Corn Piles for big Bucks

[themedic]

Jimbo, when was the last time you established and maintained a corn pile solely for the purposes of killing a mature buck and successfully harvested said buck, verifying it was indeed easier? Since I know that answer, you can see where I coming from on this. If you haven't done it, you really don't know. It's just speculation and educated opinions. You're a smart dude, but without really going through the process, you're missing a lot of data that is valuable to formulating such a strong opinion on something that is really fairly easy to prove/disprove. Many of us here have the data and I'm here to tell you brother, it don't ALWAYS make it easier. Can it? Sure can. But it is not a slam dunk in every situation. Nothing is definitive in the whitetail woods and corn piles are no different.

My answer to your question is also zero. However, in 2009 and 2010 I hunted all season and never drew on a mature buck until I started running a corn pile. A week or two after starting the corn pile I had both target bucks locked onto them, feeding just before dar (during legal shooting light) and got my chance.

Buck number 1, Droppy, I had the stand positioned just slightly wrong. I was in such a small tree in the middle of a field that I put the stand facing away from the corn pile. When I drew, my riser would hit the tree before I could get the pins on the buck as he mouthed down on the corn at 20 yards. I tried to reposition but their was to many eyes at the table and I cleared the pile at full draw.


Buck number 2 was Splitbrow, To save a long story.....I just plain missed him. he also was eating right out of the pile in plain daylight.



And although I never got a shot at Denali, I had him daylight cornfed as well


So, from my experience I think that corn piled bucks are easier to hunt. But IMO you still have to do your homework and place the pile in the perfect spot. If you can find the right deer, perfect spot and get cold temperatures....I do think it is almost a slam dunk but you still got to make the SHOT

 

[jagermeister]

Jimbo, when was the last time you established and maintained a corn pile solely for the purposes of killing a mature buck and successfully harvested said buck, verifying it was indeed easier? Since I know that answer, you can see where I coming from on this. If you haven't done it, you really don't know. It's just speculation and educated opinions. You're a smart dude, but without really going through the process, you're missing a lot of data that is valuable to formulating such a strong opinion on something that is really fairly easy to prove/disprove. Many of us here have the data and I'm here to tell you brother, it don't ALWAYS make it easier. Can it? Sure can. But it is not a slam dunk in every situation. Nothing is definitive in the whitetail woods and corn piles are no different.

Don't need to try it to know. I know plenty of guys killing big deer over corn that they normally wouldn't have gotten a shot at. Not just on this forum, people I'm friends with away from the online community. For someone to say hunting over bait is not easier than hunting without bait is just plain ridiculous. Theres a reason why hunting waterfowl over bait is illegal... Because it fuckin works. It may not worth as well for deer, but you and I both know it works. I never said it was a slam dunk. But it greatly improves ones odds and theres absolutely no denying that... Otherwise nobody would be doing it.

 

[bowhunter1023]

My point is simply this: It does make it easier, but doesn't make it easy. Nothing is easy in the whitetails woods, even baiting. I've been doing it for years and while it has made it easier to encounter mature bucks, my walls say it hasn't made it easy...

 

[Diablo54]

Hunting over corn gives me a feeling of confidence. It makes the game easier. I have nothing against it.

 

[bowhunter1023]

I argue only to dispel the notion that throwing down corn equates to a wall full of big bucks. If it did, I'd need to build an addition on to my house because I'd argue that no one on here has fed more corn in the last 5 years than I have. Thousands upon thousands of pounds and I ain't got shit to show for it but a bunch of nice pictures. Then again, maybe that just means I suck since it makes it so easy... :smiley_blackeye:

 

[jagermeister]

I argue only to dispel the notion that throwing down corn equates to a wall full of big bucks. If it did, I'd need to build an addition on to my house because I'd argue that no one on here has fed more corn in the last 5 years than I have. Thousands upon thousands of pounds and I ain't got shit to show for it but a bunch of nice pictures. Then again, maybe that just means I suck since it makes it so easy... :smiley_blackeye:

For many, it can and does equate to a wall full of big bucks. A lot depends on the property obviously, and a lot depends on how much time you're spending over the pile. That potential is always there though... Potential that doesn't really exist without the corn pile being there, or whatever kind of bait you're using.

 

[bowhunter1023]

For many, it can and does equate to a wall full of big bucks. A lot depends on the property obviously, and a lot depends on how much time you're spending over the pile. That potential is always there though... Potential that doesn't really exist without the corn pile being there, or whatever kind of bait you're using.

Agreed.

 

[Jackalope]

Don't need to try it to know. I know plenty of guys killing big deer over corn that they normally wouldn't have gotten a shot at. Not just on this forum, people I'm friends with away from the online community. For someone to say hunting over bait is not easier than hunting without bait is just plain ridiculous. Theres a reason why hunting waterfowl over bait is illegal... Because it fuckin works. It may not worth as well for deer, but you and I both know it works. I never said it was a slam dunk. But it greatly improves ones odds and theres absolutely no denying that... Otherwise nobody would be doing it.

