As I was planning for purchasing corn for my Texas deer feeders, I was not happy with the large jump in price over last years corn.
Most places in Texas are asking over #12 per 50 Lb bag.
I happened to visit Tractor Supply and saw that their labeled deer corn was that high, but they also had what they called whole feed corn for under $10 per 50 Lb bag ($9.50 if you buy 20 bags). I bought one bag to see if there was anything unacceptable about it and there was not, other than having small amounts of harvest debris (small enough that it would not clog the feeders). It's called Producers Pride Whole Corn. I also checked to verify that it was not old stuff. It is labeled as this year's harvest.

Try to find a farmers co-op, or local grower.
IF there are any big silo's they will have several types of grain and corn.

You will need a truck as they will sell a load.

Dad used to buy "Feed corn" by the pickup load, usually a ton or more at such places to fee the cattle. Often enough he bought hi own hammer mill to grind it with. We filled several barrels until needed.

Seems like a gouging operation to buy in small acks like that. How much corn will you need for a season? Get together with several others if you can't use such quantity.

George

Try to find a farmers co-op, or local grower.
IF there are any big silo's they will have several types of grain and corn.

You will need a truck as they will sell a load, you might need sideboards on it too.

Dad used to buy "Feed corn" by the pickup load, usually a ton or more at such places to fee the cattle. Often enough he bought hi own hammer mill to grind it with. We filled several barrels until needed.

Seems like a gouging operation to buy in small acks like that. How much corn will you need for a season? Get together with several others if you can't use such quantity.

George

I am paying $11.49 a bag when buying an entire pallet which is 2,000 pounds.

My protein pellets have more than doubled over the last couple of years.

I don't put corn or any grains out for deer and still shoot a nice buck every year for my freezer. No, I don't live in a 'trophy' area. I provide habitat and the wildlife respond quite well. Fantastic with the horrid economic times we live in now.

There are a lot of factors effecting corn prices. Energy costs (corn is usually watered with natural gas or diesel irrigation engines) fertilizer is in short supply and double or more the normal cost, there is a push for ethanol that drives up prices … again. They did this in 2008. Then, diesel hit $5/ gal and protein went from $185/ton to $465/ton (bulk 48,000 lb load).

At the time, I was getting a full semi load every 60 days. That kind of a jump in price was untenable. $67k in one year in feed.

Bernie Madoff, $6k/mo protein bill, $5 diesel, housing market collapse, a RINO in office and a RINO running for President. AND, We have it worse now than then.

I quit using corn and now bait with shelled peanuts. Deer like it better and it’s free for me, unlike corn.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
I quit using corn and now bait with shelled peanuts. Deer like it better and it’s free for me, unlike corn.

Are you a peanut farmer? How do you get free peanuts?

I bet your deer are plump!

My sister and BIL own a peanut buying point that handles about 7000 tons a year.Every wagon load has to be sampled for grading quality and each sample has to be shelled. After sampling is done, the shelled peanuts are dumped in a 6 ton trailer that rather quickly fills up. Harvest season is well under way, so I just go to the mill and fill up multiple 5 gallon buckets. I’m only baiting at 2 sites on my 70 acres so it works out very well.

Have you seen fuel, fertilizer, seed, herbicide and insecticide cost? Surprised it is not $20 per bag.

I’m buying corn at a local mill for $10.00 for 50 lb sack.
I bought a 100 sacks last week and he gave me a 50 cents per sack discount.

Butch, 100 bags at 50 lbs per = 5,000lbs? Is that just for deer feeders?

quote:

Originally posted by BEGNO:
I’m buying corn at a local mill for $10.00 for 50 lb sack.
I bought a 100 sacks last week and he gave me a 50 cents per sack discount.

Kind of glad I only have 70 acres and two bait sites. Luckily I’m surrounded by other farmers that don’t hunt….

