Why no deer? help first time hunting lease

OK i got my first deer lease this year. It is near Pilot point. I have dense woods to the north, milo to the south and some of the only water tanks in the area. it has cattle on it but i didnt think that would be too much of an issue. I have been feeding corn all year and just started feeding protein. " i know i should have been feeding the protein first but i wasnt seeing it at Academy." I had deer on cam before i put the barrel feeder up and the only other deer was the week i started feeding protein. I have tons of coyotes and raccoon.Is this place a lost cause? the rancher just tilled the back 60 acres for winter wheat.

I wouldn't worry too much right now, though it may be a sign that the population isn't very high.

Have you guys gotten a lot of rain this year? There's a decent chance the deer just don't need to eat from the feeder right now or haven't really noticed it because they're not hungry.

Right now I'm getting pictures of 4-5 does and another 3-4 bucks. Sounds pretty good, but every time I sit, I see 30-40 deer, the vast majority of which just don't care about my feeder at all.

Are you seeing many tracks? May look for trails and crossings... sometimes you may just have the feeder in the wrong spot that's out of their normal way...

I dont know much about that area but if you have been seeing a lot of yotes then you may have a small problem there but not to say that having a bunch yotes will scare off all the deer either.
Has this place been hunted before ?
Just FYI you can get protein at the feed store also and is usually cheaper than acdemy .

Pretty sure that area got around 12 inches of rain in a 24 hour period a couple months ago, and on top of that, a lot of other good rains. Don't give up until you have some good freezes, and then the deer will be a lot easier to see at feeders. Spotlight the wheat field at night this winter and you will get a good idea of how many deer you have around there.

Cameron00 - the fields are still lush and green. Plus with all the crops around i think they dont need the corn.

Navasot - i have seen some tracks but all at the back of the property. trials are very hard to find due to the cows. I may have to move the feeder

Kenneth1977 - I have alot of coyotes dens and i see yotes and dogs on the cam at night. i will have to find a good feed store close.

Kenneth1977 the land was hunted years ago but not is a while, but i do think ppl are going on the land when i am not there. the land owner's family can see the land from there house and have reported ppl out there.

Sounds to me like you need to do a little predator control.

Those yotes don't like anything near their dens.

Along with people and coons. Coyotes shouldn't be using dens now anyway, unless to get out of the heat. I would be more concerned right now, on whose going out there? They may have a bow stand hidden in there and the added activity doesn't help.

Do you know how to CORRECTLY use a snare?

Milo = all you can eat buffet for deer

the land is fairly open and i doubt i missed a stand but you never know. I do check the camera every week and a half - two weeks. i spray scent killer but im not sure i may be spooking the deer.

I dont think the rancher wants any traps out there his cows are very curious creatures.

I agree that you shouldn't worry too much.
You said you saw them on cam before the feeder went up, so they're out there.
The feeder is a new thing. A new thing that makes noise. New noisy things are scary to deer, even if that thing spits out corn twice a day.
Also like you and others have said, lush crop fields will mean the deer will go to the corn less.

Define open.... as in wide open, scattered brush,?????? Where do the deer bed or live? If the milo is about ready to cut then the deer will be in it.

ok i will stick it out. i have tried to scout but i can only enter the east side of the property and the sun in the evenings keeps me from seeing a whole lot.

Agree with all the above. That area has been hit well with rain and is green and lush, so deer don't need to come to a feeder, especially if they don't know it is really there. Wait until it freezes a few times and natural forbs die off, then they will be hitting the feeder, assuming you have it penned off so the cows don't hit it. If you have not done that, make sure you pen the feeder, cows will tear it up once natural forbs die off.

Agree with the spotlighting at night to get an idea of what might really be out there, and also predator control. Take care of the visitors as well. Nothing will hurt worse than either poachers or people scaring off deer by trespassing.

Depending on what is surrounding your place though, you may have little habitat for deer. Especially if the only woods around are on your place. Doesn't mean you can't attract them to your place, but it may be hard given the greenery right now.

If done "correctly" not an issue.

Of course calling in "correctly" works too and is fun. Done wrong = smart coyotes LOL

I agree with STX, if that milo has heads, the deer will be there.

Is the property anywhere close to Lake Ray Roberts or the State Park? You can be certain that it will be difficult to draw deer out of the park if your close to it. Coyotes are always thick in the area and getting them in check will be hard. I see that the deer in the area use the timber as "greenways and corridors" to move from area to area as large stands of timber are kinda sparse. I bet you'll see more sign and movement as the fall and winter months progress. Don't get too discouraged if they aren't hitting your feeder they have plenty to eat right now.

Go to Pilot Point feed. Shane is a good guy and will help get you what you need.

I would suggest getting multiple cams and move them around a lot. Having a cam on the feeder only may be missing loads of deer. When I was in south Texas, I ran 8 cams and found that I had deer - a good number of deer - that were traveling a path 150 yards from my stand and feeder and never came to the feeder.

