I'm looking ahead to the offseason (and beginning to notice some rough looking deer) and was wondering if anyone spins protein from their feeder. I hear some work and others don't. Any suggestions?

Gravity flow only for protein.

The whole point to feeding protein is to allow deer to eat it free choice. ( access 24/7 )
Spinning it out on the ground will attract non target species and waste a lot protein. I doubt any spin feeder can deliver enough to make a difference.
Add just a little moisture = clogged up feeder and huge smelly mess.

How bout the protein/ corn mix?

I also heard after of course after I tried it and wasted 3 bags of protein that deer do not like eating protein off the ground. That proved true for me as it just wasted away on the ground minus what the vermin ate.

Read Rustler's first line.

Some folks do, but, ain't no way to dispense enough protein to do any good, still ends up on the ground, still attracts non target species, still a waste of time & money, still can clog up and ruin the whole barrels worth of what it is filled with.

If you just have to use a spin feeder, I'd fill it with corn roasted soybean mix.
It is sold at most if not all feed stores, under a bunch of different names.

Best to buy a protein feeder and build a large feeder pen around it with hog panels.

I have to concur with Rustler. I have tried to do almost solely protein from a spincast with very mixed results. Only when mixed about 70-30% with corn did the deer seem to really enjoy it. When going all or almost all protein, I lost quite a bit on the ground with the deer not wanting to really mess with it. Also with a metal barreled feeder that seals airtight, you are asking for moisture and condensation/mildewing issues in the summertime. My advice is to feed it gravity style with feeder pens up.

You know the area you hunt better than any of us. If you are on a budget, maybe look at reducing the numbers where you hunt? I have know ranches that are way to populated and we were actually one of them and we always battled post-rut weight loss which take them into growing season trying to fight back to a healthy body weight and all their energy is pumped to their body and not their horns. So all I am suggesting is get population under control, manage the land properly and then see what happens from there. Cause i agree with these guys spin casting protein is a waste of $$$ its an all in thing or not at all in my opinion. And another harsh reality is that no matter what we do the deer will look famished in the post rut! Good question though!

roasted soybean corn mix, is 16-18% protein and feeds great out of a spinner feeder, has a great smell and the deer love it. any extra protein is better than none.

on our place December til April, May the deer will eat as much protein as you give them, all comes down to what you can afford.

personally I can not afford a $1000.00 a month on protein......

another thing people forget about, is fat, deer loose a lot of body fat in the winter, they need to put fat back on.

IMO anything is better than nothing, my doctor told me he want me to lose 30 pounds, I dropped 10, and called it good.

I've heard of folks controlling spinning protein onto a plate. Might try that.

Thanks for all the input gentlemen. I too, operate on a limited budget and cannot afford a great deal on protein. That said, I'd certainly be willing to make an initial investment and see how the deer respond. I have a small area and don't think it would break the bank to have one set-up; may not make much difference, but as many would agree, anything is better than nothing...

We put corn/protien mix in our spinners during deer season at a 4:1 ratio but only put straight protien in free choice feeders.

One person on a lease spinning protein will not help much. Everyone spinning it will or can help. If you do then you need and agitator of some sort on the spinner plate to keep the feed moving. Pellet mills use a binder to help make the pellet stay in a pellet form. That binder when it gets moist will soften then when it dries it will bind back and stick to the other pellets. Keep the pellet flowing...feed enough daily to keep the feed moving inside the feeder. If the feeder clogs it will cause the pellets to sweat inside the feeder. All pellets have a moisture content at manufacture time. So it will rain inside the feeder making a mess. That is where the agitator comes into play keeping the feed flowing or feeding everytime the feeder goes off. A loose fitting lid is a must but it needs to keep out rain or fog.

Actually, what I meant was that I'd put together a gravity fed protein setup. Only one though...