About 25 years ago when I had a large lease, I would go over to the farming community of Walburg,Tx. + buy corn straight from the grower. You pull up in your dually, he weighs the truck, then you go to the crib + his hopper will fill your truck bed, then go + get weighed again, + that's what you pay. If memory serves, an entire truck bed full was under $150.00, + that was enough for the whole season. I had several old refrigerators that I made new seals on + lying them horizontally, I had ample storage space. A handy tip here on making a good seal. This works for old refers + valve covers as well. Clean the seal area + then use a tube of silicon caulk (on one side only) cover that caulk with wax paper + then seal the lid/ valve cover, etc. Let sit for 24 hours, peel off the wax paper + you will have a seal that fits both sides.

One thing I noticed with feed corn. You may find it a little cheaper at Walmart, Tractor Supply, etc. But make sure you check the weight of the bag. Most feed stores and COOP's sell 50-pound bags while other places usually sell 40 pounders.

You may also find better pricing for 'sweet feed' or 'all stock' grain which is corn, oats, molasses mixed. Deer love it.

I paid 22.00 for a 50lb sack of Purina Antler Max at the feed store a couple of weeks ago. Got 10 of them. Deer love it. Haven't fed corn in several years now.

quote:

Originally posted by OkieNewton:
I paid 22.00 for a 50lb sack of Purina Antler Max at the feed store a couple of weeks ago. Got 10 of them. Deer love it. Haven't fed corn in several years now.

I lot pricier then corn but if one can afford it why not.

here corn is $7/bushell

P Dog, It's not that we can afford it. A long ways from being wealthy for sure. Retired teacher, wifey still teaches. We have a timed feeder going one second in the morning and one in the evening. Usually plenty of acorns in the fall and lots of natural grasses and browse. Where our place is there are other hunters also, I feel like we have to put out something to keep the deer on our place. A buck I will let walk would prolly get shot on another ranch really close to our olace. Just a chance a guy has to take.

quote:

I feel like we have to put out something to keep the deer on our place. A buck I will let walk would prolly get shot on another ranch really close to our olace. Just a chance a guy has to take.

Allowing baiting for deer in IMHO has ruined the sport.


Very few people know how to hunt.

Sitting in a blind over a bait pile isn't hunting IMHO. It is shooting deer over a bait pile.

Not all but once a land owner starts to bait they consider deer theirs.

Personally outlawing baiting would be a good idea.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:


Allowing baiting for deer in IMHO has ruined the sport.


Very few people know how to hunt.

Sitting in a blind over a bait pile isn't hunting IMHO. It is shooting deer over a bait pile.

Not all but once a land owner starts to bait they consider deer theirs.

Personally outlawing baiting would be a good idea.

Ignorance.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by p dog shooter:


Allowing baiting for deer in IMHO has ruined the sport.


Very few people know how to hunt.

Sitting in a blind over a bait pile isn't hunting IMHO. It is shooting deer over a bait pile.

Not all but once a land owner starts to bait they consider deer theirs.

Personally outlawing baiting would be a good idea.

Ignorance.[/QUOT

Yep. It’s my land, it’s legal and that’s all that matters to me. I haven’t shot a deer here in 5 years because I’m after Several specific bucks seen on trail cam. I have no interest shooting smaller bucks and does for meat. Limit here is 10 does and 2 bucks/season. Putting out a bait pile is no guarantee of success.

Maybe if one actually hunted you wouldn't have to wait for them to come to you.

Sitting over a bait pile is just that.

Have at it.

As far as not knowing about hunting over bait I have done so.

Not even close to still hunting, spot and stalk, driving game or even running them with hounds.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by p dog shooter:


Allowing baiting for deer in IMHO has ruined the sport.


Very few people know how to hunt.

Sitting in a blind over a bait pile isn't hunting IMHO. It is shooting deer over a bait pile.

Not all but once a land owner starts to bait they consider deer theirs.

Personally outlawing baiting would be a good idea.

Ignorance.[/QUOT

Yep. It’s my land, it’s legal and that’s all that matters to me. I haven’t shot a deer here in 5 years because I’m after Several specific bucks seen on trail cam. I have no interest shooting smaller bucks and does for meat. Limit here is 10 does and 2 bucks/season. Putting out a bait pile is no guarantee of success.

