Using a deer feeder is one method that many hunters use to achieve better opportunities for a successful hunt. There are different styles to choose from — some are attached to a tree trunk, hanged from a tree or mechanism, and some are standing with their legs.

Cost Cutting

Hunting is an expensive hobby that requires a lot of equipment including your weapon, apparel, optics and other devices that aid in taking a perfect and ethical shot. So when it comes to cutting corners on expenses, many hunters are willing to explore their options.

Deer feeders can be expensive so many hunters look for ways to build their own. Here are the different styles of homemade deer feeders and an overview of how to construct them.

Popular Homemade Game Feeder Styles

Trough Table

One of the most shared and primary deer feeders that you can replicate is a channel table style. To accomplish this simple task, you need to make a table with deep edges to keep the corn or grain from falling out.

Pros

• It allows the deer to approach the table and see all around them as they eat. Some deer may be discouraged if part of their view is blocked while they eat.

Cons

• You have to refill it continually which can become cumbersome and possibly expensive depending on how far you intend to travel.

• It is exposed to all weather conditions and varmints.

How to Overcome the Downside

Using the same table setup, add a container (can be made of wood, plastic buckets, barrels, or anything else that you have access to) that has holes on the sides near the bottom. Then place in the center of the table.

This allows you to fill up the container and tray with the corn or grain. As the tray is emptied, the container uses gravity to fill up the plate. Your visits to refill it are now spaced out.

However, the feeder is still exposed to the elements so you have to build a shelter over it. Depending on how extensive the roof is would determine how much weather is kept off the feed and table.

And like any deer feeder, once you’ve built it you need to consider where to place your feeder. Pick a good spot to make sure it’s effective.

Gravity Feeder

Another basic feeder is a mounted game feeder. There are different styles to this as well, and much of it depends on what materials are used, not to mention your skill level and what tools you have.

Like some popular commercially available deer feeders, these use gravity to keep a limited amount of food accessible at a time. Though these won’t give you quite as much control over how much feed is distributed as an automated feeder would.

PVC Pipe

The most famous is built from a long wide tube of PVC pipe with a cap on the top. At the bottom, place a 90-degree elbow and then a 45-degree angle pointing up — forming a “J” shape.

This will allow you to fill up the tube and the grain won’t fall out directly. The deer will be able to eat from the 45-degree angle piece. As they eat, gravity will refill the base with grains.

“Y” Shape

Other variations of the PVC pipe style gravity feeders only change at the bottom. For some, they use a 45-degree “Y” attachment piece having the 45 degrees part pointing up, and for the bottom hole they use a cap with a form of grating cuts in it.

“L” Shape

Here’s how the “L” shape is done:

1. Use a 90-degree elbow and then more PVC pipe length and a cap on the end.
2. Then on the horizontal section, cut the top layer to form a gutter type trough to eat out of.

It can be attached to a tree or you can do a free standing post by using a T-post. Some use small skinny structure that has a roof shelter over it.

The same concept can also be adapted to other containers.

1. Use a barrel or 5-gallon bucket with a hole at the bottom.
2. Attach the PVC pipe to the hole of the bucket.

This allows the holding capacity to be greater which lessens the time and energy to make frequent trips to refill.

Another variation is the feeding spout, where a variety of metal or different trays are just secured to the PVC.

Tripod

For grain feeders, you can make a homemade version of a tripod deer feeder. Here’s an overview of how it’s done:

1. It consists of a large barrel with a lid on top that is removable for easy refilling.
2. Then three poles for the legs are attached to it for broad support base like a tripod.
3. Cut a hole at the bottom of the barrel and place some form of a feeding spout over the hole.
4. You can upgrade it and have up to four different spouts to feed more deer.

Keep in mind, you will need a ladder and to e physically capable of refilling the barrel bag by bag until you have the amount you want in your feeder.

And if you expect trouble with little critters eating your deer feed, here are some tips to avoid that.

Alfalfa Feeder

This is created by:

1. Build a structure like a table trough.
2. Above it, make beams close together forming a “V” shape that will hold the alfalfa above the table.

As the deer pulls the alfalfa, the beams hold the rest in. And whatever spills out lands right on the table.

Here’s how to use a 50-gallon barrel:

1. Cut the middle vertically: one-half on its side forming a trough, and the other half used as the roof.
2. These are set around 3 feet apart using 2×4 wood beams as the structural support.
3. Between the barrels, use a sturdy and thick pig fence style wire mesh forming a “V” shape.
4. The roof pipe is lifted to add the new feed and still kept dry.

To make an even simpler version, take a barrel and cut holes around it to allow the animals’ heads to access a pile of alfalfa piled inside of it. This is used for goats and other animals, but can easily be used for deer although bucks need bigger holes to get their heads inside.

Make Attractants as Alternative

If you find the options above still time consuming and costly, then you might be interested in knowing that there are other forms of feeds or attractants that you can use.

Deer Lick

Aside from alfalfa and similar feeds, there are a variety of attractants that can be made into licks or blocks. One common recipe uses molasses, deer corn, cornmeal, brown sugar, oils, and salt.

