Tips/tactics
 

I have an area that I hunt and am the only one that hunts this land and is about a 350 acrea pine plantation that is bordered by hardwood and fields. The first time I hunted this area was 4 years ago and the first time within 5 minutes of sitting down on a bucket (didn't know much about still hunting then, major dog hunter) I killed an 8 pointer. Haven't had as much luck of late. Last three years hunting I have been trying to get my buddies on film killing their first deer with a bow. I tried a feeder to get deer in three years ago and they came to it the start with but no luck of late with the deer coming to the feeder. I am thinking of just taking it down. I believe the sound may be scaring the deer. Anyway, there are many deer trails in the land I hunt and I hunt in the middle of the land, close to the bedding areas. The deer though seem to avoid me as I have tried not to get to close to the crossings. I have tried different types of food to get them in closer, but just don't seem to be having any success. Should I move my stands closer to crossings? I see deer they just aren't in bow range. Or do I need to try some types of calls or scents? I wash my clothes in non-scented detergent, wash with no scent soap, use no scent deodorant, and spray scent away on my clothes and shoes. Any tips for a hunter trying to get some friends and young deer hunters their first deer with a bow?

If you see deer and they are not close enough move closer-you can try and call them in but this may or may not work.

I guess that would be the best thing to do. Just didn't want to spook them moving my lock on stands to different locations. Thanks for the input.

If the deer aren't spooked, then scent is not the problem. With the feeder, if it goes off at timed intervals, they are probably coming to it in the cover of darkness and hitting other food sources in the daytime. Find where the trails are leading to, ie. water, food, bedding, and move your stands within range of these trails. Move them midday when there is less deer movement and as quietly as possible. We move stands throughout the season to get clients closer to deer they have seen with great success.

As to calling them in, from my own early season experience, I would refrain from calling this early in the season. If all else fails, give it a try.

I'll keep those things in mind. Yeah I use a timed feeder. Any tips on how to make this more productive? I use fresh corn and have the feeder go off at 7 in the morning and at 5 in the afternoon. They seem to eat the corn sometimes, but sometimes its as if they don't care about the corn they will go days without messing with it. There are tons of deer in the area, maybe its just there is easy to get food close to the area I hunt. I have thought about not using the feeder at all, but in late winter it works real well.

I have seen timed feeders go off and within the hour turkey and deer have swarmed to the area. They hear it and come a running. Deer need different nutrients to achieve the correct health and fat content to get them through the winter. That is why they may be at a cornfield one day and at soybean or alfalfa the next. I would leave the feeder. Maybe try something else in it, such as sweetfeed. It would probably be a mixture of corn, oats, molasses, etc.

Do you buy that at the store or make it your self? If you buy it do you have a website I could check out to find some. If you make it how would you recomend fixing a 50 lb feeder? That might get more bears in my area though, I might have to try it though. I put some acorn rage in it but this may just be a gimmick.

You can buy some version at most any Farm and Home supply, local Coop, etc. Any place you can buy livestock feed.