Who fills deer feeders (timer feeders) with a corn/pellet mixture? Our big bucks like to eat out of the protein pellet feeders (free choice) at night. We never see them early or late in the day so I got to thinking that a feeder throwing corn/pellets in the morning and evening should get these deer to come out during shooting hours. I will have other hunters doing the same with their feeders. We will stop filling our "free choice" pellet feeders in September. Hopefully this will work. Does anyone else do this?

I always heard that the pellets will swell with moisture and clog up the feeder. I feed free choice protein year around near a corn spin feeder and my bucks come in day light hours a lot during the season. They are waiting on the corn to spin and eat some protein while they wait. Works great for me.

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I've never been of the mind set I would ever kill a big deer at a feeder. Some guys have. I've killed some OK deer, good enough to shoot at Feeders late in the year.

I hunted in Mexico on ranches that deer wouldn't come to a feeder but they sure like it from a tail gate feeder in a Sendero.

I guess it depends on the ranch.

If it was me, I would do something different from everybody else just to take a chance of getting a big deer. I'd feed potein closer to opening day. Then I'd corn the heck out of my Senderos with a tail gate feeder every chance I could up to season. Then tail gate feed every morning and evening during the rut trying to get a hot doe in my area.

I've been known to put some serious corn on the ground to get deer in my areas hoping for a hot doe to come through.

I've never carred what everbody else does. I try to do everything I can a taking a big mature deer.

Most of my big deer have came to rattling horns, not a feeder.

Thanks, BD

I tried it last year in one of my feeders right before deer season (as an attractant, not for nutrition). Didnt have any issues with it clogging up, and it really seemed to keep the deer around longer after the morning feed.

That particular spot is in some thick thick stuff right off a bedding area, so I try to not go near the feeder as much as possible, and when I do I like to get in and out as fast as I can. Mixing the corn and protein in the field was a bit more strenuous than I had thought so it took a lot more time. Will most likely do the same thing this year, but will premix the stuff at camp.

Gringo, I’ve started doing about the same thing. About the first of December the bucks start avoiding my 6 feeders. I’ve started dumping about 100 ft of corn on roads with a couple of piles of rice bran. The results have been obvious. Gotta admit, the hogs have really appreciated it.

You need to train them. You need a protein feeder that is timed and only feeds in daylight hours just like a corn feeder. If they know they can go get the protein anytime they want they will usually choose night when it’s cooler and safer.

You can do it but it takes some altering of your spinner plate. You have to make sure that when the pellets wick in moisture from rain or fog they will still flow. I would think an eliminator spinner plate would help a lot unless you are in a very wet area. A better option might be to use roasted soybeans mixed with corn. Like posted above a timered protein trough style feeder would be ideal.
For me I feed year round free choice protein in the same pen as my spin feeders. I hunt those location but never shoot a deer in a feed pen. I road feed around the pen area and roads leading to and from the blind location. I have seen big mature bucks in pens eating protein and still see them at night. My thinking is I would rather have them feeding at night on my place than somewhere else. The free choice feed keeps the does there year round. The vast majority of bucks feed at night due to heat when it gets cooler they will feed in daylight. The only time they don't is due to them living to far away to get to the feeder before dark. I get most of the buck pics in the spring and summer after 10 at night, with the vast majority from 11 pm till 4 am. Very few doe pictures in comparison to buck pictures this time of the year. I will start to road feed in about a week or two. Go out every morning before dark just like hunting season and feed all of my blind locations. I will feed afternoons some when I see all the corn is gone from the mornings. I feed everyday in the season if I hunt or not, at least once per day. By the 3 rd week of bow season the deer show up in higher numbers on the corn runs just because it is cooler and they are used to the traffic. Ranches that I managed we always fed free choice 365 days per year and used corn feeders/road feeders. Just knew that the mature bucks were not going to move much till it cooled off or the rut was getting closer. Road feeder do change the ball game but raising deer that are used to year round free choice feed, year round corn feeders and road feeding makes a huge difference when killing deer. Food plots can do the same thing with success. Hunting one blind everyday can limit your success if the deer feel to much pressure.

