Corn Fields

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thwack16
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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby thwack16 » Sat Jul 23, 2016 12:32 am

This is something that peaks my interest. Our corn is typically long gone from the fields when season opens on October 1; however, I hunted around standing corn for the first time last year on a trip to the Midwest. I was watching "Bowhunting October Whitetails" a few weeks ago and they talked about stalking a cornfield. That was the second time I'd heard of that method, having read it in one of the Eberhart's books before. The visual to watch how they did it helped though. Seems like a great way to spend the middle of the day early season.


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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby oldrank » Sat Jul 23, 2016 1:17 am

I of course dont have walls full of monster bucks as some on here so my opinions may not hold much weight however I have smacked a few out of standing corn over the years. One of my favorite set ups is to set up in the corn on a hill. This gives me the ability to see down in the corn. If you can find this set up close to the end of the field where bedding is close its golden. Rainy days always seem to be the hottest for me. Possibly the overcast conditions and onset of a dark evening causes some early movements to feeding.

Ive also stalked em down during gun season on rainy nasty days. I look for the same features. A upper elevation advantage where I can see a distance down into the rows. I will play the wind n slip row by row through the corn.

The deer seem to have no clue of what u are and most of my kills have been very close shots. My closest was a nice 8 pt at about 5 paces with my compound as he moved up the rows my way. All were killed on public land. That plays into the rainy day factor also. These fields get pounded and a few days of nasty weather keeps other hunters away n the deer seem to know this.

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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby oldrank » Sat Jul 23, 2016 1:28 am

One more thing I have noticed is its some what easy to find where they feed. They seem to hit the edges n any small openings. If a couple of rows break or were grazed short early in the year it seems to be a draw. Focus on the short stuff. You will see rows n rows not touched then find a small break that's picked clean.

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isitseasonyet?
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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby isitseasonyet? » Sat Jul 23, 2016 1:49 am

I hunt three types of terrain where I live, hill, marsh, and farmland. The majority of my earmy season hunting I as done in farmland. I don't know about your area but in mine there are several small Woodlots surrounded by big ag fields. These Woodlots are 1 of two things usually, an abandoned farmstead, or a creek runs through it. Often the deer will concentrate in the Woodlots that have corn near them, even to the point where it can be an exercise in futility to sit there if there is no corn in the area. I'm going to get a little off topic but I believe it's important to understand what I mean. Abandoned farmsteads are great because there are usually some mast producing trees either oaks or fruit such as apples, this can be a real draw to all the deer in an area while they are dropping. It's not uncommon to see 30-40 deer in a 5-15 acre woodlot until the food source goes dry. But after that you may not see another deer all season sitting in that spot. Creek bottoms surrounded by crops can be some awesome hunting at certain times of the year. I believe the two main reasons for this is that it can be a giant funnel during the rut. These creeks often have woods on either side less than 100 yards and can go on in length for miles. It's a giant funnel connecting many of the Woodlots in the area. The second reason is that creeks often split a field and split two or more different types of crops. So if there is corn on one side or beans/alfalfa or anything really palatable the deer will hit those areas when that food source is prime. I believe the reason you often see tracks in areas where corn didn't grow is they use it just like they use other areas in other terrain types. In my area most of the time those bare spots are water drainages that lead back to those creeks. The deer use them to travel from cover in the corn to other foods because it's the path of least resistance. I have seen them walk those areas hit the edge of the woodlot and follow it to a trail that leads to the other food source, stage in the woods eating/browsing and then head to the open fields after dark. So I agree with Stanley on hunting the edge between corn and woods. In my experience the deer will use the corn for cover once it gets tall enough and will feed in it at certain stages of growth. The silk stage, they will eat the "strings" off the top of the cob because they are sweet, the milk stage, before the kernels get a chance to harden also because it is sweet, and after the corn is fully mature, usually because the other food sources are depleted and it is very high in energy. I don't usually key in on wind damaged areas of the fields simply because it's tough to do without making a ton of noise and I haven't seen a reason too. Maybe someone else has ideas about that. If there is no woods or anything in the area I wouldn't hunt it unless you know there's a big one in there, not far from where I hunt there is endless crops and nearly no cover, it's kind of like a marsh the deer usually aren't just in the middle of the cattails. They are on the edges and around structure. You can eliminate 90% of farm country the same way you can anywhere else. If an area looks interesting go check it out. If the sign says hunt it, HUNT IT! You can hunt any terrain by using the same principles. I'll post a map to help illustrate what I mean.

