Parcel size/hunting

[Quinby90]

I’ve owned a 16 acre parcel for two years now. It has feeders and I have gotten some good pictures of nice deer. The feeders seem to be the problem, never a nice buck near or around the feeders. Is it worthwhile to remove the feeders and just pile up the corn?

[TheVisorGuy]

Yes. I love on 70 acres. I do run 1 feeder in the back yard but I live here so putting out corn several times a week isn’t an issue. I’ve only seen big deer around the feeder in the backyard standing off in the distance watching a doe they are obviously chasing.

If you plan on eventually going to feeders then put one out as soon as the season is over and keep it running and stay away from it. I would put it in a spot you don’t even plan on hunting. Only go in to fill it back up and put a cellular camera on it. After a couple seasons you will start to see bucks that grew up eating under them start to use them. Then you can start putting them out in hunting spots.

Each area is different and every deer is different.

[ScLowCountry]

I've had decent bucks bucks come to a feeder occasionally at night. I've never had a big buck frequent a feeder. I have had them come to a corn pile daily and even in the daylight.
However, I did give up hunting over corn years ago. I only hunt public land now without corn. I still see and kill deer. I do think on smaller tracks of land they baiting does help as you don't have as much area to scout and need to draw a deer to you to be successful sometimes.

I do agree with the fact that bucks need to be raised around feeders. Also some bucks just don't care and are plain stupid. They will come to a feeder no matter what. I've never experienced this, but I do have friends that have killed whoppers weeks after putting out of feeder.

[bbhntr48]

I know folks that hang there feeders between two trees 15 - 20 foot in air. They seem to have more luck with bucks using corns that drops from them

[raybird]

pro tip- fill that feeder up with roasted soybeans and peanut corn.

[Sasha and Abby]

I run 16 feeders August to Feb. I have mature bucks come in on all of them. They have been out for numerous years. How close are your stands? The closest feeder to any stand I have is 200 yards - some are almost 400.
Feeders are to feed the does this time of year. If you have does, the bucks will follow. I like feeders because of economics and lack of intrusion.

[Quinby90]

Feeders are less than 100 yards from stand. I have mainly hunted FMNF for 20 years so the whole baiting and permanent stand thing is new to me.

[UPSTATEWATERFOWLER]

I have good bucks come to feeders. Not daily, but they do use them. I mainly have them to keep does on the property. I think they get used to them. I’ve had better luck with them coming to gravity feeders than the spinners but that could be coincidence. Corn piles don’t work for those of us who have hogs.

[pluffmudder]

I think every situation is different. I often see guys killing monsters over corn. My family has a place in Hampton close to 80 acres that I have hunted for most of my life. We have killed a good bit of deer down there, but never any monsters over corn. All of the big ones we have killed have been either over a food plot, or a rub/scrape line tucked away in hard to reach areas. From my experience, introducing corn at that property will make a buck that is coming out at dusk change his pattern to midnight through 4am. We have two nice ones on the camera now, and we are not putting anything out. We are just playing the wind, weather and moon phase and hoping he slips up when we are in the stand. I would say that if corn isnt working, try something else.

[Jay]

I hate hunting around feeders and corn. Hope that helps.

[DRDUCK]

I put out 2 cups of corn everyday on my 2 acres and kill deer every year with a bow and a .22. One guy that I let hunt kills them with a .17. If you think I am kidding just ask anybody that knows me.

[Short_track_champ]

I put out 2 cups of corn everyday on my 2 acres and kill deer every year with a bow and a .22. One guy that I let hunt kills them with a .17. If you think I am kidding just ask anybody that knows me.

Out of curiosity how close is your closest neighbor to your 2 acre prop line? Are you ever recovering you deer on your neighbors yard?

[DRDUCK]

Never. DRT if you know where to shoot them

[Short_track_champ]

Never. DRT if you know where to shoot them

Even with a bow shot?

Had a buddy have to recover one from a neighbors down the way from his a cpl years back. They were not hunters so the encounter was a bit cringey and funny awkward.

[WhitewaterDuck]

My bud lives on 140 ish acres in Ohio. I’ve watched him Chase giants since 2008 that he has lots of pics of at feeders and cornpiles. He’s killed one big deer since 2008, because he hunts the cornpiles. He started hunting more than 200 yards away from the cornpiles last year and killed one of his good bucks. If I were him, I’d feed them heavy through first week of October, try to catch one opening weekend at a cornpile, then I’d make sure no corn was on the ground after first week of October. Deer that are there ain’t going anywhere. Big bucks usually win at the corn-pile game.