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Corn Only, Nothing Else??? #7929912 08/10/20 01:11 PM
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It is close to season. I am low budget. I hunt public ground where baiting is authorized and I also hunt 40 acres of private ground in North East Texas. I have 2 feeders running on the 40 acres. No food plots. No protein. I don't live there. I live 275 miles away. I mow the right of ways and do my best to keep the feeders running. I have tried every attractant sold in stores and usually go back to corn. The 40 acres is surrounded by deer leases and cattle leases. I am lucky to see deer.

Does anyone else only feed corn only? Nothing else on their property for deer.

For those of you that feed corn only, do you feed corn only year round and do you feed plain ol regular corn or do you feed flavored corn?

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7930006 08/10/20 02:28 PM
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You probably can't do much better than straight corn. Hard to beat it, as an attractant.

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7930047 08/10/20 03:01 PM
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Maybe also put out some minerals in the spring. Something they might not be getting enough of.


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Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7930048 08/10/20 03:01 PM
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I have 3 places ... and I feed corn pretty much year around and provide sulfur salt block on all three.

I own a small place in central Texas that I have in Wildlife improvement management plan where I also put in mix seed food plots as part of my plan and feeders going year around with corn & milo.

Our east Texas we run spin feeders corn only pretty much year around early summer thru end of Feb. (MLD3) and at the end of Feb. our feeders are pretty much full but typically will run out by the end of April to mid May. We also plant several oat/wheat food plots in the fall and peas in the spring.

My Ozona place I keep feeders (corn/milo) running year around. I usually go out about once every 3 months Jan. thru Sept. to fill and the feeders are usually within a week or two of running out OR have run out within that same week or two time span.

The budget in maintaining 3 places, ~15 feeders, just doesn't allow me financially to try to maintain putting in protein feeders plus trying to maintain over those distances.


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Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7939730 08/17/20 08:43 PM
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Without question, corn is the best attractant of anything for deer. Everything else, just helps.


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Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7939766 08/17/20 09:01 PM
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Year round, corn only here.

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: skinnerback] #7942253 08/19/20 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Mr. T.
Without question, corn is the best attractant of anything for deer. Everything else, just helps.



Originally Posted by skinnerback
Year round, corn only here.


Thank you. Do you like plain ol corn or flavored corn?

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7942282 08/19/20 05:55 PM
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Plan corn.


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Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7942736 08/19/20 10:40 PM
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Plain ol' corn.

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: skinnerback] #7945000 08/21/20 05:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Mr. T.
Plan corn.



Originally Posted by skinnerback
Plain ol' corn.


Cheapest way to go really.

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7945003 08/21/20 05:09 PM
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Indian corn is better corn.


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Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7982716 09/21/20 07:40 PM
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There are several "attractants" that you could easily implement for a low cost.

1. Construct a mineral lick. This is not simply throwing a block out there and moving on. Dig a 12" deep by 2ft. wide hole. Place a loose mineral mix in the hole before adding back the dirt. Use your shovel to stir the dirt and mineral together as you fill the hole. Finally, spread a few handfuls on the surface to get their attention. This type of mineral lick can last for 6 months or greater and is really cheap. You can modify it to be built around a stump as well, giving you a reference point for remember where you placed it. Deer have been known to completely dig up such stumps.

2. Construct a mock scrape. This one is really simple and has no upkeep. Pick a tree near where you have evidence of deer passing through. Hang a 6ft. stick (should be about 1.5 inches in diameter) from the tree in such a way that the stick hangs down in an obvious way (use gloves, minimize contact). Scrape out a 2-3ft diameter circle under the hanging stick and pee into the dirt. This will become a place where deer will come to leave their own scents as a form of communication. Over time they will develop consistent routines based on this mock scrape. Some hunters have reported a mock scrape being hit by a buck as soon as 6 hours after construction.

I am a wildlife consultant who helps landowners develop wildlife management plans and improve their hunting experience. I also carry out various services in the completion of management plans. If you have any more questions or would like to talk more about improvements you can make on a budget, feel free to send me a message.

