Do you prefer corn or beans and why?

[huntnandplumbn]

Seems like I've always preferred corn in my hunting ground. Just seem to see more deer in general especially once the harvesting is done. Maybe they just don't feel to comfortable once their really isn't any cover once those beans are cut?

[squirrelhunter]

I've hunted field edges a few times,I usually hunt woods so I really don't have an opinion. After the season I usually see them in corn fields more though.

[nfalls116]

aCORNs!

[beermaker]

Rarely have I seen deer in a bean field when the season opens. If I am not mistaken, deer prefer beans before they are ripe.

If you can find a tree or other ambush point between the woods and cornfield in October, be ready for action.

[huntnandplumbn]

I hear you on the acorns. Just wondering what I might expect by my lease. Had it for three years now and we've always had corn. Lots and Lots of corn but this year beans. I think I was getting more pictures of the big fellas than this year so it'll be interesting to see if that follows suit thru the season.

[nfalls116]

I hunted bean stubble last year they fed on it consistently throughout the winter very patternable still into the rut one day during gun season there were eight doe and three bucks all together but my gun wouldn't fire that day
Also I have a field attached to the pasture at my.house that is always beans and there are deer browsing in that field year round saw two bucks and two does and two fawns on the way passed said field

[duff]

When the fields are beans I have better luck inside the woods a bit during early archery. They seem to like the cover between the field and bedding area. When it is corn I see less deer while the crops are still standing.

Just my observations, they could be way wrong

[Jamie Brooks 1John5:13]

When tracking my deer, there were a couple beds in the corn, back in a corner. Once the corn was harvested, I didn't see nearly as many. I don't get to hunt the corn field, but they must have found a new bed where they didn't have to pass through my woods.

[esshup]

I think it might be how efficient the combine is too. I see more waste corn on the ground than beans. I also think corn is either more palatable to the deer once it's matured vs. beans, or it's the carb content.

Deer switch to wanting more carbs later on in the season, either due to temps or photoperiod, I forget which.

[Land Between the Lakes]

Hunting over soybeans in September is excellent if your hunting a good property. Once October starts the soybeans often start turning brown and/or getting harvested so the deer simply do not feed in the soybeans as much.

In my opinion once the beans turn brown your better off hunting in the woods on a travel route that leads to the soybeans. Stay a few hundred yards into the woods away from the beans. You can intercept the deer going and coming from the soybeans to and from their bedding areas in the woods.

In my opinion one of the best ways to hunt a corn field is to find a good travel route back in the woods that leads to the corn. You can intercept deer going/coming from the corn.

[Jamie Brooks 1John5:13]

I really like beans with cornbread and a big chunk of onion, but it's hard to beat corn cooked anyway. Oh, not what you wanted to know?

[huntnandplumbn]

I guess theirs only one way to find out... Just hunt. Hope they like corn better since the farmer only seems to rotate back to beans every 3-4 years. I'll document it like I always do and see what happens.

[steiny]

I think deer prefer beans much more so than corn. They eat the bean plants from the time they start growing until they turn yellow / brown in the fall, then during hard winter they come back to the bean fields (if not chisel plowed) and eat the waste beans, or any beans left standing. Some beans that are still "green" during archery season can be a real hot spot to find deer feeding.

My experience with corn is that they will nibble on the occasional end of an ear in standing corn in the fall, but don't mess with it much while its green and growing. Then during hard winter, just like beans, they come back to the corn fields (if not chisel plowed) and eat the waste corn, or any ears left on stalks standing. Corn does have the advantage of being good concealment cover. A still standing corn field during the gun season sometimes will fill up with deer hiding from the hunters.

[boonechaser]

I prefer corn as a food plot source for 2 reason's. 1- Cover esp. if you do not spray to kill weed's and 2- the deer feed pretty heavy once start making ears until they have eaten all the corn late fall. Now I think there may be a big difference if you are talking about a food plot for deer or just simply a farmer planting corn or bean's. I live in a low crop planting area so anything I plant get's a lot of attention. I planted 5 acre's corn for a buddy and the deer have eaten 70% of the corn stalks, leaves , ear's and all. LOL. I have 3 acre's and I leave till late November and then bush hog what is left. Currently look's good but deer have already began feeding on the ears. I would guess the corn to be 75 bushels acre or so yield. Soybeans in my area would be wiped out within a few weeks of planting unless you planted 10 acre's plus. We have a very healthy deer population locally. For example I have a 3.5 acre field of alfalfa and Saturday evening I had 60 plus deer feeding in that field.

[Jamie Brooks 1John5:13]

Aug 24, 2015 10:31:42 GMT -5 boonechaser said:

I prefer corn as a food plot source for 2 reason's. 1- Cover esp. if you do not spray to kill weed's and 2- the deer feed pretty heavy once start making ears until they have eaten all the corn late fall. Now I think there may be a big difference if you are talking about a food plot for deer or just simply a farmer planting corn or bean's. I live in a low crop planting area so anything I plant get's a lot of attention. I planted 5 acre's corn for a buddy and the deer have eaten 70% of the corn stalks, leaves , ear's and all. LOL. I have 3 acre's and I leave till late November and then bush hog what is left. Currently look's good but deer have already began feeding on the ears. I would guess the corn to be 75 bushels acre or so yield. Soybeans in my area would be wiped out within a few weeks of planting unless you planted 10 acre's plus. We have a very healthy deer population locally. For example I have a 3.5 acre field of alfalfa and Saturday evening I had 60 plus deer feeding in that field.

This is interesting.   With a plethora of corn and beans around my hunting ground, I could probably plant corn as a cover crop to block the house.  However, the food plot slopes down towards the trees going to the bottom land, so standing there one can't see the house.  I'm thinking that it still might make them feel safe with the corn there.  There will be tall weeds though.   They can see the barn, but no window. 

 

[boonechaser]

If you have large acreages of field crops in your area corn nor soybeans would probably not be a big draw, but deer are convenience feeders so if your plot/field is closer than others they may frequent it. Corn is an excellent cover crop to hide a area for sure.

[swilk]

Corn is king but it is more expensive to grow than beans .... I will never try and grow corn in my plots simply because I do not want to apply fertilizer. I figure if I grow nitrogen fixing legumes like beans and clovers and then late season plant brassicas to take advantage of that nitrogen.

This year the water was up for too long to plant any beans so I broadcast a mixture of forage turnips, forage radishes, chicory and crimson clover. Once everything germinates I will go back in mid september and overseed with winter rye.

Next year I intend to broadcast and pack in beans in May and come back later season and broadcast the brassicas and rye.

[boonechaser]

If you have decent soil PH 6.5 and above you can get a decent stand of corn with minimal fertilizer. I put on 100 lbs acre 15-15-15 when I plant than follow up with another 100 lbs acre after corn is approx. 6 inches tall. So $50-$60 bucks per acre for the fertilizer. I know several farmers and get the seed free. Most have some leftover's or some sample packs that seed salesmen give them. I don't raise 200 bushel corn but it is pretty easy to get 70-80 bushel corn with minimal effort. I bought a old JD 4 row planter with dry fertilizer boxes for $500 and it makes quick work of the planting part.

[10point]

I eat more beans than corn. I like the frozen bags of green beans. Eat a few times per week.

[huntnandplumbn]

Very large, farmer planted and picked AG fields. My ground is 500 acres that is roughly 65% planted fields and is All beans. Overall I'm surrounded with roughly the same hardwoods to field ratio for the surrounding area. So far the best trailcam pics are coming from areas more closely bordered by corn as in the past. P.S. I'm more of a sweet corn on the cob cooked on the grill kinda guy.