Feeders?

[152 Sumo]

Am I going to have a hard time hunting in TX if I don't want to hunt feeders? It seems like everything I see on TBH is feeder hunting. Don't get me wrong, I am not against it. As long as it is legal, I don't have a problem. I just don't want to do it. Any thoughts?

[Rotag]

think of a feeder as a food source you can hunt a feeder without sitting right at it. Even with feeders on a pice of property you can still patteren deer trails and food sources. travel routes and funnels. We all hunt either a beeding area or a food source you are either trying to catch them comming or going.

[Cropduster]

Hunt any way you like. There are no rules as to how you hunt. If it turns you on then go for it. Just as long as it is legal. I only hunt about half of the time over feeders, the rest of the time it is spot and stalk. I like both methods. As I get older I tend to spend more time sitting and take more deer on trails rather than spotting and stalking. Age does tend to slow us down and make us less able to hunt in ways that we once did.

[152 Sumo]

think of a feeder as a food source you can hunt a feeder without sitting right at it. Even with feeders on a pice of property you can still patteren deer trails and food sources. travel routes and funnels. We all hunt either a beeding area or a food source you are either trying to catch them comming or going.

Good point. The food source part isn't what I don't like. It's the timed food source that I don't like. It's like having an oak tree that you know exactly when the acorns are going to drop, set up 1/2 hour before, and you have your animal.

[Draco]

As Rotag said, you don't have to sit right over a feeder. In fact I don't think you should and we don't. We might hunt kind of close but we don't hunt right on them. That way if you spook a big buck you havn't screwed it up at that feeder but some place over there. He will still come to it but will probably use a different route.

On small pieces of property a feeder can keep the deer in your pasture more. Remember the deer didn't drop out of the sky right at the feeder. It had to come from some where and it's going to go some where. That's where you hunt. You don't want the feeder putting out so much corn that they stay there all morning or evening. It just gives you a place that you know deer will be at during feeding periods. You should learn where they approach from and where they go afterwards. You are right, it does give you an edge. But if you hunt smaller acreage and have just so much country to hunt then that is an edge you will need. Just my thoughts about how my friends and I hunt on several small places that we hunt.

[152 Sumo]

I guess it is just strange to me because I have only hunted in OH were baiting is illegal (I think). We had small properties to hunt on as well. Where I lived, we hunted tiny patches of woods that were private. We just had to hope that the deer were there when we were. They come and go. Hopefully you put enough time in the woods that you would be in the right spot at the right time.

It will probably take me a long time to be successful. But I want to scout the woods, find a natural food source, find the bedding areas, etc. and try to set up or still hunt somewhere in between. I guess I am a little old fashioned.

[Rotag]

My point was to fined a place to hunt. That was on atrail to a feeding or Bedding area

[M.E.B.]

Hello 152 Sumo.

I have watched videos and read several books and from what I see Texas hunting is a bit different than a lot of other states.

Take the Hill Country. Main food source during the deer season is acorns. 99% of the trees are oak trees. It is not like the books that I have read that say go find a group of oaks and set up near them. The ENTIRE ranch is nothing but OAK TREES.

You will find a few funnels that the deer use on a regular basis but as far as trails that the deer stay on good luck. They graise throughout the woods at their lesisure then plop their butts down whereever they are when their bellies are full.

I have seen pictures and traveled through farm areas in other states and seen how patch worked it is with wood lots and crops. I would imagine the deer travel between the crops and woods for food and cover and you can set up on them coming and going.

I have hunted hundreds of acres here that are nothing but a few open pastures and oaks by the thousands. Nothing to keep a deer at a set pattern.

Not trying to make excuses or saying it is impossilbe to hunt without a feeder but things are a bit different here than what I read and see on TV in other places.

Another thing is a lot of us travel 4-8 hours to our lease. It is not a 30 minute drive from the house to pattern the deer before the season.

I don't particlairly like feeder hunting myself. It is costly. It is a lot of work. The deer are nervous. And it is not the cake walk that many believe it to be.

