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A better way to hunt deer


For the purpose of this blog, I want to think in terms of targeting mature whitetail bucks. If your goal is to hunt younger age class deer the information here may be of use but may not be the best hunting strategy to reach your goals.

Deer hunters have used timed broadcast feeders to dispense corn and other wildlife feed for decades. Broadcasting corn can be an effective way to attract wildlife to a specific area, often improving the hunters odds of seeing and harvesting a deer. Broadcast feeders do have disadvantages however they have their shortcomings.

Any number of die-hard feeder hunters will evoke Pavlov's Dogs theory and how deer and often pigs will wait for the broadcast feeder to ring the dinner bell and come running. Pavlov’s studies showed that if you ring a bell and then provide food, over time dogs started expecting food at the sound of the bell. In much the same way when a broadcast feeder slings corn the deer come to expect food and responded by coming to the feeder. Pavlov’s theory often applies to deer and a feeder often brings in deer as predicted. Mature bucks seem to be less impressed or perhaps more weary of the feeder and fly in the face of Pavlov’s theory.

Broadcast feeders throwing corn attract deer. Over a decade of hunting over broadcast feeders have proven they do in fact attract deer, albeit mostly young bucks and does. An occasional a mature buck is captured on camera with one being harvested at feeders. Just not as consistent as other methods of attracting mature bucks.

About 10 years ago I started to experiment with a hunting strategy commonly referred to as “hand-corn” or “hand-corning”. Our hunting experience and trail-cam pictures confirmed what veteran hand-corn hunters have reported, a noted increase in the number of mature deer at hand-corn sites versus sightings at broadcast feeder locations.

When I started using hand-corn I saw an increase in the number of mature deer sightings and pictures, in many cases deer that had never been seen at a feeder. Proximity to a broadcast feeder did not seem to influence mature buck activity at hand-corn sites. Hand-corn sites no closer than a hundred yards from an operating broadcast feeders produced increase numbers of mature deer visits. The proof is in the freezer. Almost without exception, over the past few seasons every mature deer my hand-corn hunting partners and I have seen or killed, including B&C quality animals, more deer over hand-corn than broadcast feeders. In most cases, there had been little photo evidence of these deer ever stopping by a broadcast feeder.

Broadcast feeders, as mentioned, have advantages and disadvantages. Today’s quality feeders allow hunters to dispense feed, usually whole corn, in a controlled manner. Most hunters fill their feeder and program a timer to scatter corn in the early morning hours and again an hour or two before dark each day. This allows the hunter to provide feed and by default “program” deer, Pavlov style, year round. The disadvantage is they do make noise when they go off and, for unknown reasons; mature deer seem to avoid getting too close.

Hand-corn also comes with advantages along with a few downsides. The obvious advantage is mature deer do not seem to be spooked by corn magically appearing on the ground. Some deer, especially older bucks will display caution if too much corn is piled up or if they catch your scent left while dumping corn. Caution should be exercised when distributing hand-corn not to leave your scent i

n the process or leaving too much corn piled in one spot. A major disadvantage to hand-corn is you have to visit your hunting spot regularly to maximize opportunity for the deer to “learn” and come to depend on a repeatable experience. For many of us, we can only hand-corn when we are there to hunt on weekends or perhaps a few days’ vacation.

Buck shot by Rick's son Tim Nolan over hand-corn.

To be sure, broadcast feeders provide a valuable tool for the deer hunter. Hand-corn is also a valuable tool. To overcome the downsides of hand-corn, stay tuned for future blogs on a feeder currently under development at Nolan Outdoors that will remove almost all the disadvantages of using a hand-corn tragic and put you in a better position to harvest a buck of your dreams.

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