As a rule bears wont eat soybeans. Our lease last year we mixed 75 soybeans and 25 corn and the bears did mess with them and yes they ate soybeans they had no choice. I think if you run straight soybeans the bears wont bother it but I also know it wont attract deer like other foods will. If they happen upon it they will eat it and remember that it is there,but I dont think it has the attracting power of some other things
Deer have to be trained to eat soybeans, you are correct. If you mix 50/50 soybeans and corn they will eat the hell out of them within one to two fillings of your feeder.. I can tell you this for a fact. If you get deer accustomed to eat soybeans, you will notice a weight difference on them. We fed straight soybeans one year (when they were cheap) and I could see a HUGE difference in weight on our deer. They are 2x the protein of corn
I agree with you about the feeders, I am just looking for something for my cameras. Im on a new piece of property and want to get an inventory on the deer. I dont have the real expensive cameras so the trigger speeds arent fast enough for just setting them on trails. What do you think about mineral blocks like trophy rock or just puttin pellets on the ground and not in a feeder?
Man my biggest problem with feeders is squirrels. They destroyed my new rig last season and several others in the past. I don't know why I even bother with them anymore. I rarely shoot the hogs off of them and have never killed a decent buck from one.
I personnally think feeders are overrated for hunting purposes. They do have there place for supplementing and for getting pics for a camera but for hunting over not so much. A deer gets 48% of its diet from woody browse and soft mast when availabe even when you have food plots and feeders. Given that percentage it doesnt take too long for them to realize that danger lurks around those candy machines and start using them strictly at night. What alot of guys dont remember is everytime you fill a feeder you are contaminating the area with human scent. You cannot be scent free lugging a 50 pound bag of corn around. I think you are better off hunting the terrain and trails foing to and from food rather than sitting right on top of it no matter what the food source is.
I have said that 100 times on here. Sitting on top of a feeder is a waste of time. Get away from it and hunt the travel areas leading to it
