Throw corn out?

First year deer hunting on a new property. Still trying to figure it out, and went out opening morning and again this morning.

I was seeing a bunch of deer on my trail cam on a dirt "road" that runs to the back of my property. Right before opening day it slowed way down. I saw one doe yesterday and a fawn that nearly ran into me,

I don't have a tree stand or blind up yet. Guy at work is telling me to throw down a bunch of corn where I want to drop one. Is it too late to do that? Does it matter where I put it if it is in the open?

I am guessing this warm weather isn't helping, but not having much luck!

Throwing corn out wont hurt anything. It may help hold some deer at a specific spot, to allow you a shot.

I wouldnt just pile it up though, i would hand toss it in an area and make the deer work for it, will keep them there longer. A pile of corn is easy to eat and while you may get a single deer chowing on that pile, scattered corn will get multiple perhaps.

A lot of people say they "hand corn" as they walk to their stand or blind. I have done it and watched deer and hogs come to the corn but I guess when they smell where I walked they run off. Like I said many people are successful hand corning but it just doesn't seem to work for me that well. If you have a secret, let me know. Good luck and God bless.

Wear gloves and make sure you arent putting out a bunch of scent, meaning make sure uour boots and clothes arent covered in scent. I dont wear boots that i wear any other time, my hinting boots are dedicated hunting boots, and i will change from driving if i drive somewhere to hunt. Also, i try to just breathe thru my nose when walking to stand, as a mouth breath gives off much more scent than a nose breath.

Drive the road and use a truck feeder. The noise will draw them in and they are less fearful of a vehicle than they are someone walking.

I hand feed the deer on my ranch every day. They don’t care that it comes out of my bare hands and neither do the hogs. I spread it over a much larger area than any electric feeder can and it takes them a long time to even put a dent in it much less eat it all.

I rarely put 6 bags of corn in a feeder anymore. I have a tailgate feeder and hit tree lines and where I see them cross.

I do this a couple times a week.

I think I save more money, spreading 1-2 bags a week for 7-8 weeks. Opposed to 6 bags a feeder times 4 feeders.

I take a gallon bag of corn with me every time I sit in my blind. I throw it about 50-100 yards in the opposite direction of my feeder(if possible). I see more deer there than at my feeder lots of times. I throw corn 10-30 yards from my ladder stand when I bow hunt and they are eating it lots of times before I can get up my ladder stand. I`ve had a different young buck the past 3 seasons that will see me carrying corn in the clear bag and come running to within 40 feet while I throw it out. I haven`t killed a deer under a feeder in 15 years using this method. Hand corn works. Sling the corn in a big area and not just dump it out on the ground. The deer are a lot more relaxed when it spread out more where a dominant deer can`t run them off like they can at a feeder.

These are great points and good advice

In addition to this I dig holes with a post hole digger and besides spreading it around, I pour some in the holes. The deer will get down on their knees to stick their head in the hole. They can’t see you draw your bow and if they try to duck the arrow, they are bottomed out already and can’t.

When they weren't coming into a feeder, we used to do this up and down the game paths leading to the feeder. Like crumbs to a mouse trap...

Make a couple gravity feeders that you can move around to intersecting trails .

I wouldn't give you advise until I know the general area of the state your in and do you know if neighboring property's are feeding corn and, what's the terrain like. Example, Far NE Tx when the acorns started dropping our corn would pile up at the base of feeder and rot. Corn was a waste of money and time come sept. Oh they would tear it up all summer then POOF, disappear like a fart in the wind. If your in a more traditional area of the state where corn is king then use it for sure.

Corn on the ground is a good thing. I mix a 5 gallon bucket with corn and Big and J granules. Put it out on my first morning hunt . When I get to the stand . Never had problems with scent but my hunting boots are only for that. I agree don’t put it in piles they eat it too fast. It will hold the doe there for a long time . That means during rut bucks moving in. After rut the bucks will stay on it for a long time as well. This is also in the area of my feeder or within 20 to 30 yards of it . They will also clean it out after dark . 5 gallons is what I use because sometimes I can have as many as 16 or 20 doe.

Remember deer can smell corn up to almost 400 yards. Also if there are a lot of acorns on the ground the will pass up corn for the acorns first.
Deer will eat white oak acorns over red oak acorns first.
Also with the rut kicking in this also changes their patterns. My local deer (feeder does) have vanished these last few days with the boys beginning to chase.
Good luck,

Wow, thanks all for the great responses. Appreciate you all very much.

I do have acorns on the ground so we’ll see what happens. I put out a bag of corn across a decent area along the road where there has been a lot of tracks and deer on camera. We’ll see tomorrow. Not getting my hopes up but it would be nice if it works!

I’ve learned a lot reading this forum, and have a ton to learn, but looking forward to being better set up for next year.

I looked here about an hour ago and the live/post oak acorns on the ground went from green to brown in the last 24 hours. That's a good thing.

Depends if your goal is baiting or feeding. For baiting, as other have said, just throwing some out when you want to hunt is cheaper and it works.

I have always wondered about this. To me regular corn does not have a smell and I have always been curious if apple or some other flavor or smell of corn works better.

Deer will walk through inches of corn to eat acorns and much of Texas is covered with them right now.

Hand corning a road works far better in mid to late December when natural browse if far less abundant and most of the acorns have been eaten or soured from frost and rain. I would suggest doing it around the middle of the day before you intend to hunt it and don't hunt over it the evening after you corn it. Wait and hunt it the following morning.

Deer are like hummingbirds. They pack up their bag and head for parts unknown when their calendar says 'hunting season'. Hummers do that when the calendar says 'cold'.

Tried that last weekend and all I got was pigs.