I agree its very effective during wintertime or lots of snow and ice is in the equation along with most of the cropfield leftovers are picked over but during the early season or during the rut in an area that gets moderate to a lot of hunting pressure it's very difficult or much less effective. I don't see many daytime pics of free ranging slobs or nice bucks with his nose in a pile of corn during those times of the year........and I mean little to no pics.
I imagine the less educated younger deer will fall for the bait but the older more desirable quarry know what's up,IMO.
Maybe the OP is talking about taking any deer over bait, so if that's the case, pile it up and fill your freezer.
I imagine the less educated younger deer will fall for the bait but the older more desirable quarry know what's up,IMO.
Maybe the OP is talking about taking any deer over bait, so if that's the case, pile it up and fill your freezer.
I just woke up from my summer hibernation. Sorry about your luck
Welcome back Kim...
Yep. It may work better in less Aggie areas of the State but in the corn swath it is rare to see a mature animal eating during the light of day at a bait station.
My trail cam pics show that. Two mature animals will walk right through the dried molasses, corn, and apple paradise I put out. Never stop to eat. But every younger deer goes to town at all hours.
Lundy
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These are not booners, but mature bucks will come to food on a regular basis, during daylight, during hunting season, on a pretty regular basis depending on the individual deer and setup location. Just saying......there are no black and white rules in deer hunting, lots of grey
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Lundy
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Not much in the way of corn, lots of alfalfa and clover fields.
That is why I said depending on location.
However when I bowhunted a lot in central ohio surrounded by cornfields I could easy draw deer to my little corn pile in the middle of nasty thickets. It was easier and they felt more secure I guess to walk to the pile than the 300 yds to the corn field. That was a middle of the day automatic deer magnet, not as good early and late. Deer are lazy
Again the ethics can be debated, and I can come down on either side actually. I hunt every day of every gun season daylight to dark, I take lots of pics and videos of the deer during these hunts, I kill one deer a year, that's all I need. Over the last 15 years since I gave up the bowhunting side of my hunting I have killed 3 or 4 of them directly over or near bait
That is why I said depending on location.
However when I bowhunted a lot in central ohio surrounded by cornfields I could easy draw deer to my little corn pile in the middle of nasty thickets. It was easier and they felt more secure I guess to walk to the pile than the 300 yds to the corn field. That was a middle of the day automatic deer magnet, not as good early and late. Deer are lazy
Again the ethics can be debated, and I can come down on either side actually. I hunt every day of every gun season daylight to dark, I take lots of pics and videos of the deer during these hunts, I kill one deer a year, that's all I need. Over the last 15 years since I gave up the bowhunting side of my hunting I have killed 3 or 4 of them directly over or near bait
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Those are pretty nice bucks Kim and thanks for sharing. Were the last few pics with no feeder in them places where you use to have a feeder or were you just pouring the corn into piles and it was just gone before the bucks came in?
I agree that it will draw nice deer but location,hunting pressure,food availability and scent control are important factors if your going to hunt over bait.
I agree that it will draw nice deer but location,hunting pressure,food availability and scent control are important factors if your going to hunt over bait.
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Lundy
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Yes those last two pics were in areas where I just spread corn out on the ground. I never put corn in a pile. A 50 lb bag is spread over a very, very large area.
Everything about deer is so location specific that it is hard to tell someone how deer will react to any one thing verus another. Where I hunt it is a very large working cattle farm. The deer see and smell that farmer several times every single day. They don't panic when they smell human scent, they become alert and locate the source and then decide the best course of action. What the deer do and how they react where I hunt could be quite different than the deer two farms over. I know I put little to no value in reading a book by someone telling me how the deer will react and what they will do and why they do it where I hunt
I have on many, many occasions intentally lit a cigarette, when I used to smoke, with deer downwind to see their reaction, there is little to no reactions at all. This is with deer from the UP of Michigan, farmland bucks in central Ohio, mountain deer in PA and WV to the deer I primarily hunt in SE Ohio. I have left a sweaty jacket hanging by a feeder, I have pissed on the ground at a feeder just to gauge reaction, there is none beyond initial caution on the first approach. NOTE: I would note I haven't killed a booner in my life, I think I have actually only seen one in my entire life(even though many seem to believe they are behind every third tree in Ohio), but I have taken a bunch of deer with a bow and guns over these years. Maybe the reason I haven't killed a booner and only seen one, is because I just don't buy into all of the hype crap. I mean chewing gum to keep your breath scent down, are you friggin kidding me
If I never kill a booner because I take a more lax approach I am good with that. I've killed all I need to kill and I have no problem killing a mature buck every year if I choose to and I really enjoy my hunting without being paranoid about every little thing. My hunting activity, methodology and results fulfill my needs
All that being said is for me and where and how I hunt. My way is only my way and does not and would not work for everyone. A very large part of successful deer hunting and especially mature deer hunting is confidence in your ability to seal the deal, from initial planning, patience and final execution. If that takes chewing gum to control your breath scent to occur, more power to whoever needs it.
A deer is no smarter than we allow them to be.
