Competing legally with baiters

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backyardtndeer

backyardtndeer

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What plot can lure deer away from the neighbors scattered and dumped corn? Have a couple nice clover plots with wheat sewn in, deer hit them hard this time of the year last year, not so much this year. Brassicas mixes here just don't work.

Planted late drop chestnut and persimmon trees last spring, hopefully get some production in a couple years. Considering just expanding our bigger clover plot from about an acre to about 2 acres, more food more draw?
 
Have good cover in close proximity to good food, and you will have most of the deer.

Personally, I'm not worried about my neighbors baiting. They already do and have for years (I had to turn them in for baiting right on the property line). They almost never kill any of our good bucks. Most of what they kill are does and yearling bucks.
 
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I kill deer every year with corn in their bellies. No corn fields near where I hunt. Only leaves the option that someone is feeding them. Deer feed at corn piles or homeowners' backyard feeder, but they still need variety in their diet so they travel for other food sources and cover regardless.

Legalizing baiting was not TWRA's decision, but the only thing that it will likely change is a little bit of extra revenue and encouraging conflict in the field. Maybe people not understanding the rules and baiting public land, maybe more spite baiting and making it harder to prove, or maybe someone baiting an area that a non-baiting hunter is near and gets in trouble. I don't expect anything good to come of it, but I don't expect it to totally change how the deer move either. It's intellectually and physically lazy, but not the end of the world.
 
Chiflyguy said:
Plant a couple game wardens
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Talked with them, their hands are tied unless they can physically see the bait from where they have permission. They are aware though.
MUP said:
A good crop of natural oak trees I would think.
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We still have a lot of mature white and red oaks, more on us by far. When they quit hitting acorns this year, I watched deer on several occasions go to their corn scattered and piled in their failing food plot.
BSK said:
Have good cover in close proximity to good food, and you will have most of the deer.
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Good cover on our edges and some brush piles they like to use, maybe let my field at the edges of our main plot go a little? Usually don't cut it after the end of September.
 
backyardtndeer said:
Talked with them, their hands are tied unless they can physically see the bait from where they have permission. They are aware though.

We still have a lot of mature white and red oaks, more on us by far. When they quit hitting acorns this year, I watched deer on several occasions go to their corn scattered and piled in their failing food plot.

Good cover on our edges and some brush piles they like to use, maybe let my field at the edges of our main plot go a little? Usually don't cut it after the end of September.
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We've had road hunters this year.
Pricks
 
backyardtndeer said:
Talked with them, their hands are tied unless they can physically see the bait from where they have permission. They are aware though.

We still have a lot of mature white and red oaks, more on us by far. When they quit hitting acorns this year, I watched deer on several occasions go to their corn scattered and piled in their failing food plot.

Good cover on our edges and some brush piles they like to use, maybe let my field at the edges of our main plot go a little? Usually don't cut it after the end of September.
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Heck I found a tree stand, double man HD tree stand that is, within 20 yards of MY OWN tree stand, ON MY OWN PROPERTY, and a CORN PILE next to it, and was told to let them know when I catch them.
 
backyardtndeer said:
Good cover on our edges and some brush piles they like to use, maybe let my field at the edges of our main plot go a little? Usually don't cut it after the end of September.
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I wish I could give you an exact percentage (and the number would probably be site specific anyways) but I can't. All I know is that, in a hardwood environment, I've seen attempting to produce small patches of cover scattered around did not work as well as having a significant portion of a property maintained in early to mid-successional regrowth. In addition, hunting was improved by having that regrowth directly adjacent to open food sources like food plots.

Again, I can't give you an exact number, but it is my impression that about 25% of a hardwood property has to be in food/cover level regrowth before significant improvements occur in the ability to hold deer despite hunting pressure. In essence, you have to have that level of cover habitat before high hunting pressure stops driving deer off the property.

And as for cover directly adjacent to food, I've done hunter sighting analysis for food plots that do not have cover directly adjacent, and those that do. Hunter sightings - especially of older bucks - is significantly higher in food plots with cover directly adjacent compared to those that do not.
 
A lot of people over hunt their bait sites causing the deer to only visit during the night. As others have mentioned, I don't think it will be much different than know due to some many illegal baiting. I routinely kill deer and turkey that have been feeding on corn.
 
Cover beats everything . Cover beats everything . This fallow field is hard to even walk through . Briars head high , Callery pear, you name it. Saw 8 bucks in here yesterday. This was one of them but another was bigger but only holding 1 side. Never seen either of them before. I have standing corn and 50 yds from here is a beautiful clover plot . Zero pictures or sightings of these guys. A sanctuary like this is where you'll find the big deer over any food plot or bait pile . This was yesterday while it was drizzling rain about 4:00 with my phone. He milled around for 10 minutes. Perfect 3 year old 10 pt .
 
Dean Parisian said:
What percent of TN deer "hunters" purchase and hunt over corn during the deer season?
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If it's not a lot already it will be. Ask that same question about any bait legal state. Once folks are allowed to do it, it will quickly become part of the hunting culture. Within ten years there'll be an entire generation of hunters who will have never hunted without it. Look at any bait legal state if you want to know what TN is about to become.
 
Ski said:
If it's not a lot already it will be. Ask that same question about any bait legal state. Once folks are allowed to do it, it will quickly become part of the hunting culture. Within ten years there'll be an entire generation of hunters who will have never hunted without it. Look at any bait legal state if you want to know what TN is about to become.
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Sad that that's the direction we are headed. I do wonder though if the licenses will be short lived once cwd has been found in most or all of the state
 
From my time in ky I have learned a major component of competing with the other guys that have feeders on the lease. What I do is put out more corn than them. 😂. Also, for whatever reason, the deer REALLY like cob corn thrown around the feeder site. Good luck!
 
TNTreeman I agree with you. I'll take cover over food anyday. My goals are growed up CRP with a foodplot close by. I see way more deer in a growed up field then I do around ag fields.
 
So being in KY where baiting is legal I honestly don't see any difference than if I don't bait and my neighbor does. Me and my buddy went in together when farmers were getting the corn out of the fields and filled up a grain cart. Was around 3,000 lbs. I haven't put the first bag of corn out this year. If I do I usually do it late winter when it's cold and summer time when I start putting cameras up. I feel like I'm wasting my money doing it during actual hunting season because I have a lot of hardwoods and they'd much prefer acorns over corn.

Back in 2021 both of my properties were in the cwd surveillance zone and they banned baiting until this year. I know some of my neighbors still baited but it never had any negative effects on my properties. Years past when I did put corn out during hunting season I'd see it stay in the fields for weeks at a time come mid Oct. Now if I decide to feed here in January and then in August they'd have 100 lbs eaten in a matter of a couple days.

I obviously don't know your property but have seen pics you've posted from the deer stands. The way you have yourself set up I don't think them baiting should play a big part with affecting your property. But like I said, I don't know your property and it very well could.
 

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