Deer Feeder Helper Blog

A good friend phoned earlier today seeking if he could get on the deer lease i’m currently on. I had asked before when we had the openings, but at the time he was quit comfortable. As many of you know, leases are very fluid environment. Landowners change, members change, rules change, and a host of other factors. For my good friend, he was no longer enjoying the camp atmosphere, as one should when they excitedly head out on opening day. The spirit of the hunt no longer exist on his lease. His lease was a located in the heart of central Texas, occupied by nice bucks, turkeys, and hogs. However, there is more to hunting than simply pulling the trigger. Deer hunting is a journey to be enjoyed, not a destination. Apparantly becoming dissatisfied with his company, he is seeking a change. He and his son has accompanied me on numerous adventures to my lease with successful outcomes, and now he yearns for the journey that his lease no longer provides. Unfortunately for all, cost comes in to play. His lease is somewhat more affordable than mine, but can one put a price on the enjoyment you and your family get out of something. My lease is certainly fun and my fellow hunters seem to enjoy the same values as I. This enjoyment and satisfaction keeps me onboard, thanks to my fellow hunters. I will try to my best to get his good company on the lease, because Lord knows, everything is what you make it. Surrounding yourself with good people is a win-win for everybody. I suppose there is more to hunting than meets the eye.

Happy hunting and May Yours be the Bigger, Better Buck

Chris Nicholes

I hunt on the Butterfield Peak Ranch in Robert Lee, Texas, approx. 20 miles north of San Angelo. Each hunter is allowed 2 stands not to be closer than 1/2 mile from each other. When I first got on, I made a direct bee line a fast as I could to set-up my stand in the back of the property in the beautiful canyons. Well, what a dud it has turned out to be. After being immediately disappointed, I erected a new stand in the front mesquite flats. And wow has the deer hunting been incredible. So now I have 2 stands completely opposite of each other and what a nightmare it is to maintain 2 very separated locations and to share when each other is located nowhere near the other. After 7 years of being hard headed and disappointing deer hunts. My poor guest and I will move the failure to a new location near my other stand. This will make everything so much easier. Before I decided to move, I feel I know the property better and now know where deer activity is enhanced and where it is not. My new deer stand set-up will have 2 deer feeders placed crosswinded, 80 yards from the stand so my guest can make these relatively close shots without wounding or missing those whitetail targets. This weekend, we will move my 20′ deer blind, 2 deer feeders, 2 bow blinds, and a water catch and trough. We have alot of work ahead of us, but after all, isn’t just being out there a blessing in itself.

Happy Hunting, Chris Nicholes

Keeping the varmint population down can be an effective way to reduce your feed cost and maintenance problems. Unchecked varmint populations can consume the entire amounts dispensed by spincast feeders and wreak havoc on free flow protein feeders. Raccoons are probably the biggest enemy of us deer feeder users. Besides eating all your corn and protein, comprimising your quality deer management program. They can be quite destructive to the feeder timers, causing excessive repair cost, frustration, and disappointing hunting trips due to a malfunctioning deer feeder. Varmint guards surrounding your feeder timer is a must. Some deer feeder timers have guards as part of the housing. I prefer to use springs to keep the varmint guard affixed to the timer as it is easily removed. I set live traps at all my feeders and work them religiously. They have proved effective but require constant time and attention. Never abandon a working trap. One trapper was charged with felony cruelity to animal after leaving several hogs to die in a trap. I have been told that using fly bait mixed with a sweetened medium can be fatally toxic and quick to raccoons. Reducing the raccoons, skunks, armidillos, and opposums is also beneficial to the quail and turkey populations, as these varmints love and seek the eggs of these ground nesting birds in the springtime.

Another deer hunting season has is now behind us and hopefully it proved fruitfull for all those lucky enough to have participated. Fortunately, my friends, family and I had a banner year, harvesting countless whitetails under a quality whitetail management program in San Angelo, TX. , a nice 15 point trophy buck met my accurately placed 165 grain climatic release, leaving behind many smiles and other memorable gestures. My deer feeders are now empty with the help of my feeder helpers and converted to protein feeders. Replacing the yellow deer candy called corn with a protein pellet product mixed with milo. The deer should be healthy coming out of such a mild winter, and hopefully will be awaiting another wet spring and summer, pushed with protein and other solid management practices, and come next Fall, should be displaying even better quality head gear than years gone by. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. In the meantime, find your turkey calls and snake boots, shotguns and decoys, call some friends and don’t forget those kids, write it in your calendar for late March, turkey season is here. Gobble, gobble. The Feeder Helper Guy