Rhino Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 I'll bite my toungue this time about some of the off subject ethics comments posted here that don't pertain to your question. I'll just say...if it's legal in your state...it's your call. Now to the original question: How far before the season would I want to put a feeder out? I do not currently feed the deer. Once its up do I feed them all year? Like rhine16 mentioned here is MS we have a new supplemental feeding law. Basically we can legally use covered feeders provided they are not within 100 yards of your stand and they can't be in your stand's line of sight at all. You are also limited on the type of feed that can be used here based on certain dates. For example we can't use any corn at all between Oct. 1st and Dec. 15th. What type of feeder you use will depend on whether or not coons, squirrels, or other feed eating varmints can get to the feed dispersal point. Your profile does not show the state where you're hunting so I don't know what you might have to deal with. We did sort of a test run trying to see how deer would use a gravity flow feeder. We mixed corn and protien pellets together in it this past summer. After setting up a trail camera on it we found that we were mostly feeding coons & squirrels at the dispersal point and pigs at ground level. Very few deer used it. I guess there was too much competition from other cirtters. Electronic timed spinner feeders actually work much better here. Depending on the design of the feeder, you may have to attach a varmint cage around the spinner area to keep them away from the spinner. As far as timing...I'd say about a month ahead of your season would do fine. With the price of feed these days running a feeder year round could get deep into your pocket and I doubt you'd see much additional benefit from running one that long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 ...You are also limited on the type of feed that can be used here based on certain dates. For example we can't use any corn at all between Oct. 1st and Dec. 15th...That's odd. That's the time of year when deer would benefit the most from a high carb intake to add fat in preparation for winter. Unless your winters are so mild they don't need it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 That's odd. That's the time of year when deer would benefit the most from a high carb intake to add fat in preparation for winter. Unless your winters are so mild they don't need it? My guess would be that those dates coincide with hunting seasons and is aimed at stopping baiting in that state. That is how it looks anyway. Is that right Rhino? Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 My guess would be that those dates coincide with hunting seasons and is aimed at stopping baiting in that state. That is how it looks anyway. Is that right Rhino? Doc Actually TTID is right Doc. We have relatively mild winters and those dates coincide with only the first half of deer season. I double checked the dates and the no corn allowed in feeders period (protein pellets only allowed period) is Oct. 1st through Nov. 30th. Our season runs from Oct. 1st through Jan. 31st. The highest stress period on our deer herd is the late summer period. Also Doc check my 1st post. Feeders are not allowed within 100 yards of a stand or within line of sight of a stand. If it's 200 yards away and in your line of sight it's illegal. Also, feeders are not allowed within 100 yards of a property line. As you can see, the general framework of the rule doesn't allow a hunter to shoot a deer over bait. Shooting deer going to or from it is legal. Needless to say, baiting has been a hot topic over the past few years in MS. This new supplemental feeding law was implemented last year and was an option the state game & fish had to apease the pro-baiting hunters in this state. It also closed the old loophole where feeding deer year round was legal even when the parties using the property claimed they didn't hunt where they were feeding deer. If you'd like to review the full details of MS's new supplemental feeding law, here's a link. http://www.mdwfp.com/Level2/Wildlife/pdf/final/2008/W-3796.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 Would check your game laws first before doing anything else. Here it is legal to feed outside of season, all bait/feed must be removed 10 days prior to hunting that area. As Texan Til I Die pointed out it would be a good idea to consider the use of mineral supplements as well. I use minerals at one of my cams year round. Also use corn at that site some outside of the seasons. What I do with corn is really not enough to take the place of the feeding that is required to sustain a deer's nutrition, but it does draw deer closer to that camera to give me a better idea what is out there when the minerals are not being used as heavy. Minerals typically draw well from early spring to mid fall here. On a bit of a side note here to those who may think that down in the south that corn is somehow a magnet or makes hunting deer a piece of cake, you may want to not assume such things. Seems to me that some states in the north allow feeding/baiting in the winter and some of those same states have very little food available at that time, which would in all reality