carrots and/or corn as bait

[bullfood]

The cattle are leaving this weekend so now we can bait. Our set up is in a mixed bush, swamp ,meadows and 50 acre fields w/no crops anywhere near. The deer have the option of using many different routes and we have a hard time patterning them as they change in different weather, time of year and the new issue of a 5' fence impeding their access between our area and the neighbour who now also hunts.
In the past ,using corn in tube feeders worked well to draw the does in and as expected the boys would sometimes follow.
I have access to horse grade carrots as well as corn and wonder if anyone has luck w/carrots which we can combine w/corn. We are in gravel country north east of Lindsay Ontario

[zman]

I have used both carrots and corn but it seems the carrots were always the last to go , never really liked them, buy your self some apples and you will be happy , apples and corn is a great mix, they can smell the apples a good distance away, just remember don't touch any of the food with your bare hands

[Cossack]

May be good, have seen where they actually tried to dig frozen in carrots from the ground. Good luck But baiting is a big no no here, even deer blocks with food particles like acorns embedded are considered baiting. Salt or mineral blocks only.

[OMC-MOOSE]

May be good, have seen where they actually tried to dig frozen in carrots from the ground. Good luck But baiting is a big no no here, even deer blocks with food particles like acorns embedded are considered baiting. Salt or mineral blocks only.

Not allowed ANYTHING in PA that is not natural (doe urine, buck lure is ok). You can hunt cornfields, food plots, apple orchards, etc. Any type of attractant that you put out (feeders, mineral blocks, etc.) must be removed and NO traces of it 30 days prior to the start of the season,

[j.krug]

The deer around where I hunt are eating the corn like it's going out of style!
I put down carrots a few times and they sat there untouched and rotted.
They do gobble up the apples when I put them down though.

[secret]

Cant help you here.!!!!!...... In Pa you have to "HUNT" your deer!v. , hunt·ed , hunt·ing , hunts . v.tr. To pursue (game) for food or sport. To search through (an area) for prey: hunted the ridges

[bullfood]

Cant help you here.!!!!!...... In Pa you have to "HUNT" your deer!v. , hunt·ed , hunt·ing , hunts . v.tr. To pursue (game) for food or sport. To search through (an area) for prey: hunted the ridges

I've witnessed your deer populations as apposed to our 'wild' deer.
We see few and don't have the advantage of corn fields etc as "bait'

[ch312]

Cant help you here.!!!!!...... In Pa you have to "HUNT" your deer!v. , hunt·ed , hunt·ing , hunts . v.tr. To pursue (game) for food or sport. To search through (an area) for prey: hunted the ridges

going by that logic, using ANY attractant would not be considered hunting anymore as you are using an attractant to lure the game to you for a shot. this would include scents, calls, rattling, bait, etc.

using bait is no different than using scent as under both circumstances you are convincing the deer to visit a certain area that puts the odds in your favor.

[Norlander]

I'm not far from you bullfood. I've tried carrots without success. Late in the rifle season we mixed some corn with carrots and both are now gone, but I'm not sure it was deer or bears that ate the carrots. Corn works, but be prepared to use lots of it. The raccoons, blue jays and bears love it too. Apples also work very well.
I shot a very nice 10 point this year near the bait site, but he didn't stop to eat. He was looking for some does that had visited earlier, I'm guessing.

[wabi]

Corn is the only thing that has worked for me.
Deer in my area (agricultural) know what corn is - and they like it!
Apples, carrots, pumpkins, etc. just lay until they rot.

The only exception is pawpaws and persimmons from my trees in my yard, they also have them available in the wild around here and know they're edible.

[evaughan]

This is the first year I have used feeders and I just used them for trail cams so my experience is very limited but for me they seemed to really like grains more than anything else. I started out feeding scratch feed (corn, wheat & barley) with good success but when I switched to straight oats the activity went up dramatically, they hammered those feeders. The coons were a problem for sure but @ $8 for 50lbs of oats I wasn't too worried about it. (until I started going through 4 bags/feeder/week, then it became a bit of an issue)

[peter p]

I've used carrots and they work better when it gets cold out so they won't rot.
The deer eat them frozen and love them.
Right about now is a good time to put them out. But they wont touch them for about 2 weeks for some reason.
You cant go wrong with 10 bucks for 1000 lbs of carrots .

[Farmer]

Have used corn for bait here in Ont and have had some deer come in, carrots have been left untouched. Carrots, sugar beets and corn worked great in Michigan when it was still legal to bait. it seems that the deer here did not know they could eat them.

[GaryM]

We can't use any bait of any kind here in IL. Although mineral blocks are also illegal, I put one out in the spring near my house. Shhhh! The bucks use it heavy from early spring until about August and I get lots of nice pics with my trail cam of bucks in velvet. My theory is they need the extra minerals in the spring and summer to grow their antlers. I use the dark reddish colored mineral block and the bucks are on it heaviest in June and July. No help for hunting season but great for getting pics of what's around. Gary

[warningshot]

no agriculture at all around me...corn, oats, pumpkins carrots, apples but what they prefer changes as the season goes on ...i'd say their fave this season is pumpkins as the cold hits they love the corn ..