Wildlife Game Feeders (deer feeders)

Does are not near as wary as bucks are, and therefore they lull you into making small errors that keep you from scoring on the big bucks.

For example, you probably have your deer feeder or wildlife game feeder as it is frequently referred to, sitting right out in the open, and not camouflaged or hidden at all.

I have seen lots of people, myself included, set their feeders up without any regard for where they are, or how they are set up. Deer feeders are usually not something that has been discussed in the outdoor magazines to much extent, except that they are usually discussed casually.

One of my deer stands (note: you need more than one deer stand depending on a number of factors) is located where I can see a portion of a pipeline. On that pipeline I have one (again, you need more than one) of my wildlife game feeders (deer feeders) that I can see from my stand. I usually have several does feeding around the feeder at various times of the day. I have had very few bucks feeding around my feeders the way they were set up. This is not all bad, considering the does do stay in the area and the fact that the does are there, attracts the bucks to the area.

However, one day I was watching a group of does feeding around the feeder and saw a pretty nice buck a couple of hundred yards down the pipeline. He had a nice spread and may have been a shooter. He was standing still, watching the does for several minutes. Then after a few minutes, he started coming down the pipeline towards the does and getting within shooting range of my stand. All of a sudden, he stopped and for no apparent reason, bolted off of the pipeline and out of sight. I sat there wondering what in the world spooked him, because the wind was blowing right towards me from him so I knew it was not the wind.

Then, it suddenly dawned on me that he had gotten close enough down the pipeline, that he could see the wildlife game feeder that I had set up. It was partially behind some bushes until he got about where he could see it. I guess he thought it was a deer blind and this spooked him off.

The next day, I moved the feeder completely off of the pipeline and hid it in a group of trees and put some brush around the bulky part of the top of the feeder. I also cleared some brush so that the spinner could still throw the corn without interference.

Several times in the succeeding weeks, I had several bucks approach the feeder without spooking. I just wish I had done it before the brood buck spooked.

If you have your wild life game feeder set up, you might want to look at camouflaging it. This probably won't make any difference to the does, but it certainly will make a difference to the big bucks.

Camouflaging your deer feeder also makes it harder for thieves to find to steal.

If you have a wildlife game camera, this is even more important to camouflage. Although it is not likely to spook deer, it is a hot item for thieves. Hiding it helps keep it out of their hands.