1 acre iron clay-peas vs pile of corn

Madsnooker

Senior Member
I know this has been discussed over and over but I have a question that I feel is fair and needs to be answered.

Do you feel a pile of corn will draw a deer better than a well placed 1 acre plot of Iron-clay peas? Please answer this as honest as you can with no motives guiding your answer. This will be easy for those that have done both but more difficult for those that have never used corn (whether becuase you feel it's unfair or it's illegal were you hunt) as you can only answer based on your perception of how much a pile of corn draws deer.

The reason I ask this is becuase if your answer is no, than can you fairly say baiting with a corn pile is less fair chase than that acre of peas?

For me the answer is no and that's where I draw the line. I have done both. I used corn many years ago when I hunted in S.C. and I only use plots now in Ga. If given the chance I would vote against legalizing baiting for many reasons but not becuase it's not fair chase. For me, if it's not fair chase than my plots are not either. I would take my plot any day over a pile of corn. The bottom line is our Iron-clay plots are absolutely deadly. I can count on 2 fingers the times in the 8 years I have been in Ga. that I didn't see deer in our pea plots on afternoon hunts.
S.C. is were I started my hunting for the most part and it was just the way most hunted. I was very young and didn't put much thought into if it was fair chase or not. The bottom line was, 50% of the time, the few piles I hunted went untouched until it rotted.

No matter what my feelings are now on using corn piles, if I say that is an unfair advantage than I can hardly go hunt my plots and not feel hypocritical. I have to be honest, As I've said before, the day I quit hunting will be the day I quit putting countless hours in food plots. I have a funny feeling that is also the case for 99.9% of hunters. I think this fact is more telling than the excuses commonly used as "it's for the deer" and "it's hard work". Although I do agree the plots are benificial to the deer and can provide good nitrition during stressed times I wonder who many hunters will continue putting in plots after their hunting days are over. ;)

I know this was a little long but wanted to be clear on my feelings.

This is not meant to try to change any minds as thats almost impossible I just want some honest answers on my questions. ;)
 

coon dawg

GONetwork Member
no, Snooker..........

you won't change anybody's mind............I get a kick out of the folks that say the food plots are such hard work...........guess they don't have a job like mine.........man, I carry my seed and fertilizer through the swamp, on my back, to do most of my plots, up to 1/2 mile..........takes me about 5 days a YEAR to do food plots, it's really no big deal.........5-6 days a year. sittin' on your buttt on a tractor or 4 wheeler seat......yeah, that's killer. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 

leoparddog

Senior Member
For me, no. and Yes, a pile of corn on the ground will likely rot before it gets eaten

Now lets get to specifics. If you've got only one acre of iron clay peas and no other competing food source - you may see deer there every day. It may have to do with the location of your foodplot being on a major terrain funnel or travel route as much as it does with the food available.

We plant over 50 acres on over 40 individual food plots. You will not see deer every day and you may not see a deer on those plots during the entire season - even if you sit on a food plot every evening that you hunt. You will see sign that they are eating what is there. Plants cropped close to the ground on the far side of the food plot, but standing tall near the stand.

Some years (depending on mast crops and cold weather) you will see more deer on the foodplots in the evening, but you still will not see them there most evenings. The chance of seeing a buck on an evening food plot sit is even less. It does happen, but you can't bet on it.

If we put 25 guys on 25 different food plots on a Saturday afternoon, only a couple of those guys will see deer, the rest of them just get to enjoy the greenery.

I call it Food Plot Roulette. You might get lucky.

This past season, I know of only a few deer we shot off our foodplots (between 2(sure) and 4(maybe)).

Our deer have figured out that the food plots can be dangerous during daylight hours. Your deer may figure out the same thing if you start shooting them.
 

Madsnooker

Senior Member
Let me add, just in case my last comment "not trying to change any minds" makes anybody think I'm for baiting. As I've said I'm against. My only reason for the new thread was just the fact of baiting not being fair chase but iron clay peas are and getting others honest opinnion on this aspect. ;)
 

coon dawg

GONetwork Member
here we goooooooooo.........

not for baiting, either, for several reasons, the most notable being public perception........but those clay peas and the corn are the same thing........corn might ROT a little faster than the frost hits and kills the clay peas, but..................oh, nevermind. ::huh: :)
 

Bucky T

GONetwork Member
Coondawg,

Are you trying to say once those iron clay peas sprout the deer come in and nip the tops off of them in one night and that's it!!!! They nip em before they're mature and you basically have a field of clay peas that looked like a rogue landscaper came in and mowed the food plot. After that, they'll tear that bag of corn up!!!!! :D

I agree with you fully. Food plots are a little work, but not back breaking in the least.

