Feeders

[Onetimeonly x-->]

Tripod feeders, my friend uses them and we were talking about ways to quiet them down when the timer goes off. I suggested foam pipe insulation on the legs to kill the pinging sound as the corn hits the legs. Any other suggestion? In the past he has had the timer go off and move deer out of area. He now sets the timer to go off earlier in the day and not to close to hunting hours until the deer get use to the dinner bell. Thanks.
Scott

[Bullzeye]

I would think the foam would get chewed up by tree rats. This gravity feeder has always intrigued me, someone here has one and says its works well, I just cannot remember who it is lol

http://www.pennco.com/FeederModels.aspx

[Deaf jeff]

i will be getting this gravity feeder

http://www.redneckblinds.com/redneck-t- ... feeder.php

I really like the idea of being able to place the feeder where I want and away from trees so the coon cannot just hop aboard like when a feeder is strapped to a tree, I am not sure how tall t-posts come in but if tall enough it seems like the feeder would be out of reach for the critters on the ground also. and no noise.just my thinking

[flightattendant100]

Why quiet them down. They act just like a dinner bell. I got friends who put an empty can or two inside the varmint guard to make them more noisy so deer can hear them farther!( Im serious)

[wabi]

I would think the foam would get chewed up by tree rats. This gravity feeder has always intrigued me, someone here has one and says its works well, I just cannot remember who it is lol

http://www.pennco.com/FeederModels.aspx

I use a Pennco feeder and really like it!
A 50# bag of corn lasts almost 2 weeks and that's a big savings over the gravity feeder I used in the past. Same battery (1-AA Duracell) still operating it since the last of July.
The clock motor does make some noise, but it doesn't seem to bother the deer. I do get occasional pictures of a deer looking up at it, but they go right ahead and eat, so it's not spooking them!
I did have a couple "jams" of corn in it last year, but I slightly enlarged the hole before I hung it this year and so far it's worked perfectly.

[racking up points]

I have tripod feeders and run the cabelas photocell motors on them. They are loud but the deer don't mind at all. They are so accustomed to the sound they don't flinch...I have seen it go off while watching does mill around they don't even look up. Now if a wandering buck that might not frequent the feeder happens to drop in when it goes off, he might just head for the next county, if that's what you're thinking.

I put 200 lbs in the feeder at a time. It feeds once in AM, once in PM and lasts for over 1 month. Puts down just enough corn that they need to be the first ones there or there's not much left. You can set your watch by the deer movement at my feeders. I will say that I've never killed a big buck by a feeder. I've only taken one good buck over bait.

[Onetimeonly x-->]

[quote="racking up points"]I have tripod feeders and run the cabelas photocell motors on them. They are loud but the deer don't mind at all. They are so accustomed to the sound they don't flinch...I have seen it go off while watching does mill around they don't even look up. Now if a wandering buck that might not frequent the feeder happens to drop in when it goes off, he might just head for the next county, if that's what you're thinking.

The areas he's trying to establish are new and getting a somewhat of a late start. That is as far as getting feeders out. Trying not to interrupt their patterns if he can. Thanks for all the replies.
Scott

[Cossack]

Big NO NO during hunting season here (MN). Our mineral blocks cant even have any food stuff (corn, acorn, apple) incorporated. And fines are steep: $ plus loss of hunting privileges. Food plots are OK (?!)

[wabi]

Big NO NO during hunting season here (MN). Our mineral blocks cant even have any food stuff (corn, acorn, apple) incorporated. And fines are steep: $ plus loss of hunting privileges. Food plots are OK (?!)

I think the reasoning there is that a feeder or food/mineral block can cause the transfer (in theory) of CWD between deer (passed through saliva). A food plot doesn't have multiple deer licking the same food source very frequently.
Here in Ohio there have been no confirmed CWD cases in wild deer, so feeders are still legal.

[racking up points]

I hunt in MI and Ontario, Canada.

In MI, baiting is legal in my area. In other zones that have seen CWD or other diseases that spread from deer feeding in close proximity baiting is completely closed. But there are many restrictions statewide. For instance on the quantity of feed and sq. footage for its distribution, a 10x10 area. I believe the most you can spread at one site is 3gal. It is here that my feeders shine because they launch a little feed over a large area, more than 10x10, and I never have a lot of feed on the ground, just enough to keep the deer coming back to sniff out a few kernels. I live in CAN so it keeps my yankee deer well fed when I can't be there to fill their feeder. There is almost zero agriculture where we hunt, so the corn is a welcome supplement for them.

In Ontario it is legal to bait, but I rarely ever bother. I live in SW ON and I'm surrounded by corn...baiting doesn't pay off here. I have better luck on canuck bucks when I don't hunt over bait.