My neighbor told me he didn't see any deer except the ones on my side of the rusty old fence this year. I feed year round and he starts in September maybe. I did add an extra protein feeder that the deer love to hang around. The buck I took was never on any of my cameras set on 20 acres. He just showed up one day during the rut and I couldn't resist.

My “ridiculous” thread was simply questioning if others think too much emphasis is placed on feeders. Some of you guys are pretty touchy on this subject. But I don’t really appreciate being called “stupid.” I’ve hunted deer longer than many of you have been alive, and feeders are a relatively new trend. I know it’s widespread in Texas (certainly more than any other state) but it’s not common everywhere, nor legal. My opinion (and I respect the right for each of you to have one) is that I wish it wasn’t allowed by the Wildlife Department in my state. It only became legal here 4 years ago. I choose not too, but like many, have done it too. Frankly, I got tired of buying corn and feeding raccoons and turkeys. But I work countless hours improving the habitat on my property, by planting trees, agricultural fields, etc. And I’m not “jealous” of others who tend their feeders. But there’s no doubt it affects deer movement, or people wouldn’t do it. Does it guarantee that you’ll kill a monster buck? Of course not. But does it draw deer to the feeding site? Absolutely it does. Who can deny that? Of course, the same could be said of my plantings, but I prefer enhancing the habitat to bait, and I think it’s healthier for the deer herd.

But I don’t understand your logic. You’re saying if feeders or baiting was made illegal, the deer population would increase by “five times”? Can you explain how that would be?

Forums are for having mature discussions. Maybe I’ll learn something, or maybe you will. Nothing I’ve said was meant to be confrontational, or criticizing others for their actions. I simply expressed my opinion and ask what others thought. And I don’t think anything I’ve said is stupid or ridiculous. I think my points are valid, and I know feeding deer corn and supplements is here to stay.

I hunt over corn feeders sometimes, and sometimes just in areas known to have deer movement. If we compare that to how I hunted decades ago, I hunted on the edges of bean fields - soybeans - and sometimes just in areas known to have deer movement. Not much of a change, except corn replaced planted soybeans.

I started hunting deer in the mid 60's when I in grade school and we fed corn out of coke wooden boxes or 320z soft drink bottles or hand corn. We then had hanging wind feeders in the late 60's to early 70's. I had a friend build me my very first corn timed feeder when I provided him with a 24/7 oilfield battery operated dial type clock. We made our first spin feeder then bought new ones that were solar eye type after that and have one or more out since then. Texas has a very long deer season and liberal bag limits due to a huge population of deer. If we could not bait or use feeders the population would boom and bust in cycles depending on weather. Feeders and deer blinds allow hunters to take more deer off of an already stressed habitat. Most of the regions in the state are over CC. Herd management decisions on which and what type of deer are based off of trail cam info from feeders. Then you know where to go to remove those deer. Same can be done on food plots or at water sources. Feeders, habitat enhancement, supplementation, etc are all a part of deer management program on the vast majority of ranches around the state. Owned or leased land all fall into that category.

Thanks for your reply. I’ve hunted deer in Texas 3 times. (And many other states). It’s definitely far different habitat than anywhere else I’ve hunted. And no doubt feeders do all you say. We don’t have the weather extremes in SC, so our deer population is pretty steady. And for sure, feeders allow you to get photos and gather info. So I understand supplemental feeding in Texas is huge.

What do you think would happen to the deer population in Texas if supplemental feeding (corn and protein pellets) stopped?Do you think the population depends on it? I’m just curious.

SC is different. I don’t see feeding used so much as managing the herd, but more a way to make it easier to hunt. And to take photos. We just don’t have huge ranches to manage. Most guys I know hunt small tracts or even public land. So understand what I see of guys who use feeders here, they don’t do squat to enhance or develop the herd. They just want to put up a stand over the feeder and pop a deer that is stupid enough to show up in daylight.

I’ll say Texas is an amazing place. First time I hunted there near Throckmorton, I couldn’t believe the wildlife in a place that looked so desolate. I saw so many deer and other game. Plus the people I met were super nice. That’s why this SC guy is on this Texas forum. You guys live in a hunting Mecca.

No the population does not depend on any supplemental feed or corn. The do use any and all feeders when they need them. If they are dependent on those feeders then that property has way to many deer for the habitat to start with. Many ranchers or leases use feeder year round now but the vast majority who feed it do not feed it year round nor do they do it properly. The major issue with Texas now is the vast size of the state and the sheer amount of deer. Texas has 254 counties....252 have whitetail deer and the population is now 5.3 million deer. If hunters did not bait/ feed the population would be even more difficult to control. Statewide we do not take enough deer off every year. Road kill by vehicles can attest to that. Antler Restrictions have helped buck numbers grow but also doe numbers in many areas. Buck quality in almost every region of the state is really good. Hunters like seeing deer and are reluctant to kill a doe or enough does. I was told by Dr. James Kroll that in some research they did back 30 yrs ago, that if a hunter did not see 7 deer per sit ......they felt it was not a successful hunt. Hunters want to see deer, so they have helped the population grow. Less does in the herd does not mean less fawns are born...it can mean more fawns survive. Being that Texas is huge in size and almost all private land, the landowners care about the wildlife on their land. It is a renewable resource that has value. Many landowners want and encourage hunters or even require hunters to manage and/or supplement when they lease. It means more money for the landowner when he leases due to heathier, older and larger deer on the ranch. Hunting in Texas not really a hobby but a lifestyle. Many from out of state view Texas landscape and hunting from what they have seen in movies, in print or on TV hunting shows. Many view Texas flat, arid desolate land and all of it being HF with only bred and released deer. If they ever come to Texas they will find it much different than what they have perceived it to be.

