General Question

OpticalFox70840

OpticalFox70840

Four Pointer
2021 will be my second season as a hunter so joining a forum brings lots of questions to mind....but I've just got one for now lol. I see a lot of hunters on here talk about putting corn out, licks, trail cams, and what have you. This is all on private land right? I know you need written permission from the state to bait on public lands so I would only assume these people are talking about private land then. And if the case is that these tools are all being used on private land, how much land is ideal to hunt and really work deer on? I plan on finding my own land someday once I'm out of school and have my life really started so I figured I'd get an answer to this question while it is still fresh in my mind.
 
Wildlifer

Wildlifer

Old Mossy Horns
Where can I write the state for some baiting permission???

yes all on private...well for most people anyway.
Ideal size of a property? Several thousand acres and a couple hundred at minimum if you really want to manage them. Otherwise just hunt what you have and be friends with your neighbors.
 
OpticalFox70840

OpticalFox70840

Four Pointer
Wildlifer said:
Where can I write the state for some baiting permission???

yes all on private...well for most people anyway.
Ideal size of a property? Several thousand acres and a couple hundred at minimum if you really want to manage them. Otherwise just hunt what you have and be friends with your neighbors.
Click to expand...
So in short, as much as I can get and manage. Thank you!

About the state, I have no idea where to contact them about baiting. I just read in the regs that you need written permission from the state to do so.
 
Wildlifer

Wildlifer

Old Mossy Horns
OpticalFox70840 said:
So in short, as much as I can get and manage. Thank you!

About the state, I have no idea where to contact them about baiting. I just read in the regs that you need written permission from the state to do so.
Click to expand...
That first part was in jest, the states not going to give anyone permission to bait on public land short of a research or depredation permit.
 
Deerherder

Deerherder

Ten Pointer
I’ll share my take on trail cameras & corn. They can be good tools for certain situations. Lots of people put out corn as a way to draw deer to a spot & a camera to get an idea of what deer are around. I personally use both sparingly since I live an hour from where I hunt.

We use corn particularly later in the season once the crops are harvested to draw or maybe more correctly said, to keep deer on or at least visiting our property. I prefer to throw out & grow a wheat/turnip/clover mix instead of corn. That way it’s there almost all year & I don’t have to cart corn all the time, which is not convenient for me.

I only use trail cameras as a scouting tool. If I am interested in seeing how often a trail is being used, I’ll put a camera up for a week or so. Then, I know if I want to set up a stand to watch that area or not. Certain places I don’t need a camera for, I know the deer use those trails year over year, so there’s no point in spreading my scent in those spots checking cameras. This can be true on private or public land.

The key to having success hunting deer or anything else isn’t the gear or the cameras or what bait mix you use. It’s all about time in the woods, learning where the deer are & when they are there. Make no mistake, cameras, corn/bait, and other tech can help with that, but it won’t make up for getting to know the property you plan to hunt. Spend as much time as you can on the land, & don’t worry too much about cameras & other stuff like that. Your feet & your eyes are the best scouting tools you have available to you.
 
Last edited:
OpticalFox70840

OpticalFox70840

Four Pointer
Deerherder said:
I’ll share my take on trail cameras & corn. They can be good tools for certain situations. Lots of people put out corn as a way to draw deer to a spot & a camera to get an idea of what deer are around. I personally use both sparingly since I live an hour from where I hunt.

We use corn particularly later in the season once the crops are harvested to draw or maybe more correctly said, to keep deer on or at least visiting our property. I prefer to throw out & grow a wheat/turnip/clover mix instead of corn. That way it’s there almost all year & I don’t have to cart corn all the time, which is not convenient for me.

I only use trail cameras as a scouting tool. If I am interested in seeing how often a trail is being used, I’ll put a camera up for a week or so. Then, I know if I want to set up a stand to watch that area or not. Certain places I don’t need a camera for, I know the deer use those trails year over year, so there’s no point in spreading my scent in those spots checking cameras. This can be true on private or public land.

