This year, I might have to break down and get a feeder to attract some deer for rifle season.
With my recovering health, I don't have the energy to do nearly the hiking I typically do and now both my boys are very enthusiastic about getting a deer, so I'm thinking that maybe the wisdom of some of the folks I used to think were doing things the "easy way" is now sinking in to my thick skull.
I've never hunted over or used a feeder. I've got several good places where deer are and just this year ordered some trail-cams (also a first for me).
I'm pretty sure that I haven't gotten these things out in time this year, but I planned on doing it anyways and possibly throwing out a mineral block or two.
First question - is it too late for me to do this? Would I basically be introducing something foreign to the deer's area that would spook them until after rifle season?
Second question - is this even a good idea to attract them to a spot or do I basically need to be feeding them for a while before they actually come back to it (I can just wait until after this rifle season and prepare for next year if I have to)?
Third question - What types of feeders are everyone using and how do you like them? I'm considering using some home-made designs I've seen online, but there are a few "bump feeders" available in stores for cheap that folks seem to have good results with. Also, automatic feeders seem to be nice, but I hear a lot about bad motors, faulty electronics, etc... and I don't want to have to mess with that (reviews seem to be all over the place).
I've got a couple of spots picked out that I can get into but its still going to be a trek back in there so higher capacity is nice so I don't have to mess with it but a few times a week at most.
Been really eyeballing this setup that tjones96761 put together, and would like to know more about what feeder-control system he used (perhaps he'll chime in, or I can PM him I guess).
http://okshooters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102904&highlight=feeder
With my recovering health, I don't have the energy to do nearly the hiking I typically do and now both my boys are very enthusiastic about getting a deer, so I'm thinking that maybe the wisdom of some of the folks I used to think were doing things the "easy way" is now sinking in to my thick skull.
I've never hunted over or used a feeder. I've got several good places where deer are and just this year ordered some trail-cams (also a first for me).
I'm pretty sure that I haven't gotten these things out in time this year, but I planned on doing it anyways and possibly throwing out a mineral block or two.
First question - is it too late for me to do this? Would I basically be introducing something foreign to the deer's area that would spook them until after rifle season?
Second question - is this even a good idea to attract them to a spot or do I basically need to be feeding them for a while before they actually come back to it (I can just wait until after this rifle season and prepare for next year if I have to)?
Third question - What types of feeders are everyone using and how do you like them? I'm considering using some home-made designs I've seen online, but there are a few "bump feeders" available in stores for cheap that folks seem to have good results with. Also, automatic feeders seem to be nice, but I hear a lot about bad motors, faulty electronics, etc... and I don't want to have to mess with that (reviews seem to be all over the place).
I've got a couple of spots picked out that I can get into but its still going to be a trek back in there so higher capacity is nice so I don't have to mess with it but a few times a week at most.
Been really eyeballing this setup that tjones96761 put together, and would like to know more about what feeder-control system he used (perhaps he'll chime in, or I can PM him I guess).
http://okshooters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102904&highlight=feeder