Tips for hunting directly next to a corn field

[mlammerhirt]

Looking for tips or tricks on hunting a section of hardwoods that butts up to a pretty sizeable corn field...i recently leased a property directly ajoining the field and have recovery rights in the field after making a call, but will be set up in the hardwoods...any advice will be appreciated...running cams now to get some idea of how the deer move on this property.

Pic of a possible ground view i will have.

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[airedale]

I hunted a setup similar to that some years ago. I tried hunting the edges but in my particular case while there was still light all I was seeing were does.The bucks always stayed inside the tree line until it got dark and then they would come out.

 

Well back before the game cams of today I had my my best luck when hunting a place like that looking for any well used game trails from the woods into the corn or hay fields and set up a stand in a place set back in the woods fifty yards or so where I had a good view of the trail. I ended up getting three bucks from that area all staying inside the tree line waiting to hit the field when it got dark.

 

Al

Edited June 27, 2016 by airedale

[Jeremy K]

Figure out the route they are using to get to the field ,figure out where they are bedding down ,set up in between the two.

[Buckmaster7600]

Find the closest bedding area and hunt the fringes. Early season if there is water close by hunt it!

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[Four Season Whitetail's]

There will be a staging area if the woods are big enough. They will spot up before coming to the corn in the dark. Find rub clusters and you will have found the staging area.

[growalot]

Are you lucky enough to have at least one corner of the field meet your lease? I have two corn fields and the best spots have been our woods inside corners of those fields...I shot my doe last year..the herd came off the neighbors slashing..crossed over to me right at the corner off the other neighbors corn..

[dbHunterNY]

as the others have said if it's a destination food source bucks might not get there during daylight hours.  you might bump bucks leaving before daylight while going in.  also evenings that are good early season might have delayed activity to the food source.  pattern the deer like you normally would to get a when and where.  many times it's better to stalk or walk through the corn field to actually get clean access to your stand.  keep in mind edges of fields often are a change in terrain and cover that have effects on thermals/wind.  wind might be great the whole sit but the during last portion of day light you might see a shift in wind direction.  after harvest curiosity often gets deer walking the edges that parallel their predetermined path of travel.  type of harvest tends to effect activity.  chopping versus picking leaves much less left for the deer to scavenge.  picking in my experience leaves more.

[mlammerhirt]

Are you lucky enough to have at least one corner of the field meet your lease? I have two corn fields and the best spots have been our woods inside corners of those fields...I shot my doe last year..the herd came off the neighbors slashing..crossed over to me right at the corner off the other neighbors corn..

One corner does meet up with our lease...when we walked it in March the property owner who occasionally hunted this property did state there is heavy doe traffic everynight from that corner......how far off the corner would you hang a stand...30-40 yards??

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[growalot]

Mine are permanent stands...and range from 20-70 yards from the actual standing corn... some are right on our line due to the best tree to build and Owner OK on recovery ...I try to stay a bit back on most because I gun hunt them....with the bow I will get in closer with the climbers or a ground blind... Though if it is a really nice buck I scout the travel pattern from a good distance before season opener and find the best stand farthest from the actual corn..This avoids possible loss....Another feature  is any dip or gully type"depression" ...they will use these to travel just before getting to the field or will go down into them when leaving. Deer here will bed on the ridge opposite the field 10 -30 ft below ridge on the side of gully facing the field...I think to watch where the field and woods meet.

Another field doesn't have a gully but the terrain of the corn field angles down to our woods on both sides of the field to corner...their "escape routes" take them right to that downward "flow".They also come up through our woods to the corn into that area.

[phade]

Big corn fields like that are a curse and a blessing. If you don't have any corners, then it can be tough.

 

I would look for corners, funnel locations, and low spots. If you have woods lower than the field (it looks flat, but pics can be deceiving), I would most certainly look into that area - even more if it happens to be a corner portion of the field. Bucks will hit the field from those spots to suck in thermals in the evenings. The thermals will be pulled down (even if only a foot or two of elevation change!) and mature bucks will use that to scent check the field for danger or receptive does before exposing themselves to danger - even more important after the corn is harvested, but still it'll be a natural travel corridor.