make those places seemingly(I say seemingly as not to assume that is the case, I know better) easier to hunt. To the contrary many places in southern parts of the country will have more food available through the winter which would likely actually make hunting those deer a bit tougher. When deer have more food available they have to search less for food. Patterning food sources when there are a lot of food sources available might not be quite as easy as picking the only food source that there is for miles. Be careful not to assume what you may have little or no knowledge about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddyboman Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 I feed corn in the winter. I did not start feeding until after season is closed. I feed to help the deer make it through the winter and to give me an idea of what is still out and about. As we all know a pile of corn really draws the deer in so it works great for pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Actually TTID is right Doc. We have relatively mild winters and those dates coincide with only the first half of deer season. I double checked the dates and the no corn allowed in feeders period (protein pellets only allowed period) is Oct. 1st through Nov. 30th. Our season runs from Oct. 1st through Jan. 31st. The highest stress period on our deer herd is the late summer period. Also Doc check my 1st post. Feeders are not allowed within 100 yards of a stand or within line of sight of a stand. If it's 200 yards away and in your line of sight it's illegal. Also, feeders are not allowed within 100 yards of a property line. As you can see, the general framework of the rule doesn't allow a hunter to shoot a deer over bait. Shooting deer going to or from it is legal. Needless to say, baiting has been a hot topic over the past few years in MS. This new supplemental feeding law was implemented last year and was an option the state game & fish had to apease the pro-baiting hunters in this state. It also closed the old loophole where feeding deer year round was legal even when the parties using the property claimed they didn't hunt where they were feeding deer. If you'd like to review the full details of MS's new supplemental feeding law, here's a link. http://www.mdwfp.com/Level2/Wildlife/pdf/final/2008/W-3796.pdf That is confusing. Any idea why feeding is limited to protein pellets, and corn is not allowed? Obviously they must have had some good reason since they are so specific. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm23494 Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 PA requires that all baits be removed 30 days prior to the opening of any season. So in reality you are not allowed to be baiting any deer throughout the seasons due to how they overlap. I usually put some protein blocks and corn feeders out after late archery season closes to help the deer get some nutrients during the winter to help supplement their diets. I have a friend who started mixing rabbit pellets with his corn. He did some research and found that they were like 14%-18% protein and quite a bit cheaper than protein pellets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 That is confusing. Any idea why feeding is limited to protein pellets, and corn is not allowed? Obviously they must have had some good reason since they are so specific. Doc Oh, Doc... You are sooo wrong if you think something that the Miss Legislature came up with must be for a good reason. hahaha.... Feeding deer ALWAYS stirs up controversy on both sides. I poured out about 100lbs of corn this year only for a game cam. ppl around here dont really care what the laws say, most hunt the way they want to anyway. I'd say about 70% of the ppl i know in MS hunt with bait, in some form of fashion. The supplemental feeding law IMHO was merely an acknoledgement of that and the legislature's attempt at dealing with the reality. If, however, as some believe you can simply pour out bait, and pick and choose your trophies to shoot, you are mistaken. Rarely that i know of are mature bucks taken over corn. It is, though a great way to keep does around during the rut. Their best use, to me, is to supplement nutrition and antler growth in spring and summer, so choose a feed that accomplishes that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Oh yeah, TTID, if you got some more of them spindly horned cull bucks, send them over here. I'll leave a big heaping pile of corn for them to snack on till October...:D:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 That is confusing. Any idea why feeding is limited to protein pellets, and corn is not allowed? Obviously they must have had some good reason since they are so specific. Doc I can only speculate about the reasoning Doc. My best guess is it has to do with a deer's need for higher protein intake during their molting stage going from summer coat to growing their winter coat but like I said that's just a guess. Come Dec.1st corn is legal and that is about the time we traditionally start getting our colder weather and winter coats are essentially grown. Our coldest weather is usually during the first 2 to 3 weeks of January. Also, remember there isn't a November rut anywhere in this state. Breeding takes place here at various times