Exactly Jerry.

Lots of different types of fishing also. Cane pole with bobber in a pond or off a bridge, big bass boat with spin tackle, stalking up a stream with fly rig, beach casting, off shore trolling, etc. One person's opinion on what constitutes the sport doesn't rule out the others as being equally enjoyable.

Here in Texas, almost all the land is private. The way you get hunting access is to get a group of guys together and lease the land. The best set up I had was 13,000 acres and 10 guys. The worst was 700 acres with 12 guys. Currently I'm on a lease with 9,000 acres and 21 guys. You simply aren't going to turn 21 guys loose to go out and stalk 9,000 acres at the same time without conflict. Each guy on our lease has about 430 acres or so to hunt. Corn is a good way to attract does. I've never shot a trophy buck under a feeder. I've shot them on the trails a hundred or more yards away from the feeder as they cruise by looking for a date.

You are 100% correct in that spreading corn from a feeder is no guarantee of shooting a trophy buck. To believe so, or to think sitting in a blin isn't hunting, is ignorance. In fact, some areas of Texas, such as the South Texas brush country ... good luck without supplemental feeding. You can't walk thru that brush. You can't drive thru it either.
A feeder in a clear cut lane (done with a bulldozer and called a sendero), is often the only way you'll get a glimpse of deer.

Sitting in a blind overlooking a feeder is the way my father introduced me to deer hunting in Texas. I can't tell you how many sits he and I shared over the years before his passing. Enjoying each other's company, watching the forrest animals / birds, enjoying being outdoors, etc, was always more important to us than shooting a big buck. I've relived the same experiences with both of my sons.

Yeah, I get it. It's not high adventure. It's not stalking the mountains or ravines, pitting your skills against the animal's senses. But it's still a hell of a good time, relaxing as you watch the sun rise / set, hoping for a shot opportunity on something special, which in my case, as I look at my trophy room deer wall, has happened a total of 8 times in my 60 years, starting with my first father son hunt at age 6.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Maybe if one actually hunted you wouldn't have to wait for them to come to you.

Sitting over a bait pile is just that.

Have at it.

As far as not knowing about hunting over bait I have done so.

Not even close to still hunting, spot and stalk, driving game or even running them with hounds.

To suggest members on this board haven't "actually hunted" is painting with a pretty wide brush pal. I've done a ton of still hunting and spot and stalk. I enjoy those methods immensely. Good luck with that in most areas of Texas other than the far west or possibly the pan handle where you have good open areas. More importantly, enough land mass and lack of hunters on the same property to not be tripping all over each other.

You mention driving game or running with hounds. Having grown up in the piney woods of East Texas, and occasionally hunting with friends over the border in Louisiana, I've done a fair amount of that as well back before hounds were outlawed. Personally I think blind hunting over corn is a lot more sporting than either of those methods but I don't say they aren't hunting. Just different than what we normally do in the area I live. I've been on driven deer hunts. I've been on deer drives using hounds. I don't find either method of interest to me but I know many, many others do. I've never hunted mountain lion for the simple reason I don't want to do a hound hunt. The people I've spoken to that do it tell me the excitement is really in keeping up with the dogs and the shot is anti-climatic. I get that 100%. I don't poo poo others enjoying that type of hunting. I just don't participate.

Take baiting to another level. I've heard many on this forum say they don't consider baiting for leopard or lion to be very sporting. For my 2011 leopard, we strategized daily for 12 days before finally getting out in front of my leopard's cruising loop, and getting him on bait for more than one sitting. Checking 7 or 8 baits daily to see if we finally got in front of him, only to find he had hit it and moved on, day after day after day, was demoralizing. I shot him on the morning of day 13. With my 2012 lion, it took us 15 days to get him on bait in daylight. I could go on but bait does not equal 100% success. It's simply a hunting technique for certain areas were spot and stalk don't work very well.

I'll say it again: IGNORANCE on your part PDawg.

