A few years ago, I bought property and wanted to get a quick inventory of bucks before hunting season opened. I dumped corn on the ground and started getting hundreds of pictures per week. I eventually bought a gravity feeder for a few different reasons. Both have their pros and cons.
Corn Pile Pros
Deer love a big delicious pile of golden corn randomly dropped in their home turf. It doesn’t take long for them to find it once you dump a 50lb bag or two on the ground. I would simply set up a trail camera about 20 feet away from where I wanted to establish the corn pile. The deer were never spooked by the corn or the camera. They rarely even glanced at the camera since they were so focused on the corn. I was always impressed how many days in a row deer would come into a corn pile. Patterning them was fairly easy, especially late summer coming into the piles.
Corn Pile Cons
While I did enjoy the numerous deer that would come into the piles, I didn’t enjoy the ridiculous number of raccoons that came in. I have several trail camera pictures of 14+ raccoons on a pile. It usually took them a night or two to find it, but once they did, they would sit on it all night and destroy it. It was normal for 100lbs of corn to only last maybe 3 days after the coon found it. Having said that, I had to replenish the corn piles if I wanted more pictures. That caused me to have to go to the property more often than I would have liked. Luckily I use Spartan Cell Camera so I can monitor the status of the pile before I go out to replenish the corn.
One more downfall of using a corn pile is rain. For a few weeks, it seemed like it rained within hours of me dumping a bag of corn even if the forecast wasn’t calling for rain. My property is bad for flooding so a hard rain could overflow the river and my deer food turns into fish food. I noticed that deer tended to not enjoy wet sloppy corn, but the coon loved it if there was any left.
Deer Feeder Pros
After throwing thousands of pounds of corn on the ground for a few years, I decided to get a feeder. I didn’t mess around and bought the Redneck Blinds Feeder that holds 750lbs of corn similar to this Texas Hunter Feeder. There are plenty out there that hold less and are much cheaper. I wanted to be able to go out to my property as little as possible so I went with the big one. My favorite thing about the feeder is that I can fill it up and it will last months and months. It has a four way feeding tube so multiple deer can feed from it at once. The height of the tubes are adjustable as well.
Keeping the corn out of the weather is another great thing about a feeder. The lid is secured by a strap that doesn’t let any rain or snow in. I went one step further and put a 20lb rock on top of it just for good measure.
At first, raccoons were climbing the legs of the feeder and eating out of the tubes. I fixed that by putting 3.5 inch pvc tubing over the legs. This keeps me from feeding the coon like I did when I dumped the corn on the ground. Squirrels make their way up on the tubes once in a while but they don’t eat enough to worry about it.
>> The Only Feeder You Ever Need
Hunting Over A Pile
Besides just getting pictures, you may want to hunt over a pile of corn. I have had some success over this through the years. Usually early season and late season, I could pattern the deer to come into the piles in the evening. Even if i just randomly threw 20-30lbs near my stand in the middle of the woods, they would at least stop and check it out. This can offer up a shot opportunity. I also found that during the rut, bucks that were cruising mid day would stop on a pile for a little snack.
If you are going to introduce corn piles to your property, I would wait until a week or two prior to you hunting. This will save you a lot of money in corn compared to feeding for several weeks. You’re going to be feeding lots of animals besides deer if you elect to use corn piles.
Hunting Over A Feeder
I personally have not had much luck when it comes to mature bucks coming into a feeder while I’m hunting. I have seen quite a few does and button bucks coming in during hunting hours. If you’re content with a doe harvest, I would recommend hunting over a feeder. If you’re looking for a shot opportunity on a mature buck, I would advise against hunting over a feeder as your main tactic. I’m not saying that they won’t come in, but it seems that mature bucks are more reluctant to eat from a feeder during daylight hours.
If you’re introducing a feeder to your property, I would recommend doing so after hunting season closes. During the winter when there are no crops is a perfect time to introduce the feeder. This gives the deer plenty of time to get used to it being around before the next season starts. They may act nervous around it at first but will get used to it over time.
My Current Feeding Scenario
After trying both ways of feeding, I will share what I currently do. I have my large gravity feeder set up in some high weeds outside of the timber and I replenish the corn all year round. I do not hunt over the feeder but do have a few stands within 60-100 yards of it. I run a cellular camera pointed at the feeder all year round as well just to monitor the activity.
I also use corn piles near certain stands where I have mowed some paths in high weeds. I’ve been doing this for 3 years now and the deer seem to stop and feed for a few minutes every time they pass by. This does offer a shoot opportunity. I do not keep those piles fresh all year because I don’t want to spend the time or money replenishing them every few days.
>>>RELATED: 15 Affordable Cellular Trail Cameras Under $200
Alternative To Feeding With Corn
During the end of summer when I want to get some velvet trail camera pictures, I usually put out a bunch of apples. I have an apple tree in my yard so it is easy to get 5-gallon buckets full. The deer eat through the apples really fast but at least they are free. I also use Lucky Buck Mineral which is an apple-flavored mineral that I put on the ground. The deer love this and will come back for weeks and weeks after the mineral is gone because it soaks into the ground.
My Theory On Using A Feeder And/Or Corn Piles
If I were to give advice, I would say try a feeder for long term nutrition for your deer herd. I would say use a corn pile for presenting shot opportunity, especially with a bow. Both a feeder and a corn pile can present opportunities for trail camera pictures.
Some states do not allow baiting of any kind so please check out my article listing the laws for all 50 states here: Can I Bait Deer On Private Land In My State? Complete Listing Of All 50 States
Some states only allow minerals. If that is the case for your state, I highly recommend the Lucky Buck Minerals.