The key to having success hunting deer or anything else isn’t the gear or the cameras or what bait mix you use. It’s all about time in the woods, learning where the deer are & when they are there. Make no mistake, cameras, corn/bait, and other tech can help with that, but it won’t make up for getting to know the property you plan to hunt. Spend as much time as you can on the land, & don’t worry too much about cameras & other stuff like that. Your feet & your eyes are the best scouting tools you have available to you.
Click to expand...
This was really helpful and I'll 100% keep this in mind for next season and for when I can finally find some private land to hunt on. Thank you for taking the time to write all that
 

Sp8

Ten Pointer
I use corn and camera's at my place. I enjoy checking the camera's and see whats out there when I'm not. The corn I just have a central feeding location and then my stands are set up 100ish yards away for different wind. As for how much land, you really need to look at the surrounding property and the topography of the land. My in-laws have 10 acres, 5 of it is woods that they hunt and they both killed 2 really nice bucks this year and my nephew killed a nice buck there too.
 
DBCooper

DBCooper

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
It's only my opinion, but I think you'll have better success.....if you dispense with all the baiting ideas.

Deer don't care whether you're hunting, hiking, cycling or putting out corn. Certain deer won't tolerate the intrusions.

Again...my opinion....but, the problem I think a lot run into is hunting over the bait too much. Your goal is to hunt at-ease animals. I don't think deer are at-ease, if they're pressured.

I could go on....but, my point was to just throw it out there that you might have better success if you just forget about the baiting thing. I've tried both ways. I prefer no bait.

YMMV
 

Dick

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
you don't need massive amounts of property, but the more the merrier. I hunt a piece of property that has about 80 acres, but maybe 5 are useable for hunting. The 5 that are back up to a huge swamp. Plenty of deer to be had. Not after mass, just meat.
I bait and have a cam mostly to see what's out there. I enjoy seeing the mix of animals on the property more then anything. Bait keeps them cruising through. I don't have much of an option for stand sites due to property size and other properties close by.
 
Ceehawk37

Ceehawk37

Ten Pointer
Just bought and moved onto 15 acres in SC. It’s my first time hunting a full season on private land. Took 3 deer off the property and had ample opportunity for more but the freezer was full. Here’s a couple of take aways from this past season.

1. You don’t need a ton of land, just enough land next to good habitat. My 15 acres is a long rectangle. There’s some bedding area on the property but mostly the deer are moving through it going from point A to point B. They bed on timber company land to my north and move to the ag fields to feed to the south. I just happen to be in the way. Finding a tract that juts into or borders prime habitat will up your odds on seeing de On smaller tracts it pays to identify where the deer are naturally moving through. I placed a stand and corn out on previously existing trails. This helped a ton.

2. If you are going to bait, start before season. I started baiting in July to get deer used to the corn and the stand. I think the earlier you start feeding and get your stands up, it helps normalize the deer to what’s going on. Plopping a bunch of corn out the week before season might work but you can be sure that the deer will know you’ve been in there. In my experience they will be shy to come in during daylight when you first start feeding.

3. Using cameras to determine what you have and when game comes through is helpful but limit how much and when you check those cameras. Once season got in I had the info I needed so I quit running cams until the season ended. Limiting the amount of scent around your stands will help keep deer coming in during daylight.

4. Quality of sits beats quantity of sits all the time. Only hunt when the wind is right, and have a route to and from your stand that allows you to minimize the chances of getting busted. It’s hard to stay out of an area when the temps drop but if the wind is wrong, you’ll educate the deer really quick.
 
OpticalFox70840

OpticalFox70840

Four Pointer
DBCooper said:
It's only my opinion, but I think you'll have better success.....if you dispense with all the baiting ideas.

Deer don't care whether you're hunting, hiking, cycling or putting out corn. Certain deer won't tolerate the intrusions.

Again...my opinion....but, the problem I think a lot run into is hunting over the bait too much. Your goal is to hunt at-ease animals. I don't think deer are at-ease, if they're pressured.