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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby isitseasonyet? » Sat Jul 23, 2016 1:59 am

Sorry about the previous long winded reply.
Orange = drainages
Blue = known deer trails
Yellow = stand sights
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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby oldrank » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:03 am

Ive hunted simular farms Isitseasonyet. All bedding I can recall was around the corn. The small wet areas that dont get planted always seemed to be hot. Inside corners were hot. Small sections of woods in between the fields with marshy center always had great buck sign. When I was really young the property I lived on was all farm land n my brothers n I would set up small drives n push the little potholes between the fields. We had a lot of success jumping bucks out of these.

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Last edited by oldrank on Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby isitseasonyet? » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:12 am

oldrank wrote:Ive hunted simular farms Isitseasonyet. All bedding I can recall was around the corn. The small wet areas that dont get planted always seemed to be hot. Inside corners were hot. Small sections of woods in between the fields with marshy center always had great buck sign. When I was really young the property I lived on was all farm land n my brothers n I would set up small drives n push tee little potholes between the fields. We had a lot of success jumping bucks out of these.

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I have seen that as well those small pushes have worked well for us in gun season.

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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby Hawthorne » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:30 am

isitseasonyet? wrote:I hunt three types of terrain where I live, hill, marsh, and farmland. The majority of my earmy season hunting I as done in farmland. I don't know about your area but in mine there are several small Woodlots surrounded by big ag fields. These Woodlots are 1 of two things usually, an abandoned farmstead, or a creek runs through it. Often the deer will concentrate in the Woodlots that have corn near them, even to the point where it can be an exercise in futility to sit there if there is no corn in the area. I'm going to get a little off topic but I believe it's important to understand what I mean. Abandoned farmsteads are great because there are usually some mast producing trees either oaks or fruit such as apples, this can be a real draw to all the deer in an area while they are dropping. It's not uncommon to see 30-40 deer in a 5-15 acre woodlot until the food source goes dry. But after that you may not see another deer all season sitting in that spot. Creek bottoms surrounded by crops can be some awesome hunting at certain times of the year. I believe the two main reasons for this is that it can be a giant funnel during the rut. These creeks often have woods on either side less than 100 yards and can go on in length for miles. It's a giant funnel connecting many of the Woodlots in the area. The second reason is that creeks often split a field and split two or more different types of crops. So if there is corn on one side or beans/alfalfa or anything really palatable the deer will hit those areas when that food source is prime. I believe the reason you often see tracks in areas where corn didn't grow is they use it just like they use other areas in other terrain types. In my area most of the time those bare spots are water drainages that lead back to those creeks. The deer use them to travel from cover in the corn to other foods because it's the path of least resistance. I have seen them walk those areas hit the edge of the woodlot and follow it to a trail that leads to the other food source, stage in the woods eating/browsing and then head to the open fields after dark. So I agree with Stanley on hunting the edge between corn and woods. In my experience the deer will use the corn for cover once it gets tall enough and will feed in it at certain stages of growth. The silk stage, they will eat the "strings" off the top of the cob because they are sweet, the milk stage, before the kernels get a chance to harden also because it is sweet, and after the corn is fully mature, usually because the other food sources are depleted and it is very high in energy. I don't usually key in on wind damaged areas of the fields simply because it's tough to do without making a ton of noise and I haven't seen a reason too. Maybe someone else has ideas about that. If there is no woods or anything in the area I wouldn't hunt it unless you know there's a big one in there, not far from where I hunt there is endless crops and nearly no cover, it's kind of like a marsh the deer usually aren't just in the middle of the cattails. They are on the edges and around structure. You can eliminate 90% of farm country the same way you can anywhere else. If an area looks interesting go check it out. If the sign says hunt it, HUNT IT! You can hunt any terrain by using the same principles. I'll post a map to help illustrate what I mean.

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Good post! Exactly the way I see it in my area

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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby Stanley » Sat Jul 23, 2016 6:54 am

Great topic for discussion. Corn has some distinct super qualities for a big old buck to like. Cover, security, food, shade and a great water source. Corn in the early morning has lots of water on it in the form of dew. So a buck can hang out in the corn with out leaving. People don't go through or into the corn much so it is a safe haven from human intrusion.

I personally love corn bumped up next to a timber. Killed few bucks over the years in these corn/timber corridors. Bucks definitely use the corn edge as a travel route. Great safe zone for them. Any hint of trouble and they disappear in a millisecond into the corn. Other animals also use the corn corridors to travel from to and from. I have provided a few pictures of what I'm talking about.

I'm not going to be like Trump and tell you how I will do it. I'm going to be Like Dan show you how I have done it. ;) :lol:

I would also like to add I killed a buck out of the corridor with the bucks pictured, in 2004. After that I started hanging a trail camera in the corridor. Tons of pictures of Bucks using the corridor at all times of the day and all different months. This is how I like to quantify my theories sometimes. So it's not always hanging the trail camera up before I hunt to learn stuff.

