In Arkansas it is legal to bait deer on private land. I have had access to 40 acres of land for 3 years. We have seen doe there in the past, and I killed a button buck last year (that I thought was a doe from the angle I had).
This year I put a trail camera out with a bucket of corn scattered in front of it. WOW! I have been baiting the same spot for about a month and have been getting anywhere from 400-1300 pictures a week! The camera is set to take a picture every minute when triggered, so if they stay for 20 minutes at a time, I'm getting 20 pictures of some of the same deer. My best count is 13 different deer, 7 bucks, 3 mature doe and 3 fawns.
Last saturday I took one of the mature doe. There was actually a bit of blood on some of the corn where she spun after being hit. A fawn next to her ran the opposite direction and ended up walking back in front of me at about 15 yards, then up the hill towards where they bed.
Here's my questions:
Do you think the deer will eat the corn with blood on it? (I know raccoons will probably not hesitate.)
If I'm blessed to get a deer again next Saturday on modern gun opener, do you think the deer would return within a couple of days to the same spot to feed? (It will be 2 weeks since I killed the doe until I hunt it on the opener.)
My dad will be out of town for the opener, so we will probably go back during the week to hunt it. I'm just curious if I hunt it on the Saturday and kill a deer, if the chances will be good they will be back within a couple of days. I'm going in the AM to put out more corn and check my camera. I guess I'll be able to get some insight as to what is on the camera tomorrow. Looking forward to deer chili this weekend!