I could go on....but, my point was to just throw it out there that you might have better success if you just forget about the baiting thing. I've tried both ways. I prefer no bait.

YMMV
Click to expand...
I've heard a lot about this too. I didn't get a lot of time deer hunting this year, not enough to take one at least, but I saw quite a few passing by. It seemed like location and scouting helped much more. A friend of mine sat me over corn about 4 times and not once did a see a single deer.
 
Ceehawk37

Ceehawk37

Ten Pointer
OpticalFox70840 said:
Alright, so ill keep that all in mind but with number 4, what do you mean by this?
Click to expand...

Basically letting the itch to hunt a spot override the better judgement of not hunting it IF the wind is wrong for that spot. I had to learn this the hard way many years ago on public ground but it holds true for small tracts. A lot of folks will hunt when the wind isn’t favorable but all the other weather factors signal good movement (blowing steady in a direction it keeps your scent out of their nose) and they burn out spots quickly. I know guys that will go sit in a shooting house on food plots without even considering the wind, get busted a time or two, then as the season progresses they wonder why they aren’t seeing deer. The best defense a deer has is it’s nose. You can’t control the wind but you can put the odds in your favor by not hunting a place when the wind is blowing toward where you think they will come from. A mature buck likely will wind you before he gets close enough to even see your spot, same goes for a mature doe. They don’t get old by disregarding the tools nature gave them to survive. On small tracts this is especially true. Deer don’t have to move far to avoid you on a small tract of land. Best not to give them a reason to take a detour.
 

Dick

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
OpticalFox70840 said:
How come you can't put up stands with 80 acres of land??
Click to expand...
houses, road, swamp, safe shooting lanes. I'm happy with what is available. I've never paid, other then license, ect, to hunt. I've been very fortunate to have the permission to hunt a friends property. There is no shortage of deer and other wildlife to observe.
 
OpticalFox70840

OpticalFox70840

Four Pointer
Dick said:
houses, road, swamp, safe shooting lanes. I'm happy with what is available. I've never paid, other then license, ect, to hunt. I've been very fortunate to have the permission to hunt a friends property. There is no shortage of deer and other wildlife to observe.
Click to expand...
Ohhhh I see
 
pattersonj11

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I read the earlier part about the written permission from the state to bait on public land. Wouldn’t know who to contact, but a letter never hurt. All they can say is no.
 
Hunterreed

Hunterreed

Twelve Pointer
OpticalFox70840 said:
2021 will be my second season as a hunter so joining a forum brings lots of questions to mind....but I've just got one for now lol. I see a lot of hunters on here talk about putting corn out, licks, trail cams, and what have you. This is all on private land right? I know you need written permission from the state to bait on public lands so I would only assume these people are talking about private land then. And if the case is that these tools are all being used on private land, how much land is ideal to hunt and really work deer on? I plan on finding my own land someday once I'm out of school and have my life really started so I figured I'd get an answer to this question while it is still fresh in my mind.
Click to expand...
If you haven't already plan on hunting during archery seasons,deer are in a more predictable pattern in September and you can take advantage of hunting when the acorns first drop. Easy to find white oak stands and see fresh rubs within days of them being made right in where they are feeding. Plus if you can find private property to bait deer really eat some corn late summer into early season before hard mast falls
 
OpticalFox70840

OpticalFox70840

Four Pointer
Hunterreed said:
If you haven't already plan on hunting during archery seasons,deer are in a more predictable pattern in September and you can take advantage of hunting when the acorns first drop. Easy to find white oak stands and see fresh rubs within days of them being made right in where they are feeding. Plus if you can find private property to bait deer really eat some corn late summer into early season before hard mast falls
Click to expand...
I have actually recently bought a hunting bow from a friend of mine so I plan on doing that this season. Are the rules any different than firearm season? Also, what is an oak stand? Just an area with a lot of oaks?
 
