Timed feeders

**Griffin** · 08-01-2015, 06:02 PM

I just acquired a few 100 acres in west GA. I can only make it out there every month or so. what is my best bet for keeping food on the ground other than planting food plots (next years project). Thought about using a 55 gallon timed feeder but I have zero experience with them and have heard to takes deer a long time to get accustomed to them. Any insight?

**camotoon60** · 08-01-2015, 06:45 PM

I had to hang mine from a tree about 15 feet up before deer would come to them. And i dont have a coon problem anymore.

**banded_mallard** · 08-01-2015, 06:55 PM

I put my Mounties out on August 1 last year and all of them had deer under them 2 days later and big bucks as well. some did satellite just outside of camera range but for the most part no problems

**santeerangerman** · 08-01-2015, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by camotoon60

I had to hang mine from a tree about 15 feet up before deer would come to them. And i dont have a coon problem anymore.

THIS... If you can get 20ft up, even better. I'm building a arm out of 1.5" square tubing, so that I can hang feeders from a pine tree.

**Swamp Rat** · 08-01-2015, 07:46 PM

My experience is that it takes a few YEARS for deer to truly get used to them to the point where they will comfortably come to them in daylight. That is with my units, which are built on 55 gallon drums and set up on 10 foot conduit pipes in a tripod configuration. Small does might, but bucks... it's gonna be after dark before they want to get around it. Other folks mileage may vary. I've also had some that got clogged and the corn went south. But usually mine have worked well, at least. Hogs love 'em.

That having been said, I will probably end up selling the two that I have and go to putting corn straight on the ground again.

Alternatives I've considered are:

- Hanging a medium (35 gallon drum) feeder 30-40 feet up in a tree. Standard spinner unit. This should keep the deer from being as spooky. My problem is doing finding a suitable tree... I'm cursed in that regard at my two "feeder" stands.

- Hanging (also high) a feeder with a vertical drop unit that only puts about 2 cups of corn at a time on the ground. I think the squirrels may out-compete the deer - and I am real concerned about the raccoons. I've only found one company that makes such a feeder. One to two feeds a day, simply dumps a hopper of corn out then resets until the mechanical timer trips it again. It would simply keep the deer interested.

Again... I'm likely to just go back to putting out shelled and cob corn. But I'm also "only" 90 minutes from the club.

**Swamp Rat** · 08-01-2015, 07:47 PM

Another thought... when the guy with the forestry cutter finishes at one of the stands, my tree options may be improved and I may rethink this.

**ducksmoker** · 08-01-2015, 08:05 PM

I have a Moultrie that's only about 6 ft high and it didn't take but about 3 or 4 days for the deer to use it and I have big bucks on it as well.... just not that many. My experience, where I hunt, is that the really big bucks don't use corn that much anyway. I have never shot a big one over corn. I use a feeder mainly to watch does. It may be different where you all hunt.

**Smilee** · 08-01-2015, 08:42 PM

I have two boss buck feeders and within a year the deer have taken up to them well. Does, scrub bucks and older mature bucks. Day or night.

**rodandgun83** · 08-01-2015, 08:52 PM

Check in on the Pyle Driver by Wild game Innovations. What little research I did on them seems quiter than a slinging feeder but only takes feed pellets not corn.

**TheVisorGuy** · 08-01-2015, 09:40 PM

Originally Posted by santeerangerman

THIS... If you can get 20ft up, even better. I'm building a arm out of 1.5" square tubing, so that I can hang feeders from a pine tree.

I did a bunch of these last year after the deer wouldn't use tripod feeders 2 years ago. Said the hell with the feeder arms because they were so aggravating to fill and refill. Went back to tripod feeder back in early may and go figure the deer are using them now. If the deer have seen feeders before or were brought to feeders to eat by their mothers then they will use them no problem. If they have never seen them before most likely it will take them a while to get used to them. Best bet is to get them out as early as possible so the deer can start getting acclimated, but also put a corn pile on the ground within eyesight of the feeder. This will force them to feed and see the feeder off in the distance. Eventually they will start using them

**dujunkie** · 08-01-2015, 10:20 PM

Does the place have pigs?

rp · 08-01-2015, 10:30 PM

If you have feeders on the ground and pigs, you will not have feeders.

Turkeys at our place get better use out of the feeders than deer. They will not leave anything for deer.

**Griffin** · 08-02-2015, 09:29 AM

No pigs. Basically need to figure out how to keep food on thr ground for a month at a time

**tman** · 08-02-2015, 11:11 AM

You've got plenty of time to plant fall food plots. Do you not have access to a tractor down there or something?

**Griffin** · 08-02-2015, 11:52 AM

No sir. I do not.

**Gut_Pile** · 08-02-2015, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by Griffin

No pigs. Basically need to figure out how to keep food on thr ground for a month at a time

I know how.

Give me access to the place too and I'll keep food on the ground every 2 weeks. I'm in west GA.

**nitro5x6's** · 08-02-2015, 06:59 PM

Griffin, get me a key and I will keep Will honest.....

Originally Posted by Gut_Pile

I know how.

Give me access to the place too and I'll keep food on the ground every 2 weeks. I'm in west GA.

**buckpro** · 08-04-2015, 08:51 AM

We run almost 30 feeders, it started out to keep from feeding hogs and having to put that much pressure feeding every week.
The problem with feeders like a Moultrie is they don’t throw feed that far and the deer are hesitant to stick their head under the feeder. Get the kind of feeder you have to duck from when it goes off, like a castaway. The deer will take to it much quicker.

You can rig a 55gal drum with a castaway motor, etc pretty cheap. It puts out the same amount of corn in 4 seconds as a moutrie does in 10.

Set them for only a small amount of time well before dark. That way if they want corn, they know they better show up when it goes off.

**Swamp Rat** · 08-04-2015, 02:28 PM

If I didn't go with a high-mounted feeder, I've always thought a good option would be a feeder that was:

A) mounted low - low enough that a person could open the top and fill it standing flat footed on the ground, or on the rack of their ATV at worst. Ideally hold at least 200 lbs of corn.

B) DIRECTIONAL in pattern - throw corn HARD in one direction, so I could put the feeder ("hidden") off to the side of the road and throw corn DOWN the road a good ways. Very little corn deposited near or close to the feeder itself.

All of that, and AFFORDABLE to build. There are some units that do this sort of thing, but they are high. It would obviously have to be heavily hog- and varmint-proofed. Seems like you could brush it up to hide it.