Homemade deer feeder plans??

[midwesthunter]

I am looking for plans to build a cheap, homemade deer feeder that I can set up near my trail cam. I was thinking of something out of wood with a roof over it otherwise using some large PVC pipe. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Brent

[Mark Christianson]

Here is the one I have at home.

It holds 500 lbs of corn. I dont have any plans for it. The neighbor had one that was bigger, and we just scaled it down. Its quite simple and effective.

Not real expensive if you have some junk lumber laying around. About the only thing I bought specifically for it, was the plywood. I had everything else laying around.

[midwesthunter]

Thats looks exactly what I was looking for. How big is the gap from the hopper (plaec that stores the corn) to the floor?

[Mark Christianson]

3.5 inches.

The width of a 2x4. You can see it in the picture.

[PerchJerker]

How far is it from your tree stand? About 20 yards

[MIKE IN lINO III]

I made a real simple one. I took a pallet turned it upside down put boards on the ends, threw some legs on it and wala!

I put 1/2 of a 5 gal pail of corn in it after work every day. Works great.

Biglake... how do the bucks get at the feed?? It looks narrow where the feed comes out.

Mike

[Mark Christianson]

You would be amazed how resourceful bucks are when they are hungry.

They have no problem getting their nose to the tray to get a meal.

Its not "buck friendly", but they are contortionists of sorts when there is a free meal.

[polaris boy]

how close can you bow hunt from a feeder

[muskybuck]

Sounds and looks like the deer stands I see here in Wisconsin. Works good for speading CWD around here also.

[riverrat56]

I believe the law says you cannot hunt on a trail directly leading to a feeder.

[Mark Christianson]

To me, it doesn't matter what the law says, if you have intentions of using a feeder to attract deer to your "area" so you can hunt them, then you are a poacher. Period.

Use your heads. I don't put any feed in my feeder at home until the bow season is completed.

After that, I put corn in there, and the family enjoys watching the deer during the winter.

[Nova]

Amen Biglakes, if you can't hunt fair chase go to a game farm. Man, were is the sport in baiting.

[riverrat56]

Biglake, i wasn't impying i consent to that type of hunting, I'm totally against it, I would never do it.

I was justing answering a question and i really hope that polarisboy, wont take advantage of this law because legal or not, its very unethical.

[Mark Christianson]

My post was not directed at any one person.

It was a general statement overall.

[riverrat56]

I guess since i had posted the clarification to the law, i just thought you were taking a stab at me, my bad, thanks for the clarification BLB.

[Mark Christianson]

It was a stabless post.

[simcox282]

Maybe I am not understanding what you mean by baiting--- I have food plots, I have feeders out in the winter, I have bedding areas planted, so does that mean that I am unethical because I am trying to improve the deer on my land and attract new deer to the land that I hunt. Unethical is a broad sweeping brush.

[Mark Christianson]

We are talking about feeders and baiting. Not plots.

A person dumping food with intent of using it to temporarily attract deer or other wildlife to shoot is wrong.

[midwesthunter]

Who said anything about baiting?? The reason I wanted to get plans on building a deer feeder is so I can put out my trail camera next to it and get some quality pictures. There isn't a deer stand within 300 yards of this spot and I plan to stop feeding them after July. Gun season doesnt open up until November so the feeder will not be a factor.

[Mark Christianson]

I give up.

You are saying exactly what I have been saying.

[BLACKJACK]

As a side thought on deer feeders, I've read where people will build an 'enclosure' that the deer have to stick there head in, then in the spring when the bucks are dropping their antlers, they'll knock them off as they're feeding - walla, shed antlers for the picking!

[Ruttin' Buck]

You beat me to it Blackjack, that's how I designed mine...with an 'antler bar'. The bucks will get in there fine before they drop them, it just takes a bump when feeding to knock a loose antler off.

One thing I wanted to mention reading these posts, it seems many of you fellas feed strictly corn. I would not recommend this. In speaking with a few CO's and doing some research a number of years ago before I made my first feeder it ends up I found that straight corn is very tough on a deer's digestive system and can kill them.

The past few winters haven't been bad in southern half of MN so the deer have plenty of other browse to mix with the corn. I was told by a CO that corn fed deer are at a health risk when snow levels are very high and they end up eating only one type of food from a feeder...especially if this occurs suddendly like after a blizzard.

I found a source that explains this better...here is part of it "Feeding deer hay or corn can kill them, because they cannot always digest it. Deer digestion involves protozoa and bacteria that help break down food. Different micro-organisms help digest different types of vegetation. If a deer has been feeding on aspen or willows, it has built up the micro-organisms that digest only this kind of vegetation. If this same deer suddenly fills its stomach with corn or hay, it may not have enough of the corn- and hay-digesting micro-organisms in its stomach to digest the food. A deer can starve to death with a full stomach."

Source: http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/reso/toughlov.html

The main thing is if you like/want to feed deer. Do it wisely. Mix the deer pellets that you can buy cheap at graineries, the man's mall, etc. and mix them with corn, oats, soybeans, etc. They need a smooth transition in order to build up their digestive system for different foods. That's why bowhunters often get to witness the change in scat as fall progresses and lush green vegetation becomes scarce the 'look' and 'taste' (kidding) of their scat changes from piles to pellets.

[BLACKJACK]

In farm country, where the deer are heading to a cornfield to feed every night, I wonder if that really holds true, that feeding straight corn will kill them??

[Ruttin' Buck]

Sorry for the delayed response...been turkey hunting/finding better ways to turn my body pruney for the past 7 days!

Actually, since you're outta Wilmar, you may have met one of the local CO's from around our area. His name is Brian Mies, he's the one that first told me about it and from there I began reading up on it on my own.

Like I said, the past few years you'd probably never see a problem. But if the snow is deep, they will eat up their browse in a hurry and they'll have a hard time pawing up alfalfa...that's when they can get in trouble with a stomach full of corn.

Even though deer may be feeding on corn every night in the fall they are likely getting an equal amount of green vegetation with the corn. Once fall and snow arrive and they start eating browse and the corn is taken away their digestive system tailors itself to browse. A sudden change at that point is when it can harm them. Especially if the combines have taken the corn in October and feeders aren't stocked until say December.

I'm not part of Pheasants Forever, but I'm guessing that has something to do with why the corn pheasant feeders are wire mesh to small for a deer to jump into and too deep for them to stick their head in.

Not a big deal, you just need to mix the green feed with corn to make sure you never harm them.

[Mark Christianson]

Exactly correct Ruttin...

When I feed in the winter, I do not feed straight corn. I mix deer pellets(or equivalent) with the corn.

If a feeder full of straight corn is all the deer have access to, then you are gonna hurt them more than you are going to help them.

Well maybe not that extreme but be smart about what you think might help/hurt wildlife.