Feeders are ( and have been ) so widespread here in Texas that there are vastly more properties hunted that use them, than do not. Even ranches that do not have alot of spin feeders still spread corn by using tailgate or road feeders.

Its more of a foreign concept in many other areas ( and very well may be less effective ) plus you have to factor in issues like potential CWD spread in areas like michigan and ohio where they herd up in the winter time. There, food plots are more common.

IMO it affects deer movement to the same degree as a productive food plot or heavy acorn producing oak tree would. Here in central texas movement at a feeder becomes very slow when the acorns are dropping. A big oat or wheat field will also pull deer in from miles around.

We also have a very unique terrain here in Texas that is unlike other areas of the country. If you took away feeding, it would be very hard to hunt the brush country of south texas or the western edwards plateau around Ozona.

For whitetail, blind and feeder combination is not my preferred way to hunt and would much rather hunt a open food plot or heavy used trail, but to aschew feeders completely would mean I would get very few opportunities on the majority of the places I hunt.

Aside from rattling, majority of whitetail deer hunting is an ambush type of situation…..your either watching a feeder, watching a trail, watching a field, etc. the type of terrain most of them live in and their nature isn’t very conducive to spot and stalk type hunting.

No the deer population in Texas do not depend on supplemental feed. We don’t have harsh winters like mid west which actually does depend on supplementation through Agriculture to help with winter survival and carrying capacity

High density deer areas in Texas typically just mean lighter body weights.


Essentially if you want to play this game you need to have a better understanding of ecology specifically whitetail deer

BDB nailed it. Bam. Done.

I wasn't representing that our deer in TX depend on supplemental feed. I was stating an obvious fact that thousands of deer are killed over/near feeders every year here, and if that stopped there would be more deer survive. Do that over several years and you have a population much higher than it is now, and the habitat will reflect that.

Three different properties with different deer density. Sure deer are everywhere but densities are not the same. You can't take a deer where there are no deer. Each place has different rules but the goals are the same. Hunting over bait is sometime necessary to keep things in check. Educating hunters on management is more important than stopping baiting.

Robertson County before feeding program


Robertson County after feeding program



Zavala County


Webb County

Amen. It does have a familiar smell to it though.

I honestly don't think feeders affect deer movement all that much. For example, I have two feeders 1200 yards apart. Each feeder has its own group of deer that frequent it. Out of 15-20 different bucks, only 2-3 show up at both feeders on camera. This was true even after one feeder was intentionally left unfilled.

Deer have a home range and outside the rut pretty much stay in it. Now, if that home range overlaps your place and mine, can I pull him over the fence to a feeder? Yes, but he can also go back just as easily and will, especially during the rut. Deer work their area, you can't guarantee which place he'll be on at any given time.

And for the record, anything more than buck-naked and bare-handed is an advantage. Hunt any legal way you want and remember we're all on the same team.

No, feeders is bad, bad, bad. inherently, they provide an unfair advantage which is not worthwhile. In addition, they sully the hunting experience for the ignorant ones out there who do not truly know how to hunt the right way. if a hunt is not successful and someone close by has a feeder, then the fault all lies on them. Can't be on the poor ethically minder hunter in his failed attempts at securing venison the correct way.

Unless it's a woman, I do not want to think about this. And young. A young woman. And slim. I forgot slim.

Now...what about water? There's a drill rig going to my place tomorrow to punch a hole on the south side of the ranch. From what I can tell off of 2016 photos on Google Earth, there's not a lot of surface water in that area. And, even though I'm fighting it, I know that there'll be a feeder (and blind) not far from there. Maybe the old fart that built a blind on the other place, not too far away, will like me at least.

yes, everybody wants you.

I can not remember a time when I have killed a buck at a feeder on this place. Only thing I shot that was at the feeder was that polka dotted pig. The does I shot, and the spike, were 60 to 250 yards from the feeder.

My theory, which is worth all you paid for it, is that feeders cause favorable movement patterns (favorable to me, I admit). Feeders bring rabbits, coons, and squirrels. They, in turn, bring coyotes, foxes, hawks, owls, and bobcats (none of which I shoot these days). And the deer and pigs come to the corn. The does attract the bucks. A good feeder has it’s own little ecosystem. Without a feeder, all you have is to hunt movement areas. Nothing wrong with that, but I like watching the wildlife.

When I was a kid, the family called me “the Mad Butcher” for all the deer I shot. I’m past that now, being more like Brother Jimmy Swaggert now. I like to watch…

Apologies to the Swaggert fans…

Guess it's against the rules and poor morals to look for companionship at the happy hour buffet at Wrinkles.

That would be an old folks feeder?

He's drinking more than I am. Pay no attention to him.

Heck, I’m drinking too. White wine. Most of a bottle so far, though that only puts me on the front edge of drunk texting.

You were on the OT section saying there was no problem fetching dogs off of someone else's property without permission, in your opinion, but you weren't trying to stir anything up.

Sure does sound to me like you're trying to stir things up...

Charlie