Sure. I'll give you that.. Hunting waterfowl over placed bait is illegal. How many times have you been on your back in a corn field this year buddy? Same same. One you put your butt there the other you put corn there. And as I said earlier. Damn near 99% of the crap we do greatly increases ones odds. I would argue that hunting from a stand vs the ground greatly increases ones odds. Running cams greatly increases ones odds. A 70% let off bow will greatly increase ones odds over a stick bow. Yet we don't look at a those items like they're some sort of taboo advantage and subtly imply they're wrong. It's hypocritical at BEST for us stand hunting, compound shooting, camera running, grunt call blowing, "hunters" to even claim an ounce of moral superiority over a corn piling hunter. It's all relative. rel·a·tive ˈadjective: 1. considered in relation or in proportion to something else

 

[Redhunter1012]

And all this time I just fed them corn to make them taste better. I think Jess said it perfect when he said it makes it easier, but not easy. Kinda like a date rape drug. Oh wait.......

 

[Mike]

If you guys look at the page with my trail cam pics you'll see some decent bucks while there was corn bordering two sides. I've been running corn for months now. The bucks are either all dead or far far away from my corn pile. Corn is definitely not working for bucks in my case.

 

[jagermeister]

Sure. I'll give you that.. Hunting waterfowl over placed bait is illegal. How many times have you been on your back in a corn field this year buddy? Same same. One you put your butt there the other you put corn there. And as I said earlier. Damn near 99% of the crap we do greatly increases ones odds. I would argue that hunting from a stand vs the ground greatly increases ones odds. Running cams greatly increases ones odds. A 70% let off bow will greatly increase ones odds over a stick bow. Yet we don't look at a those items like they're some sort of taboo advantage and subtly imply they're wrong. It's hypocritical at BEST for us stand hunting, compound shooting, camera running, grunt call blowing, "hunters" to even claim an ounce of moral superiority over a corn piling hunter. It's all relative. rel·a·tive adjective: 1. considered in relation or in proportion to something else

Like I said, the baiters are gonna look at it how they want to look at it. I see it differently. You disagree, and that's totally fine. It's just like any other topic you and I have disagreed on over the past 7 years... Nothing the other says will change what the other believes and that's that. Lol

 

[Big_Holla]

I have baited off and on for years and have seen where it has made things easier and even more difficult but never has it ever been a guarantee. Baiting up in the UP of Michigan was very common for me over the years, especially when I was in college. Took me 4 years to actually kill a buck, a spike, even though I had been using carrots, corn, apples and sugar beets. Another property we used to hunt in the middle of the LP of Mich we used bait regularly and even the landowners used to buy up to (2) dump trucks full of sugar beets to place on the property. It would help draw deer back onto the property as competition with neighbors was at an all time high back then. Still even with those it wasn't a guarantee and my cousins and uncle would hunt those regularly but soon the deer figured it out that they shouldn't be there until after daylight. Even now we occasionally use bait on some properties to try to help get deer closer for the kids but often times we find that deer quickly figure things out and soon it actually makes them nocturnal in those areas.

 

[Treed]

I've been using corn this year and there is no doubt that it has brought more deer to my property. I hunt a travel corridor between a bedding area and their groceries and since I've been dropping corn this year, I've noticed a significant increase in deer traffic, both bucks and does. I generally don't hunt anywhere near my corn piles anymore, preferring to sit over their trails a couple hundred yards off in the woods. That said, even though I'm seeing more deer, it hasn't been any easier. I still haven't got my buck this year and I'm pretty damn sure the one encounter I had with him, which was actually on the corn made him go nocturnal. That's why I'm staying away from the piles now and that seems to be working pretty good. I harvested a doe last Saturday who was picking her way through the woods on a B line for the corn and have had a couple smaller bucks in range using this tactic TOO, just not Mr. Right. Yet. I don't think a big pile of corn guarantees a big wall of trophy mounts. It may increase your chances, but that doesn't mean it makes it easy.

 

[finelyshedded]

Corey, did you ever find Denali's sheds? It's nice to see I'm not the only one who uses a brush pile or blow downs for a antler trap...lol

I believe a hunters success over bait or food source skyrockets during late season when using the muzzy versus the closer range weapons primarily because they're least likely to get winded and the entry/exit route to and from their blind or stand is less invasive.

This can be observed every year by watching Whitetail Freaks(Kiskey production),The Crush(Lee&Tiff) or the Drury's during most if not all of their late season hunting tactics. What better or "easier" way to harvest a mature buck than to sit on the edge of 4-5 foot tall CRP/switchgrass bordering a partially harvested cornfield armed with a tack driving muzzy with a tripod for a rest. The closer you get to the pile or food source the greater the challenge and chance of getting busted.

