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Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore #7681999 12/06/19 11:40 PM
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txtrophy85 Online Content OP
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Got in the blind, feeder went off....nothing. 30 min later a few deer walk past behind the feeder. Wait another 30 feeder goes off again, two more deer walk past the feeder.

We don’t have hogs and there isn’t corn piling up. What gives?

I did hear a shot to the north about 4:30 so someone had some luck


For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682009 12/06/19 11:52 PM
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Acorns or just the rut. Had multiple deer this week crossing through my place with no interest in food.

Last edited by 4Weight; 12/06/19 11:53 PM.
Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682042 12/07/19 12:32 AM
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ACORNS

Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682048 12/07/19 12:39 AM
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Same problem here.


Not my monkeys, not my circus...
Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682060 12/07/19 12:52 AM
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I am in North East Texas and we are just now seeing deer back at the feeders. Still have acorns falling but the last cold front had a strong wind that made a lot of them drop at once. When that happened the deer started skipping the feeders.

Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: Slick Head] #7682069 12/07/19 01:08 AM
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Originally Posted by Slick Head
ACORNS


Don’t you ever say that word to me again


For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682147 12/07/19 02:56 AM
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Originally Posted by txtrophy85
Originally Posted by Slick Head
ACORNS


Don’t you ever say that word to me again

roflmao

Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682192 12/07/19 03:48 AM
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I've noticed the same up here in Denton County, have some bucks coming in at night, but not as many, and hardly any in the mornings at legal or in afternoon... Have corn piling up under feeder.

Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682207 12/07/19 04:04 AM
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I have had bucks come to corn, for about four or five seconds. If you have the rifle in the window, you might have a chance as they nibble at a few morsels and move on.
We have acorns so thick under some trees that you can barely see the ground


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Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682259 12/07/19 07:50 AM
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I haven't had a buck on cam since Oct! They are 50 to 200 yards away though!! But same story every year unless there are no acorns. We have a bumper crop this year.

Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682275 12/07/19 11:45 AM
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Maybe you should gather up a bucket of acorns and toss them in your shooting lanes. Early in the season I picked up a pile of them from a property across town and mixed them with corn and poured them around my feeders. They chowed down on them! I even boiled some and made some cover scent with the water, not sure it helped, it just smelled like tea.
Also I hung some in a drip bottle I made with water to keep the scent around. At the time I didn't have any acorns dropping on my place, but some neighbors did so I tried to even the playing field a bit.


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Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682309 12/07/19 12:57 PM
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Acorns. Walking on my place sounds like walking on bubble wrap. I watched a nice buck walk past a feeder the other day without even looking at the corn on the ground.


Without a sense of urgency, nothing ever happens.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley, Rancher Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682332 12/07/19 01:30 PM
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Lots of corn in the ground here. I set my feed times back to 3 seconds. Too much on the ground and I will have cow troubles. A few doe come and nibble a bit but mostly nothing since opening weekend. Saw 1 spike up in the lane yesterday but he’s the only buck seen in a couple weeks now. Hunted since Thursday morning and been pretty disappointed. It is a beautiful morning though! Christmas week looks like the time according to the solunar tables.


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Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682417 12/07/19 03:06 PM
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A good time to take note of where the deer on your property prefer to be when nature provides good crops of what deer naturally prefer to eat.

Then move a hunting set up to that/those areas, not saying they'll eat more corn if you do but you will be set up to hunt an area they prefer.
Set the corn feeder in the area or on an edge close to it if you like to sit in a box & stare at a corn feeder.
Now you'll also be viewing their preferred hang out & feeding area & a corn feeder within your shooting comfort range.

Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: Slick Head] #7682424 12/07/19 03:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Slick Head
ACORNS

This is the most I can remember........everywhere I walk in my neighborhood and even at the city park last night it was like walking on marbles......


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Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682446 12/07/19 03:24 PM
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Know what you mean.

I had about a month where even the hogs were avoiding the feeder with corn piling up.

Meanwhile they were absolutely tearing the ever lov'n !@#$% out of my fields and yard......worst damage I have ever seen so they were in the area.


Make America Great Again

Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682452 12/07/19 03:29 PM
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Same in Llano county. Corn piling up and not much deer movement at all. Not much shooting going on around me either.... Very few shots heard since before thanksgiving.

Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682535 12/07/19 05:48 PM
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we moved some pop ups to larger open areas that we mosaic mow throughout the year, and see several deer every hunt browsing.2 of the larger bucks came from these areas..... We turned feeders down to 2 seconds over a month ago....Deer hate browsing in tall grass...LOVE short grass!!

Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7682841 12/07/19 11:29 PM
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No acorns with in miles of us and the deer are hitting the feeders.


