Pelletized deer feed

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Have been looking into the Purina Deer Chow line of supplemental feeding for some of the areas I hunt.

I have seen good reviews of the product, while others recommend smaller mills for versatility.

I would like to weigh the cost to benefit and see which one gives me more bang for the buck (pun intended).

Any experienced feeders out there?  What were your results?

Wayne

[bowfish12]

Do you use corn at all?

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Right now, yes.  I will likely go 75-25 at first and then 50-50 for the long term.

[bowfish12]

Ok, to tell you the truth, I don't know much about the actual deer feed.  Now I do know of a man that has a high fence farm.  I believe he does feed his deer something like that with corn.  So I think that it should work.  He has some really big deer.

Depending on how much land you have would depend on how much money I would spend.  I lease about 250 acres here in TN.  I've put food plots out and if I wanted to do a special feed I wouldn't be worried about spending that money b/c of the amount of land I'm hunting.

Now 30-70 acres I probably would just use the corn and a mineral block.  When the rut starts you need to have the girls in that area, the big boys will be there in due time.

I would also be more worried with starting the feed in Jan. or Feb. and continuing it through next Sept.  I'm assuming you are wanting to do this for horn growth.  It won't help after the horns get hard, and in a few weeks they will be off corn for awhile, if you have a good amount of acorns. 

[SPEEDBEAD.]

See, here is the deal.

The specific area I am really interested in is a 7 acre homestead I have access to among national park land (no hunting).  They have plenty to eat in the area currently, as the surrounding acreage is planted corn and soybean.  The general feeding for horn growth is taken care of by the agricultural fields.

I am looking for something to attract and hold deer in this specific area.  So I guess I am looking for something that is appealing to the deer while offering them some added nutrition at the same time.

[aceman387]

I have a friend who hunts and he will rake up acorns and put them in 5 gallon buckets and transport them to where he hunts and dump them.Last year he found a guy who had some apple trees and was just looking for a place to get rid of all the apples on the ground so my friend took all the apples and did the same with them.

[Matt Fly]

Apple scented deer corn is the ticket.

Make two piles for the game cam to watch, one scented, the other plain corn, notice the times on the pictures, the scented deer corn will be the first, and numerous does may joust for the small piles for thier own.

[bowfish12]

Like it's been said apples are a golden ticket, along with peaches and pears.  If you can find them for free is your best bet.

An established mineral block will keep them coming back.  If you can get that area established soon before the acorns start dropping heavily will be the best thing.

Walmart has this stuff called deer cane.  I used it two years ago in place of a mineral block and they used it.  The only problem is you have to pour a gallon every month once they start using it because it doesn't leach into the ground like a salt block will.

Acorn rage acorn mix also works really well.  The problem with this is it's kind of expensive for the amount of product you get and they devour it over night.  They make a few other problems that will last a little while longer. One is called 3 day harvest and the other is a peanut butter acorn thing you hang from a tree.

[Gatorbassman]

Wayne, shoot Big O a PM about this. His other business is managing trophy deer ranches in Texas. I bet he has some insight into it.