blake
Life Member
Cornfield-Acorn Setup
As whitetail deer hunters we are all fully aware that big bucks often times hold up inside the wood line on the outskirts of a food source just prior to dark. In those hang up zones we have learned to position tree stands in hopes of taking a monster whitetail buck. We do this as we know whitetail bucks will leave their bed area in the evening and travel to a grain field to eat. We also know that these whitetail deer are smart enough in most states to not enter the wide open agricultural food source until just prior to dark. Instead they hang up just inside the woods. With this basic concept in mind begin to research and collect statistics on a strategy surrounding deer hunting cornfields such as the cornfield-acorn setup.
When you are hunting a location where you are forced to hunt a farm with a cornfield that has not been harvested you can assume that mature whitetail bucks are usually not utilizing dense thickets as bed areas. The big bucks and most other deer are literally bedded in the standing cornfield instead. Therefore the advanced whitetail deer hunter must now play the game as if the cornfield is a bed area and not a food source. In other words process has now been reversed as what we look upon as a food source is really a bed area. The deer are bedding in the corn field. Since the process is reversed the hunting strategy should be reversed. Scout the outer edges of the standing cornfields in search of two things: Heavily traveled deer trails that are coming forth out of the corn and into the timber, always keeping your eyes open for big whitetail rubs. Find the most heavily traveled deer trails and quietly stop at each location to determine if a colony of white oak trees is producing acorns there. A healthy group of white oak trees throwing acorns to the ground is enough to entice the biggest of whitetail bucks out of the corn to forage in that area. Therefore any cornfield-acorn setup should consist of hunting just outside the perimeter of the standing Cornfield, near a heavily used deer trail, where a group of oak trees is currently dropping acorns. In these locations set up tree stands to intercept those big whitetail deer. This cornfield- acorn setup will presents whitetail deer hunters with increase in harvest success rate during the early season.
Whitetail deer, like cattle, are ruminants, with four-chambered stomachs. Ruminants are able to consume large quantities of low-protein foods quickly, and then chew and digest them slowly. This permits deer to limit the amount of time when they must let down their guard against predators and feed in relatively open places.
During the summer months, deer forage on non-grass plants and leaves. When apples mature and drop to the ground, deer add fruit to their diets. They will also feed on farm crops, and suburban gardeners often wake to find that dining deer have devoured their plantings. However whitetail deer will forsake most other food sources for their favorite food, the acorns of the White Oak.
To consistently harvest whitetail deer you must be creative enough to think like whitetail deer. A whitetail buck hides in a cornfield that has not been harvested to prevent hunters from preying on them. With plenty of food and drainage ditch’s supplying a water source within the confines of the cornfield, there are only two aspects of a bucks life that will drive him beyond the perimeter of the cornfield. Deer get tired of eating the same thing every day. Another thing that will drive deer beyond the perimeter of the standing cornfield is boredom. When the deer’s favorite food begins to fall from high atop the oak tree branches deer can hear the acorns dropping and they also smell them. It is only under the oak trees that deer can change their environment, and eat their favorite food the acorn.
Remember that a cornfield-acorn setup will increase your odds of success when deer hunting cornfields, it is a very effective strategy for whitetail deer hunting.
As whitetail deer hunters we are all fully aware that big bucks often times hold up inside the wood line on the outskirts of a food source just prior to dark. In those hang up zones we have learned to position tree stands in hopes of taking a monster whitetail buck. We do this as we know whitetail bucks will leave their bed area in the evening and travel to a grain field to eat. We also know that these whitetail deer are smart enough in most states to not enter the wide open agricultural food source until just prior to dark. Instead they hang up just inside the woods. With this basic concept in mind begin to research and collect statistics on a strategy surrounding deer hunting cornfields such as the cornfield-acorn setup.
When you are hunting a location where you are forced to hunt a farm with a cornfield that has not been harvested you can assume that mature whitetail bucks are usually not utilizing dense thickets as bed areas. The big bucks and most other deer are literally bedded in the standing cornfield instead. Therefore the advanced whitetail deer hunter must now play the game as if the cornfield is a bed area and not a food source. In other words process has now been reversed as what we look upon as a food source is really a bed area. The deer are bedding in the corn field. Since the process is reversed the hunting strategy should be reversed. Scout the outer edges of the standing cornfields in search of two things: Heavily traveled deer trails that are coming forth out of the corn and into the timber, always keeping your eyes open for big whitetail rubs. Find the most heavily traveled deer trails and quietly stop at each location to determine if a colony of white oak trees is producing acorns there. A healthy group of white oak trees throwing acorns to the ground is enough to entice the biggest of whitetail bucks out of the corn to forage in that area. Therefore any cornfield-acorn setup should consist of hunting just outside the perimeter of the standing Cornfield, near a heavily used deer trail, where a group of oak trees is currently dropping acorns. In these locations set up tree stands to intercept those big whitetail deer. This cornfield- acorn setup will presents whitetail deer hunters with increase in harvest success rate during the early season.
Whitetail deer, like cattle, are ruminants, with four-chambered stomachs. Ruminants are able to consume large quantities of low-protein foods quickly, and then chew and digest them slowly. This permits deer to limit the amount of time when they must let down their guard against predators and feed in relatively open places.
During the summer months, deer forage on non-grass plants and leaves. When apples mature and drop to the ground, deer add fruit to their diets. They will also feed on farm crops, and suburban gardeners often wake to find that dining deer have devoured their plantings. However whitetail deer will forsake most other food sources for their favorite food, the acorns of the White Oak.
To consistently harvest whitetail deer you must be creative enough to think like whitetail deer. A whitetail buck hides in a cornfield that has not been harvested to prevent hunters from preying on them. With plenty of food and drainage ditch’s supplying a water source within the confines of the cornfield, there are only two aspects of a bucks life that will drive him beyond the perimeter of the cornfield. Deer get tired of eating the same thing every day. Another thing that will drive deer beyond the perimeter of the standing cornfield is boredom. When the deer’s favorite food begins to fall from high atop the oak tree branches deer can hear the acorns dropping and they also smell them. It is only under the oak trees that deer can change their environment, and eat their favorite food the acorn.
Remember that a cornfield-acorn setup will increase your odds of success when deer hunting cornfields, it is a very effective strategy for whitetail deer hunting.