[AKElroy]

I have been hunting all my life, mooching opportunities off of family ,friends & business associates. Having exhausted all mooching opportunities, I am on my first official lease, and I need to get my feeder set up.

When should I start feeding whitetail? I was thinking early September. Any advice? My lease is north central Texas, just north of Llano.

[3pairs12]

NOW. We tried to start 6-8 weeks before season and with a 250-300lb feeder and fresh battery you should only need to check once about 2 weeks before season. Thats we did anyway.

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

'Course, you don't need to or have to feed them at all, and I've never killed a deer at or even right near a feeder. But my buddies have and it can help to keep them in the general area. I've killed quite a few within 200-250 yards of the feeders in past years. I haven't used a feeder in several years, but I'm contemplating putting out some feed this year in some archery-only areas, since I finally have a 4-wheeler to make deliveries instead of the sweat of my brow. I *do* put out some "apple salt blocks" every year, in multiple locations.

I think that *most* people who feed / bait them wait until the cold drives them to really crave the fats in the feed, which is not until November or December in the South, and not until October in the north. It's certainly much more productive of a draw to feed them when it's cold and barren with ice and snow around than in September or early October. But still, even with plenty of natural food area, during the early season, if they find your feed, some of them will still come back to it occasionally since it's forest candy to them, not a bitter acorn.

If you don't know, don't ever hunt over a feeder. Always back off a bit, in at least a 75 yard radius, give or take, and look for pathways going to the feeder. Big bucks will never go to a feeder during the day. But he *might* just be standing a little ways off from a doe during the rut, so if the doe is at the feeder, and you're 50-100 yards out, then you might just hit paydirt.

[AKElroy]

If you don't know, don't ever hunt over a feeder. Always back off a bit, in at least a 75 yard radius, give or take, and look for pathways going to the feeder. Big bucks will never go to a feeder during the day. But he *might* just be standing a little ways off from a doe during the rut, so if the doe is at the feeder, and you're 50-100 yards out, then you might just hit paydirt.

+1; my stand is actually obstructed by scrub & mesquite, probably 125 paces from the feeder. The trails going into the feeder are my only & best opportunities.

[MCgunner]

For gun season, usually around labor day, but I already have my feeder out, for all the good it's done. Damned hogs knocked it over and kicked the crap out of the timer trying to get the corn out. Danged dry down here, animals are starving. Should be no acorns to compete with this year. Should be a good year, but ya never know. In my 56 years, though, I've never quite seen a drought this bad. There was a bad drought in the 50s I've read about, but I was too young to know what a drought was at the time.

I have another timer and am going to set it back up Tuesday for another try. I need to get it going because I'm going to bow hunt this season.

[AKElroy]

In my 56 years, though, I've never quite seen a drought this bad. There was a bad drought in the 50s I've read about, but I was too young to know what a drought was at the time.

Me either. We are seriously praying for rain; we have it in the announcements every Sunday. I was up at the Oasis last week on Lake Travis; I cannot BELIEVE how low that lake is. 44' low, all public ramps closed.

As for the hogs, I am actually hoping to pull some in & take a few; I will be staking the feeder w/ rebar 18" deep if I can get a heavy enough sledge to get through this dry ground. Hopefully they can't dig that up.

[jimmyraythomason]

We sow our green fields on Labor Day. With good rain (like this year, so far)it is well underway by opening day and lasts through the hunting season(mid-October for archery,mid November for gun, until January 31st.).For feeders all food must be removed at least 2 weeks before season. Hunting is NOT allowed near a feeder or on a trail leading to a feeder. Baiting is zealously prosecuted.

[jfrey]

We usually fill our feeders around the middle of September. The deer will actually cycle their feeding schedule to when the feeder goes off every day. Turkeys and hogs will do the same. Last season we had 27 turkey tom's hit one of our feeders every morning at 7:00 am. They would actually run off the deer. I have seen deer bedded down within 10 feet of a feeder, waiting for it to go off. When food gets in short supply, big bucks will come to a feeder during the early morning and just before sundown. I've seen as many as 12 bucks, of all sizes, under a single feeder at one time.

