akachuck
Well-Known Member
What's the best corn to use for the price? Plain and simple. Don't get TOO serious on me. Just want to know.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Corn conversation.
- Thread starter akachuck
- Start date
Coop corn
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2020
- Messages
- 2,676
You just opened up a can of worms, congratulations.
akachuck
Well-Known Member
Uh oh. What did I do lol
Bwales95
Well-Known Member
I'm to the point where i hate corn. I ran some in front of a camera last year during the summer and had some brutes coming in. I was pumped for bow season. I pulled the corn a few weeks before bow season and they never came back through. However, I kept hunting the same spot thinking they may come look for it. Disappointment and a lighter wallet is all i had to show for it.
Rakkin6
Well-Known Member
Lol, I asked the same question about corn/minerals a few weeks ago and lots of opinions came out. So I did some studying and corn will attract deer and that's what I had used in the past. But the long and short is that it really doesn't provide nutritional value and can be harmful. In the hot humid summer months we have here corn can produce aflatoxin which can be deadly to wildlife. So instead of going with corn this year for my cameras I threw some molasses on some stumps for the scent and I made some mineral sights I used 2 parts mineral salt, 1 part dicalcium sulphate and 1 part ice cream salt. Not saying this will grow bigger bucks but I do think it helps the does and fawns. No adverse effects and plenty of pics. Just try to put the minerals by a water source and try to put them in the ground right before a rain so they soak in.
The last corn I purchased a couple weeks ago was $8.95 for 50 lb bag at my farm supply store (like a Co-op). About 6 months ago is was $5.90...over 50% increase...OMG!! Just like everything else right now, but if you have a Co-op that's likely your best bet. I run a corn feeder in the edge of the woods across the field in front of the house 365 days a year and have for about 12 years, and NOT to hunt around! It's for two purposes...1) It keeps the turkeys around the house and they keep the snakes run away and, 2) We enjoy watching the variety of wildlife every day right out the front window. I tend to agree with the harm corn can do during warmer weather when left on the ground for a while, but fortunately when my feeder goes off the corn is always gone within a few hours, so I'm hoping no harm done. Anyway, after 12 years of running this feeder I've learned a few things. I have a mineral lick about 250 yards from the corn feeder. I run cameras on both. I very rarely have a mature buck visit the corn feeder, and I mean very rarely; however, they will visit my mineral lick (Redmond mineral salt mixed with Trophy Rock Four65) on a regular basis. I've taken two trophies on my property (142" and 132") just across the hollow from my corn feeder and neither of those bucks ever set foot at my corn feeder, but they both visited my mineral lick often. My point being, invest your money in a high quality mineral lick and forgo the corn feeding. Not only has it become expensive, but it's just going to be a magnet for does and small bucks...which are neat to watch from the front window. If you must use a corn feeder, then private message me and I'll share with you what model I use...after years of trial and error and dealing with varmints eating holes in the feeder and spinning the wheel to keep getting corn until they're full. I have the model that solved it all.
akachuck
Well-Known Member
Feed
BSK
Well-Known Member
I have seen this situation a few times, even on my own property. Now I've run plenty of camera censuses over corn in the summer and gotten mature bucks on cam. But in some areas, older bucks avoid corn piles like the plague. As an experiment, on my own place I ran two censuses at the same time. One on six mineral sites, and the other on six corn piles. Two of the corn piles were nowhere near a salt lick. Two were close but not adjacent. Two were adjacent to salt licks. Looking at the data after the census, the only bucks older than 2 1/2 we got at the corn sites were bucks just passing by on their way to the salt. Not one buck 3 1/2+ ever ate at the corn piles. However, they all used salt licks.
MickThompson
Well-Known Member
What are you trying to accomplish by feeding corn?
akachuck
Well-Known Member
Oh please
MickThompson
Well-Known Member
Fattening up the neighborhood raccoons?Oh please
akachuck
Well-Known Member
My deer if it's not obvious, plus mine are bigger than yours.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Agreed. If you are going to feed corn and not make the effort to 'illegally' trap (since trapping is out of season now), all you are doing is exploding the coon population.
And you will NOT grow bigger deer feeding corn in the summer. The only place for corn is late winter on properties where there is zero food anywhere around, or snow is too deep for the deer to get to it. (Hint, that's not TN)
akachuck
Well-Known Member
Not looking to grow deer, just to see what's lingering around.
A good mineral lick will draw in everything in your area…at least a few times.
akachuck
Well-Known Member
Thats man! Any suggestions or specifics?
After 40 years of starting mineral licks I've learned a few things by trail and error. I've settled in on one recipe. Starting a new lick I prefer something in the proximity of water. That can't always be had, but seems to be a plus if possible. I like to use a solid stump (not rotting) and build my lick around it, but I've had some awesome licks just on flat ground. I'll rake back all the leaves and expose bare dirt, then pour out 50-100 lbs of Redmond Mineral Salt. Then I add a 30 lb bag of Trophy Rock Four65. Use a rake and mix it in good with the dirt. If there's a stump I'll cover it real good as well. Sometimes I'll also use the big 20 lb Trophy Rocks, especially if I can lodge it into the side of the stump. Of everything I've ever used, the Redmond Mineral Salt is my favorite. I prefer to start a new one in January, but I've started them all times of the year. Just know they won't hit it hard except late spring into early fall (mostly summer). I'll refresh existing licks in May and sometimes again in July, but I'm just adding a little more to keep it fresh. I've also learned they love ice cream salt you buy at Walmart. I generally only use it when I'm starting a new lick. Be careful you don't start one that might get washed out by a flood. I've done that before. It's not always obvious where flooding rains might flow so you just kinda have to visualize it. I'll put my cameras out in mid July and they stay on the licks until late September. Usually in the first 4 weeks you'll see every buck in the neighborhood. Sometimes hunting near a lick in early bow season can be productive, but you really have to be careful because often deer are at the lick when you walk in under darkness. They are really just best for surveying your deer herd before season, and at the same time providing an important mineral to their diet.
