Crop harvest and Deer Usage in IL

[formula1]

Suppose in IL you've got a farm that's been harvested 5 weeks ago and it was largely corn and soybeans. The fields are not turned under, but just cut. How long will the deer keep coming to the cut fields? Also, if there are limited acorns, what type of browse might they beeating in the woods. West Central IL is where I'll be. Any opinions?

[Austin/WI]

They'llkeep coming to the fields until either everything has been eaten or the fields are turned under. If there are fresh acorns in the woods still, they'll be on those first however.

[HAZCON7]

They will also continue to browse on grasses and leaves throughout the woods.

You are going to find very soon however that the bucks are not interested in eating anymore!

[IL_BOW_MAN]

ORIGINAL: burbaust99

They'llkeep coming to the fields until either everything has been eaten or the fields are turned under. If there are fresh acorns in the woods still, they'll be on those first however.

That is not always the case. Where I hunt, there are a few acorns around and the deer continue on the corn all winter long. I rarely see deer eating the acorns.

[formula1]

I'm sure that rutting activity will be a factor for the bucks, but you know what they say this time of year, find the does and the bucks will be there. I'm just curious where they might be if the cut fields were not attactive to them. As much corn as there is in IL, I'm sure they can't eat all the combine left behind but who knows, maybe they can.

I'm headed up to hunt on Friday for a week. Thanks for your input.

[Austin/WI]

ORIGINAL: IL_BOW_MAN

That is not always the case. Where I hunt, there are a few acorns around and the deer continue on the corn all winter long. I rarely see deer eating the acorns.

You're right, it's not always the case. However, a lot of times if there are fresh acorns on the ground, there is a good chance to the deer will utilize that food source. The main reason is cover. Don't find a couple huge oak trees dropping still, find a group of younger trees that are dropping. The larger oaks will block out sunlight and create a clear zone around the trees with no cover, small oaks do not. Deer a lot of times prefer to be in or around good cover, if they can eat acorns without having to go into the open, many times they will.

But anyway you look at it, corn is a great food source to hunt as it is easy to find and usually will allow for multiple setup techniques.