That would be amazing. I see the kind of attraction it has here on public ground and can only imagine what it'd be like on private land.
Corn Piles for big Bucks
- Thread starter themedic
- Start date
That would be amazing. I see the kind of attraction it has here on public ground and can only imagine what it'd be like on private land.
I am sure Joe will add in on this...he has been corning since that post....and we know Joe has.some.good.bucks.on.cam....if.it were "easy" he would have killed one by.now. just because u put corn out and have big bucks in.the area doesn't guarantee a shot at one. Like u said....it takes the perfect set up and perfect.conditions. sometimes the stars don't align to get both those ...from the looks of this week coming up the stars mught align for Joe and he can get one to show up. Hopefully he can be there to capitolize.
I will admit last year in January I sat staring at corn a lot of hours....and the one deer I considered shooting never showed up....atlewst not.on the nights I could hunt.
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Good write up, Corey. Until last season I had never put out corn to hunt over. Mason still had a tag and would have killed his target buck over it if the deer had not shed a day or two before he gave us an opportunity. I now have a cornpile 100 yds from my house to get pics in our little woods. Mason ran 3 off it this morning. Keep in mind our woods is a small 6 acre patch in a sea of agriculture, complete with 3 dogs we allow to roam when we turn them loose, yet there are still deer hunkered down close to the corn nearly every day. Deer like corn!
Gordo
Senior Member
If it was that easy/automatic for harvesting mature bucks, i honestly would not do it.
The deer ive been hunting since october has made two appearances in legal shooting light at the corn. One time was the first pics i got of him this year on october 18th. He did the same thing the previous two years around the same time. The second was december 13th, which may have been the coldest day of the year.
2 times in 2.5 months. Lately he is showing up just after shooting light.
There's other deer i have been watching for a couple years, and i have Never, not once, got a daytime photo.... Nada One
The deer ive been hunting since october has made two appearances in legal shooting light at the corn. One time was the first pics i got of him this year on october 18th. He did the same thing the previous two years around the same time. The second was december 13th, which may have been the coldest day of the year.
2 times in 2.5 months. Lately he is showing up just after shooting light.
There's other deer i have been watching for a couple years, and i have Never, not once, got a daytime photo.... Nada One
Ha! Man I'd love too. Know anyone with a winning mega millions ticket??? Lmao
Do you ever change anything about your strategy? Corn location, feed time, amount, approach to and from stand, etc? Seems like a lot of work and money spent to achieve such poor results.
Gordo
Senior Member
lol. yes, yes, yes, and yes.
Have you ever tried this? It seems like your under the assumption that mature bucks just waltz right in to the food and say 'shoot me'.
Thats a big misconception that people have that have no experience with it, and the point i was trying to make
No, no misconception here. I was simply stating that, in your case, it sounds like the corn is not helping you... Which leaves me wondering why one would keep it up. I know mature deer shy from corn piles, for the most part, during daylight hours. I'm not an idiot. But the fact remains that placing a pile of corn in front of your stand dramatically increases the odds that Mr. Big shows up, in bow range. Is it legal?... Absolutely. Is it ethical?... Sure, why wouldn't it be? Does it take away from the accomplishment of harvesting a big deer?... IMO it absolutely does. You may or may not agree, but I personally wouldn't feel a level of satisfaction anywhere near what it'd be if I killed a big deer under "normal" circumstances. I know, this all sounds mighty Mountaineer-esque... But it's the way I see it.
I guess what I find funny is that I'm looking at a thread dedicated to the "strategy" of baiting deer... Posted by someone who's a self proclaimed outfitter. Really?
A LOT of outfitters bait. U might.not sit.on the bait. But they have u placed where.the deer are walking on their way to the bait
I feel exactly the same way and I know for some it may seem like a double standard; to say I don't bait early season but do in late. I guess everyone draws a line somewhere....thats just where mine is. I would rather shoot a big buck than eat a tag....so I have decided late season I'll "cheat". Baiting makes it easier.....no question about that IMO. Lastly, If I do kill a big buck, he probably wont be my favorite in the trophy room..... but damn I bet he will look good on the wall!
As far as the self proclaimed outfitter, thats a little ridiculous of a comment. I'm a passionate deer hunter first and foremost. One that enjoys hosting a handful of hunters each year to help pay for his hobby. I offer nothing more than many of you would do for your family or friends. A nice place to hunt with good company. It's a fair statement I guess though, I made to decision to start an outfitting business....not sure what else you would call it?
Gordo
Senior Member
I get what your saying.
"mature deer shy away from corn piles during the day, everyone knows that"
"Place a corn pile in front of your stand and your odds of shooting a mature buck sky rocket"
I agree with half of it. Different strokes for different folks. Not trying to beat this topic to death, as its a waiste of time.
