the true traditionalists are gonna shake their heads knowingly, but i'm gonna tell my story of opening day anyway. let me preface this by saying that I DO know how to scout and hunt effectively, in spite of the results yesterday.
this year, I am hunting just over the state line into Florida for the first time ever. it is legal to hunt over feeders, and the areas I have on my hunting property are basically travel areas with no "natural" food source to draw them in. I did have a lot of fun planning, hanging stands, and locating the feeders in natural travel corridors, etc.
so, opening morning comes in FL, and i'm sitting in my lock-on in a great spot. 7:00 comes and it's time for the feeder to go off, and... nothing. dead battery. no corn, no deer. bummer.
I shake it off and look forward to hunting my afternoon spot. climb a tree. wind is perfect. things look great. time comes for the afternoon feeder to go off, it spins like it should and... no corn! it's empty! what?! that's not possible!! I did have a doe coming in, but she was straight behind me from downwind (couldn't be helped) and she bugs out from 200 yards away, blowing and acting a fool. I get down after dark, and find the corner of a corn sack wedged in the funnel hole of my feeder! what colossal bad luck!
so, the moral of the story is, "keep it simple".
i'm still going to enjoy hunting my feeders I suppose, but i'm gonna make sure and locate those acorn ridges too.
:banghead:
Had a Buddy [may he RIP]. Swore by those auto spin type feeders. I hunted with him a few times. I had deer coming towards me and get spooked by the feeder going off. Other times he said the deer ran in when they heard it go off.I know he had to buy a few cause the bears here in Jersey always found a way to get to them and throttle them.
Bentpole same here in fl, bears kill em.
I personally dont like feeders nor try to hunt on them. Lots of my friends do though and occasionally they offer me to come hunt with them. I feel the deer automatically connect humans with corn and feeders, and for awhile yes you will have a few deer come in. But once they get them nailed down as for times... They seem to peeter out for me.
I think you should hunt how you want ans don't worry about what others think... Keep at it! It will pay off!