We also build barbed wire pens around our feeders to keep the cows off them. A couple of years ago we had one old cow figure things out and toppled every feeder on the ranch.

I put 2 packets of yeast and a dry pack of cherry jello per 100 lbs. of corn. The yeast will help the deer digest the corn and the jello adds flavor they seem to like.

[AKElroy]

Last season we had 27 turkey tom's hit one of our feeders every morning at 7:00 am.

I hunted a ranch in Sterling county on the Concho river. After taking a nice Doe, (this was a cull hunt), I heard what sounded like a freight train roaring toward me. Just like you describe, it was 30-40 toms heading for the corn within 10 minutes of me shooting that Doe, walking the trail under my stand.

On other cull hunts, I have dropped a Doe or spike out of 15+ at a feeder, waited 5 minutes, and all the deer are back on the corn, actually nudging the downed animal to get at the corn they are laying on.

When I was a little kid hunting with my dad, I was not allowed to cough, sniff, breathe loud or whisper while hunting because he said deer evaporate at a pin drop. Getting older I realize he just really liked quiet. Deer ignore rifle fire when it comes to eating.

[kanook]

I put out some "no plow" so that it keeps them on the area all year.

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Hey MC, 2006-2007 (fall 2006) was a bad bad drought here, and we also broke the harvest record for the state that year - something like 118K statewide deer. Drought = good hunting usually. At least for deer.

[MCgunner]

Well, they have to move to find food if the acorns don't make and a feeder works a lot better to attract 'em. :D

[exbiologist]

If you're gonna feed you should have been feeding them all year round. If you mean corn/bait, not feed (pelleted concentrates, ie protein), start nowish.

[mongo4567]

We feed year round, but the sooner the better. It only takes them a couple of weeks to find a feeder at the most.

[wyohome]

In Wyoming, only legally blind persons or people confined to a wheelchair can hunt over bait or use feed to attract deer. The rest of us have to 'hunt'.

[mongo4567]

In Wyoming, only legally blind persons or people confined to a wheelchair can hunt over bait or use feed to attract deer. The rest of us have to 'hunt'.

Do you "hunt" over a food plot, water source, or mineral block?....if so, same difference....

[wyohome]

No. It is illegal to plant food or use mineral/salt blocks for any game animal or bird. Of course we hunt where game might be plentiful, which would include the cover, food, and water sources that all animals seek.

[kansas coyote]

When the acorns start falling off the trees .

[Rottweiler]

Started feeding about 20 years ago....still feeding daily

[rcmodel]

Kansas F&G has this to say:

- Don’t train deer to congregate around bait piles. It is highly likely that enticing wild deer to unnaturally congregate around bait piles may increase the chance of spreading Chronic Wasting Disease once a positive animal has visited the spot. This is true for other transmissible diseases such as tuberculosis. In dealing with any transmissible disease, the more animals that spend long periods of time in small or confined areas, the greater the danger that an area will become contaminated with infection-causing agents, whether they be bacteria, viruses, or the abnormal prion associated with CWD. Baiting and using various mineral blocks and lures to attract deer to a site may make that site deadly for deer to visit in the future. In the case of CWD, recent studies suggest that prions bound to soil particles may be even more dangerous than those passed from animal to animal.

rc

[MCgunner]

Perhaps in Kansas, they have special problems. :rolleyes: Feeders are a way of life in Texas. Don't like 'em? Don't come here.

[41 Mag]

Ask your local feed store if they have the Purina Water Repellent Protein, if so mix it about 1 bag - 2 bags of corn. Feed it year round if you can increasing the protein after the first of the year and through about Sept. This is when they need it the most, and will give you more return on your deer than simply throwing corn. Also if there are cattle be sure to put a pen around your feeders or they will be on the ground in short order as well. If there are hogs, you will have to anchor the legs or as mentioned they will get them too.

