WE have been using corn so far and was thinking of adding in some apples,
Not sure if that is right thing to do....by adding thi sin woul dit negatively impact the deers movement?
Any one using apples now as most of the apples are off the tree?
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WE have been using corn so far and was thinking of adding in some apples,
Not sure if that is right thing to do....by adding thi sin woul dit negatively impact the deers movement?
Any one using apples now as most of the apples are off the tree?
I've always had good luck with apples even later in the season
I'm using Does.
I gave deer hunting a break for a couple of years but when the snow hit the ground I would used alfalfa cubes. I had pics of deer going under the snow for them. You could buy a big bag at a farm co-op store. It wouldn't hurt to use apples
They're pretty much done with apples now....stick with molasses covered feed..Quote:
Originally Posted by hockeymjt
Yes...best bait a hunter can have....let them stand around your shooting lane, leaving their 'perfume' scent is a good thing HaHa..Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug
Walking around my property I found the deer have been feeding on the wild apples actively. From what I have seen in the past, they like to wait until they are a little frozen and the sugar content is higher.
I've found that the best thing to bait deer is to set my bow down and pour a coffee.
Pooping in the woods always worked for me! Nice thing about apples, is the partridge have difficulty carrying them away.:)
Deer in 92B don't hit bait. Too much food around! :(
I am heading to Manitoulin Island tomorrow for my second rifle hunt and my experience with apples is this. I usually lay out a dozen or so a few days before the hunt and they usually get hit right away, but for some reason as the week goes on, probably human scent, the activity at the apples slows considerably.
Last year I put out a bunch of apples on the Saturday before the hunt, had trail cam pictures of him at the apples Sunday and then nothing. I ended up harvesting him on Tuesday of the hunt but he was not coming to the bait when I shot him. As mentioned I think they will work better early season
Apples and a grain mix here. They will eat apples all winter long here.
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Red apples worked all year steady.
Alfalfa cubes sound really intriguing. Might try that for the muzzleloader season.
Alfalfa is good for properties you manage. Esp. Continuing in winter when food is scarce in late January and Feb. Paired near a cedar brush you'll have them kicking around especially if a stream is near by.Quote:
Originally Posted by marky.mark
One year I used stabilized rice bran pellets at one stand and the deer devoured it. Quite high in protein and crude fat, specially compared to corn. Only problem is that it's fairly expensive so you have to be careful how you manage it. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...n-pellet-40-lb
This is a good article on feeding deer. Tons of warning too about feeding deer too much corn, specially later in the season when their stomachs can't handle it.
http://www.deerfriendly.com/feeding-deer
Cheers
Bait. Pffft... hunt the landscape properly and bait is totally useless. If your not seeing deer, baits just going to feed them at night. If they’re there they don’t disappear than suddenly appear because of bait. Your just not hunting the right spots and baiting them won’t help. It’s just a lazy way of hunting imo and isn’t going to get you any trophy’s
I don't recall anyone asking for your thoughts on baiting, I believe the question was........... what is a good bait....Quote:
Originally Posted by BuckWisperer
Not looking for a trophy there buckshot, just meat for the freeezer. But thank you for you participation in the conversation.Quote:
Originally Posted by BuckWisperer
To the others on here, I'm using apples and whole corn. cant put out enough and it's gone! Just need bucky to show himself.
Never had any luck with molasses. Did side by side testing of plain whole corn and molasses coated whole corn. Deer at my camp ignored the molasses corn until the plain corn was gone. Seems bizarre to me but it is what it is.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
As for apples - in many years you could be right but this year the snow has been on the ground for almost 2 weeks at my camp, leaves are long gone and we still have 30+ trees (out of about 300) that are holding some apples. We had more apples this year than i can ever remember in my life. There are still lots on the ground around the trees that aren't holding anymore as well. Based on the tracks around these trees (actually scouted a bunch of them today in advance of the weekend) they are still getting hit hard by the deer in our area (82a).
I have found from watching thru the years that Deer will hit apples hard from Oct to Nov but then as the apples begin to freeze (get hard) they stop eating them. I've actually watched them roll them off the corn with their noses. I was told Deer are pretty good at regulating their diets to local feed supply and that in most years local apples are gone by end Oct early Nov so they naturally don't eat them anymore.
Either case I still have apples laying on the ground at an old bait pile even after the corn is long gone. Only a few chew marks from the rabbits/porcupines/ raccons.
I think the molasses isn't so much for eating as it is for the smell to draw them in...
I also found that using a beef mix (high in fiber/fat/protein) from the local feed store works better than just corn. I put out an 80lb bag and it was gone in days. Lots of activity at the site.Quote:
Originally Posted by smitty55
I hunt 82a as well and I know on my farm that once the snow hits it is so rare to see a deer on my farms. They move immediately to their winter grounds and then I don’t see them until April again.
I still have a couple 55 pound bags of deer feed I grabbed in Dundalk I have a spypoint that watches my stand area and there must be snow build up on the camera because every picture is just a white out. But like I said in a earlier post I have had the deer hitting the apples all year this year. Only red ones though. They literally avoided any other apple.
Funny you mention the red apples. My experience has been the opposite. I have put out both kinds and the deer in my area ate the small yellow ones and left the red ones. They seemed to like them bite sized too.
Deer in the area I hunt love the apples. Coyotes love them too.
Attachment 39241
Attachment 39242
Coyotes love pears seems wierd but seen them moving someQuote:
Originally Posted by Flash1
I have tried apples, especially when I can get the side by side in; but last year I had a bushel apples just disappear practically overnight, surprising what 30 turkey can eat. Honestly, every time I try bait it seems I feed everything other that deer, from racoons, skunks, coyote, squirrels, turkey, crow, you name it they seem to show up. Sure I do get deer; but I question the value in it. I did put out 2 Protein Blocks from Rackstacker this year, in one bush the does and fawns loved it, so did the racoons, in the other bush it hardly got touched. I also had a Trophy Rock at both locations with the nuggets spread around, both got hammered, still getting visited.
The best bait... in full estrous mode now.
https://i.imgur.com/ni0cs9Nl.jpg
I put out a jack-o-lantern and apple after last year's hunt but the deer didn't know what to do with it. The mice had a field day under the snow, though. :D
Attachment 39244
It's funny to read that what they hit seems to change by region, one area they will muck green apples, and another they leave them for red apples. Interesting.
From Aug to about mid October I was putting out water softener salt mixed with sugar beet crush and to my surprise the area where I was dumping it continues to be bare dirt. Even despite the snow we've received, and it's been about 6 weeks since last replenishing it. Apples were also popular in this spot, moving ahead now I think I will try the alflafa cubes.