Established Bait Piles Work

So, in the previous post, I showed you my first deer.  Well, I just wanted to say that, established bait piles work.  The place where I shot the doe was 50 yards from a bait pile.  I saw four deer that morning, and four the previous evening.  I'll even share some pictures of my bait site (haven't used it yet) that I put in less than a week ago:                                                                                  

So, I think you can see that they work.  The next to bottom picture features a spike buck that my camera took a picture of.  I actually got two pictures of him, but that one was the best of him.  The bottom has two does standing behind a log close by the feeder.  I'll keep all of you posted on my camera pictures if I get some exiting things.  By the way,  most of the pictures were taken on the night of Dec. 17-18, I got over 10 pictures in one night!  And the bait site isn't that old!  They do work when acorns and other food isn't well available.

My First Deer

Hello!  So, I have shared hunting experiences in the past.  I thought there was no reason not to share this one.  I took my first deer!

I took her near a bait site on a friends property.  I hunted there an evening and the next morning, that's when I shot this nice doe from about 50 yards away.

Take a Leaf Survey

I took a leaf survey a few days ago.  I found I had these tree's in my area:

1. Beech
2. White Oak
3. Red Oak
4. Chestnut Oak
5. Sweetgum
6. Hickory

Pines and cedars were obvious.  But here is how I did it and why I did it.

How
I took a walk in the woods.  And I collected leaves from several different areas.  So I got to see what tree is where.

Why
I wanted to see what tree's were where by looking at their leaves.  That way, I knew where to go to hunt.  Or, if you don't do that, you can know where to go to observe wildlife.  Oaks provide food for deer, squirrels, and probably more.  Hickory provides food for squirrels, it's one of their favorite nuts.

In all, taking the survey helped me know more about my woods, and what's there.  If you manage wildlife, you can know where to apply fertilizer (or help in some way) to mast providing trees to increase their production of nuts and fruits for wildlife.

Merry Christmas!

Baiting vs. Supplemental Feeding

Baiting deer is a very debated topic.  I've read the pros and cons of it, and I think that if you want to bait, and it's legal too, fine.  If you don't bait, that's fine too.  I personally might bait a little bit, and I still will hunt over natural foods and when available, food plots.  But, let's make the difference between baiting and supplemental feeding (minerals)

Baiting- Attracting deer to a hunt site with the use of corn or deer attractant.
Supplemental Feeding- Giving deer minerals they need to get big, strong, and healthy.  You don't hunt over the spot, you leave it alone.  Doing this after the season would help deer to get through the winter without a lot of weight loss.

Baiting can be done with help from a feeder, or it can be piled on the ground.  I don't think it matters if you get a $400 one or make it out of pvc pipe for $5.  Deer have patterns, and they will stick to those patterns unless they have a good reason, so if you use a gravity feeder, it will only use feed if deer come.  Meanwhile battery feeders throw out feed that may or may not be eaten.

Mineral blocks can be used for bait, but I would say that they should be used to give deer much needed minerals.  Giving deer corn and mineral blocks can help them during winter, when food is scarcer than during summer or fall months.  Food plots are another example of feeding deer, if the food plot is there in the winter.

My personal experience.  I only used a little bit of corn in front of a camera to see if deer were coming to a particular area, that's it.  I haven't done the whole thing long, only a couple weeks.  But I think I will mostly stick to supplement feeding.  And if you have pvc or gravity feeders, why not just catch some acorns and put them in it so deer can have them?  (Check out my article on acorn gathering: Gathering Acorns for Hunting)

Big and J, Sportsman Choice, Whitetail Institute, Evolved Habitats, C' Mere Deer, all make good feeds and mineral items.
Salt blocks are another good investment.  But use them for minerals, not for bait.

That's all for now, happy hunting and Merry Christmas!

(CORRECTION): A couple weeks after I posted this article, I decided to hunt over my corn pile a little bit, as a last resort to get another deer, and I almost succeeded.  (3/26/14)

2nd Birthday!!

Snow Camp Outdoors just had their 2nd birthday a couple days ago!  Thank you all you readers for keeping me writing.  Please comment on what we should do next (adding in different content: video, product review).