Hunterreed

Hunterreed

Twelve Pointer
OpticalFox70840 said:
I have actually recently bought a hunting bow from a friend of mine so I plan on doing that this season. Are the rules any different than firearm season? Also, what is an oak stand? Just an area with a lot of oaks?
Click to expand...
Yes the best oak stands of white oak trees will be small patches of oaks surrounded by larger areas of pines or thickets and clear cuts. It will concentrate deer movement to a few acres instead of having 100 acres of oak trees to figure out where to place a stand. Plus baiting around oak trees is more natural place for them to find the bait because they are already feeding there.
 

pinkfletch

Ten Pointer
While you can't bait on public land, I have had good luck "improving the area" with 10-10-10 fertilizer when I find an area that the deer like to brows thru on a regular trail. If you can find some Arrowroot vine, cat briars, wild grapes(yes they are out there) honeysuckle, or pretty much whatever the local deer are eating. Fertilizing a "secret" white oak early in the spring will will also bring the deer to that tree more than the others in the fall. Deer have the ability to smell out the most nutritious food in their habitat, they don't go to farm fields for the crop as much as for the nutrients the farmer puts in the ground for the crop. Here in the east I have seen deer feasting heavily on cotton leaves, rather than in the woods, when there were no other crops readily available.
 
OpticalFox70840

OpticalFox70840

Four Pointer
Hunterreed said:
If you haven't already plan on hunting during archery seasons,deer are in a more predictable pattern in September and you can take advantage of hunting when the acorns first drop.
Click to expand...
Yesterday, I was looking over all the advice people have givin me and this caught my eye. What pattern is typical for September?
 
Deep River

Deep River

Ten Pointer
Contributor
OpticalFox70840 said:
Yesterday, I was looking over all the advice people have givin me and this caught my eye. What pattern is typical for September?
Click to expand...
I think he may be saying that what you observe thru scouting in late August and the first week of September will last for the first one to two weeks of archery season.
 
OpticalFox70840

OpticalFox70840

Four Pointer
Deep River said:
I think he may be saying that what you observe thru scouting in late August and the first week of September will last for the first one to two weeks of archery season.
Click to expand...
Ah okay. So there's no set pattern its really just based on observations I am making throughout the year
 
pcbuckhunter

pcbuckhunter

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
This is my take on corn/ minerals/ trail cameras. If you’re not using them wisely, you’re better off not using them at all.

I personally don’t use any of the three, I have in the past, but no longer have any interest in using them.

If you’re going in every week to check cameras, or pour out corn, you’re risking scenting the place up more than necessary. You have to approach those things just like you would hunting. Play the wind. You’re NOT going to beat a deer’s nose.

My best advice is to be super aware of your hunting property and what’s going on with it.
Deer change their patterns throughout the season, and you should too. Food sources change, hunting pressure increases, buck shed their velvet, does come into heat, weather patterns change, etc.

Learn as much as you can about your quarry, and apply that to your hunting ground. Buy a topo map of your property, get an Onx subscription, whatever you like, but take a look at your property from ABOVE. You will see things that you might never see at eye level.

Make notes, keep a journal. Write down where and when you see deer, weather conditions, as much information as you possibly can. Then look back and study your notes and look for patterns.
 
Hunterreed

Hunterreed

Twelve Pointer
OpticalFox70840 said:
Yesterday, I was looking over all the advice people have givin me and this caught my eye. What pattern is typical for September?
Click to expand...
The summer pattern that is usually based on food. Vegetation will be main food sources throughout summer that makes them easier to hunt early September. Then a lot of things start to change like acorns start to fall,bucks shed velvet and things will change in less than a week or two. The best time to get deer to eat corn is over the summer when most of what they eat is green. Also a good chance to hunt over mineral luck or salt before all green forage is dried up. I have hunted soybean fields where every day 12 to 20 deer would feed for the last hour of the day like clockwork and have a windy day to drop acorns and not see a deer eat soybeans for over a week after . It changes overnight
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top