rules that (IMO) makes the public land experience suck. I'm lucky in that I'm retired and still have my health (and wife) that allows me to work the property, hunt (private/public) and fish at will. For the folks that still work, it's a tough challenge for them trying to juggle work, family and hunting. If all they have to hunt is public land....I can have some empathy for them, especially if they're in a state that has two sets of rules for private and public. Of course not all public land experiences are bad, but I've hunted enough of it in alot of states to see how different state management practices (and crowding) can sour one's view of it. We see quite a few threads here on BS talking about some of the challenges public land hunters have. Again....I'm mostly a private land hunter in MI these days. Because I still occasionally hunt public here in MI and FL....I see how the experience is affected by the things I mention above. All of this is my opinion....but I think I'm offering a fairly accurate perspective. BTW....the first deer I got this year was a public land one.
So far only at night.... but when our hunters show up in 13 days the rut should be getting him in early
So far only at night.... but when our hunters show up in 13 days the rut should be getting him in early
Bou Bound, here when you put Alfalfa out, bears just use it to nest in...
Never thought I would ever say this.... but Bears are being a pain this year on our deer baits.
The reason I asked is somewhat anecdotal. I've seen twice , a buck coming down a trail , to see the corn and decide to turn and go around it.
I have 3 different places I hunt . Each unique situations. One farm I have permission on is 130 acres that I've had sole access to for the last decade. Well that changed last year when a local boy asked permission and was granted the right to drive his razor all over the damn place and put out corn piles that were enormous... kinda irksome but it is what it is...
The second place I own but is only 7 acres , hard to access without bumping deer, but not impossible, I do some corn in front of a cam to see what's around.
3rd is my backyard which is only 3 acres but sits on a creek that serves as a corridor of sorts , ( yes my neighbors are cool with my recovering deer from their property) I see some absolute monsters during the rut on camera but only at nighttime..I'd love to figure out how to get them to show up during the daytime.
Every place and situation is different. I have baited in the past but the older I get the less corn I buy it seems. I agree there may be less of a challenge sitting in a tree over bait than say on the ground with a stick bow, no bait. The latter is sounding more appealing to me lately. But with two youngsters that limit my time afield significantly these days and a soon to be empty freezer, it's hard to not take the easy way out!
I would take a white acorn oak tree in the woods or along a thicket over baiting any day, just gotta find one that's producing
Ned! Me to brother .. if I was gonna put out a corn pile I think I would do it after Christmas this would be best time to catch a big one slipping up ahead of a huge cold front I believe
I’ve tried it. Have nothing against hunting over it. Other then it’s insanely boring to me. But, I truly don’t do it because I know it scares older deer.
Running cameras over corn, Placed in new areas often found me getting a pic of older deer only the first night it was put out. I run some of those sites for a couple months pre season and never got one of the big ones on camera more then once in those spots.
Here, it hurts you.
Here’s one to think about. Here in Kansas they offer a WIHA that allows public land hunting. They pay a little to the land lower for allowing the public to hunt their land. People drive all over it, litter, leave gut piles all over, and don’t respect it. I wish they did away with it to be honest. Some of my properties border some and it’s like Arizona on one side and Mexico on the other. Not all public land hunters are disrespectful but a LOT are and ruin the whole thought of it for everyone. You wonder why hunting sucks on most public land and gets closed.
Where else do piles belong? On my place in KS, they don't last til dawn, and the coyotes come back the next evening to finish the blood from the dirt. #2, "People don't drive all over it" Drive past the "foot traffic only sign" and it's a huge ticket. That being said, the rancher and his employees will drive all over it. I've spoken to a lot of landowners and the top things they hate is blocked/or opened gates and trash.
I hunt Ks multiple times per year, upland, coyotes, and deer. My experience there is that some of the walk in areas can be very good for all species that I hunt. Couple years ago, I went coyote calling on a walk in area. I drove on about 100’ on the very edge of it to avoid driving on a planted wheat field. When I returned to my truck from killing a coyote, a warden was there. He verbally warned me about driving on walk in.
We spill some corn, unloading trucks at grain bins. Deer come and feed in the night, I could turn t!!!!he lights on, ---------but that would not be hunting. never hunt over bait!!!!
