I am not a proponent of using bait for deer, however if it is legal and ou want to use it, you want it out well before the season opens to get the deer habituated to the bait. It woud be good to use a timed feeder set to go off just after legal shooting light if your stand over looks the baited area. If you are ust going to put some corn on the ground and let it run out and then come back periodically and not keep the bait container filled, you are just spinning your wheels.