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Help with coons #8029526 10/29/20 10:47 PM
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I have two feeders that have been in place for three years with the standard varmint cages. I haven’t had issues with coons until recently. It seems they’ve learned the bigger ones can still reach the spinner plate. Most nights there’s 1 hanging from the cage and 7-8 on the ground for several hours. My corn usage has doubled this month.

Any suggestions?

The cellular camera lets me know when they’re there. Thinking about sneaking up on them and shooting as many as I can, but don’t want to shoot too much this close to opening rifle weekend.

[Linked Image]

Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8029562 10/29/20 11:11 PM
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Dog proof traps and make or buy you much larger varmint cage. One that is equal to the diameter of the barrel and much deeper below the bottom of the spinner.


Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?[Linked Image]
Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8029564 10/29/20 11:12 PM
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The dog proof traps have done well for us, we trap out 20-30 raccoons a year off of a 25 acre farm.

It makes a difference...when we set traps every weekend we are there we see very few raccoons on camera.

If you want to shoot those raccoons coming to your feeder, hang a motion activated kill light under the varmint cage and bait underneath the light with marshmallows on the ground. A shotgun loaded with 3 Inch or 3.5 Inch Magnum shells with between #4 Birdshot and #4 Buckshot, and the Trash Pandas will have a very bad night.

Just My .02,
LeonCarr


"Whitetail Deer are extinct because of rifles with telescopes mounted on them." - My 11th Grade English Teacher
Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8029623 10/29/20 11:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Falco
I have two feeders that have been in place for three years with the standard varmint cages. I haven’t had issues with coons until recently. It seems they’ve learned the bigger ones can still reach the spinner plate. Most nights there’s 1 hanging from the cage and 7-8 on the ground for several hours. My corn usage has doubled this month.

Any suggestions?

The cellular camera lets me know when they’re there. Thinking about sneaking up on them and shooting as many as I can, but don’t want to shoot too much this close to opening rifle weekend.

[Linked Image]

Don't worry about shooting close to the season! The deer are used to it. Go out there and blast the masked bandits and drag their bodies away for the buzzards and yotes. Shoot 'em, man; shoot 'em! Looks like you could use a shotgun and do a skillet shot on that pack that's in the picture!

Last edited by mikei; 10/30/20 01:08 AM.
Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8029630 10/29/20 11:55 PM
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I had to craft cages around my spinners. Started with chicken wire, but that wasn’t tough enough. Squirrels chewed through it. I got some more serious wire screen and am ahead in the ‘coons vs me’ contest. The only problem is that the screen causes more of the corn to fall straight down. I can live with that.


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Re: Help with coons [Re: stxranchman] #8030198 10/30/20 02:32 PM
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Originally Posted by stxranchman
Dog proof traps and make or buy you much larger varmint cage. One that is equal to the diameter of the barrel and much deeper below the bottom of the spinner.


Can't beat the dog proof traps, very effective if you can be there for a couple days and keep taking the coons out. As STX said, larger cages will help, but I have put on eliminator spinner plates and I haven't had drainage problems from coons since.

Might put a piece of 4" pvc over those legs as well, those stakes are pretty much ladders for a coon and squirrels.


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Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8030779 10/30/20 11:02 PM
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Thanks for the suggestions. Tractor supply has 1x2 cage wire for a reasonable price. I think I can fit a 24x24 cage under the feeder. That should be large enough to keep them out. The current one is 15x15.

I’m picking up some dog proof traps as well.

Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8032442 11/01/20 09:26 AM
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Ditch the cage and put a SpinTech spinner plate on it. That will stop the grand canyon from forming under your feeder, that is being caused by the cage knocking down most of the corn that your spinner tries to throw. The corn will be thrown out further which allows the deer to spread out and eat. That will make it easier to take a shot when they're not stacked up.

Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8033246 11/01/20 11:55 PM
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I had the fancy critter proof spinners on two of my feeders. They worked great till they didn’t. I suppose dust was the major problem, causing them to not shut off completely. Lubrication helped for a while, but wasn’t the long term fix. The squirrels and coons went wild on my corn.


Not my monkeys, not my circus...
Re: Help with coons [Re: 603Country] #8033283 11/02/20 12:20 AM
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Originally Posted by 603Country
I had the fancy critter proof spinners on two of my feeders. They worked great till they didn’t. I suppose dust was the major problem, causing them to not shut off completely. Lubrication helped for a while, but wasn’t the long term fix. The squirrels and coons went wild on my corn.


Yep, they need lubrication with age. Like some other things. bolt

We ran a dozen Spin Techs on the last lease. 'Always had to have spare parts and keep them lubricated. Then I went by SpinTech to get more parts. Not what you'd call an impressive operation, and this was a week or two before the season opener. Eliminator plates need lube too. Fine if you have just one or two feeders.