I think P Dog got his panties in a knot. No where in my post did I say anything about shooting deer at the feeder. It does keep keep them around. Helps bucks recover from the rut, helps with the does nursing fawns in the spring. It is legal in TX to shoot deer at a feeder. Up north folks hunt over cut corn fields. Elk hunters watch water holes, squirrel hunters hang around mulberry trees in the spring. The last deer I shot at a feeder was about ten years ago to thin out the doe population on a management hunt in Valverde county TX. It was recommended by the state. QDM, quality deer management they call it.

Great posts Todd and Jerry!

I acknowledge that baiting is very popular and widely done. That for some animals it is about the only way one can have any chance of killing one. That the anti's love to divide and destroy.

But baiting and feeding of deer has vastly changed deer hunting in Wis..

There are a lot of deer hunters who only think sitting over a bait pile is the only way to hunt deer.

There are many property owner even those with only a few acres that think that because they have a bait pile they own the deer coming to it.

I seen small property owners a few acres get mad at adjacent larger property owners hundreds of acres. For shooting their deer. Because that deer was coming into to their bait piles.

I seen people baiting on public land and get mad at others trying to hunt it. Over the fact that they have a bait pile and it is their deer . Because they have been baiting/feeding them of months.

Many here tend to think that because they feed/bait deer in a area those deer are theirs.

And hell is to be paid to any one trying to shoot their deer.

Deer feeding/baiting has changed how deer hunting is done in Wis.

It has created mini deer sanctuaries where the deer hide during the day and come to the feeders at night.

And hell to be paid for anybody shooting their deer or trying to move deer off their property.

Here in Wis. deer feeding/baiting has not been good for deer hunting in Wis.

Baiting will always be controversial.

The larger problem it has created is the proliferation of things like coons and possums. Bait piles feed these animals more than deer. These predators severely affect ground nesting bird populations. Most people who bait are not trapping off these animals.

I don't bait deer but run depredation year round because I raise poultry. You would be surprised how many coon and possum are out there. They reproduce like rats with multiple litters a year. One week this summer I caught two sow possums with litters of ten each. I've removed DOZENS of coon and possums and it is like that year after year and I have been at it for NINE years in my present location.

In my area we have significant reduction on wild turkey. No quail, no woodcock, not even whippoorwill. Coon, possum and armadillos destroy nests. The number of ticks is also insane as well. All fur bearers drag those things around.

I know one of the landowners bordering me runs at least one feeder as it is near the property line. He complains he hasn't killed a turkey in a couple of years. He lives in the city and has zero understanding of what goes on out here. I tried explaining to him that he needs to trap if he is putting feed out but he does not get the problem.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
I acknowledge that baiting is very popular and widely done. That for some animals it is about the only way one can have any chance of killing one. That the anti's love to divide and destroy.

But baiting and feeding of deer has vastly changed deer hunting in Wis..

There are a lot of deer hunters who only think sitting over a bait pile is the only way to hunt deer.

There are many property owner even those with only a few acres that think that because they have a bait pile they own the deer coming to it.

I seen small property owners a few acres get mad at adjacent larger property owners hundreds of acres. For shooting their deer. Because that deer was coming into to their bait piles.

I seen people baiting on public land and get mad at others trying to hunt it. Over the fact that they have a bait pile and it is their deer . Because they have been baiting/feeding them of months.

Many here tend to think that because they feed/bait deer in a area those deer are theirs.

And hell is to be paid to any one trying to shoot their deer.

Deer feeding/baiting has changed how deer hunting is done in Wis.

It has created mini deer sanctuaries where the deer hide during the day and come to the feeders at night.

And hell to be paid for anybody shooting their deer or trying to move deer off their property.

Here in Wis. deer feeding/baiting has not been good for deer hunting in Wis.

Then obviously Wisconsin deer hunters are just plain stupid beyond redemption…..

quote:

Then obviously Wisconsin deer hunters are just plain stupid beyond redemption

Those who live in glass house shouldn't throw stones.

I’ve never heard any hunter here refer to ANY deer as his or belonging to him. I guess WI hunters are just really possessive of what was never theirs to begin with.

