Last year as the summer wore on; trapping was not keeping up with the coon bandits. So, I purchased my first Coonhood and was immediately impressed by how it stopped the thieves cold. During a Father's Day sale at Academy, I bought another BossBuck 200 Lb Protein Feeder and ordered another Coonhood from Haden.

With a new Coonhood, here are some pictures showing how easy it is to install. The installation was easy last year, but even easier this year.

The center ring has already been dropped down on the funnel of the feeder and the hoods installed on the ring. The improvement to the Hoods and the quicker installation is the steel rod hinge vs. the previous bolt. You slip one end of the rod through the hinge hole of the Hood, acuate the Hood closed (compressing the springs) and slide the other end of the rod through the hood. It only takes a few seconds per Hood.



The ports are placed on the feeder and the port bolts started.



With the BossBuck, I then flip the feeder over which will extend the funnel fully, and secure it.



With the feeder flipped back over one more time, the supplied bolts are slid under the ports and security plates and secured. That's it.



The Hoods are made specific to the brand and model of feeder. The ports in the hood mirror the opening, but are slightly larger.



My Walker Treeing Coonhound was not happy with the setup; he knows what this means. The barn cat wasn't happy either; he knows more of his time will be in the rafters because of a bored coonhound!



Fort Knox! I've heard that BossBuck thinks that the CoonHoods will prevent deer from approaching the feeder. Nothing is further from the truth. This installation is at the lighted feeder station at my house, and I finished the work at 1 pm. I went into the house for an afternoon break and looked out at 3 pm and three one-year-old bucks where nursing on the feeder like it was their momma! These deer have never seen a BossBuck nor a Coonhood. Maybe if BossBuck cut 4" off their feeder legs, the deer would be on them sooner!



I do like the small BossBuck feeder and their footpads that secure the feeder in place with sections of T-Posts. I cut a 6' galvanized post in thirds. This feeder came with the three-piece legs, they will be replaced with a single galvanized pipe. I doubt that the sectioned legs would stand up to cattle or horses pushing against them either.

In that, I live on my place; I like the small capacity feeders. I do buy Antlermax by the pallet at my Co-Op, but I don't need a large capacity feeder. Instead, I like checking them twice a week. With our high humidity, I'd rather the feed stay in the bags as long as possible. Another plus is not having a bunch of feed in the feeder when the deer switch off it with our heavy mast crop.



Below is the original Hood still at work with the scars to prove that it constantly frustrates the coons.



Last year, I spent a lot of time looking at the loss coons cause at a protein feeder. I ended up putting the numbers in simple terms. Every coon you see at a feeder, whether in-person or digitally, costs you a dollar a day. I've measured the results at multiple sites and against trapping and Hoods with cameras and stand behind that buck a day. With the hoods, I didn't see a decrease in my feed bill; rather I saw the loss created by coons going into the deer. That is the benefit in cutting off the coons. All the energy, time, and money of a feeding program goes where it should; straight into the deer.

Buck eating from a BossBuck feeder with the Coonhoods installed. It's a short video, my game cam only takes a 9-second shot. 154 of those 9-second shots in one night though.

I was out a couple of nights earlier, didn't have a camera or Boar Light on the protein feeder, but was waiting on hogs to arrive at the corn feeder about 50-yards off to the side. Anyway, in the dark, I could hear a badger start to wail away at the Coonhood. It was poping the Hoods, and at one point he must have got his hand caught in it with the weight of his body down on the hood as he really howled and then there was a loud "bang." I could tell it was a badger because of the growl, I spend enough time out at night out in the pasture, angry encounters are a common event. He really got pissed off and went postal on the Coonhoods. I could hear him moving slowly off toward the area they den, bitching and moaning the whole way. I put the camera up, hoping to catch another visit.