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Feeder Placement #7619684 09/30/19 03:25 AM
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maximus_flavius Offline OP
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Is it possible to set a deer feeder out & NOT have deer come to it?

Somebody recently tried telling me that a certain potential feeder location was no good, deer wouldnt come up to it, yada yada yada. We put up a protein feeder with pen last week, put a camera on it Friday, & had deer the next night.

So that just got me to thinkin, if it’s even possible to set out a good feeder & NOT have deer come in.

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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7619703 09/30/19 04:04 AM
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I think it is possible. I've moved feeders just a couple hundred yards and have seen increased activity.

Re: Feeder Placement [Re: DocHorton] #7619707 09/30/19 04:06 AM
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Originally Posted by DocHorton
I think it is possible. I've moved feeders just a couple hundred yards and have seen increased activity.


I have no doubt that some places might have more activity than others. I’m asking if it’s possible to place good feeders ANYWHERE & NOT get ANY activity.

Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7619715 09/30/19 04:27 AM
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Put a feeder in your back yard with a bunch of dogs and you might not see any deer. Otherwise, if you have deer around, you are bound to see a few, even if it isn't a good location.


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7619806 09/30/19 11:30 AM
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I can think of a few places on my property that an 'on demand' feeder might not be discovered or visited very often.

But a 'broadcast' feeder is sure to be heard by both Deer and Hogs and will usually receive attention even if only after dark.

Of course, it makes sense to place a feeder along a natural travel route and in a place where they feel relatively comfortable.


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7619834 09/30/19 12:40 PM
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Some guys put their feeders in the the most knarly, hard-to-get-to places 'cause they think the Big Kahuna is off living like a hermit. I want my feeder where I can fill it quickly and quietly and get out of the area as fast as possible.


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7619844 09/30/19 12:59 PM
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Biggest mistake I see people do with feeders is put them too far away from cover, hard to get an old buck to cross a hundred yards of open country in the day light. I like them 5 to 10 yards from good cover, they seem to move in sooner.


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: HWY_MAN] #7619884 09/30/19 01:39 PM
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Originally Posted by HWY_MAN
Biggest mistake I see people do with feeders is put them too far away from cover, hard to get an old buck to cross a hundred yards of open country in the day light. I like them 5 to 10 yards from good cover, they seem to move in sooner.

This ^, however I have seen bucks cross vast open areas to get to a feeder before.


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7619909 09/30/19 02:07 PM
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I'd rather have a feeder on the edge of a wooded area bordering a large open area than to have it in the middle of that same large open area.

Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7619924 09/30/19 02:25 PM
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Deer like edges of habitat. They have a comfort zone from the edge of cover and I was told it was 70 yards from any cover edge. The more open the area the feeder is in the more likely the deer will feed there in darkness IME. Cooler weather and/or cloud cover will change the visits to early mornings to late evenings. Most people put a feeder up and expect deer to use it right away. The time frame it is used depends on a lot of factors. Are deer used to feeding at a feeder? Is the feeder going to be inside a feed pen? Are the deer used to jumping inside a feed pen? Is it a protein feeder and have the deer ever eaten from a protein feeder? You put a protein feeder up inside a feed pen in an area where the deer have never seen a protein feeder or a feed pen and it won't make any difference where you put it.....you will be disappointed in how long it takes the deer to use the feeder. While deer can jump fences very easily they prefer to go under or thru an opening before jumping it. So a feed pen in an area with barbwire fences may take longer than a feeder placed in an area with net wire fences.
I put up two protein feeders inside 12 hog panels round pens on a Hill Country lease I had leased that the deer knew what protein was. I thought it will not take anytime since the deer were used to 52" tall with netwire on bottom and top with barbwire already. I put the pens and feeders up and spread corn inside the pens and outside. After 3 weeks the deer were eating the corn outside but never jumped in the pens. I had to open up the panels I left for a gate to get them inside the pens. After another month they were jumping into the pens and not using the open gate.
If you put a feeder up anywhere there are deer and deer sign...if you are patient enough the deer will eventually use the feeder. May take longer than you want but they will use it. May only be at night or may be anytime during the day or night. Some areas close to bedding areas and in a travel route to/from food and water are going to get more use and quicker utilization.


