All My Money, Going to Corn

[TheDeerKing]

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[East Texas Droptine]

$10.00 is a lot for a single bag of corn.....down here it is about $6.00 a bag. Could always try to grow you own in the backyard!

[Hunting Man]

If you are using corn for baiting there are probably cheaper things to use. If it is for nutrition corn is not very good compared to clover/alfalfa/bagged supplements. If memory serves me corn is like 8-9% protien. Some of the new crop stuff is 30-38%. Maybe more antler for your money. The bag powder supplements once leached into the ground may give you longer attraction pull for the money. With all the midwest flooding and ethenol use corn prices will continuse to rise.

in for a penny, in for a pound. It's all in degrees i guess. personally if i'm going to put something out i want to put out something thats good for them and anything thats good for them is going to have an effect on antler growth.

[Hunting Man]

Well said ronn! For the record I plant food plots but i don't hunt over them nor no I bait deer. I am for improving the habitat and the nutritional availability for all wildlife especially in a poor nutritional area. I enjoy running the tractor and planting crops. It gets me out of Ohio and gives me a hobby. If the animals benifit great! HM

[SharpShooterRob]

Turn down your timer for starts. Second, pellets are cheaper, but find some the deer will actually eat. I bought 2 Feeder Helpers last season that seems to save me money. It has a valve to turn off the corn so you don’t waste any feed, ever, or cut off the corn if you’re not going to hunt it in the near future, you can even save corn if wanting to move your feeder. They’ve helped me more than once.

cracked corn was $12.00 here and the deer feed was only a buck or so more. I found out that deer feed is calf starter. its that sweet, pellet, crack corn, oats mix. I'm not sure of what all is in it but it looks good and the deer do like it. Comes from AGWAY.

[onehorse]

No offense, guys, but all this talk about baiting deer sounds a little strange to me. I accept the reality that there are different ways of hunting from one area to another, but the question keeps coming into my mind: Is that really hunting? I like Hunting Man's idea of trying to help the deer where the existing natural feed might not be that nutritious, but as for actually putting corn, etc. out for the sole purpose of attracting them into your sights is something I just don't get. Again, don't get me wrong, if that's the style of hunting where you live, I'm not saying you should change your traditions or that there's anything unethical about it - but I just don't think it's for me. Maybe I'm just lucky to live in a place where that just isn't necessary, and maybe if I were living where you guys live, I'd have a whole different outlook on the subject.

not to get into any big scrap or anything.....but to me its no different than hunting a soybean or alfalfa field and the trails running to and fro, or in the west man made water tanks. none of which are there by nature. I totally understand nutrition plots and if I had the place to do so I'd devote 100% of my land to it, but still it makes the deer's pattern more predictable. Much like knowing where that rare stand of White Oaks is or the apple orchard. That's why, in for a penny in for a pound. if you are using any of these things at all you might as well use all of it. it's like being a little bit pregnant. just the way i see it right, wrong, or indifferent.

[BruceBruce1959]

I'm thinking along the same lines as onehorse, I dont think feeding any wildlife is a good idea. I further think that planting a food plot is a little different than throwing out corn cobs or grain pellets or even salt/mineral licks to feed/lure deer into an area.
Here in Vermont a hunter doesnt even want to THINK about feeding deer with anything other than naturally growing crop and that's the bottom line.


Vermont Feeding/Baiting laws are as follows... and OH do they enforce them..

Feeding/Baiting of deer:
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Q: I have always brought in cider mash, apples, carrots, and hay to feed the deer, particularly in winter. Can I still do this?
A: No. The feeding of deer is illegal year round. If you wish to help the deer and their nutritional needs, plan ahead and plant food plots for them. Food plots are legal and encouraged for the health of the deer herd. You can also cut trees and shrubs to leave the tops for forage.
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Q: Baiting deer is illegal, but can I take wild apples from a tree that produces and place them under a tree where I am hunting?
A: No. Baiting is defined as the placing of any animal, vegetable or mineral matter that has the effect of enticing an animal to a certain location. If the apples occur naturally, you haven’t placed them there, and they are legal to hunt over.
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Q: Can I put out food for other wildlife and then shoot deer that come to it?
A: No. It is illegal to take any wild animal by using bait during any deer hunting season.
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Q: What about scents and lures? Can I use these products?
A: A scent or lure is legal, provided it is not placed or used in such a way that deer can eat or lick it.
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Q: Is it legal to plant a wildlife food plot for deer?
A: Yes. Cultivating and planting of wildlife food plots for deer is legal.
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Q: Can I shoot deer that come in to a wildlife food plot?
A: Yes. It is legal to shoot deer at a wildlife food plot.