newbie needing help

[CEM6684]

Hello, and thanks in advance for the help. I have a few acres I bought in the early spring. I set up a trail cam in July and I have one doe that passes through occasionally. How can I pull deer onto my property? I tried a corn pile and all that seemed to do was attract raccoons. The wooded portion of my land is a ridge line that is above a river bottom. Should I try acorns, or store bought mineral attractants? Thanks again.

[mrbb]

well to be honest, just cause your camera isn't getting pic's doesn't mean deer are not using, or living on your property
a deer can be very elusive to camera's
as many camera's suck too, and never see.take a pic of what walks by

the best advice if your planning on long term hunting this lands is to improve them, plant fruit trees, add a food plot
do some timber cutting, to allow new growth to come up, plant tree's like oaks, beech nut, , good browse and future nuts

deer need cover/safety, water and food to live
if you have all this, you will have deer

a bait pile like a food plot will feed all critters
some things will attract more of some species, but its the nature of the beast when you dump out or plant food

your land has to have what deer want or deer won't have reason to be there
good news is most places have something deer like, bad thing is if lands about you have better offerings, they will be there instead of your lands most times!
like they say, you build it they will come!

[Stonegod]

Welcome to the site CEM6684!!!

[hoopie]

I agree with mrbb, depending on your camera it might simply be its not catching the deer, and deer are elusive animals. I would say your best bet would be get into the woods as much as possible to do some first hand scouting with a bow in your hand.

[CEM6684]

Thanks guys.

[00buck]

I wouldn't be putting out corn with the crops on it is a waste of money but I feed all year long so I guess I am throwing money away early season use minerals late season after snow is on ground and food sources are limited I turn my feeder up to feeding 6 times during the daylight and 2times in the dark I go through probably 250 pounds of corn a week but be observant of your property if it looks like a highway disregard your camera and put the time into scouting and

[CEM6684]

That's half my problem, the place has game trails all over. But there isn't a lot of deer sign, I'm hoping there is a way to take that occasional deer and somehow attract more.
I'm at a loss.

[mrbb]

well if you have LOTS of game trails, that means deer are using the area alot
try moving the camera to more locations and try to figure out what time of day they are using them
you can try building funnels, by blocking off some trails to funnel deer to use less
if you have any places to get Apples, get some, apples and fruit tend to get eaten more by bigger critters like deer,rather than say a corn pile that most critters will eat off of

you can try hinge cutting some trees to help make funnels, or stacking up brush
can also try setting up high in a climber stand and watch where deer are moving froma distance
if hunting was easy, most would give up after a few yrs
its this challange that makes most of use stick with it for yrs and yrs
have patience, hunting in real life isn't like on TV shows
on average 60+ % of hunters eat tag soup
its how it happens to be
many times it takes yrs to learn how deer use a property
and some time never
as they can change habits over time, making it harder, and again, it why many folks like that challange