The Last Stand

Here‘s an old Midwest hunting proverb; “Whoever has the last standing cornfield wins.”


We’ve been farming corn for so many decades in the Midwest that corn has become the natural food preference of whitetail deer in that area. As the harvest of the corn begins the deer are well spread out throughout the region. Towards the end of the harvest, the deer congregate around the last standing cornfields in frightful numbers. Receiving permission to hunt on farms with standing corn once the season begins might be the single best thing you’ve ever done for your hunting.

Years ago the corn harvest in Iowa was much later than usual. There were several cornfields still standing. Heavy moisture in the morning and late afternoon limited the cutting of corn to a couple of hours each day. The result was that the deer had freshly knocked down every afternoon. Unfortunately, I was hunting over a turnip field and I didn’t harvest a deer on that hunt.

But did I ever see a lot of big deer. Big bucks were in the corn every evening. I mean the ones that dreams are made out of.

Regardless of where you hunt, keep an eye on which crop fields are still available to the deer once the season starts and try to get permission to hunt close to those fields.

Good Luck and Good Hunting,

Jim