...and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28
Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8033804 11/02/20 02:33 PM
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I put 4" PVC pipes on all my feeder legs last year and my corn usage went down by about a third. No more pictures of coons hanging on the varmint cage or gathered under the feeder.

Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8034834 11/03/20 01:04 AM
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Similar to the above, I used round venting on mine. The pics of coons went from 1000's to less than 10. [Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]

Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8034860 11/03/20 01:32 AM
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The round vent material should work.

Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8035025 11/03/20 03:31 AM
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Wire coat hangers and RAT POISON.
Get you some of those green wax blocks of RAT Poison.
Put a hole through them.
Run the coat hanger wire through the hole.
Hang around the "cage".
Coons learn real quick that eating at the feeder gets them deathly sick.


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Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8037492 11/04/20 04:19 PM
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several of my feeders have the standard coon cage that works, others they have figured out how to reach thru those. I hog ringed some smaller pieces of wire screen on the inside, about the width of the cage and 4 inches in height, works well but does deflect the throw radius considerably. I have also put 4" PVC on the legs of several that has been very effective also.


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Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8037677 11/04/20 06:26 PM
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I use PVC pipe around legs, works great. I have had many pics where they get about half way up and the next pic is them on the ground. Use 3 or 4 inch so they can’t get their arms around it. Once it spins they will fall off.
Cheap solution that works for me. Good luck.
[Linked Image]

Re: Help with coons [Re: Draco_Farms] #8039107 11/05/20 03:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Draco_Farms
I use PVC pipe around legs, works great. I have had many pics where they get about half way up and the next pic is them on the ground. Use 3 or 4 inch so they can’t get their arms around it. Once it spins they will fall off.
Cheap solution that works for me. Good luck.
[Linked Image]

This will work to stop about 95% of the coons. If you want 100%, Just drill a small hole in the top of the PVC pipe and put a bungee cord in
it and attach to base of the feeder. Not only will the coons have a slick pipe to try to climb, but it will slide down every time they try to grip it.
The pipe needs to be about 18" off the ground.
The only negative is that the cords have to be replaced once a year as the sun detireates them.


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Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8072452 12/02/20 02:39 AM
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Deteriorates


[b][/b]
Re: Help with coons [Re: Reloder28] #8072730 12/02/20 02:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Reloder28
Deteriorates

Yea, what he said ^^^^. Old fat fingers sometimes get way off in the spelling. lol


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Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8073782 12/03/20 02:17 AM
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DP traps

Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8073958 12/03/20 04:35 AM
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As others have said ^ ^ ^
Trap them and kill them unless you
enjoy feeding them. Trying to haul them
away and release them won't buy you
anything. I prefer to have any feeders
left alone and not tore up by scroungy
varmints.
$15.00 each is about the top cost of
most brands of DP traps, and all you
have to do is stake it out, set it and
bait it. No drilling or changing out
feeder parts or modifications.
Come by in the AM, .22 to the head,
reset and rebait, toss coon out for
the buzzards, one fewer headache

Last edited by maximum; 12/03/20 04:41 AM.
Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8075713 12/04/20 11:17 AM
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I like the idea from that STX Rancher fellow, but some peoples prefer these. If I were to use them , they would be spread out a little better. No doubt they like marshmallows though.

[Linked Image]

Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8075826 12/04/20 01:48 PM
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Coons are rampant now.

In the good old days. a nice coon would bring $35 unskinned at the fur buyer.

I will be declaring war on them big time when deer season's over.

Was watching one area the other night where I'd had coons tearing down my game camera... The offending coons came in and I shot all three with 2 shots. elmer



Newer feeder designs are much better. The newer good ones feature two very large disks, with the spinner in the middle. Coons cannot reach far enough in to spin the spinner and get more corn out. My feeder in the above video is like that. You can see them trying though...

Re: Help with coons [Re: Mr. T.] #8077072 12/05/20 02:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Mr. T.
Originally Posted by Draco_Farms
I use PVC pipe around legs, works great. I have had many pics where they get about half way up and the next pic is them on the ground. Use 3 or 4 inch so they can’t get their arms around it. Once it spins they will fall off.
Cheap solution that works for me. Good luck.
[Linked Image]

This will work to stop about 95% of the coons. If you want 100%, Just drill a small hole in the top of the PVC pipe and put a bungee cord in
it and attach to base of the feeder. Not only will the coons have a slick pipe to try to climb, but it will slide down every time they try to grip it.
The pipe needs to be about 18" off the ground.
The only negative is that the cords have to be replaced once a year as the sun detireates them.

Good idea

Re: Help with coons [Re: Falco] #8115024 01/04/21 08:47 PM
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Dog proof traps and bailing wire. Coons need to be put in check on a property. They will decimate your turkey and quail populations. They get out of balance very quickly is what i'm finding.

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