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We just use the Moultrie programable timer kits with 30 gallon steel drums. Make three legs from 3/4" thin wall metal pipe (electrical conduit from Lowe's, etc) and bolt to the sides of the barrel through the outside "rings". Make the top from 3/4 plywood with either metal flashing to keep the water out or the thin plastic foil type insulation stapled to the top and pulled tight to the cut top of the barrel. Hold the top in place with coated wire pulled through two eye bolts, one on each side of the barrel. Finish off with a rechargable 6 volt battery and a solar charger. Total costs @$100/ unit. Ours have pasted eight to ten years, batteries three to four.
We place mineral blocks out on opposite side of our 100 acres with trail cameras set to catch what we have moving through the area. This really helps with the "regret" at passing a sure shot on a smaller buck. It really opened our eyes to what was actually going on with our area. Including the trespassers that were hunting our stands! The local DNR used the full face pictures to good effect.

a few pics of a SIMPLE to build self feeder... it gets a TON more attention than my auto feeders, I may eventually just get rid of the auto feeders.... I see more deer come around to the self feeders anyway.

55 gallon drum, 2 inch conduit, actually from this guy I am sure its muffler tube as he has a muffler shop. Flattened on one end to weld easy to the ring... you can see the height with the tape there. Simple cut and beat in, weld or screw and seal a lip over for rain... and the photo of 3 small drain holes on the bottom right under each feed opening... just popped in with a torch, appx 3/16 size. 3 feed slots on the barrel.

Hope that helps someone, Jeff

My bad, 2 drain holes....

nice! thanks a lot for the pics! very helpful!

VERY simple... you can see you simply make a cut, can do that with a drill bit and a jig saw even, about 5 inches long, beat the metal inward above it, some drain holes, and some kind of weather strip along the top... 3 short legs and presto..

At a point last fall the local deer here were nailing me for 250 pounds of protein about every 5 to 6 days since there was nothing much other to eat... right now the mothers are hitting it hard for the fawns and they have trouble as the bucks take a liking to the feeder and guard it and try to hog it...

Barbed wire wrapped around each leg will keep the coons off too.

Interesting, we tried barb wire years ago... along with grease on each leg too... never slowed them down that we could tell.

I zip tied carpet tack strips to the legs of mine. If a coon wants to climb the legs not he better have some serious gloves on. Squirels are our worst problem now.

Rost495,

How are you keeping the coons off of the self feeders?

Two of our self feeders only have legs about 30" tall. They may be so short they could jump to the troughs anyway.

Thanks,

loder

To keep coons and squirrels off your feeders, drill a pair of properly spaced holes in a few large rat traps. Zip tie a couple of the traps to each leg. You will have to reset them fairly frequently for the first month. After that, you might not have to set one a month. They keep them away!

Loader, look at my earlier photo, you'll see PVC tubing on there. Never saw a coon around that feeder ever. I don't have it on the one in the last photos at home... I should but we actually don't have much of a problem with them here. But they are a big problem in the hill country for us.

I have them at my auto feeders in the hill country.. but they can't get up the leg with that pipe on but every once in a while the fishing line is snapped and they'll get up the leg then... I need to replace that tarred line with light fishing cable and crimps..

They make a product that is super sharp and works well.
Boss Buck Shark Teeth

Repels Raccoons & Squirrels

Set of 3, 3 foot strips

6" break away increments for unique mounting
http://www.ultramaticfeeders.com/accessories.html

I hate coons.

stumpy

Our biologists in our wildlife mgmt area,told us a deer needs 1 1/2-2lbs of protein every day to do them any good.We hunt on low fenced ranch so we're not going to feed protein so they can go
across the fence and get shot.We do feed corn year round with salt-mineral blocks at every feeder.

ours is a NO fence operation, on 1100 acres, neigboring leases feed too, so they'll move around for the feed. That's the goal, keep them moving and looking for good food.

I have to hang mine because of the bears. They will sure tear up a feeder. They are not hunt-able in FL. I use any type of container, many time a galv trash can, cut a hole in the bottom and add a feeder kit, I like the digital programmable Moultrie. Works out great. I use the handles to hang it and to hold the lid down. I hang a wire between trees, add a pulley, and use the truck to raise and lower it. I use a feeder rope to tie it off.

It seems the squirrels chew through the plastic containers then everything gets wet and mouldy.

Yep thats the attitude.. worry about the neighbors, that way you KNOW you won't do you any good... or you can feed, and if they shoot one, congratulate them. Its what we do... and gently spread the word about how much better the deer are since we feed and poke them towards starting to feed too...

BTW if you are trying to keep them moving looking for better feed you can do that up to the rut, after that ALL bets are off... the bucks more or less no longer eat much and get the food where ever, when ever... but look into golden nuggets. They seem to just love those.. they ain't cheap though and its 40 pound bags instead of 50... if I was simply worried about attraction thats what I'd feed. I don't care so much about attracting, but more so about helping the quality of the food for all the deer.

yea, nutrition is really lacking up here so that's the goal

Went to the lease yesterday to hang the feeder, but first I needed to find a spot. Found a good spot but then was too tired and hot and bug bitten to bring it all down and set it up. I'll head down in a few weeks and set it up.

Saw a racoon in the area I was going to set the feeder. I suspect I'll be fattening up some racoons too.

I may have to get one this winter and make a hat out of his fur. Payment for all the feed he'll be robbing I'm sure.

Are there any timers you can program on specific days you want to broadcast feed or suppliments? Not just time of day?

Yes there are... Can't recall the brands that do that right now.. but there are some that you can program to feed specific days only.