Back 30 years ago, my buddy from San Antonio that was on our Lease in Catarina decided to put pellets in his feeder. He was going to grow big deer.

It came a heck of a rain and that old leaky 55 gal barrel home make feeder swelled up like sore toe. I though it was going to pop. He like to never got that feeder cleaned up and back working.

Our stuff wasn't very sophisticated back then, but we sure had a lot of fun.

I started feeding straight pellets out of spin feeder back in '91 or '92. It was not fun cleaning out one after they wicked in moisture and clogged up the funnel throat. That is where I started using an agitator on the spinner plate at the suggestion of a friend. Worked like a champ. Once pellets wick in moisture and clog the funnel throat you are going to have a mess. Pellets are made with some moisture and when they clog, the cook in the summer heat and humidity. Once that moisture wicks to the underside of the feeder lid and rains down every day onto the pellets it will knock you off a ladder once you open the feeder lid... Cleaning the wet pellets and maggots out of the feeder is not fun at all on a hot day. The key to running pellets thru a spin feeder is making sure you feed enough every day to keep the feed flowing from the top to the funnel..it needs to move twice per day. Pellets are worse at molding in a spin feeder than a free choice feeder IME. Both will mold if they are not flowing everyday.

Sez it all.........

I have been mixing a 1/1 to 2/1 pellet/ corn mix for almost 10 years without any issues.

I did have trouble trying it about 15 years ago until a guy told me to try a different lid (I had the standard 55 drum lid with hand crank and rim strap), Changed to a galv. water heater trough from the hardware, a couple springs and screws and not a problem since. Not 100% sealed so a smidgen of air is able to move out is all I can figure, but has worked excellent for me doing this.

Might consider throwing the roasted soybean/corn mixture from your broadcast feeder. Usually about the same price as straight protein pellets and no worries with it swelling.

^^^ This. I have done it, and won't do it again. Mine clogged up and was a pain to get it unclogged, and had to dump all the feed on the ground. The protein pellets will naturally stick together with any moisture, and clog up the bottom opening. It didn't work for me.

I have been feeding like this since April on two of my pasture feeders but.........do not fill them up so as not to set and get moistur
e...no problems..........Of course retirement has me up that way more often...

I use The Hammer timed feeder on protein feeder. The key is to make sure the hole in bottom of your feed container and throat tube to The Hammer is large enough to keep the protein feed flowing. I love The Hammer since I'm not in a position to totally free feed 365.

I did before and now invested in a protein feeder

Roasted soybeans.

Uhhhh has anyone tried the water resistant protein? Just curious.

Other than my corn (which really does work) a couple of years ago I started adding some maze mixed in with it. The turkey, dove, and quail really hang out and pick it clean. It gives me something else to watch while I'm hunting. The deer at my place will stay until every bit of the corn is gone. Just ordered my corn for this season from New Mexico last week.

I have tried both in mine, no problem with either one. iirc, the 21% available close is coated for moisture, the 16% I get the most is not. I bli=end mine real good as I'm filling, maybe that is part of the difference idk

I've never noticed any difference in the normal pellets and so-called moisture protected stuff.

All pellets are manufactured with some kind of a binder to the ingredients held together. All pellets have a certain % of moisture in them already. The drier the climate the better it works, the damper or more humid the climate the more the pellet wicks in moisture. I used to put a few small self taping screws on the top edge of the feeder so the lid would rest on them and not the feeder. It allowed the feeder to vent the hot or moist air out. Just have to make sure you secure the lid down well and that the lid has enough overhang to keep the rain from blowing in or under it. If you want to see how much moisture is in deer pellets or corn put some in a plastic baggie and seal it up. Set it in the sun for a day. You are doing the samething in a tightly sealed feeder with only vent in the bottom of it. If that vent clogs then that is the problem.

Exactly. I use the heavy galvanized lids with 6 inch sides but have them cocked up with some bolts in side to allow some fitting and spring across top to keep them from being sucked off by a wind down burst. No problem!

It works as long as the pellets don't get wet.