DIY - Gravity Feeder

[Iluv2hunt]

What have you found to be the right height off the ground?

I found 40" to be the ideal height where hogs could not reach it and deer could. At the time I did not want hogs to be able to get to it. Now keep in mind mine were set up different . They had a grate on the bottom and all they had to was stick their mouth UP to it. Yours, they kind of need to stick their head DOWN. I would start at about 25-30" and put a camera on it and go from there

ALso, another thing to keep in mind. Strapping a round pipe to a round tree is not as easy as you might think. You might try to find an oak tree that has a crook in it to wedge it into. ANd you probably need a scrap piece of 2x4 to rest it on to help support it

[deutze]

if a bear is not able to tear it down, I would think they have the jaw/tooth strength to chew thru the pvc. what do you guys think?

[Iluv2hunt]

^^YES

[Triple Creek Reaper]

if a bear is not able to tear it down, I would think they have the jaw/tooth strength to chew thru the pvc. what do you guys think?

I am going to wait until late August to hang these as I have minerals licks in front of the cameras now. But when I get back up there, I am going to set my camera on video instead of pics knowing I will be up a few times a month to check on battery life and memory storage. It would be something else to catch a bear on video getting after one of these things.

[Triple Creek Reaper]

ALso, another thing to keep in mind. Strapping a round pipe to a round tree is not as easy as you might think. You might try to find an oak tree that has a crook in it to wedge it into. ANd you probably need a scrap piece of 2x4 to rest it on to help support it

Good idea on a piece of wood for support. The drain cap at the bottom is recessed a couple of inches, I could cut a piece of wood so it forces the feeder to a desired height, it should rest in that cavity pretty well. I keep coming back to the idea of putting large eye bolts at the bottom and top to run the ratchet straps through to keep them from sliding while hanging it. The double wye will keep it from rotating for sure.

The best idea is just making sure my hunting partner is there to help hang and refill these feeders every time it's needed.

[Triple Creek Reaper]

It was a great day to watch paint dry. My son and I went out to finish the feeders. Again it is a bit of overkill here but my kid was having fun and it was a nice day to spend outside. Here is a run down with pics. FYI, the spray paint I was using was for hard plastics and had a primer built into it.

1) We started out by using brown paint as the 1st layer. I didn't completely cover it except the cap and double wye. Having some of the light green coming through didn't bother me.

2) Next we used a small palm frawn from a robellini and used green paint to place prints down.

3) We then used an end of a scrub oak branch w/ leaves attached and sprayed over it with black paint.

4) We all took a hard look at it, the camo seemed very dark, we then decided to go with one more layer of brown sprayed over the palm frawn again.

[Triple Creek Reaper]

Although I put down the entire 1st layer of brown all the way around the feeder, I did the additional layers one side at a time. After completing the 1st side I decided to change it up. On the back side I went with the black scrub oak as the second layer and then used green and brown palm frawns for layer 3 and 4. It came out brighter thats for sure. The 1st pics shows the 1st run which produced the darker camo, the 2nd pic is the bright combo. At the time, the paint was still wet.

[Triple Creek Reaper]

We just went out to inspect it after drying, after looking at both sides, everyone agreed the darker side looked the best. Here is the finished product and a close up of the camo print. I am going to let these sit outside for the next month to get the smell off and let the sun work on them a little before I put them up at camp.

[Iluv2hunt]

Looks nice, however the coons will have them scratched up in no time

[deutze]

as long as it's not one solid color I don't think it really matters all that much. I like my tourist type Hawaiian shirts for camo. but they did come out very nice.

[Kortsman]

Sweet! Let us know which color the deer like...

[Triple Creek Reaper]

Sweet! Let us know which color the deer like...

Very funny.....I can tell you this camo pattern isn't bad, my son and I are thinking about painting his little electric 4 wheeler the same pattern. I think it would work well for box blinds and stands..if someone had the inclination.

[treefarmer]

We've made gravity feeders for years and some were white pvc, some were light green pvc, some were blue, and we even painted a few with camo type coloration, not near as nice as the ones Triple Creek Reaper and son have done, the deer didn't seem to have a preference. I believe the big advantage of camo paint might be to discourage a rouge from finding your feeder. We have been using those big red-orange colored plastic barrels for the automatic feeders hanging from a tri-pod. I believe the biologist tell us that Bambi is color blind but a contrast that's unnatural will cause a deer to hang up till he is satisfied of no danger or his hunger for shelled corn pushes him on. It's still a great project to do with child! Treefarmer

[Triple Creek Reaper]

I believe the big advantage of camo paint might be to discourage a rouge from finding your feeder. It's still a great project to do with child! Treefarmer

/\/\ This /\/\...I figured there was no use having it stick out like a sore thumb.

[sam03]

nice work lets see them in action!