Everything about deer is so location specific that it is hard to tell someone how deer will react to any one thing verus another. Where I hunt it is a very large working cattle farm. The deer see and smell that farmer several times every single day. They don't panic when they smell human scent, they become alert and locate the source and then decide the best course of action. What the deer do and how they react where I hunt could be quite different than the deer two farms over. I know I put little to no value in reading a book by someone telling me how the deer will react and what they will do and why they do it where I hunt
I have on many, many occasions intentally lit a cigarette, when I used to smoke, with deer downwind to see their reaction, there is little to no reactions at all. This is with deer from the UP of Michigan, farmland bucks in central Ohio, mountain deer in PA and WV to the deer I primarily hunt in SE Ohio. I have left a sweaty jacket hanging by a feeder, I have pissed on the ground at a feeder just to gauge reaction, there is none beyond initial caution on the first approach. NOTE: I would note I haven't killed a booner in my life, I think I have actually only seen one in my entire life(even though many seem to believe they are behind every third tree in Ohio), but I have taken a bunch of deer with a bow and guns over these years. Maybe the reason I haven't killed a booner and only seen one, is because I just don't buy into all of the hype crap. I mean chewing gum to keep your breath scent down, are you friggin kidding me
If I never kill a booner because I take a more lax approach I am good with that. I've killed all I need to kill and I have no problem killing a mature buck every year if I choose to and I really enjoy my hunting without being paranoid about every little thing. My hunting activity, methodology and results fulfill my needs
All that being said is for me and where and how I hunt. My way is only my way and does not and would not work for everyone. A very large part of successful deer hunting and especially mature deer hunting is confidence in your ability to seal the deal, from initial planning, patience and final execution. If that takes chewing gum to control your breath scent to occur, more power to whoever needs it.
A deer is no smarter than we allow them to be.
Hortontoter
Senior Member
I think Lundy summed things up very well. I think deer are "conditioned" to their environment. I also think that each deer is different. Some are laid back and some are naturally edgy. They are all curious to different degrees.
Last season I hung a scrape dripper over an active scrape as an experiment. I tried Doe in Estrous and other scents in the dripper. The results were medicore at best. The last thing I tried was simply peeing in the bottle and hanging it. More deer were attracted to the human pee than all the bottled deer attractants I had tried.
Like Lundy, this worked in my area, but may not in yours. This is what makes whitetails so fascinating.
Last season I hung a scrape dripper over an active scrape as an experiment. I tried Doe in Estrous and other scents in the dripper. The results were medicore at best. The last thing I tried was simply peeing in the bottle and hanging it. More deer were attracted to the human pee than all the bottled deer attractants I had tried.
Like Lundy, this worked in my area, but may not in yours. This is what makes whitetails so fascinating.
Darn truth right there Lundy!
I wouldn't argue with much of what you have said. Sounds like you have it figured out too. What works for you and what you enjoy are what matters the most.
Blackbeard
Senior Member
I agree with a lot of what most people have said. I think baiting has become the 'easy' thing to do and for a lot of hunters that's where they hunt most of the time. I don't have a problem killing deer over bait but prefer to kill them in funnels, on benches, pinch points, trails, while they are chasing does, etc. I maintain one bait site where I feed a little corn spread over a large area every week or two and I feed apples all fall (minerals year around). I use it mainly for seeing what's out there with my camera. I do hunt over it about 4-5 times a year during the rut because that is when I think you have best chance of seeing a mature buck at a bait site. I've killed one mature buck this way. During the intense seeking /chasing phase they will troll by and check for the scent of an estrous doe. They often don't eat anything and don't stay for long. And I've found late morning is the best time followed by evening. Snow is another good time to hunt bait, especially in late season. I sat one black powder season and watched 3-4 bucks, 2 mature, fight like hell over corn right before dark until after dark. They were still fighting down over the hill when I snuck out, almost frozen to death and stiff as a board, amazing evening. I have several photos of mature bucks at feed sites during daylight but have never been able to pattern one. It definitely isn't an easy way to kill a mature buck if you hunt pressured property.
Blackbeard
Senior Member
Yes those last two pics were in areas where I just spread corn out on the ground. I never put corn in a pile. A 50 lb bag is spread over a very, very large area.
Everything about deer is so location specific that it is hard to tell someone how deer will react to any one thing verus another. Where I hunt it is a very large working cattle farm. The deer see and smell that farmer several times every single day. They don't panic when they smell human scent, they become alert and locate the source and then decide the best course of action. What the deer do and how they react where I hunt could be quite different than the deer two farms over. I know I put little to no value in reading a book by someone telling me how the deer will react and what they will do and why they do it where I hunt
I have on many, many occasions intentally lit a cigarette, when I used to smoke, with deer downwind to see their reaction, there is little to no reactions at all. This is with deer from the UP of Michigan, farmland bucks in central Ohio, mountain deer in PA and WV to the deer I primarily hunt in SE Ohio. I have left a sweaty jacket hanging by a feeder, I have pissed on the ground at a feeder just to gauge reaction, there is none beyond initial caution on the first approach. NOTE: I would note I haven't killed a booner in my life, I think I have actually only seen one in my entire life(even though many seem to believe they are behind every third tree in Ohio), but I have taken a bunch of deer with a bow and guns over these years. Maybe the reason I haven't killed a booner and only seen one, is because I just don't buy into all of the hype crap. I mean chewing gum to keep your breath scent down, are you friggin kidding me
If I never kill a booner because I take a more lax approach I am good with that. I've killed all I need to kill and I have no problem killing a mature buck every year if I choose to and I really enjoy my hunting without being paranoid about every little thing. My hunting activity, methodology and results fulfill my needs
All that being said is for me and where and how I hunt. My way is only my way and does not and would not work for everyone. A very large part of successful deer hunting and especially mature deer hunting is confidence in your ability to seal the deal, from initial planning, patience and final execution. If that takes chewing gum to control your breath scent to occur, more power to whoever needs it.
A deer is no smarter than we allow them to be.
And agree or not, that is a darn good post right there.
dante322
*Supporting Member*
oak trees, apple trees, and corn piles are all bait, hunting is about what you want out of it. if it is legal I don't have a problem with it.