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Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: Slick Head] #7682938 12/08/19 12:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Slick Head
ACORNS


Same with hogs... bang

I wanted a good smoker pig this week....NOTHNG hitting the traps....8" of corn on the ground under the feeders.... mad


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Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7683097 12/08/19 03:02 AM
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Same problem at out place in menard, tons of acorns and native pecans. Deer showed no interest in feeders.

Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: txtrophy85] #7683122 12/08/19 03:41 AM
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For those of us that have hunted where corn was not an option for many years and considered baiting you learn to hunt trails and food sources that deer are feeding on. In a good acorn year that means hunt the oaks and the ones they prefer.

The deer will be back on the feeders the last week or so of the season, but until then you might have to actually hunt. The deer are still there to hunt but they have adapted to a preferred food source, adapt your hunting accordingly.


lf the saying "Liar, Liar your pants on fire" were true
Mainstream news might be fun to watch
Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: kmon11] #7683302 12/08/19 02:17 PM
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Sick of this weak [censored] high and mighty response... Let's start with the problems with it...

Even TINY places in the hill country have THOUSANDS of oak trees. There is no pattern, they rarely consistently eat under the same set two days in a row. How you set up on that?

food sources, unlike up north where you claim "real hunting" happens over standing corn and beans left for bait, our deer typical have a much larger range so they have to travel much more to get to the food sources. Which may not even be on the property

Hunting trails is possible at times but a lot of Texas places are so thick your visibility is feet... No warning no shot prep

Texas is a legal to bait state because it makes more of difference than in some other states with more plentiful food. Where it's open it can concentrate deer so that hunting them is more than spoting. Where it's thick it brings them out to the open

Anyone who thinks targeting mature deer isnt hard in ANY situation hasn't hunted Mature deer


Sombody smells like fried borritos...
Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: catslayer] #7683552 12/08/19 07:56 PM
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Originally Posted by catslayer
Sick of this weak [censored] high and mighty response... Let's start with the problems with it...

Even TINY places in the hill country have THOUSANDS of oak trees. There is no pattern, they rarely consistently eat under the same set two days in a row. How you set up on that?

food sources, unlike up north where you claim "real hunting" happens over standing corn and beans left for bait, our deer typical have a much larger range so they have to travel much more to get to the food sources. Which may not even be on the property

Hunting trails is possible at times but a lot of Texas places are so thick your visibility is feet... No warning no shot prep

Texas is a legal to bait state because it makes more of difference than in some other states with more plentiful food. Where it's open it can concentrate deer so that hunting them is more than spoting. Where it's thick it brings them out to the open

Anyone who thinks targeting mature deer isnt hard in ANY situation hasn't hunted Mature deer


First off think what you want of my response, but if you hunt where the deer are not at you will NOT see or kill anything but time. It is too often said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results" If you hunt where the deer are not at, it will be even more difficult to kill any deer let alone a mature deer that has evaded hunters at least 5 years learning how to pattern us and they do that much better than we pattern them.

Never said hunting is easy or even should be for mature deer. I have ate my buck tag quite a few years when the mature buck or two I was targeting beat me in the hunting chess match. Others years, I have won the match, sometimes by changing things up, like hunting where they are frequenting, rattling, calling and/or finding alternate food sources.... Be willing to change things up if what you are doing is not working. I would much rather hunt a close tight area where I stand a chance than where I am not seeing anything or getting pictures of anything.

We all like our comfy enclosed blinds with nice padded office chairs, but if the deer are not showing up where that blind is then why not change it up? If the deer are not there find where they are even if it is not as comfortable or we cannot see as country. I prefer to hunt in thick spots that I cannot see as far but the deer are at or passing through than where they are not showing up.

As to Corn in Texas or anywhere else, it can be extremely effective and is the best method in many areas, but if the deer are not hitting it be willing to try something different and not just complain about it.

I have seen deer not hitting feeders but hit hand corned areas near the stand location even in years the corn was stacking up under the feeders, which can be another thing to try,

As for the up North, I hunt Texas and Mississippi. This is he first year spin cast feeders are legal in Mississippi.


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Re: Hill country deer must not eat corn anymore [Re: kmon11] #7683573 12/08/19 08:30 PM
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Originally Posted by kmon1
For those of us that have hunted where corn was not an option for many years and considered baiting you learn to hunt trails and food sources that deer are feeding on. In a good acorn year that means hunt the oaks and the ones they prefer.

The deer will be back on the feeders the last week or so of the season, but until then you might have to actually hunt. The deer are still there to hunt but they have adapted to a preferred food source, adapt your hunting accordingly.


When every oak tree is dropping acorns and the property you are hunting has hundreds of oak trees then you cannot pattern them.


And if I was just trying to kill any ol’ deer I would have been ok. I’m just not seeing mature deer, not to mention I’m bowhunting, so I need them to be just right


For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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