TIME TO GET STARTED WITH FEEDING THE DEER

[Bill Norris]

Been pondering and looking around trying to decide where to place my bait pile this year. Swamp behind the house is tricky when it's wet and we've had a lot of rain recently. Finally got it figured out and put a couple of 5 gal. buckets of cob corn out. Put a little vanilla extract on it to make them want it. Will maintain with cob corn til it runs out and then swap over to shelled corn. Dang stuff has gone up like everything else. But, what we gonna do ? Pay the price or stay on the couch.

 

[Knotwild]

You should save some money on the meat you will be able to get out of the deal. Then there's the peace of sitting in the stand - how can you put a price on that? It's so hot here in SC I'm making them eat green stuff because I'm not feeding them (or trying to hunt them).

 

[Bill Norris]

Oh yea, I enjoy the time in the woods for sure. Hoping to put a few in the freezer this year but it really depends on how much rainfall we get here in S E N C as to how much hunting I'm able to do. It is still hot no doubt but a little cooler than we had for a few weeks there.

 

[Knotwild]

I know what you mean about the heat. It has been in the high 80's this past week, but low humidity made it feel nice. I don't hunt till it really cools off because I hunt (I say hunt, but I mean ambush them) an island and if I killed a deer this evening I have to get it in a boat, take it to the landing, get it out of the boat and then drive 30 minutes to a processor. He's already bloating by then.

I don't know about your area, but my deer don't eat much corn unless it gets really cold. They just don't need the calories.

 

[Bc'z]

I know what you mean about the heat. It has been in the high 80's this past week, but low humidity made it feel nice. I don't hunt till it really cools off because I hunt (I say hunt, but I mean ambush them) an island and if I killed a deer this evening I have to get it in a boat, take it to the landing, get it out of the boat and then drive 30 minutes to a processor. He's already bloating by then.

I don't know about your area, but my deer don't eat much corn unless it gets really cold. They just don't need the calories.

Bloating????
Really? You don't feild dress your animals??

 

[Bill Norris]

Yea they will eat it here all season. Seems like they eat more later on as it cools off though.

 

[rjtfroggy]

You get caught putting out feed in my state and you will have a hefty fine and maybe some jail time. Will definitely lose your hunting license for a few years.
Feeding and/or baiting anywhere not allowed.

 

[Knotwild]

Bloating????
Really? You don't feild dress your animals??

No, I don't bother to kill them in the heat. Too many things exist in the heat to make a hobby a misery - mosquitoes, gnats, and deer covered in deer lice and ticks. Sitting for deer is relaxing only when it's cool. Deer to me are really a pest that tries to eat everything I grow. I manage an island mainly for ducks and I have to try to keep the population down. I plant about 60 acres of corn for doves and ducks. If we don't keep the population down I would have 0 acres out of 60 left by the first of June. If I were rich, I would deer proof fence it and kill every deer inside the fence.

I don't shoot bucks either, but that's just my preference.

 

[Knotwild]

Plus, our season last from August 15 til January 1, so it's not like I have a limited period of hunting time.

 

[Bill Norris]

You get caught putting out feed in my state and you will have a hefty fine and maybe some jail time. Will definitely lose your hunting license for a few years.
Feeding and/or baiting anywhere not allowed.

Food plots and random feeding is legal here in S E N C. Not sure if it is legal state-wide but I believe it is.

 

[CharlieNC]

Bill one of my friends buys large bags of bird feed, which is mainly sun flower, from Tractor Supply to use as seed for planting food plots. Much lower cost than deer seed, and they love the resulting plants.

 

[Bill Norris]

Bill one of my friends buys large bags of bird feed, which is mainly sun flower, from Tractor Supply to use as seed for planting food plots. Much lower cost than deer seed, and they love the resulting plants.

O K Bro, I will check that out at my local TSC.

 

[markT]

Bill one of my friends buys large bags of bird feed, which is mainly sun flower, from Tractor Supply to use as seed for planting food plots. Much lower cost than deer seed, and they love the resulting plants.

I just bought Rack Master for ~$45 for 50 lbs...
Might try the bird seed and see what happens.. I looked today and I planted one year ago today ( 2021) It's too hot and dry to even think about planting food plots in upstate SC..
My John Deere muffler finally gave up yesterday while rotary cutting. P/N AL37167. Local JD dealer $478 for under hood muffler. I went with knock off for $229..
Baiting with corn? Our DNR actually has brain most of the time.. We can bait legally. Our deer are varmints, they eat everything that is green. Saw briars, briars, ivy. Callery Pear leaves, any weed with broad leaves.. About the only thing they wont eat is sweet gum leaves..

 

[Clancy]

Bill a little rice bran on the corn is a major attractant, even in west Texas where I’m 600 miles from rice.

I feed protein year round and corn/soybean mix on top of that in the winter. It sounds horrible but even feeding free choice we only spend about $1500 per person, or about $6,000 total for the year, which is a whole lot cheaper than paying for guided hunts, which I don’t do anyway.

Good luck this year!

 

[Bill Norris]

Well looks like the deer have found the corn. This old girl was looking really slick no doubt. Had a lot of coon traffic too.

 

[Walt Krafft]

Stopped feeding 6 years ago, it just spreads chronic wasting disease.

 

[std7mag]

Like @rjtfroggy said, here in PA baiting on public lands is illegal.
Gray area for private lands.

Our game commission didn't like the sign i hung up on one of their gates. As a joke.

This corn if for chipmunks & birds. Any deer caught eating it will be shot.

Lol

 

[JEFFPPC]

Like @rjtfroggy said, here in PA baiting on public lands is illegal.
Gray area for private lands.

Our game commission didn't like the sign i hung up on one of their gates. As a joke.

This corn if for chipmunks & birds. Any deer caught eating it will be shot.

Lol

PGC is not known for enjoying a little humor. They are outfitted and operate often as if hunters are the invading Huns. It is not a gray area on private ground, it is illegal. Most of them seem to operate under the theory that you are guilty. Up to you to prove otherwise. Unfortunately there are enough dishonest hunters that we need them. Hard to understand their thinking some times. Too many deer, If you hunters don't kill them we will. Tons of does licenses and various seasons but no baiting. Oh, I see, it's about selling more licenses.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Food plots legal here, but placing bait/feeding deer not legal(reason cwd)? Of course there has been no positive finding on how a prion disease is transmitted, they do know spleen plays apart in prion development and prion antibodies. Another reason for wearing gloves/washing hands.