Alpine Deer Feeder

[hparrott]

All I can say is good luck. I ran several bait sites on a chunk of private property for the last 3 full years. I tried everything, alph-alpha, COB, beets, corn, you name it. Mid September came along and none of the deer stuck around, they all disappeared for 2 or 3 months. Happened every year. Some came back very end of hunting season but were all nocturnal and the rest returned mid-winter. The other stands with just mineral blocks did just as well and didn't have the fricken crows in all the time. This was all on private land that should have had very little if any hunting pressure. I also found that specific individuals only showed up on the same 1 or 2 stands and none of the others, even when I stopped baiting one or the other and the stations aren't very far apart. This tells me the deer don't go out of their way or change up their travelling routes for it.

In short, my experience is the deer won't go out of their way or change their routes or seasonal habits for bait/feed. Basically, if it happens to be in the middle of the trail they use they will stop and eat it if they are hungry, otherwise they don't go looking for it. I have stopped buying all the different feeds and run just the mineral blocks now, cheaper and last a lot longer, and I've seen no difference, otherwise not worth the time and effort, if you are on a used trail they will come, if you're not, they won't.

It sounds like your experience has been the same as mine with the minerals. I still haven't figured out yet what I will try this year, but I'll give it a shot. After what I have read so far though, I do suspect they may move on as per norm.....if they stuck around for even a few days past the 10th though it sure would be nice. If not I will have to try to figure out his route as he moves down for the winter