 

If you have any portion of woods jutting out into the cornfield, this is often a very good scenario to scout out. You can find buck beds along the point edges (not right at the point, but often set back to be able to pick up scent or sight of that point). You'll see that overall point is a peak of activity when the corn is up and sometimes they'll use it after harvest before entering and crossing the empty field because it affords more protection.

 

If you find a spot along the field edge that you like - it'd be worthwhile to talk to the owner to buy back a few rows in those stand areas and cut down one or two lanes into the corn to shoot into (with permission). This can be a differencemaker because there is little more frustrating than a buck you can see, but cannot shoot, either due to permission or because the corn is up (you will see and hear him, but you won't be able to pick a spot).

 

There should be staging areas somewhere along the field but far enough into cover. It can be tough if you only have a portion of the field edge to work with. Consider looking at that staging trail and finding smaller trails leading to it (either angling or parallel). Those areas are where the bucks will sit back feeding, waiting, scent checking, etc. until it is ready to proceed. Even better if you find some oaks dropping in that staging area.

 

Look for irrigation or drainage ditches coming and going into the field. Check those areas out. You may find bucks using the grassy swales and low spots alongside them for bedding amongst the corn, and traversing to and from the woods along them.

 

The tough part is you'll probably find two or three trails that the bucks are taking into and out of the woods, and at that point, it can be a bit of a guessing game. The corn provides cover, and it's a spin of the roulette wheel. Low spots, points, ditches, etc. would be places I would try first once I feel confident a buck I want to shoot is using that area.

 

Edited June 27, 2016 by phade

[phade]

as the others have said if it's a destination food source bucks might not get there during daylight hours.  you might bump bucks leaving before daylight while going in.  also evenings that are good early season might have delayed activity to the food source.  pattern the deer like you normally would to get a when and where.  many times it's better to stalk or walk through the corn field to actually get clean access to your stand.  keep in mind edges of fields often are a change in terrain and cover that have effects on thermals/wind.  wind might be great the whole sit but the during last portion of day light you might see a shift in wind direction.  after harvest curiosity often gets deer walking the edges that parallel their predetermined path of travel.  type of harvest tends to effect activity.  chopping versus picking leaves much less left for the deer to scavenge.  picking in my experience leaves more.

 

 

Good tips - chopped fields suck. Talk about a vaccum cleaner moving through...deer about face their patterns or uses a lot when this happens.

[grampy]

Some really good advice already posted above.  Also look for natural pinch points off the trails leading to the corn. A fallen tree, they need to walk around. A gully, top or bottom with very steep sides. A large rock formation. You get the idea, just set up with the best wind direction in mind. Just find the spot that will concentrate movement back off the field, between bedding and the corn.

[NFA-ADK]

Great tips!  Keep us posted on how you set your stands up and how well it worked out, best of luck to you this season!

[dbHunterNY]

thought of something else.  trails leading into a corn field can be deceiving.  where deer come in isn't usually where they leave.  if you have less than an over populated # of deer in the area and trails with heavily night time use it'll be tough to figure out the good trail to be on.  they eat more vigorously coming in than leaving.  often the loamy earth that somewhat shaded will be still damp and soft to leave good tracks.  with some preseason scouting walking the field during low activity hours.  midday, wear waders and/or spray down really well.  look for chewed kernels from ears of standing corn that's starting to dry up and kernels dimpled as well as the tracks.  knocked over spot of corn will be mostly from fat B&C raccoons not deer.  roll this into any low impact trail cam scouting you're doing and as season approaches you'll have a good idea of where the fields are being hit from and where to setup.
 

along with what some of the others posted, set back stands/trees work well for multiple parallel trails running into the field.  main setup trail put a fixed stand like a hangon.  in the event you're partially busted or see a good buck on another trail, having a pre-scouted 2nd stand location for say a climber or mobile hangon might come in handy.  it'll be on the next trail or two down wind from your primary stand.  even if you don't get busted due to pressure and leaving some trace behind doe groups will at times catch on to make the setback stand useful too.  don't jump around trail to trail aimlessly though.  you'll be playing cat and mouse the whole season and more likely burn out the stand before then.

