Cruising bucks and standing corn

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rochester coops
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Cruising bucks and standing corn

Unread postby rochester coops » Mon Nov 01, 2021 1:48 am

I really like to hit the doe bedding areas now, but this year we have a ton of standing corn everywhere. I took my boys (ground blind) to a large bedding area surrounded by corn on Friday, but saw little sign and no does. Did see a spike on the way in about 9am and a real nice buck crashed out of the corn about 8 yds from us at 1:15, but he crossed our ground scent and probably also caught our scent and was on edge. No does anywhere. How do bucks generally work corn when looking for does? I'm afraid all the standing corn is going to mess up my bed hunting plans. Do the bucks cruise the downwind edge of cornfields?


rochester coops
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Re: Cruising bucks and standing corn

Unread postby rochester coops » Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:13 am

So how does standing corn change your plans and how do your tactics change?
Kokes
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Re: Cruising bucks and standing corn

Unread postby Kokes » Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:43 am

Great topic…
Personally I like to hunt the thick stuff just inside the woods with standing corn downwind of me.
So for example if I have woods to the north and corn to the south. I’d wait for a north wind, access thru the corn field and climb up just inside the woodlot and essentially waiting for a bucks to scent check known doe bedding cruising a parallel trail..

I’ve hung cams facing inside the woods and also the edge between woods and corn and found bucks use both, depending on pressure, thickness of woods, etc…

I believe longtime forum member Stanley had a great post about this and he called them “corridors”

Would also be curious to see how other members hunt in these situations…
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brancher147
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Re: Cruising bucks and standing corn

Unread postby brancher147 » Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:40 am

I have a similar situation this year. Hundreds of acres of standing corn on private in the valley and the public ridges have no acorns this year. Seems like the deer are just staying down in the corn and we just had 3” of rain so not looking good to get the corn out. I have pretty much relocated to other areas of interest.
Some do. Some don't. I just might...
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UntouchableNess
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Re: Cruising bucks and standing corn

Unread postby UntouchableNess » Mon Nov 01, 2021 4:24 am

My main hunting property is 220 acres that with roughly 150 acres row crop. The balance is hay field, riparian buffer strip (grassed creek bottom), a brushy draw, contour buffer strips on hillsides, a pine/oak wind break, grass land around pond and fence lines. Not really any timber on the property.

Right now the soybeans have been harvested, corn still standing. The deer are in the standing corn. It's a matter of winning the lotto, being in the right place at the right time when the deer come out of the corn. From a vantage stand two weeks ago, I was able to see 4 antlered deer step out of the corn into the grassy waterways at sunset. None were within bow range and their choice of travel did not bring them by me.

The status of the rut plays a huge role in how the hunting goes. Right now, the bucks seemed more intent on feeding than breeding. Maybe a little rattling/grunting might have grabbed their attention, but I didn't want to give away the location of my tree. As their desire to seek does increases, they will travel the edges more and that is when they will probably come by a stand. So patience will pay off if one invests time in the stand. When the corn does get harvested, then the only cover is the creek bottom and draws, or the windbreaks around the ponds, which will focus their travel.

I hunted the farm hard the early part of last November, passed a decent 8 on Nov 12th I think it was. I jumped to another property that is more timber than ag and tagged a buck on the first sit Nov 20. Trial cams on the farm showed one of my targets running the creek mid-day Nov 21, LOL. I'm headed back to the timber property this afternoon for a hang and hunt, partly to get in a valley out of the stiff wind blowing today, partly to take pressure off the ag farm. Bucks aren't in true seek mode right now, so it would be long sits on the farm. If one waits until the week of Thanksgiving, the big boys will be seeking those late estrous does or ones coming back into estrous and that increases the chance of them dropping their guard.

It pays to be able to hunt when the time is right, rather than having a "vacation window" where it is all or nothing. Not something a traveling hunter would want to hear.


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