depending on what part of MS you're talking about. It ranges from the end of the 1st week of Dec. in the northwest part of the state to the 1st week of February in the southeastern parts of MS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Watching these threads might actually become a bit amusing if not for some of the misconceptions that lead way to further separating us as hunters. This same topic as well as a few others comes up around this same time just about every year. Seems some of the same members get into the same debates. There have been some pretty good past discussions that may possibly have helped some folks become a bit more enlightened on controversial topics, think it benefits us all as a group to try to view things we may not be so well familiar with at the very least with a bit of an open mind. These discussions in that sense are good so long as they are constructive and civil. Sad thing is however that some of those same member/members who have whined or complain about hunter numbers on the decline, yet they show how they do not support other hunters who hunt by legal means in places that allow for methods that they do not approve of for whatever their reason may be. Almost seems hypocritical and maybe a bit closed minded to take a notion that you do not agree with something so it should not be allowed for anyone else even though that has been a way or method for other areas of the country for longer than your existence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 (edited) Oh, Doc... You are sooo wrong if you think something that the Miss Legislature came up with must be for a good reason. hahaha.... Actually the MS Legislature passed a baiting bill last year by 1 vote but it was vetoed by the Gov. The new Supplemental feed law was something the DWF&P had as an option that they could put into law outside of the MS Legislature. I'd say about 70% of the ppl i know in MS hunt with bait, in some form of fashion. The supplemental feeding law IMHO was merely an acknoledgement of that and the legislature's attempt at dealing with the reality. I've heard baiting is pretty bad in some parts of the state. That's not really the case in my neck of the woods though unless you include food plots (which are legal) as bait as some people like to do. Part of the reason is pig problems in the part of the state where I hunt. I never have poured corn out on the ground for my trail cam sets for that very reason. As of 5/6/08, corn is not even a legal choice for baiting a trail cam set anymore if you're pouring it out on the ground. IMHO that part is a little silly. Very few hunters with trail cams know that. It's one of those "read in between the lines" things. Edited February 4, 2009 by Rhino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kansasbucks Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Back to the original question........ I usually put mineral blocks and feed out staring in april or may. Then around september 1st start feeding corn and pellets. I personally don't hunt over my feeders, but to each there own. I do hunt on trails leading to the feeder, don't see this as being any different as hunting trails leading to food plots, bean fields, or wheat fields! As far as being able to shoot any buck at any time, nothing could be further from the truth. I get several pictures of different bucks at the feeders and quite often never see the deer during daylight hours. More often than not, i think the feeders in my area turn the deer nocturnal since they can come out in the cover of darkness to eat. All the deer I have shot in the past several years have come during the rut when the deer were either following a doe or cruising looking for a doe. And, lastly, this past year was the first time that i actually shot the buck that I wanted to by the pictures i got from my feeders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 "As of 5/6/08, corn is not even a legal choice for baiting a trail cam set anymore if you're pouring it out on the ground. IMHO that part is a little silly. Very few hunters with trail cams know that. It's one of those "read in between the lines" things. " Actually, Rhino, I think you dont have to read between the lines too much. I'm just not taking it to that level. If someone wants to catch me puring out a total of 2 bags a year that stays on the ground less than 36 hours, i guess they can just get the ticket book out. Baiting a trail cam isnt essential, but some locations it really helps.....esp if there isnt actually a "trail" hahaha.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Actually, Rhino, I think you dont have to read between the lines too much. I'm just not taking it to that level. If someone wants to catch me puring out a total of 2 bags a year that stays on the ground less than 36 hours, i guess they can just get the ticket book out. Baiting a trail cam isnt essential, but some locations it really helps.....esp if there isnt actually a "trail" hahaha.. Well our hunting club has a lot of food plots of various sizes so I have lots of places to choose from for food source camera sets. Besides that sacks of corn for old farts like me are too heavy to tote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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