These ingredients are mixed and baked, and then pressed into a form of your choice to cool. As it cools, you can then place a large screw in it so when it hardens you can attach it to your setup and not have the animals carry it off.

Another way is to make it into a hard candy. Boil sugar and butter. Then pour it into your form to harden with the stick or large screw, depending on how you want to fasten it.

Lastly, you can make a deer cane using various sweet ingredients like sugars, Jell-O, and syrups. This can be molded into a block, liquid, mixed with dirt, or however you like.

Are deer feeders or bait not allowed where you hunt? Then here are some alternative methods that can enhance your deer hunting environment more naturally.

The post How To Make a Homemade Deer Feeder (DIY Ideas) appeared first on Outdoor Empire.

Hunters across the world are constantly looking for ways to improve their chances to harvest animals. We look for new technology, equipment, and even clothing to get more opportunities to hunt successfully.

One great invention is deer feeders. Many hunters have stumbled upon this appreciable product and as they set it up, they already imagine big bucks on their walls.

They wait anxiously to see their trail cameras after the initial setup, only to face a huge disappointment to find out that all of their feeds were eaten — not by deer, but by varmints!

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links.

How to Get Rid of Varmints

Varmints, like raccoons, are a nuisance.

They don’t just eat all the deer feed, but they’re also known to chew up wires, eat through plastic barrels, and even bend parts of the feeder from their weight while climbing to gain access to the grains!

They are scavengers. So when they find food, they put an enormous amount of effort to obtain it.

Shark Teeth

Boss Buck Shark Teeth is one direction to go for a feeder that requires the animal to climb a slender leg to get to the feed. These can be purchased at stores such as Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops, available in 36” X 1.5” strip of metal.

These strips have sharp barbs protruding close together — the full 36”.  Installation is a breeze. Just screw them to each of the legs of your feeder.

It is ideal to place the Shark Teeth about a foot above the ground to ensure that the animal cannot bypass the strip by leaping from ground level to the leg of the feeder.

How it Works

These sharp barbs will hurt the climbing animal’s feet if it attempts to access your tripod feeder by its legs. Boss Buck also states that it will deter birds from perching on them and they also keep the larger animals from rubbing up against your feeder, which can knock it over.

There are some homemade versions of this product that can be used instead. Like a tin cut in a way that resembles the “shark teeth” and then bent upwards to make it difficult or painful for animals trying to climb.

Leg Funnel

A leg funnel works on a variety of feeder legs. It is exactly what it sounds like — a very broad and steep funnel shape that is placed around each leg. So if a varmint is climbing, it is faced with the wide edge of the funnel, thus creating a road block that they cannot climb or jump over.

This can also be used for tree mounted gravity feeders, assuming you can find or fabricate a funnel big enough to go around the trunk of a tree.

Poles around Legs

This works well for a tripod style feeder because of the angle of the legs and the ease of blocking the access points. An overview of how to build one:

• Take a slick and a slightly larger tube that the deer feeder leg can slide into.

• The tube is then slid up toward the feeder and fastened to the leg.

If the material is slick enough, then the animals will just slide right off, preventing them from reaching their goal.

One hunter found that using roof flashings to make the tubes was a slick material and that the animals were unable to reach his feeder.

What if it doesn’t work on your case?

If the material still has any chance to be climbed, follow these steps:

• Drill a hole on the upper edge of the tube.
• Tie a rope or string through the hole.
• Attach it to the feeder.

This will suspend the tube and allow it to spin freely in both directions without sliding down the leg. And if the animal tries to grip on the tube, it will turn on them using their weight which will cause their fall.

You can also use this concept on a gravity feeder that is mounted on a T-post. It might take a bit more work to ensure that the tube is slick enough or can spin. But you can always add a funnel just in case.

Varmint Zapper

One traditional form of varmint control is an electric shock whenever the metal is touched. Of course, you must be sure that the deer cannot reach any part of the metal as they might never return if they were electric shocked.

Coat the Feeder Legs

Another creative and straightforward thought is coating the feeder legs with Crisco shortening.

The animals find it greasy and do not like the feel of it on their feet. Plus, the rain won’t wash it off and the varmints won’t lick it off. But you need to apply a very thick layer and reapply as often as you see fit.

With each form of varmint control, it is wise to have a backup if there is a possibility of one failing (like leg poles and funnels or electric shock and tubes etc.). This way, you are not discouraged if one fails, especially that you still have varmints to stop.

Do NOT Forget the Obvious

There are ways to make it difficult for varmints to rummage and some might stop them completely. But first, understand these often overlooked attributes.

Material

The first thing to keep in mind when purchasing or building your deer feeder is to use durable and thick material that makes it difficult for a rodent to chew on. This preserves the life of your game feeder even if the pests overcome the obstacles that are in front of them.

The most durable, yet heavy material is metal. However, it can become extra difficult to set it up because of its weight. It is cumbersome to move it to new locations too.

Make sure you notice any hanging or exposed wires that the animals can chew or use to climb. Varmints can cut the wires to battery sources.