  

Edited June 27, 2016 by dbHunterNY

[ants]

Find trails, in the woods, that lead to the field. Set up near the thickest crap near the trails, where the woods start to open & find a spot where you can shoot out into the field too. If possible. If you can't find a spot where you can get a field shot, I would stay in the woods, near the thick stuff rather than hunt the open field…Thats what works for me anyway..

[Bowguy 1]

Depends where you are, where I hunt they hide in it more than eat it. Bears love it though. Some places w less pressure they may cross over, long range scout it n set up where they're crossing.

First few days they cut that you're in though. Deer will be all over it.

If there's bean around they're gonna hit that harder just a fyi

[mlammerhirt]

Thanks for all the great advice....next week when I stop by to put some cams out I will take a few more pics.....that pic is definitely deceiving and the woods has a gradual slope from the wood line to a ravine with very little water flow separating the hardwoods from a grape field.

I will have to take out the climber and go on a few scouting trips before placing a stand near that inside corner on that northwest corner of my wood lot.

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[Zag]

Can you glass the field from a road?

[Bowguy 1]

Zag is correct glass from the road or anywhere far. Going into the woods is not the best idea imo

[growalot]

So...I am onE to harp on this..when you are in an area that has human activity..they get use to it. When you go in to an area that doesn't during season..your sure to cause an alert....remember my Mulberry cam..it is at the end of my garden...I walk my property DAILY....

[G-Man]

Has it been corn previous year? If so get in woods now 100 yards or so and walk old trails that enter field,the rubs will face away from the field.. usually down wind there will be old rubs from previous years.. it will be thick you will only have a lane or two.. you won't see a ton if deer but you will see the buck.. they will stage 10 to 100 yards or so inside the woods waiting for dark.. do not worry about seeing deer in field.. that's media tv..

It's better to be in the right tree to get a deer that you might see.. then be in a tree and see deer that you might get an opportunity on if your lucky..

[G-Man]

As an added note the tree you want to be in should be 13 to 18 yards from the spot you expect tonshoot. If you draw a circle from thay spot then use main wind direction to pick the specfic tree.. it may not be suitable for a climber and picking a wrong tree that is right for your stand is a waste of your time as deer will scent,see, or be out of range.. sticks,steps or ladder may be needed to hunt thay spot properly. . This set up advice works for every stand you place anywhere.. I urge you to try it it makes a huge difference is seeing and killing older bucks.

[Zag]

I think glassing will give u alot of info and not educate them but once the corns mature your sol.

I've hunted field edges most my hunting life. I was fortunate to have a farmer who did a few rows of corn then would have a few rows of wheat or beans then corn again. I could park a few hundred yrds out each night and see alot. It can help pin point where they are entering the fields. Remember they are on summer patterns and will change early October from what I've seen.

One yr I kept seeing a buck in the field, one of the top bucks all summer. He came out in the same spot and almost the same time every evening like clock work. I knew I could possibly catch him on his summer pattern the first few days in October. I Hung a portable and hunted it the first night. Like clock work he came following two doe to the field. My mistake was I was setup to close to his entry point. Both doe came in sniffing around but continued past me. He stopped probably 30yrds out walked up wind to the west of me skirting me at over 30yrds out, I was full draw but didn't chance a long shot. His pattern changed after that. Had I setup slightly down wind I would have connected all based on glassing the field every night.

[mlammerhirt]

All great info....will have to post a map soon.....i have the luxury of a snowmobile trail that enters this cornfield 400-500 yards for the inside corner I hope to setup near......this way I can quietly access the field and glass once the corn starts to pop up.

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