Happy hunting!
Over and out
Mao
Member
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Baiting is far from an exact science. Hell. It's not even really a guess. I am currently running three piles, each about a mile apart in three separate wood lots. I've been pouring It to them for over a month now. Guess how many mature bucks I have on cam. Zero. A couple in the 130s show up once or twice a week always at night. There are big deer around. But they're not that stupid. Like any food source mature deer show up at night. Be that dumped corn, crops, or acorns. They show up at night. A corn pile is far from a preferred food source. Even in the dead of winter like now it's still not preferred. While there is snow on the ground I get plenty of pics of deer hitting the pile. Today is a prime example. On the top of a hill I have about 200lbs of corn out. The deer didn't show today. Why? The rain has melted most of the snow. As we were leaving the deer were in the bottom cut corn field not 200 yards from the pile up in the woods. They preferred to scratch and peck for waste grain here and there instead of gorge on a pile. Both food sources is corn. But their natural ways are set. They have a preferred source. To me a corn pile for mature animals is nothing but an inventory tool. Find out where they're staying and hunt them there. The corn is just for pictures. If that somehow makes it "easier" then running cams over salt in August is the same. Really though, running cams at all would be just the same.
Thunderflight
Dignitary Member
When I lived in SC and NC I used to bait. Here are some lessons learned:
1. I found that corn on the cob worked best because the deer wouldn't eat it up as fast.
2. Add some Sweet Feed to your corn pile and the deer will literally lay up in it. It's cheap and you can buy it at your local feed store. If you are running a feeder mix it 25 percent sweet feed and 75 percent corn. Anything more may clog your feeder.
3. You'll get away with stupid deer on a new corn pile for only 2-3 hunts. After that they are LOCKED onto you and will be super wary. If they aren't looking for you they'll hang up and wait till after dark before coming in.
4. When #3 happens (deer staging till dark), move your stand (better yet have one already hung there) to that location.
5. Out of 100 sits I'd be lucky to see five mature deer. However, this was probably because there weren't many biggens where I was hunting.
6. My experience was the same deer tended to hit the pile. This is good because you can pattern them, but bad because they too are also getting smarter.
7. When baiting plan on 50 percent of your corn going to feed squirrels, coons, possums, turkeys, and every other critter but deer.
If I think of any more I'll pass it on.
I used to think hunting deer in Ohio was like shooting fish in a barrel. Bow hunting in the Coastal Carolinas was tough, but this past Ohio season was almost as bad. In situations where the deer population is down and access is tough to gain, then baiting might be the ticket for increasing your odds of success.
My wife's uncle lets be hunt a property off of Sportsmans Club RD in Johnstown. His land is perfect for baiting because the adjoining land owner (Tech/Union Lake) and property across the road (a golf course) doesn't allow hunting. In a situation such as this with small acreage (at least huntable acreage) and limited access baiting can be the ticket for pulling deer from the neighboring properties. That said, in Ohio I don't think I'd bait until January.
1. I found that corn on the cob worked best because the deer wouldn't eat it up as fast.
2. Add some Sweet Feed to your corn pile and the deer will literally lay up in it. It's cheap and you can buy it at your local feed store. If you are running a feeder mix it 25 percent sweet feed and 75 percent corn. Anything more may clog your feeder.
3. You'll get away with stupid deer on a new corn pile for only 2-3 hunts. After that they are LOCKED onto you and will be super wary. If they aren't looking for you they'll hang up and wait till after dark before coming in.
4. When #3 happens (deer staging till dark), move your stand (better yet have one already hung there) to that location.
5. Out of 100 sits I'd be lucky to see five mature deer. However, this was probably because there weren't many biggens where I was hunting.
6. My experience was the same deer tended to hit the pile. This is good because you can pattern them, but bad because they too are also getting smarter.
7. When baiting plan on 50 percent of your corn going to feed squirrels, coons, possums, turkeys, and every other critter but deer.
If I think of any more I'll pass it on.
I used to think hunting deer in Ohio was like shooting fish in a barrel. Bow hunting in the Coastal Carolinas was tough, but this past Ohio season was almost as bad. In situations where the deer population is down and access is tough to gain, then baiting might be the ticket for increasing your odds of success.
My wife's uncle lets be hunt a property off of Sportsmans Club RD in Johnstown. His land is perfect for baiting because the adjoining land owner (Tech/Union Lake) and property across the road (a golf course) doesn't allow hunting. In a situation such as this with small acreage (at least huntable acreage) and limited access baiting can be the ticket for pulling deer from the neighboring properties. That said, in Ohio I don't think I'd bait until January.
Gordo
Senior Member
I'll also add that if they can, they'll bed where they can watch the pile all day.
Just another thing to think about in terms of placement.
Just another thing to think about in terms of placement.