How far will Deer travel to get corn?

This last weekend we harvested 2 deer both with a rather fully stomach of corn. After some research and driving around our hunting area the nearest corn i can locate is almost 3+ miles away as the crow flies. I think it may be possible that there may be some baiting going on on the state land to the South of us. The direction both deer were returning from in the morning. Others in my party believe that deer will travel that far or further to a prime food source and then return to its home location each day or every few days. What do all of you think?

As soon as I started to read your post, I was thinking that at this time of year it could be baiting.

Could they go 3 miles? Anything COULD happen, but my bet would be against deer going that far. It’s possible that given the right wind direction, they could smell food that far away and seek it out. But then I’d think they would stay nearby as long as the good feeding lasts. Why would they go back and forth?

I’d be looking hard at that state land and see if you can find a bait pile or an area that looks like it may have been baited.

Despite a DNR crackdown on MasterBaiters in MN, I still believe the practice is widespread. I think baiters have gotten a little more stealthy about where and how they do it, but I still think there’s a lot of it going on.

Grouse

I would guess baiting. However, our deer winter over 5 miles from our house. Now, why is the question I have. They have cover and food galore on our land and live there all summer.

If you had an empty stomach, how far would you walk for a teriyaki marinated back-strap, cooked on a grill to medium rare, served with a nice Malbec.

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If you had an empty stomach, how far would you walk for a teriyaki marinated back-strap, cooked on a grill to medium rare, served with a nice Malbec.

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Yes, but would you then waste energy walking BACK to the place where you were starving while eating twigs and half dead grass?

I have no doubt deer would walk a long ways to get corn. But then I can’t see them LEAVING the corn if there were any available cover nearby.

Anything could happen, but as the fields of corn disappear, my suspicion that baiters are the more likely answer becomes greater.

Where I hunt….they might have to walk 10 feet if they aren’t in there already??? GGGGRRRR!!!!

Just a thought – Is it possible that there are some secluded food plots that you cannot see from the road, or maybe were not corn plots in the years the internet’s arial photos were taken?

Not sure what area you hunt, but that seems exceptionally far to me especially considering they are suggested to be traveling back to a home range. My thoughts would be if indeed they ate the corn 3 miles away, that they were both bucks and both traveling further distance while chasing does or searching for the first does cycling. I have watched many many bucks during the rut enter and leave food plots over the years and never eat, only coming to check does. I could possibly believe they fed up and began chasing does and just kept chasing – however, baiting would be a very very logical explanation.

Furthest I have personally experienced a buck moving was two falls ago. Had a buck living on our piece that was a 90 some odd inch fork. Got a picture of him just after sunset on trail camera, the next morning he walked within 25 yards of us in our duck blind ~1 1/8 miles west of the trail camera he was on, that night I was driving home from town well after dark and almost hit him with my truck while he was chasing a doe ~1/2 mile north from the picture and around 3/4 miles north east from the duck blind, and he was back on a different trail camera ~1 1/4 miles south east from the duck blind and almost 3/4 miles south from where I almost got him with the truck at sunrise the next day.

I believe that a buck can travel a couple miles during the rut. For example, I shot a buck in 2010 on November 2 that was captured on camera 1.5 miles away two weeks prior. If the deer you were talking about were does, then it would be surprising that they traveled that far. But if they were bucks, it wouldn’t surprise me. I’ve heard that older bucks tend to have a more restricted travel range during the rut, but I think this depends on hunting pressure and the number of does available per acre. I think it would be more informative if you provided us with the following information:

1: gender of the deer
2: Age
3: Typical hunting pressure
4: Typical food sources for your area

This does not apply to all bucks but I read an article in my QDM magazine a while back about a bucks home range. They tracked a good number of bucks and their range before, during, & after the rut. What struck me odd was the extreme range of SOME of the bucks. One factor that was constant was the older a deer got the smaller the area. Most times down to a 60 acre area. 3 1/2 yo and younger home range was much larger. Some traveling quite a few miles. If I find the magazine I will post the year and month of publication. Specific details as well.

My understanding is that the bucks don’t hardly eat during the rut.

I;m betting there is baiting in the area or somebody feeding and watching them at a home. I hunt NW WI where the nearest Corn field is 25 miles away and most of the deer I shoot have corn in them so baiting/feeding is very wide spread in the Northwoods of WI. which is legal where I hunt.

Mwal

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. it would be more informative if you provided us with the following information:

1: gender of the deer – Both Bucks. A spike and a 8 pt
2: Age – I’d say 1.5 and 3.5
3: Typical hunting pressure – Not real high – a fair amount on the state and county land but rather limited on our 120 acres and the neighbors 120
4: Typical food sources for your area – Just normal browse – No real food source – Some red oak and a fair amount of hazzel brush but nothing primary

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My understanding is that the bucks don’t hardly eat during the rut.

I;m betting there is baiting in the area or somebody feeding and watching them at a home. I hunt NW WI where the nearest Corn field is 25 miles away and most of the deer I shoot have corn in them so baiting/feeding is very wide spread in the Northwoods of WI. which is legal where I hunt.

Mwal

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. it would be more informative if you provided us with the following information:

1: gender of the deer – Both Bucks. A spike and a 8 pt
2: Age – I’d say 1.5 and 3.5
3: Typical hunting pressure – Not real high – a fair amount on the state and county land but rather limited on our 120 acres and the neighbors 120
4: Typical food sources for your area – Just normal browse – No real food source – Some red oak and a fair amount of hazzel brush but nothing primary

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