RE: In the interest of stirring up lots of trouble
 

The way I see it...If all you want is to kill a deer set up over the feeder..If you want to hunt the deer then don't set up over the feeder.....Mr-Pirk

RE: In the interest of stirring up lots of trouble
 

FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN OF FEEDERS IN TX ND FL THERE IS A VERY SMALL AMOUNT OFCORN THAT COMES OUT TWICE DAILY. IT IS JUST A TASTY SNACK FOR THE DEER AND OTHER CRITTERS THEY HAVE TO FORAGE FOR THE BULK OF THEIR FOOD INTAKE. I DON'T SEE ANY PROBLEM WITH IT,

RE: In the interest of stirring up lots of trouble
 

Who,
That is why I included the phrase "perception or reality". Reality is that it is probably not necessary, but the perception is that since everyone else has corn out, I better have some out as well just to be safe. I also keep them out for the turkey and quail.

Having said that, how about this for stirring the pot.
After reflecting back on this subject and looking at my own situation for the past 14 years in which I have hunted the same property, there is no question that my best years, both in quantity and quality of deer, have been in years such as this one when we had favorable rainfall and good Fall food plots.
I hunted 9 different stands this year but because of the large amounts of deer the food plots attracted, it didn't matter where I hunted, I saw lots of deer. I only got skunked 3 times out of over 40 outings. I never hunted the actual food plots; the closest stand would be around 200 yards away and some of them as much as 1 mile away.

In contrast, last year was a very dry summer/fall and therefore the winter wheat crop was very dismal. It would stand to reason in these type years that the corn feeders would be more important. But overall, I actually saw fewer deer and got skunked more often compared to this year. I contribute this to everyone having corn and thus my area was no better or worse than the rest of their territory.

Thus, based on these observations and just to play devil's advocate, one could argue that where corn feeders are the norm rather than the exception, it is food plots that make the hunting less challenging by concentrating a large population of deer in a small area that, if hunted enough, will increase your odds dramatically as compared to an area without food plots. Either that or it is as davidmil said, we trained them to sleep in during the dry years.

RE: In the interest of stirring up lots of trouble
 

Thanks for the great posts. They were exactly the tone and depth I was hoping for.

They brought up two questions for me -

1. How do you hunt mature bucks pre-rut?
2. Is there any truth to the idea that if your neighbors have feeders out that the deer will move to their property unless you put them out as well?