If it is only the timed aspect of the feeder that bothers you can set up a gravity feeder that the deer can eat from at any time. It will be more costly and you may drive hours only to find it empty.

While not feeder related another problem that we face that I constantly read about and see on TV is if a hit is questionable they leave the deer to lay over night. Down here there are not many nights during a season that you will have that option. Between the heat and the coyotes you have to track the deer that night. I believe we have a higher wounding loss because of it.

Each state has its differences and most of the time there is a reason behind them. Good luck and let us know if you are successful. Take care. Mike.

[glen]

I have hunted the MidWest (Illinois- Kansas) and the deer are alot easier to pattern tan Texas Deer. You will have a food source that they are hot on whether it be soybeans, corn, or clover. We just hunted the trails coming into whatever food source they are hot on and it was easy to tell what they were eating.
Texas - if you can find a white oak that is loaded hunt it. Food plots are good but very hard to keep up with. Feeders are no different than a field in the Mid West. I hunt hand corned areas more than feeders.

[duck'n]

The only thing I will add is that if you are hunting in the southern part of the state, it can be real tricky to spot and stalk in the brush. I know most of the areas I hunt are all but impenetrable (sp?) so we hunt the senderos. In order to get deer into the senderos, we throw some corn MOST of the time. I have also tried spot and stalk around pasture edges and stock tanks, mostly for hogs, and had some success. I will also say that feeding is no guarantee. Like mentioned above, the deer are usually nervous when standing in a sendero eating corn...at least if they have ever been hunted before. Good luck on whatever you decide!

[152 Sumo]

I have a better understanding of it now. Between the terrain, foliage, heat, coyotes, and everything else, it makes more sense to me now. I thought it was just a convenient way to know exactly where and when the deer/hogs will be feeding. I still have to become a better shot with my recurve before I hunt anyway. I don't know if that will be in time for deer season or not. Thanks for all the opinions and info.

[Bisch]

152 Sumo, as was stated above, feeders are no guarantee. I have sat hunting at a feeder many times and seen very few or no animals. As far as being able to hunt by deer season goes, you can do it. Try to shoot every day, even if just 10-20 shots. Quit shooting when you get tired. Bad practice does you no good. You will be surprised at how fast you can get god enough at 10-15 yde ( which is the distance of most of my hunting shots anyway). When you do go hunt, make sure you only take shots that are in the range that you feel confident at. Confidence is a big part of trad shooting. If you think you are going to mess up a shot there is a good chance that is what will happen.
Anyway, good luck with it and hope it works out for you, This trad thing is great fun for me.

Bisch

[Smart]

I have a better understanding of it now. Between the terrain, foliage, heat, coyotes, and everything else, it makes more sense to me now. I thought it was just a convenient way to know exactly where and when the deer/hogs will be feeding. I still have to become a better shot with my recurve before I hunt anyway. I don't know if that will be in time for deer season or not. Thanks for all the opinions and info.

What I wouldn't give to have every person from the North as understandable as you.

From a Texan that has had several discussions with northern boys, I appreciate your open mind and willingness to listen to the reasoning.

Good luck.

[152 Sumo]

What I wouldn't give to have every person from the North as understandable as you.

From a Texan that has had several discussions with northern boys, I appreciate your open mind and willingness to listen to the reasoning.

Good luck.

Thanks for the compliment. I think my open mind comes from seeing a lot. I grew up in Arizona, lived in Ohio for a few years, then went all over the place in the Marine Corps. It is easy to judge someone if you don't understand. A little harder to think with an open mind and try to put yourself in someone elses shoes, or boots

[jreyna920]

you know deer for the most part still have routines.... they bed and feed and travel for the most part the same until something interupts that.... i have 8 trail cameras that i use alot to pattern deer.... i have been more succesful hunting over trails the feeders.... plus deer are much more relaxed if there not approaching a feeder. hunting trails or funnels is the only way to go in my book....