Oh, I don't know about that. I live out in the country + have a range down in the bottom. About 30 years ago, this guy that I didn't know but was a friend of a friend wanted to sight in his rifle before season. I told him, sure, come on out, no charge. When he got here, he told me that he knew where my place was because he had leased the property behind me for deer season + he wasn't sure if he wanted to sight in his rifle here + scare all HIS deer. I told him not to worry, they are used to shooting going on over here on my range anyway. He looked at me kinda sideways + said, "Well, I don't know as how I feel kindly about all this shooting going on around MY deer!" I told him just to get the F off my property + don't let the gate hit you in the ass.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
I’ve never heard any hunter here refer to ANY deer as his or belonging to him. I guess WI hunters are just really possessive of what was never theirs to begin with.

I haven’t shot a deer here in 5 years

For someone who hasn't shot deer in 5 years. Why would one care.

I have hunted several states I have heard a lot of property owners refer to their deer.

Unless one has high fence operation or owns many square miles.

They are never ones deer.

Interesting thread. I am from Oregon, where baiting big game animals is a crime.
Now I live in Texas, and walk past the bags of deer corn at my local Tractor Supply. Keeping my mouth shut and just paying attention to local conditions, I see thousands of acres of mesquite and prickly pear tangles that I would hesitate to wade through even wearing armor, not to mention the snakes. (I live in Nolan County, home of the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup.)
So I can understand how feeding stations would provide at least a small grasp on the logistics of encountering harvestable game, and we won’t even start on the topic of feeders to attract sounders of feral hogs.
Being from Oregon, I didn’t quite grasp the concept of feeders, even though I saw thousands of ads in Outdoor Life over the years for Bob Lilly’s feeders.
Coming from 50 percent public lands states to mostly-private Texas, I am still adjusting to the concept of needing permission or paying for a lease to have any decent chance to hunt.
The whole picture is coming into focus however, and my first principle is that the land is not mine to manage. Given the chance, I would very likely do what what works best — and that is probably doing exactly what all the other landowners are doing.
I’ll admit that planting food plots seems a bit fairer way to attract and hold deer, but that requires preparing the ground, planting the seed, possibly managing competing vegetation and keeping your own livestock off the acreage. That is asking one hell of a lot of the guy who pays the property taxes on that land. And if that landowner cannot afford to have wildlife competing with his livestock for food and forage, feeding stations would seem to be an efficient way to concentrate and eliminate that competition.
If a management tool also provides harvest opportunities, all the better.
Speaking to p dog’s description of the havoc that feeders are wreaking on Wisconsin deer hunting culture, I can promise that if it suddenly became legal in a state like Oregon, the ensuing fights and jealousies would likely come to homicide in some cases.
One really has to take regional hunting culture into consideration — and respect it.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
I’ve never heard any hunter here refer to ANY deer as his or belonging to him. I guess WI hunters are just really possessive of what was never theirs to begin with.

I haven’t shot a deer here in 5 years

For someone who hasn't shot deer in 5 years. Why would one care.

I have hunted several states I have heard a lot of property owners refer to their deer.

Unless one has high fence operation or owns many square miles.

They are never ones deer.

That’s the point. I don’t care. If the buck I want wanders by me, fine. If he wanders by a neighbor, bang, and that’s fine too. He was never mine to begin with. To argue and literally fight over a deer is infantile at best… Don’t blame character defects on a certain method of hunting.

quote:

To argue and literally fight over a deer is infantile at best

I agree 100 percent.

Many hunters from all over seem to disagree.

They tend to get crazy over such things.

I am one of the larger property owners in a few square miles. Beside the government thousands of acres of public land.

I allow hunting on my property on this principal you hunt mine I hunt yours. I had people ask to hunt mine.

When I tell them the condition I have had many say nope you can't hunt mine.

I say nope you can't hunt mine then. A fair number have a lot less property then me.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
I have heard a lot of property owners refer to their deer.

Must be a Wisconsin thing. I have never heard anyone refer to a deer as "their' deer here.

As for baiting/feeders, in some areas, its the only way you will see squat.