We had a lease in just north of Llano for a while and brought the local deer there up a good deal from when we got on it. IT cost a little but we went from the typical 80# deer up to 130 - 150# deer simply feeding the good stuff, and the horns really showed the differences in the second year.

Good luck with your place, I sure miss hitting those hills in the fall and spring for turkeys, that was a hoot.

[AKElroy]

Maybe I am old fashioned, but I do believe animals were put on this earth by God for our good pleasure. I have killed a lot of deer; Many the old fashioned way, and many over a feeder. I simply see no difference from an ethical standpoint.

In both types of hunting, advantages are taken that culminate in a shot surprising the animal. Feeders frankly allow greater analysis of animal attributes, and greater care for what is being harvested. It is also clearly easier to take an animal cleanly when they are stationary.

Hunting does actually fill my freezer as well as the freezers of several friends, and I doubt many of us wrestle with these ethical concerns when buying a steak.

In September, I will be wearing a camo shirt, in the cover of shade, waiting for the birds to come to the tank I will be hunting over. I do not view that as an unfair advantage, as I do not consider fairness to be a bar to hurdle with regard to hunting. Ditto the feeder for whitetail & piggies.

[wyohome]

I have no problem with harvesting meat that way either. Calling it hunting gives hunting a bad name. These are no more wild (and in some cases less wild) than free range cattle. People just getting into hunting see this raising of deer as no more sport than shooting a cow. They are not wrong in their assumption and those who participate in the hiking, camping and enjoying of the wild more than the whir of a feeder get a bad name.

[AKElroy]

those who participate in the hiking, camping and enjoying of the wild more than the whir of a feeder get a bad name.

Not at all. I prefer an extended trip, several days of hunting & camping, preferably in a scenic location. The reality is different for me, where work contraints allow for a Friday afternoon drive, camp that night, hunt next morning (with a feeder supplying some opportunity for success) & drive back. It's not ideal, but better than pizza & a movie.

[wyohome]

It's not ideal, but better than pizza & a movie.

I agree, it is just too bad that so many of the hunting shows use this method of harvesting game as the norm when it is the exception. I know it is easier to film the taking of game from a blind near a feeder, but the anti-hunters use this as a tool to berate all hunters.

[UpTheIrons]

We've got a lease NW of Fredericksburg, and we feed year round. We set the timers for just 2-3 seconds from the end of the season in January through July. Then, we bump it up to 4-5 seconds until Archery season starts, then really put the corn to 'em until Rifle season is over.

We also put out molasses tubs in the late spring, and they are usually gone by the end of July, which is when Texas Whitetail stop going to the protein sources anyway (when their antlers are just about finished growing). It's worked for us fairly well over the last 4 or 5 years.

Of course, it's not real cheap, but the benefits outweigh the cost, both when the season opens, and in the off-season, especially with this drought, in that all the deer we've seen lately look really good.

Solar chargers keep the batteries good for the year, and it only takes visits every other month to check on the status of the corn and refill the feeders. It gives you an excuse to get away for a day or two, too.

[DRYHUMOR]

I guess feeding works in some areas. Depending on pressure and local browse.

I've found that corn piles promote nocturnal deer (here in SC). I actually stopped feeding 5 or 6 years ago, and see more deer through the day.

[Art Eatman]

This thread is about when to feed, not how to hunt. Don't tempt me.

[41 Mag]

wyohome,

In Wyoming, only legally blind persons or people confined to a wheelchair can hunt over bait or use feed to attract deer. The rest of us have to 'hunt'.

I agree, it is just too bad that so many of the hunting shows use this method of harvesting game as the norm when it is the exception. I know it is easier to film the taking of game from a blind near a feeder, but the anti-hunters use this as a tool to berate all hunters.