Changed my feeder location - and voila - deer on cam every day.

Now I run cams for a while before I decide on where to setup feeders and stands.

When we got on our first south texas lease, this was just before the game camera technology came along, we were extremely worried when we were seeing hardly any deer in October and the first half of November, but about thanksgiving, they started coming out of the woodwork, deer everywhere. The next year we knew not to expect too much until about thanksging

Thank yall for the help. i will be moving my camera to see if they are moving in the fields or by the water.

Pilot point (and nearby area) has gotten more/better rain this year - and spaced out nicely - than the last few.
Crops are at bumper yield, and hayfields have had bumper 1st & 2nd cuttings already, and still going strong.
Ponds, creeks, and puddles full everywhere - their not hurting for water either (yet).

Hang tight; deer have no reason to be out in the open just yet; fall will help (except for the potential mast bumper crop that is likely).

I would have held off on the protein until I knew a little more about the deer in that area; however, I do know there are deer in the Pilot Point area, so maybe just be patient. Sometimes it's best to take the temperature of the water before jumping all in.

i will be out there tomorrow night trying to reduce the yote population

^^^This^^^

Sure wont hurt a thing, and you may get a few deer sightings ta boot!

Yep Shane is good people and he used to hunt the property south of TL trails. Good property, I did well years ago there before people invaded...

How big is the lease and what did you expect?

the lease is 130 acres. but it is situated in a way that i sure thought i would see more deer. The rancher had a guy hunt it for years, but he moved out of state. the guy leasing it supposedly took multiple deer every year. the rancher says he sees deer in the field in the mornings but i have yet to see any when i am there. i may have been had but the rancher was cool enough to let me scout all summer to see if i wanted it. i could find a better place so here i am. Plus it is 25 mins from my house and i dove hunt there.

I would not expect deer to beating a path to a feeder this time of year with crops in the fields and lots of grass and browse. It sounds like a nice place and if you kill 1 or 2 deer a year off of that size place is good unless you have no hunting on adjoining places. Good luck and be patient. You are not in west texas or the hill country

Thank you of you for the help

Sounds like it could actually be a 'honey hole', dove hunting, 25 minutes to the house. Quite a few deer around the area...Be patient, grasshopper.

I may have more wildlife then i thought. Dove hunting Monday we saw 5 pigs. I have been feeding corn and protein for 8 months and not not have one on camera but they are there.

sounds like you need a new camera...

i get pictures of coyotes and raccoon everynight

Do you get the hogs on camera?

Did you look for deer tracks around a waterhole, or do the cows stomp them out? Wait until it cools down, deer will be moving around a lot more then.

Not one hog on camera and the cows stomp out the deer tracks. I have seen a few tracks along the very back of the property. I scout about once a month.

While hunting dove Saturday i had 2 doe walk up within 100 yards of hunters. Maybe more deer than i thought.

If deers smell coyotes they will be out of there. Set some snares and kill as many as you can.

The cattle may get caught in snares. The yotes are smarter than i thought i have called at them several times but to no avail.

Cows wont get caught if you're setting them correctly. Coyotes are probably smarter than most people (when it comes to hunting and survival), Yours are probably even smarter now..

Dove hunting may also be keeping your deer away, especially if they are skittish due to neighbors hunting hard.
Something is eating your corn, unless you have a big pile under the feeder, the new camera idea is sounding good.
Trapping is a must, for us the varmint hunting/trapping is a never ending/year-round job.
DP traps and live traps for the coons.
Fox and coyote get foot traps and snares. Like Western said, if done correctly this is not a problem.
If calling ain't working (and it doesn't work on some yotes) you may have to trap. I can't call a starving coyote to a cottontail smorgasbord. So I just shoot them when I see them, and trap and trap.

Coyotes and coons are like roaches, if you see one, there are many. At one feeder last year I had three coons that I got on my game cam regularly, I caught 18 of them at that feeder in less than 2 months.

After seeing deer the other night I have moved my camera to catch them on that traveling route. I also plant a food plot. Throw and grow radish mix. The ground was prepared for winter wheat so I think the throw and grow should do really well. I just need some rain.

The food plot is already growing. But the travel route i found doesnt have a good tree for a stand or a good place for my pop up. If i put out my pop up do you think it will scare the deer off the route? I can add brush to it but it will not be near anything.

pop up set 30 yards from travel route but i may not be able to hunt it. With an eastern wind it puts my scent in the food plot and on the travel trail

I was running late and Didn't make it to the stand this morning. 6 does were crossing the field. I laid down and harvested a mature doe at 250-275 yards. She was bigger than an 11 point I laid her next yo at the processors. Thanks to all encouraged me either this year. I have seen a ton of deer sign and I think the rut is going to be good.

Congrats on the doe!!! Have patience, still a lot of season left!!!

Congrats man!

Sure enough, just got started