The only situation where I can see where a corn pile can make killing a monster buck a "slam dunk" would be where a hunter lives on the edge of a large contingent of ground that is off limits to hunting like a metro park. If his backyard abuts this park where deer are more tolerant of humans and he can monitor and feed deer with little to no intrusion then I'd say killing a slob every year could be easy or a slam dunk.

 

[Gordo]

For never doing it Ric, your spot on. Like you said in JDs thread, and like you have always said, going undetected entry/exit is key. Over the years, you have always stressed that, and have made me think alot more about it.

 

[themedic]

Corey, did you ever find Denali's sheds? It's nice to see I'm not the only one who uses a brush pile or blow downs for a antler trap...lol

I believe a hunters success over bait or food source skyrockets during late season when using the muzzy versus the closer range weapons primarily because they're least likely to get winded and the entry/exit route to and from their blind or stand is less invasive.

This can be observed every year by watching Whitetail Freaks(Kiskey production),The Crush(Lee&Tiff) or the Drury's during most if not all of their late season hunting tactics. What better or "easier" way to harvest a mature buck than to sit on the edge of 4-5 foot tall CRP/switchgrass bordering a partially harvested cornfield armed with a tack driving muzzy with a tripod for a rest. The closer you get to the pile or food source the greater the challenge and chance of getting busted.

The only situation where I can see where a corn pile can make killing a monster buck a "slam dunk" would be where a hunter lives on the edge of a large contingent of ground that is off limits to hunting like a metro park. If his backyard abuts this park where deer are more tolerant of humans and he can monitor and feed deer with little to no intrusion then I'd say killing a slob every year could be easy or a slam dunk.

They were found but not by me. I lost a lot of sleep over that one.

 

[finelyshedded]

For never doing it Ric, your spot on. Like you said in JDs thread, and like you have always said, going undetected entry/exit is key. Over the years, you have always stressed that, and have made me think alot more about it.

IMO Gordo its the reason a lot of us don't do as well as we should out of some sets. Timing is a big reason as far as when to head to your stand because you don't know what's out ahead of us on our way to our stand. It's easier on our way out especially when hunting on or near a fields edge as we can see before we leave or exit. If something is close by or between us and our truck we can alter our path or wait before we climb down to avoid tipping off the deer as to our presence.

Sometimes the best stands are the closest stands we have to our parking spot. Like the spot Corey explained in one of his blogs before where he parked along a busy road and slipped into his stand a short distance away and killed a target buck he was hunting a few years ago. Just saying entry and exit are very important.

Don't mean to sidetract but just because hunting over a pile of corn makes in "easier", I'd certainly think access and exit must be carefully thought out and achieved especially when bowhunting. JMO

Is Denali still alive? If killed, what'd he score? He's a stud!

 

[Boarhead]

IMO Gordo its the reason a lot of us don't do as well as we should out of some sets. Timing is a big reason as far as when to head to your stand because you don't know what's out ahead of us on our way to our stand. It's easier on our way out especially when hunting on or near a fields edge as we can see before we leave or exit. If something is close by or between us and our truck we can alter our path or wait before we climb down to avoid tipping off the deer as to our presence.

Sometimes the best stands are the closest stands we have to our parking spot. Like the spot Corey explained in one of his blogs before where he parked along a busy road and slipped into his stand a short distance away and killed a target buck he was hunting a few years ago. Just saying entry and exit are very important.

Don't mean to sidetract but just because hunting over a pile of corn makes in "easier", I'd certainly think access and exit must be carefully thought out and achieved especially when bowhunting. JMO

Is Denali still alive? If killed, what'd he score? He's a stud!

You are right on Ric Some of my better stands I hunt are within 100 t0 200 yds from my truck and the farm house.Getting in and out is the # 1 key to having success IMO, Same for hunting with corn probably best if you have it out to hunt trails coming to it than right on top of it but like anything some guys will have luck sitting right on top of it.

 

[themedic]

IMO Gordo its the reason a lot of us don't do as well as we should out of some sets. Timing is a big reason as far as when to head to your stand because you don't know what's out ahead of us on our way to our stand. It's easier on our way out especially when hunting on or near a fields edge as we can see before we leave or exit. If something is close by or between us and our truck we can alter our path or wait before we climb down to avoid tipping off the deer as to our presence.

Sometimes the best stands are the closest stands we have to our parking spot. Like the spot Corey explained in one of his blogs before where he parked along a busy road and slipped into his stand a short distance away and killed a target buck he was hunting a few years ago. Just saying entry and exit are very important.

Don't mean to sidetract but just because hunting over a pile of corn makes in "easier", I'd certainly think access and exit must be carefully thought out and achieved especially when bowhunting. JMO

Is Denali still alive? If killed, what'd he score? He's a stud!

The set in the picture were just over 200. I have a cam looking for him now but I imagine he is dead by now. Although a picture did surface last summer.

 

[Shoulder Blade]

If you had to choose whether to put a corn pile in the woods or a field, which would you choose and why?