To keep photo analysis manageable, David pulled a sub-sample of photos from three days (Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays) from each week of the two hunting seasons. New deer research suggests those are the exact conditions under which adult bucks are most likely to use hunted feeding sites (photo by NDA member Fred Hart). In fact, 39% were 3½ or older, more than a third of all bucks! The property, including the feeder sites, was actively hunted during David’s camera study, though pressure was considered “light.” Around 10 deer were killed each season, which is around one deer per 400 acres, including does and mature bucks.Ī mature Alabama buck visits a feeder alone, at night, in the post-rut. Buck age structure was very well developed: 61% of all bucks were 2½ or older. Trail-camera surveys prior to the study estimated a deer density of around 40 to 50 per square mile and a balanced sex ratio of one buck per 1.1 does. To answer this question, he ran trail-cameras on 16 feeding sites in two consecutive hunting seasons (mid-September to early January) on a 4,000-acre tract of hunting land in Georgia in 20. One of David’s primary questions was whether social status, sex, or age of deer play significant roles in which deer use feeders. from the University of Georgia studying deer use of bait sites, and some of his findings have now been published by scientific journals. Let’s take a look at their results Who Visits Feeders?ĭavid Stone earned his Ph.D.

With statistical reliability, scientists saw a similar phenomenon to what I witnessed at Grace Acres. But in another part of Georgia, someone did.

I didn’t tally all the photos, identify all the deer, and run the numbers through statistical analysis. What I’m describing is not science, it’s just an anecdotal observation. All adult and mature buck photos that season were taken at scrapes. Cameras on corn feeders produced yearling bucks and does at night and primarily turkeys in daytime.

Photos from Lindsay’s cameras in fall 2011, the first year hunting over bait was legalized in south Georgia.

Big bucks plus gravity feeder