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7620216 09/30/19 08:13 PM
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Originally Posted by maximus_flavius
Is it possible to set a deer feeder out & NOT have deer come to it?

Somebody recently tried telling me that a certain potential feeder location was no good, deer wouldnt come up to it, yada yada yada. We put up a protein feeder with pen last week, put a camera on it Friday, & had deer the next night.

So that just got me to thinkin, if it’s even possible to set out a good feeder & NOT have deer come in.

[Linked Image]

Possible not likely though if deer are in the area. They will find it unless pen is too high or too small, maybe

Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7620264 09/30/19 09:17 PM
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Lots of good info but I will ask one question about your setup:
How has the weather at your lease been over the summer?

Lots of rain and good grass.
Dry and nothing to forage on but your feeder?


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7620276 09/30/19 09:38 PM
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Originally Posted by maximus_flavius
Originally Posted by DocHorton
I think it is possible. I've moved feeders just a couple hundred yards and have seen increased activity.


I have no doubt that some places might have more activity than others. I’m asking if it’s possible to place good feeders ANYWHERE & NOT get ANY activity.


Well, I just moved my protein feeder because since I put it out 6 months ago I did not have a single picture of deer eating out of it. Nothing but hogs. Hoping the new location will change things....

If it's corn I don't think it matters...they will find it.

Re: Feeder Placement [Re: DocHorton] #7620287 09/30/19 09:50 PM
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Originally Posted by DocHorton
Originally Posted by maximus_flavius
Originally Posted by DocHorton
I think it is possible. I've moved feeders just a couple hundred yards and have seen increased activity.


I have no doubt that some places might have more activity than others. I’m asking if it’s possible to place good feeders ANYWHERE & NOT get ANY activity.


Well, I just moved my protein feeder because since I put it out 6 months ago I did not have a single picture of deer eating out of it. Nothing but hogs. Hoping the new location will change things....


You allow hogs to eat protein?

Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7620409 10/01/19 12:13 AM
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Lol. Not by choice...Dern hogs rub on my feeder legs and it spills out.

Re: Feeder Placement [Re: DocHorton] #7620503 10/01/19 01:40 AM
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Originally Posted by DocHorton
Originally Posted by maximus_flavius
Originally Posted by DocHorton
I think it is possible. I've moved feeders just a couple hundred yards and have seen increased activity.


I have no doubt that some places might have more activity than others. I’m asking if it’s possible to place good feeders ANYWHERE & NOT get ANY activity.


Well, I just moved my protein feeder because since I put it out 6 months ago I did not have a single picture of deer eating out of it. Nothing but hogs. Hoping the new location will change things....

If it's corn I don't think it matters...they will find it.

If the feeder is not in a pen the hogs are probably keeping the deer from using it.


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7623607 10/04/19 12:24 PM
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Lot's of good input on this discussion and to the point of many replies there are lot's of variables to consider.

Let's add some color to the conversation and look at an aerial map, which I believe to be the foundation of any strategy when placing feeders/blinds.

Below is a property I'm evaluating feeder/blind placement...to put this in perspective the boundary lines represents 1,000 acres of a LF hunting area. The orange symbols are established blind/feeder locations for 4 other hunters on the same property. To be clear we have 1 location per hunter to consider, so in this scenario on opening day and potentially any day of the season there will be up to 5 hunters in this 1,000 acres.

The yellow fence is a cross fence on the same property, but creates the southern boundary of the established hunting area. The orange icon on the yellow line represents the ingress/egress point for all hunters into the area and the orange trail defines the road traveled by all hunters until you get to the white lines that define the remaining roads to continue travel to the other 4 locations.

The area in question for adding a feeder/blind is represented by the red hazard mark.

Note: the hunters in this field are targeting trophy bucks defined as a deer over 4 years of age with remarkable headgear.

