I've never hunted farmland until this year.  A bunch of public land in central WI is farmed in areas.  I doubt anyone will read this in time with an answer but just encase....

We are going to try and get out early.  I want to be setup at least an hour before shooting starts.  I've got a choice between a farm field that had 23 scrapes around it.  Literally anywhere you could find what would make a good licking branch, they made it one and scraped it.  Alternatively there is an oak stand with a few trails that had good rubs on them.  I know by now the scrapes and rubs don't mean much as the peak breeding period is in full swing or even passing but still a good indication of where high numbers of deer are located.

The only problem is that corn field might have been tilled already.  We were up there two weeks ago and they were harvesting it.  If its just harvested I'll be sittting there BUT if it's tilled I don't know.  Will deer really bother picking around a tilled field?  I've got to think it's pretty slim pickins in a field after its been turned over and probably a bitch to walk through.

All of my experiences tell me that acorns beat corn every time so, if the oaks still have some to drop, that's where I'd hunt.

Then again, expecting rational behavior from rutting bucks is probably crazy.

I would tend to agree but I've seen much more doe activity in the corn the few times I've hunted it(twice, so take that for what it's worth).  There were a lot of red and black oak in that oak stand though so I would think there are still a few dropping acorns in there.

I hear you there but I'd rather go with some kind of plan than just "sit anywhere in the woods and hope a buck comes by"

Ideally I'd like to be sitting in a bedding area in a spot with a lot of doe now that we are hitting the end of major rut activity in the hopes that some mature bucks are cruising around from bedding area to bedding area looking for a hot doe.  Unfortunately I didn't think I'd be gun hunting public land and never bothered to scout and peak/late-rut huntable travel corridors/bedding areas.  That really sucks too because I know this state wildlife area got a ton of hunting traffic over the weekend.

I can't imagine too many deer wanting to chance a tilled cornfield during daylight hours... Especially if there's been any hunting pressure (don't know when your season opened)

If it was VERY recently harvest and tilled, there will be plenty of forage for them to pick, but they'll do it after dark.  You might be able to lay in wait adjacent to the field and catch some making their way to it, but it'll be awfully close to dark (if they behave like PA deer.)

The farm I hunt has 20' of clover & chicory around the hay and corn fields, and they'll graze that, working the edges, during the day, even after things have been cut & harvested, but you don't see them brave the open field except the late overnight hours, and only then if there's little to no moon.

I'd hunt the oaks as my primary, and move to a location near a corner of the cornfield for the last light of the day if I saw nothing moving all day. (last resort)

Here in MI they will mess around with the acorns during the day a bit, but always hit the corn right at last/first light.  Tilled field?  IDK.   They seem to still want to hit that corn for a day or two after harvest, depends on the combine the farmer uses.  The guy that rents from us uses and old one that drops about 5% or so, the new ones don't waste much corn.  Also depends on what type of acorns, are there a lot this year?  We have a ton, and the deer seem to prefer the corn right now.  I'm 4 deer down and all were taken at the edge of thick cover/corn.  

Good luck, I always like your posts.

Oaks.


Acorns are like crack to deer.

A tilled over corn field isnt going to offer anything really attractive to the deer. All the spillage is tilled under.

Agree if there is still acorns here in PA they are getting really sparse.  Most modern combines don't leave much on the ground and what is left will be gone in a couple of days.

I'd never hunted this area gun season before.

Holy sweet Jesus...not even a weekend and the place was crawling with orange.  I ended up saying fuck the corn and fuck the oaks.  I crawled around in some thick shit till I found a nice clearing with a LOT of deer trails/shit/scrapes/rubs in it.  I figured there are probably bucks cruising the woods looking for hot doe and all the hunting pressure probably has them pretty locked down.  Who knows when a hunter might jump a deer your way too.

Wasn't meant to be.  I bowhunted there a lot this year and only one sit resulted in no deer sightings.  Two days in a row gun season, not one damn deer.  I gotta think the overwhelming hunting pressure of opening weekend really shuts them down/pushes them out.

I'll be going back to Juneau county this weekend.  The only plus side of hardly having any deer around is there are also hardly any hunters.