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The buck I killed in 2004 in the corn corridor.
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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby isitseasonyet? » Sat Jul 23, 2016 7:22 am

Stanley wrote:Great topic for discussion. Corn has some distinct super qualities for a big old buck to like. Cover, security, food, shade and a great water source. Corn in the early morning has lots of water on it in the form of dew. So a buck can hang out in the corn with out leaving. People don't go through or into the corn much so it is a safe haven from human intrusion.

I personally love corn bumped up next to a timber. Killed few bucks over the years in these corn/timber corridors. Bucks definitely use the corn edge as a travel route. Great save zone for them. Any hint of trouble and they disappear in a millisecond into the corn. Other animals also use the corn corridors to travel from to and from. I have provided a few pictures of what I'm talking about.

I'm not going to be like Trump and tell you how I will do it. I'm going to be Like Dan show you how I have done it. ;) :lol:

I would also like to add I killed a buck out of this corridor in 2004. After that I started hanging a trail camera in the corridor. Tons of pictures of Bucks using the corridor at all times of the day and all different months. This is how I like to quantify my theories sometimes. So it's not always hanging the trail camera up before I hunt to learn stuff.

Image

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Image

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Image


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The buck I killed in 2004 in the corn corridor.
Image
Very cool Stanley, I never thought about the dew thing before, makes a lot of sense!

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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby Rubline » Sat Jul 23, 2016 7:45 am

I will add a couple of points. Farmers refer to corn that is blown over and the stalks snapped as "Green Snap". If the corn looks like it is slightly laying over or curved it will come back more times than not. Deer and especially bucks like to bed in corn fields where weed patches have formed. I have seen trails in standing corn fields following down one row going to these weed or grassy patches. Deer like them because they are shorter in height than the corn giving a feeling of security.
Stan is right on his corridor experiences/descriptions. One trick to enhance this is to mow the weeds along the edge of the corn field making an easy trail to follow for the deer. On mowing I am talking about using a tractor with a 3 point hitch mower. Ever tried this Stan? I think mornings are best for hunting those corridors Stanley describes.
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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby Uncle Lou » Sat Jul 23, 2016 11:44 pm

Great read guys. More than one of you hit on the wind driving it down in "circles", and it bounces back. I did not know that. The wind driving it down got me thinking of holes in the corn, but after I wrote it I was thinking really of any openings in the corn. Although they can be there for many reasons; missed with planter, and standing water are probably most common.

The references to corridors and other edges were also very helpful.

Regardless, they are openings in the corn. I dont know why but I just want to get a wet day with some wind and stalk in there and see what happens. Too bad I dont have any cornfields to hunt.
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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby DeerDylan » Sun Jul 24, 2016 2:59 am

Stanley wrote:Great topic for discussion. Corn has some distinct super qualities for a big old buck to like. Cover, security, food, shade and a great water source. Corn in the early morning has lots of water on it in the form of dew. So a buck can hang out in the corn with out leaving. People don't go through or into the corn much so it is a safe haven from human intrusion.

I personally love corn bumped up next to a timber. Killed few bucks over the years in these corn/timber corridors. Bucks definitely use the corn edge as a travel route. Great safe zone for them. Any hint of trouble and they disappear in a millisecond into the corn. Other animals also use the corn corridors to travel from to and from. I have provided a few pictures of what I'm talking about.

I'm not going to be like Trump and tell you how I will do it. I'm going to be Like Dan show you how I have done it. ;) :lol:

I would also like to add I killed a buck out of the corridor with the bucks pictured, in 2004. After that I started hanging a trail camera in the corridor. Tons of pictures of Bucks using the corridor at all times of the day and all different months. This is how I like to quantify my theories sometimes. So it's not always hanging the trail camera up before I hunt to learn stuff.

Image

Image

Image

Image






Image


Image



The buck I killed in 2004 in the corn corridor.
Image


Top notch Stanley. You've got the gears in my brain turning. Is that 2004 buck story on here anywhere?

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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby Stanley » Sun Jul 24, 2016 3:31 am

DeerDylan wrote:Top notch Stanley. You've got the gears in my brain turning. Is that 2004 buck story on here anywher



I did an illustrated thread/post on that 2004 buck a few years ago.
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Re: Corn Fields

Unread postby Uncle Lou » Sun Jul 24, 2016 4:23 am

Stanley, I didnt notice earlier in pic 10 and 17 (the second 17) are those bobcats? And what is that in the bottom right in pic 17?
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