To each their own, but I feel like nobody kills big deer anymore, unless they're hunting over a big pile of corn.(I've gathered a lot more respect for people that kill big deer every year without setting up shop over corn piles. I even tend to be more happy for people that killed a 120 v 160 if they do it the right way) I spend a lot of time hanging out at the bow shop on my day's off. Always chatting with people that come in, and I swear 98% of the people are running giant corn piles. I don't mind people that will do some, or even late season to fill the freezer...It's gotten so bad anymore it's hard to be happy for half these people that kill big deer and brag like they're some great hunters. I've seen hundreds of giant bucks, everyone loves to show me and they all have a giant corn pile underneath them. Even have people that come in here showing off their corn piles to each other like it's a competition on who put more corn out. It's these same people that won't even attempt to hunt because they tell me all of their corn is gone so it's not worth them wasting time in the stand. It's made everyone so lazy as hunter's they don't want to put any effort into it. I mean the one guy, didn't want to buy these pair of boots because he had to tie them.. Granted, I'm not a good hunter, I don't kill giants. I shot an okay 130" buck this year, and it made me so much more happier that I killed him, by doing my homework and not relying on a giant corn pile to bring him to the tree I wanted.
There's some dude on here named "buckeye" (or something like that) who had a thread last year, searching for tips from the bait crowd. He found quite a few master baiters hanging around here. Really good stuff!! And I think most of them also used xbows too. He once believed in actual bow hunting, but I heard he has since changed his strategy, and you would probably be wise to do the same. I mean.. if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! We should maybe even petition to change the name of this forum to xbowmasterbaiting.com. Sent from my SM-N915V using Tapatalk
It's ironic as hell, I was just today thinking about this very subject because of the resurrection of the "Master Baiter" thread. Where I hunt here in Pa, it's a good day if I see three deer, or maybe even a buck. This Nov (10-14) I went to Ohio for the first time, hunting on private property over corn piles. I saw 26 deer on my first sit! I don't see 26 deer in 2 hunting seasons here in Pa!!! I have to admit it was as exciting a hunt as I've ever been on. Every 10 or 15 mins there was at least one deer coming in to get his/her eat on. It was like that most days. I was letting bucks walk that I wouldn't have thought twice about at home. I mean bucks very close to P&Y, but I wanted to shoot one where there was no question about it. I did see those kind of bucks, but didn't bring one home. As I sat thoroughly enjoying all of the activity, I wondered how much different is it, me sitting over a corn pile, than me sitting under a white oak dropping acorns back home? As far as the attractant aspect goes, there is no difference, but one is provided by Mother Nature and the other put there by man. For some reason in my mind I believe the acorns are somehow more "acceptable". I guess it's the fact the deer could feed under any number of different oaks in my hunting area, where as with corn they are being brought to a specific spot. One thing I learned very quickly, was those deer are no easier to kill over bait than they are feeding naturally through the woods. I thought they would be preoccupied while on a bait pile, but it's quite the opposite!! They KNOW that corn was put there by humans and they are ALWAYS on alert at these piles. The fellow who I hunted with told me if the deer aren't coming to your corn pile they are going to someone else's corn pile. He told me EVERYBODY puts corn out here in Ohio. So, I think even though one would prefer not to hunt over corn (me), Ohio deer are so accustomed to having corn available at these piles that they don't follow "normal" deer behavior patterns, leaving not much choice on how to hunt them. I need to mention the young man who hosted me has a wall full of HUGE bucks that I've only seen the likes of when I was in Alberta.
Out to dinner with these three corn hole master baiters... Francis, Josh/Oh and Ewing. Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
That's true about Ohio, found a bunch of corn in the buck I shot this year, came from someone's corn pile. When I first started I shot some deer over corn, and just don't feel that great about it. Feel more sense of reward now, even though it's led to more frustrating hunts.
I can assure you not everyone in Ohio hunt over corn piles, never have one time in my life. However, in my experiences the vast majority here do.
I've noticed in southern Ohio which I never hunt over corn, and some of guys got permission to hunt it and they had started putting corn out in one of the spots I sit. I watched a lot of the does and small, but a lot of the bucks would skirt around the corn like they knew it wasn't supposed to be there. Up north here, it's like every deer comes running in like a dinner bell was rung.
Glad to see you reply to a post that doesn't have to do with Lone Wolf. Haha just kidding buddy. You are 100 percent correct though. All of these corn piles ruin the natural deer movement and creates nocturnal monsters that aren't even fun to hunt after a while. As for the oak trees, I don't see it the same as corn at all. For us non baiters, acorns rule the world. Half of the corn pile guys couldnt point out an oak tree if they were sitting in one. I hunt Ohio and Pennsylvania as well and it's definitely a different world in Pennsylvania.
Corn vs acorns isn't a good comparison unless you're hunting over the lone oak dropping acorns. When you have hundreds of oaks dropping acorns, you can only guess at what the deer will do. As far as my opinions on baiting? Well as long as it is legal. I don't like it, I don't like people dog running deer either, but if it is legal and they enjoy it then so be it. I try not to worry about what other people are doing, Im too busy planning my own season. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
Here when acorns drop, deer leave the feeders cold. I don't "bait" deer to hunt over the grain (not just corn), we feed year around as part of the management plan. We are phasing the feeders out this year though, if 100 acres of food plots and 700 acres of crop/cover crop isn't enough then screw it. We hope the feeders here will alter deer habit, we want to keep all the deer we can on the property through the hunting seasons. They're safer on the ranch than on the neighbors. That's going to remain the goal whether we have feeders or 100+ acres of food plot and enhanced habitat.
I'm not against it. It's terrible how much people rely on it to hunt, and how lazy it has made the majority. Then you get people that shoot big deer, over corn every year that are looked at like great hunters.
No baiting allowed on the public lands I hunt in KY. But on the private land all around the public they're baiting. Cores will shift to the edges during the winter, summer, early fall, then the nearest oaks when they start to drop. A few of my best public honey holes are near private because the farming, baiting and food plotting offers variety and diversity to draw the in deer. I'm far enough away on the public, that I can catch them on there feet in daylight. I have a good friend who has killed several giant's with corn piles. He creates funnels just off bedding, then creates staging area's with corn just off bean field's. He then hunts the funnels. He works as hard as I or anyone I've ever known for the deer he kills.
The term "great hunter" is highly subjective. I've always maintained that anyone that can manage to kill a deer with a pair of sticks and a string has made quite an accomplishment. You have to be there when the deer is, manage to defeat the deer's senses, manage your nerves, your equipment, trajectory and accurately know/predict the deer's biology/organ placement. Considering that, a bow kill, over corn or otherwise, seems to me like quite an accomplishment. It's pretty arguable also that man, with all his superiority, ingenuity, technology...isn't accomplishing a thing by killing a more simple minded animal. So like I said it's pretty subjective.
I live and hunt in north Texas and deer up here hardly ever come to corn. If someone puts a feeder up down here 99% of the time the only thing it attracts is hogs and a lot of them which drives the deer out. Hell where I hunt the deer don’t even come to our 3 acre food plot. We have better luck setting up deep in the woods around a tree that’s dropped a bunch of acorns Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
