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A lease without corn feeders?

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    A lease without corn feeders?

    I’ve hunted deer on deer leases over corn feeders for almost 20 years. When digital game cameras came out I started pointing them at feeders. I’ve hunted in the hill country, west Texas, north Texas and it’s all been the same.

    Fast forward to this year and I leased a place in Western Webb county. As a group, we were a little discouraged early on because the game cameras picked up the same few “feeder rats” that came in daily and none were that impressive. But after spreading corn in the senderos and hunting a few times we are seeing tons of deer that we don’t have on camera and that never go to the feeder. I was always aware that some deer avoid feeders but now I’m starting to question whether I need a corn feeder at all on this lease. Any of you South Texas guys not use corn feeders and only corn the roads? Deep South Texas hunting is new to me so please school me!

    #2
    I've never been without corn feeders, but on the place I bowhunt, my set up is over 100 yards from the feeder and I just hand corn it when I hunt. It seems like my frequency of getting busted almost got eliminated and the deer are far less nervous away from the feed pen area.

    I could see where you might have great success if your blind is set up on long roads to just have protein stations that don't get hunted and just corn the roads with a road feeder when you hunt.

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      #3
      well, we definitely are not in South Texas but I've started adding cameras this year to high traffic travel corridors and common areas where we usually see a lot of rut action. Like you, I am seeing a lot more animals that we don't see a the feeders. We also see cruisers that coming through that we never see again!

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        #4
        Regardless of location, it is my experience that mature bucks will very rarely hit a feeder. If they do, 99% of the time it is at night. I've had much better luck with hand corn. The best option is, of course, a hot doe. If that feeder keeps doe close, it is worth it to keep it running.

        For where I hunt, I could do with out feeders and be just as successful. I've never shot a buck eating corn.

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          #5
          I hunted a ranch out of Laredo that was 12,000 acres and zero feeders. We fed the roads and it worked great. We even tried to put in a feeder for a couple years and the corn piled up under it, deer were not interested. On our ranch now, we have feeders but I also have lots of spots that are handcorn only. See tons of deer at those spots too.
          Last edited by lanceodom; 12-01-2021, 10:12 AM.

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            #6
            Corn feeders are good to keep deer around year round and then doing season you can spread corn out on senderos to see other deer on camera that don’t come into feeders. Think of it this way. Some people like to hang out together and drink and eat. Some are noisy and have to try everything in sight. These are your corn rats. Then some people just sit back and watch the people while sipping on whiskey and eating their little appetizer and just kind of in back ground. These are usually your smarter people. These are your sendero deer. These are usually the bigger and more skittish deer. I’ve had GREAT LUCK with isolated bait pile using corn and rice bran to see bigger deer and deer no one else sees cause they’re staring at feeder for 3-4hrs.

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              #7
              I hunt in south texas. and have not run corn feeders for almost 10 years. We feed the roads and set cameras on trails coming and going from areas where we know them to hang out.

              We are changing it up a little as we have a new high fence around 50% of the property and will have cotton seed and protein in areas

              But we do not have any feeders running

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                #8
                Originally posted by powderburner View Post
                I hunt in south texas. and have not run corn feeders for almost 10 years. We feed the roads and set cameras on trails coming and going from areas where we know them to hang out.

                We are changing it up a little as we have a new high fence around 50% of the property and will have cotton seed and protein in areas

                But we do not have any feeders running
                It may take a bit for the deer to get in to the cottonseed but they will. Our body weights are so much better with us feeding it.

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                  #9
                  I haven't killed a mature buck under a feeder in 20 years...

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                    #10
                    It's good to keep a few feeders active for the kiddos or guests for does/management deer/javies/hogs. Hunt the big deer elsewhere.

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                      #11
                      In south Texas yes, just feed the roads. No feeders needed.

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                        #12
                        If I could make it to the lease at least three times a week and corn roads, I wouldn't need feeders, but I can only make it about once a month year around. The main reason I like feeders is it does a good job of keeping the does in your area. And we all know that if you have the does around during hunting season, you will also have the bucks.

                        Like you, it is crazy that when we corn the roads when hunting, the deer eat all that corn first and don't go to the feeder. Even though they don't have that road corn 98% of the time.

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                          #13
                          So - how often do you feed the roads? Can't be there very day. Seems I hold a lot more does with consistent feeders - the live bait I prefer to have this time of year.

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                            #14
                            I hunted a place in South Texas that had corn feeders, but the biggest bucks were generally killed corning roads.

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by PassnItOn View Post
                              So - how often do you feed the roads? Can't be there very day. Seems I hold a lot more does with consistent feeders - the live bait I prefer to have this time of year.
                              I hunt about every other weekend and I road corn a lot. Probably 50lbs per sit because I have multiple senderos to look down. I have my feeder cranked way up and it throws a lot too. There are plenty of resident doe in the area because I see them in the senderos but very rarely at the feeder, even when no bucks are at the feeder. Its almost always the same handful of bucks that eat all the feeder corn. I'm getting the impression that there are resident does herds that just live in the area regardless of the feeder.

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