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7982747 09/21/20 08:10 PM
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If corn only isn't getting deer to come in for you the cheapest idea would be to change the feeders' location to hopefully another area where deer frequent. Is there sign of deer around where you put the feeders? The mock scrape is a good suggestion but its not gonna work if there are no deer coming by in the first place. Do you have cameras running and no deer or just don't see deer when you are there? If its the latter then it could be your behavior coming in and out that is keeping the deer away. Corn is the best cheap attractant I know of, to get them started coming I've seen success with the Big & J powder attractant. Are there a lot of pigs hitting your feeders? This can push deer away or they could be eating all the corn.... could be lots of things but typically I wouldn't say that only feeding corn is the problem.


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Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: PoppinPiggies] #7983051 09/21/20 11:42 PM
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That's a great point. If there is a heavy hog presence then it is very possible they are eating it all before the deer know it's even there.

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: Wildland Systems Consulting] #7983121 09/22/20 12:24 AM
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Originally Posted by Wildland Systems Consulting
There are several "attractants" that you could easily implement for a low cost.

1. Construct a mineral lick. This is not simply throwing a block out there and moving on. Dig a 12" deep by 2ft. wide hole. Place a loose mineral mix in the hole before adding back the dirt. Use your shovel to stir the dirt and mineral together as you fill the hole. Finally, spread a few handfuls on the surface to get their attention. This type of mineral lick can last for 6 months or greater and is really cheap. You can modify it to be built around a stump as well, giving you a reference point for remember where you placed it. Deer have been known to completely dig up such stumps.

2. Construct a mock scrape. This one is really simple and has no upkeep. Pick a tree near where you have evidence of deer passing through. Hang a 6ft. stick (should be about 1.5 inches in diameter) from the tree in such a way that the stick hangs down in an obvious way (use gloves, minimize contact). Scrape out a 2-3ft diameter circle under the hanging stick and pee into the dirt. This will become a place where deer will come to leave their own scents as a form of communication. Over time they will develop consistent routines based on this mock scrape. Some hunters have reported a mock scrape being hit by a buck as soon as 6 hours after construction.

I am a wildlife consultant who helps landowners develop wildlife management plans and improve their hunting experience. I also carry out various services in the completion of management plans. If you have any more questions or would like to talk more about improvements you can make on a budget, feel free to send me a message.

Wildland, welcome to the forum. Maybe you can teach us a thing or two. May even learn something yourself. Ill be looking for you on some of the "age and score" threads.


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Keep your gratitude higher than your expectations. RWH
Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: freerange] #7983343 09/22/20 03:20 AM
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Thank you. I hope to teach and to learn as well. I only regret I did not come across this forum sooner.

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: Wildland Systems Consulting] #7983351 09/22/20 03:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Wildland Systems Consulting
Thank you. I hope to teach and to learn as well. I only regret I did not come across this forum sooner.

welcome texas


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Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7987879 09/25/20 02:51 PM
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I do corn and Imperial clover. I do a 20'x30' area around the feeder and this does seem to help. I have seen the mock scrapes work well in the north, but not seen many try these in Texas. Being retired Navy, I have seen it all having hunted in GA, WA, Hawaii, VA, CT, and of course my home state of Texas. I also throw a few pads of Alfalfa out a week to help. Buck Jam is something I have been trying for two years now and I have mixed thoughts but hey, it does seem to help.

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: Chief Dom] #7987950 09/25/20 03:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Chief Dom
I do corn and Imperial clover. I do a 20'x30' area around the feeder and this does seem to help. I have seen the mock scrapes work well in the north, but not seen many try these in Texas. Being retired Navy, I have seen it all having hunted in GA, WA, Hawaii, VA, CT, and of course my home state of Texas. I also throw a few pads of Alfalfa out a week to help. Buck Jam is something I have been trying for two years now and I have mixed thoughts but hey, it does seem to help.



Thanks. Are you discing or just throwing the seed on the ground? I am going to try just throwing some rye and oats seed on the ground in the next couple of weeks in ETX and see what happens.

But other than that, you just use corn, no protein?

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7987956 09/25/20 03:45 PM
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Originally Posted by LanceH
Originally Posted by Chief Dom
I do corn and Imperial clover. I do a 20'x30' area around the feeder and this does seem to help. I have seen the mock scrapes work well in the north, but not seen many try these in Texas. Being retired Navy, I have seen it all having hunted in GA, WA, Hawaii, VA, CT, and of course my home state of Texas. I also throw a few pads of Alfalfa out a week to help. Buck Jam is something I have been trying for two years now and I have mixed thoughts but hey, it does seem to help.