One must consider the traffic in and out of the gate for 4 other hunters and the sparse tree coverage surrounding this area that I believe wise trophy bucks require to have any chance of approaching this feeder during daylight hours. Also keep in mind the road (white line) just to the north of the feeder represents a road that the hunter will travel to reach the location in the upper left corner of the property.

The orange road from the gate to the fork in the road is approximately 400 yards from the feeder placement at the nearest point.

Do I move forward and place this feeder/blind or is this location to be considered a washout due to the variables presented?


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7623620 10/04/19 12:39 PM
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I put up a cellular camera over a bag of corn and sweet feed mix, watch it for a day or two, if they find it, it becomes a potential spot for me.

I've got several spots at the farm I poured out corn and weeks later it's still there, coons haven't even touched it


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: David Maas] #7623634 10/04/19 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by David Maas
I put up a cellular camera over a bag of corn and sweet feed mix, watch it for a day or two, if they find it, it becomes a potential spot for me.

I've got several spots at the farm I poured out corn and weeks later it's still there, coons haven't even touched it

That's the best way to find the answer to your question, except you will not have the traffic of 4 other hunters going in and out of the gate. However, it will let you know if bucks feel comfortable
enough to be in that area.


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7623671 10/04/19 01:22 PM
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Certainly offering a tempting food source will bring passing deer to the location.

Keep in mind this is the only location a 5th hunter will have an opportunity to hunt in this area.

The question at large is: will this location produce a trophy buck for a 5th hunter during daylight hours despite the variables mentioned (road traffic, sparse cover, etc)?


Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7623692 10/04/19 01:58 PM
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While I was in Kansas there was a guy who was at the lodge who was hunting some property a group of friends had bought earlier that year. So they set up some feeders where they thought they would have deer. Well one was set up near a pond earlier in the summer. The corn was never touched, it was a free choice feeder so it wasn't difficult to figure that out. One day we helped him move it about 500 yards, that evening hunt he had deer at it.


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Re: Feeder Placement [Re: WattoHunt] #7623740 10/04/19 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by WattoHunt
Certainly offering a tempting food source will bring passing deer to the location.

Keep in mind this is the only location a 5th hunter will have an opportunity to hunt in this area.

The question at large is: will this location produce a trophy buck for a 5th hunter during daylight hours despite the variables mentioned (road traffic, sparse cover, etc)?


Except looking at the map, there’s other gates for the other 4 hunters to use during deer season.

& there’s good cover on 2 sides of that proposed area, with a drop off behind the feeder area.

Just looking at a map doesn’t tell the whole story. The landowner should know more, especially if he has had the property his entire life.

Last edited by maximus_flavius; 10/04/19 02:53 PM.
Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7623766 10/04/19 03:17 PM
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TBD

Re: Feeder Placement [Re: WattoHunt] #7623793 10/04/19 03:52 PM
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Originally Posted by WattoHunt
The landowner is also trying to exercise his right to maximize his profits even if it comes at the expense of the lessee.


Your a liar

Re: Feeder Placement [Re: maximus_flavius] #7623811 10/04/19 04:22 PM
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Originally Posted by maximus_flavius
Is it possible to set a deer feeder out & NOT have deer come to it?

Somebody recently tried telling me that a certain potential feeder location was no good, deer wouldnt come up to it, yada yada yada. We put up a protein feeder with pen last week, put a camera on it Friday, & had deer the next night.

So that just got me to thinkin, if it’s even possible to set out a good feeder & NOT have deer come in.

[Linked Image]


I am about to find out. I built 50 ft feeder pen with 6 foot hog panels, 4 or 5 panels have openings cut down to about 4 ft. I placed that exact same free choice feeder on 9/7 and moved a ground fill broadcast feeder inside of the pen also. Went back on 9/21 and there was a big pile of corn under the broadcast feeder and free choice feeder had not been touched.

I stood up another broadcast corn feeder in same area that is not penned, hopefully that will increase traffic. Hope to get out there this weekend and see some change in traffic pattern and some interest in my new feeder pen. Will post up results. I think it is just a matter of time. I located the feeder pen as far back into the scrub oak and mesquite as possible for cover and to get it further away from blind. I need to clear some shooting lanes also.

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