Have I hunted over a feeder you bet'ya I have, it's legal here and till it isn't I have no issues with anyone else doing it either. If they ask for help in any hunting related issue I think I can help with I will add a comment if I feel it is useful. If not I keep quiet and move on.

As to the above comment, I will tell you the same thing I tell all that have had issues with me for doing it. I spend several thousand dollars a year minimum, plus time fuel and labor, adding additional protein and minerals to the diets of some of the deer in my farm area, that they would not be getting due to the conditions around there. I do this year round, not because I have to, and not because I am looking to kill anything, heck I have only shot 3 deer since '01 and none were anywhere remotely close to a feeder or mineral station, and yes I hunted for them also. Just because I put out the added goodies doesn't mean that every single deer utilizes it, nor does it mean that the ones that do are addicted to it, and loose all desire to eat anything else. They use it when it suits them, and don't when they don't need it.

So when you or any of the rest of the high horsed, moral and ethic policing, out of this state living folks, who really have no idea what all really goes into putting out feeders or mineral stations or food plot, can show me how much you spend a year to add to the health and well being of the native wildlife in your areas, or you can show me undisputed scientific proof that what I am doing is illegal, or is actually harming the animals in MY area, (not some Michigan study,) which are MUCH healthier now than before, then you can pitch a fit, until then if you ain't got anything constructive to add to the OP's question then go add your comments somewhere where they are actually constructive.

[MCgunner]

Ever noticed how many ethics nazis come from the NW? Well, I know you have umpteen gazillion acres there to hunt for free, but hey, different regions are different. Texas, I have a small plot of land next to a big ranch and the deer hang around there because I feed them. They bed there anyway, but that's beside the point. There are lots of deer and hogs there, but that ranch has lots more land than I do. This is why feeders are a way of life in Texas. Not too many people here have 20,000 acre leases. If they do, they're rich enough to BUY 30 or forty places like mine. All I can do to pay the damned taxes on the place and just to hunt deer and hogs.

Hey, and PETA is based in the NW. You have a lot of kooks out there which probably makes you more sensitive to criticism. PETA don't DARE set a foot on MY place. We have a brand new county jail for 'em and I carry a cell phone. :D They'd probably get 20 years in Huntsville for harassing a hunter here. That's not looked well upon.

Just an observation, the guys from Washington and Oregon really seem to have this "my way or the highway" attitude that just POs me.

[JWF III]

I didn't know you were suppose to stop feeding them?

Seriously, we feed year round. Unless one is to close to a stand and would be considered baiting. Learned that lesson a couple years ago. A buddy got a ticket for hunting over bait on a feeder he couldn't even see. Game Warden used a GPS to show he was 10 yards too close to it. 10 yards cost him $250.

Wyman

[MCgunner]

My feeder is about 60 yards from my stand and I can see it and all major trails leading to it from my tripod.

[deerhunter61]

Wyohome...

I think the poster was asking a question aimed at those of us who hunt and use feeders. So why do you feel the need to start taking potshots at those of us who hunt in Texas where it is a tried to true method to harvesting game? I do not think he was looking for your opinion. So are you someone who likes to start disagreements just because you can? You are certainly welcome to your opinion. If you are this strongly opposed to it rather than getting this thread off track why not start your own thread and address it there? Would not this be a better way?

One last thing...as long as hunters have hunted they have looked for ways to slant the odds in their favor. If you are such a traditionalist why not use spears rather than a firearm or a bow and arrow or anything else that would give you an advantage. People have hunted game animals over food sources and water supplies for ever and the idea that you do not take advantage of these seems a little far fetched so for you to judge others on the topic is a little much.

I am sorry...I get tired of sactimonious people trying to pass judgement on others when they do the same just in another form.

Back to the topic...I started feeding two months ago and am going back in a few weeks to increase the amount of feed.