Thanks. Are you discing or just throwing the seed on the ground? I am going to try just throwing some rye and oats seed on the ground in the next couple of weeks in ETX and see what happens.

But other than that, you just use corn, no protein?


I do not do protein just corn, throw and grow, and clover and clover will come back year after year. The throw and grow I use is lob lob, forage soy beans and cow peas. I also hunt east Texas, Leon county Oakwook, Jewett, Centerville area. And I do not disc.

Last edited by Chief Dom; 09/25/20 03:45 PM.
Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7987958 09/25/20 03:47 PM
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And I put it out the middle of September. Most say October but I like September mid to late September

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: Chief Dom] #7990959 09/28/20 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Chief Dom
And I put it out the middle of September. Most say October but I like September mid to late September

Originally Posted by Chief Dom
And I put it out the middle of September. Most say October but I like September mid to late September



Yeah, I was waiting till mid OCT cause everyone says to wait. I mowed already. I am just going to throw some seed down on top of what is already there and see what happens.

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #7997827 10/04/20 04:00 PM
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I'm just North of Tyler in thick pines. Over the years I've cleared out some pastures and created a food plot. I plant the food plot as a "just in case" thing that doesn't really accomplish too much other then give them an excuse to maybe stick around just a little longer.

I started out with a big corn feeder that threw corn all over the ground and that kind of worked, but it also brought in the hogs. the more hogs that showed up, the fewer deer that I saw.

I switched to a Redneck feeder that the deer have to eat out of instead of what's on the ground. This slowed down the hogs and I only use one 40 pound sack of corn a week now. I was using 3 times that much before.

Hogs figured out the feeder and would push against it until the got all the corn out. I put a single strand of hot wire around the food plot. It's a foot off of the ground and it's proven to be the best thing that I could have ever done. No more hogs and the deer numbers have increased.

Somebody on here recommended Black Magic. https://www.amazon.com/Evolved-Habitat-Deer-Black-Magic/dp/B000HHM7SY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=CABIHVCXXAN3&dchild=1&keywords=black+magic+deer+attractant&qid=1601826763&sprefix=black+magic%2Caps%2C319&sr=8-4

Watch the prices. $7 is normal, but sometimes it will double in price. I have 3 sitting on my shelf right now and put out a new one every other month.

Black Magic is the very best thing ever. In every set of game camera pictures, the deer go to the Black Magic first. Some deer do not eat the corn, but they do go to the Black Magic. The area where I spread it is now a foot deep and maybe 6 feet around. It was flat when I first put it out there. Holding water actually makes it more attractive to them, so this has proven to be a good thing. If I did only one thing, it would be the Black Magic!!!!!

Back when the lockdown started, a friend of mine had a lot of time on his hands and he started shooting hogs on my land. He has killed 103 so far and the difference in how many deer we see has been significant. He hunts at night with thermals. He just dumps an entire sack of corn on the ground and shows up when the game camera sends him pictures to his phone. On his best night, he has gotten 14 hogs. Most nights he gets a couple. He has shot a dozen hogs in a night a few times too. He said that he is seeing a lot more deer at night too. It's very exciting to see the change in deer activity in just the last six months!!!

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Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: EddieWalker] #8000293 10/06/20 05:12 PM
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Black Magic is the very best thing ever. In every set of game camera pictures, the deer go to the Black Magic first. Some deer do not eat the corn, but they do go to the Black Magic. The area where I spread it is now a foot deep and maybe 6 feet around. It was flat when I first put it out there. Holding water actually makes it more attractive to them, so this has proven to be a good thing. If I did only one thing, it would be the Black Magic!!!!!

So, you just pour the Black Magic on the ground straight out of the bag?

Re: Corn Only, Nothing Else??? [Re: LanceH] #8002429 10/08/20 12:15 PM
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We feed corn year round. We also put out protein starting in February and usually end it around July/august. I have recently put out some Big and J granular and noticed it has worked well. I will note though. If you have hogs they will eat the big and j before the deer ever see it.



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