[gothemi]

So I'm looking through Hoytman's trail pics and saw the homemade deer feeder, which I liked. Right away I went to the hardware store and for $30 I have the stuff to make my own.

Now that I have the stuff, what do I put in it, where is a good location? What do I look for? I have to dig out my trail cam I got off Ebay last winter and actually mount it somewhere.

Keep in mind you are speaking to a new hunter, so please bare with me.

 

[gothemi]

Another questions, when people talk about "minerals" and salt lickers, what exactly are you buying? Where do you buy it? What can I expect to pay for it? How often do I check on it or replace it?

Sorry for the beginner questions, but I'm VERY new to hunting. I'm very resourceful and I usually find anything I need to know through "Google" or "Wikipedia", but somethings are just better coming from the experts in my region.

 

[gothemi]

I have a location picked out. It's the edge of a clearing, and the clearing itself is maybe 200yds across and 500yds deep. I thought about driving a stake in the ground inside the clearing and mounting the feeder there. Is that a good idea?

 

[gothemi]

Can you elaborate? What do you put in the feeder? What do you use to draw them in?

 

[ryhan]

Don't worry about the questions, we all was new to hunting at one time.

I have had good luck with corn and oats in my feeders. It all depends on what the deer are used to eating in that area. It's simple, if the farmers have planted corn in the fields that border my hunting grounds I use corn, if they plant oats I use oats. Another spot that I used to hunt had apple trees near it, so we used apples. If you are not near any of the above try a couple of different feeders with say oats in one and corn in the other. Then pick the one which gets hit the most. I find it better to have your feeder out of the sight of the crows or you will lose a lot to them dirty little buggers. As far as the salt licks go. I have used coarse salt that you can buy in a bag at any hardware store or feed store. I spread about 1/4 of it on the ground and then put the rest in a burlap bag and hang it in a hardwood tree up about 4 feet. Make sure it is out in the weather because when it rains you want it to soak into the bag and start dripping out on to the ground. One 25lb bag should last you all summer. I find you have to start salt licks around the end of May. They work better for me when they are near a small stream or some other water source. They will not bring the deer in to you in the the fall, but what it does is it gets the deer used to traveling that same route more frequently, and checking it out for other deer. All of this stuff is just my opinion, and may not work for you.

Good luck with whatever you try! The way I see it is the only way to learn is to ask questions.