Tommy
 

Madsnooker

Senior Member
Leopard,

I agree with most everything you said but I'm just talking about iron-clay peas. We have plots to that are not peas and you may go days without seeing a deer.

Also, your right on bucks being seen there in daylight hours but I'm just speaking of any deer that comes to the peas. My point is the peas are far more deadly than a pile of corn so if the corn is not far chase than neither is the peas.

Another fact on the Iron-clay peas. They are so deadly you better plant more than you think you will need or you won't ever have to worry about seeing deer or not as there will only be little stumps left after only a few days of sprouting. ;)
 

Limb Hanger

Senior Member
This is an open invitation to anyone that thinks baiting is lazy............come with me ~Aug, and we'll fill my feeders here in WNC. I'm not wanting to start another debate but you all have no idea!
 

coon dawg

GONetwork Member
yup.............

like I said.............that sittin your buttt on a tractor seat is tuffffff.............what, 5-6 days a YEAR? ::huh: :rolleyes:.........I put in my food plots by hand, with a rake............and I don't even consider THAT hard work........gimme a break. ::huh:.........maybe it's a LITTLE tougher than carryin a corn sack through the woods, but NOT MUCH........I'm done with this lazy/not lazy element of the baitin threads........Limbhanger probably does a HECK of a lot more hard work fillin those feeders up the mountainside than butt rumpin a tractor seat. ::gone:
 
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Bucky T

GONetwork Member
I made a food plot this year with my boot, yep my boot.

I went out and bought me a bag of Biologic Green Patch.

Went out to a ladder stand I put up behind our camp.

I didn't have a rake, so I scratched out with my boot a 20'x5' spot between some rows of pines in front of my ladder.

Spread the seed.

Walked off.

A week later it sprouted and a guy in camp shot a doe out of the stand!!!

It's still there greener than green too!!!

Now we've got some plots on the property that took a "little" more effort than that, but I'd say my little rinky dink plot was just as easy as haulin a 50lb bag of corn back there and dumping it on the ground! My Green Patch only weighed about 5lbs and the effort with my right foot didn't really break a sweat on me.

All told 10 minutes.

It's a food plot alright, a simple one yes, and legal too!!!

Tommy
 

Tom Borck

Banned
I have been planting Iron Clay peas for 8 years or so. Heck I remember when they were about six or seven bucks for a 50 lb bag! Of course, that is before everybody jumped on the bandwagon.

Peas are by far the easiest to plant! Expensive, but easy. Heck, I had one of the prettiest patches in the back of my truck! :D One time I loaded up my fertilizer spreader and just spread them in a wet, swampy area. No fertilizer, and I did not harrow them under! The grew like a WEED! Throwing some peas out is just as easy as lugging a bag of corn.

It is my experience that deer will eat Iron Clay peas before they eat corn! They love the peas, but then again the same could be said with soybeans or sunflowers!

Personally, I love to PLANT!!! I love to ride the tractor, harrow, spread seed/fertilizer and watch it grow! Just ask broadhead, or echo (He usually just watches :speechles )! :D Most of us live pretty close, so we get together, have a few cold ones and socialize while we plant!! Planting food plots is my favorite part of hunting! Some of you hunters who hunt only during the season and a few weekends out of the year would have a hard time understanding the amount of work that goes into running, maintaining food plots!! (and fun)

I have a trough feeder, and three spreader feeders that I have not used in years! Might fill the trough feeder up this year. ::huh: Personally, I do not enjoy filling up the feeders, back breaking lugging corn, soybeans, etc around!

Lets see: We will plant CORN in March or beg. of April. I usually plant some summer plots, and then winter plots after Labor Day. Between mowing, trimming, creating new food (kill) plots we stay pretty busy ALL year long!

Cleaned up a few new food plots this past weekend and mowed a fire break so we could get closer to some bedding areas. In two weeks we will be putting in several new food plots, for deer of course, but we planted several plots last year that most of us DID NOT hunt!!

Hunting in South Georgia is a way of life, not a weekend trip to the hunt camp.
 

Madsnooker

Senior Member
Tom,

I'm like you I really enjoy putting in my plots. Once the seeds are down and packed I love to sit on the tailgate and drink a cold one (pepsi) and just look at the fresh earth and dream about all the deer it will draw. :D
 
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