This is my third year of deer hunting, an I have yet to kill a deer. It seems that every year we have decent luck the first couple of weeks and then absolutely nothing. My family's first year we didn't kill anything and then last year my brothers killed a spike and a button buck. I didn't see anything last year but a little fawn. This year things were looking up, I saw several deer youth weekend including a ten point that followed a doe onto the pipeline which I subsequently clean missed (still kicking myself over that.) The next weekend I saw about six deer, but I didn't get an good shot opportunity on anything legal. Since then I've only seen one doe, out of range and pretty much everything has disappeared from the trail cameras, like it does every year, except a couple does and yearling bucks at night. Does anyone have any tips for how I can change up my strategy to actually make it happen this year? I'm on a timber company hunting club in Tyler county for anyone who's wondering.

Hand throw corn before each sit and hunt as often as you can.

Are there a lot of Acorns around where you are? If so thats where I'd be.. When the Acorns start so sour, which they should be doing soon, then you'll start seeing more activity at the feeders.. Just my two cents..

Can you describe the property? Size, shape, terrain? All or mostly pine? Any pine harvested in the last couple-few years? Hunt from a blind and if so where is it in relation to the feeder I assume you have. Where is the feeder? What are the surrounding properties? Water on your property?

Well it's about 80 hunters on 6500 acres, we were told when we signed on that it would be 50 hunters on 7500 acres, but that's a whole nother story. The pipeline where I hunt is surrounded by thick pine trees, around 30 ft tall, I'm not sure how old they are. The feeder is around 80 yards from the blind and about 200 yards from the blind is a drainage that drops about 10 ft in elevation. There is a stream bed there but it rarely ever has any water, there are some hardwoods mixed in with the pine trees down around the drainage though. The pipeline is actually on the border of the lease and is fairly close to a county road and some houses. The surrounding properties are all also timber land an are hunted but I don't know anything more about them.

Sounds like lots of hunting pressure and lots of food competition (feeders). Without knowing your setup here's some general things I'd try:

- Feed corn year around - just a couple of seconds but make it a goto spot - run the feeder only in the AM - encourage the deer to come in during daylight hours
- Many mature bucks won't go to a feeder especially during daylight clear narrow lanes so you can see deer movement
- Experiment with something different than all the other hunters are feeding - protein, cotton seed, plant honeysuckle get a game camera and keep track of deer and how often
- Camera will tell you much - where I hunt I rarely see deer at dawn - 9-10:30am, then 2pm seems to be the common times
- Rut is short and it's your best chance to get a mature buck - but only if you have setup on a trail or social area
- Get a GPS and mark every scrape, rub, and scant pile you find....once you plot these on google maps the deer trails will become apparent
- Deer tend to be creatures of habit - I have one buck who you can set your watch to - even beds in the same area and goes to the same feeder each morning...learn your deer's patterns.

Good luck, hope this helps...