Access

Mind the location and accessibility of the varmint to the feeder. Feeders that are mounted to a tree are very inviting and it’s a lot harder to prevent them from getting to it.

A scavenging animal love to have food just handed to them or even find an endless food supply with minimal effort required from them. This is why they are more than willing to explore great lengths to obtain access to any feeder.

Lastly, think like a varmint and try to figure out all the possible entry points that they may use. They are not satisfied with the food just on the ground. They want to stock up for the winter and possibly years to come.

Dealing With Larger “Varmints”

Varmints aren’t only the small animals such as squirrels or raccoons, bears are also classified as one.

If bears reside in your area, you need to take into account that they too love free food and can do far more damage to your setup than any small animal ever can.

How to Keep Them Off

There are a couple of tips and ideas to keep bears out of your feeders as well, but they require a lot of extra work.

• Get the feeder out of the bear’s reach, although this is easier said than done. One way is to create sturdy slick legs for a tripod style but make it extremely tall. This is perfect on an automatic feeder since it spreads the feed automatically a couple of times in a day.

• Have a thick wire strung between two big trees, then have a crank and pulley system set into place. This will keep bears from accessing it by climbing the tree or standing on its hind legs to reach it. This again is applicable to an automatic feeder since an animal can’t access the feed unless it is on the ground.

• Cement an extremely tall pole with a horizontal extender to hang the feeder. Ensure that you have ownership of the property and that you permanently want it placed on that spot.

Think Like a Varmint

Remember that varmints aren’t at the top of the food chain and a lot of them are scavengers so they pretty much do anything to stay alive and thrive. If they can see or smell food, they have an unbelievable drive to get to it. This is called survival.

When it comes to varmint control on your feeders, it is an all or nothing deal. If there is any hint of an access point, as long as they reside in the area, varmints WILL get to it.

But if you block every possible route, you should be set with more deer photos than your memory card on your trail camera can hold.

The post Feed The Deer, Not The Varmints! appeared first on Outdoor Empire.

Understandably, most deer prefer to feed in the dark of night, early morning or evening time. So a hunter must remember that a feeder won’t always produce animals during shooting hours.

Stalk Your Target

For proper scouting, when you buy your feeder, you may want to invest in a trail camera or two. This does not only provide you with the knowledge of when the deer are hitting the feed, but also for the trophy hunters out there.

The cameras show you the caliber of bucks in the area as well.

But before worrying about what time the deer might feed or the size of bucks, a hunter must realize that just like any successful business, you must take into account the location, location, location.

If a feeder is placed in a bad area or the setup is poor, then you might as well be tossing money out of your truck window while you are driving down the freeway.

Know Your Game

Location

A key factor to remember when setting up a feeder is, first and foremost: are there deer in that area? If there aren’t, regardless of what kind of feed you use, no deer is going to hit your stand and unless tamed, most deer are very skittish when it comes to predators.

They will not go anywhere unless they feel they have some protection. So if you set your feeder up in the middle of a large open field, you probably won’t see much action because the deer will feel vulnerable.

Deer like cover. It gives them a sense of security as any coverage helps protect them. But just the opposite, if you setup your feeder in a small opening or even in some trees, then there is a good chance of receiving the daily visitors you desire.

Trail

Even if there is a chance that deer does not come to a spot that you want to hunt, a method to move deer to that area is possible.

As long as you do your homework and you know of a game trail or a path that they use for travel, you can place a feeder near this route in hopes that the deer traveling day or night will stop by your feed for a quick break.

If you are consistent in maintaining the feeder, then the deer will become accustomed to this spot. Once this happens, you can move the feeder (within reason) to your desired nearby area.

Why? Because the deer will be expecting the feed in that typical location and if all of sudden it is gone, the deer will do a small area search to see if there is more feed.

If you didn’t move the feeder too far, then as soon as they locate the new spot (which they will), you will have a perfect hunting setup at your desired location

Limitations

Most importantly for a feeder setup, is to know your limitations for hunting. If you are going to hunt with a rifle, bow or even crossbow, you must setup your stand and feeder accordingly.

Perhaps you are in an area where you can setup a feeder for archery and rifle. Make sure to look for good strong trees to give you the option of setting up a tree stand.

If there aren’t any trees close by or within your confident shooting distance, check for natural looking ground blinds, or a way to make your store bought ground blind look native to the terrain.

But before you setup your blind or tree stand, be aware of the prevailing wind. Setup so you are downwind from the feeder.

Of course, if you will be rifle hunting, then your setup doesn’t have to be as critical. Just make sure the distance is within your range for accuracy and that you have a good vantage point when it comes to seeing not only your feeder, but also the immediate surrounding area.

Think One Step Ahead

In short, before you purchase a feeder and trail cameras, make sure there are deer in the area where you want to place your stand.

You will be hunting that spot, so set that up regardless of the direction where the deer comes in. You will have the vantage point, whether by tree stand or ground blind.

Check the prevailing wind direction so the deer won’t smell you before you even see them.

Last, but not least, be sure that wherever you setup, it will be a comfortable and an ethical shot for your skill level. And enjoy every minute of what nature has to offer!

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