If I have deer coming in where I just dump feed on the ground and they eat it when they want should I put a feeder up in that location to try to get them to come in during daylight hours or should I keep doing what I am and hope they will mess up one day. I just don't want to spook anything by changing it up. What say y'all???

my theory on feeders is they are designed to do what we can't. If you can continue to hand feed and be successful with that, then keep that up. Less is better in the deer world.

However, I live 2 hrs away from my lease and there is no way I could hand feed enough to get a pattern started, so I placed feeders. I know some deer hit them, some don't. But it keeps them in the ballpark.

If you're in or near East Texas I wouldn't even think about it. Been down that road many times and have ALWAYS had better results with hand corning.

I have hunted feeders near my home for the past 6 years (one buck slipped up at the feeder) with nothing but hogs or coons during shooting hours and only deer after dark. I have shot multiple deer just hand corning a trail and hunt just days after throwing corn with good results.

Threw corn one time last year and it equaled meat in the freezer that same evening

What you can do is put up a feeder in an area close to where you are hand corning. I am hunting a ground blind right now that is in a travel corridor about 300 yards east of a feed pen with protein and corn feeders. I have been hand corning the spot for the past month now. If I were going to put up a corn feeder I would put up a new blind with it right away.

I have a spot that I hand corn with a ground blind. Last year I think I had more deer on the hand corn than the feeders. It gets baited atleast every other weekend during the season.

Thanks for the response guys. I have a great spot about 100 yards across a small creek to put the feeder from where I have been hand feeding. I will do that and see what happens. Thanks again. ChrisB I see your from prosper I lived there my whole life and just moved up to Gunter last Christmas

I hunt East Tx and have had no problem putting up feeder days before we hunt. This year i have had my main feeder running for over a year now, it is the first time i have ever had a spot feeding none stop this long. My brother set his up a the weekend before opening day and moved a stand into the area too- looking at the game cam pics his vs mine- he has a lot more deer, older deer and more bucks than does, mine has alot of hogs some does and yearlings

this isnt the first time i have noticed setting up a feeder closer to the start of the season seems to have more deer come to it then other feeder that have been feeding for longer no idea why or if this holds true to other areas

Is the place your hand corning in a direction that it will be in-line with where the new feeder will be? I would try to place it so the buck will be traveling in the same direction to and from bedding cover to your hand feeding location then to the new feeder.?