Varmint guard for directional feeder??

[Smart]

OK...some back info before I ask my main question...

I am considering converting one of my 600lb Bighorns to a directional feeder and cutting the legs down on it to be either a stand and fill or a stand in truck bed pulled up side of it and fill. After spending the weekend at the lease by myself working, at my size and in my upper 40s, I am thinking that maybe removing ladders from the mix of filling feeders is a smart move moving forward. I'd like to convert both of my personal Bighorns to the shorter feeder really. These feeders are solid and freshly resanded/de-rusted/repainted by myself so I probably don't want to spend a grand a piece on new ones that are actually stand and fills with the skids and welded horse panel varmint guards right now ...... I'm looking really to just convert and make due. I only need one of them to be a directional for now as I don't hunt the actual feeder on blind #2. I hunt hand corn outside the pen...


So my dilemma here is I want the one of them to be a directional feeder and I need some ideas on a varmint guard for it. I can't really weld a horse panel type varmint guard around the whole unit like most stand and fills since the legs are removable. I already have a 1"x1" full barrel round varmint guard for my spinner (see picture) but it does knock a fair amount of corn straight down under the feeder. Since the purpose of the directional is to get the feeder out of the way by shooting the corn out and away and your deer a little more comfortable, I need some bigger gaps. My coons, however, have defeated the 2" gap varmint guards so I'm looking for a better idea ( see below). Somehow I need to get more distance between the feed assembly and the outside of the guard so I can have bigger gaps for better spreading and I was wondering what some of you folks used for a directional feeder varmint guard. Any ideas from folks who use directional feeders? I'm brainstorming now but any folks who have built or bought their own, I'd sure like to hear their ideas.

I need to cut it down at least another foot or so for the truck bed fill. Its still a little tall.




Current varmint guard





rat turds defeating the 2" holes so we went to 1"x1"

[DamonJ]

No help on the guard, but I do have one of Krivoman's directional slingers in the garage that I'd be willing to part with..




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[Drycreek3189]

Don't blame you. I went to winch up on my new feeder builds because I had visions of my 69 year old body leaving a greasy spot after I fell off the roof of my Ranger.

[Patton]

I read where you didn't want to weld cattle panel but bear with me; this would be better explained in a drawing also. What about welding a hinge on two of the legs, that are diagonally opposite from one another. On each of those hinges you have two cattle panel pieces that swing out towards the non-hinged legs, and are able to lock in place. Essentially you would have the cattle panel cage that could be removable for easy transport. I'll try to draw it tomorrow if my description isn't clear. Now I'm wondering if there is just a different way to have a removable varmint cage made of cattle panel.

[Smart]

No help on the guard, but I do have one of Krivoman's directional slingers in the garage that I'd be willing to part with..




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Is it varmint proof or a standard directional type feeder?

[Smart]

I read where you didn't want to weld cattle panel but bear with me; this would be better explained in a drawing also. What about welding a hinge on two of the legs, that are diagonally opposite from one another. On each of those hinges you have two cattle panel pieces that swing out towards the non-hinged legs, and are able to lock in place. Essentially you would have the cattle panel cage that could be removable for easy transport. I'll try to draw it tomorrow if my description isn't clear. Now I'm wondering if there is just a different way to have a removable varmint cage made of cattle panel.

I look forward to a drawing..

[Smart]

Ttt

[Traildust]

Why switch to a directional feeder.....if you lower it a 1' it won't effect your bow shot or viewing area. You got a good system now, no need to change it.

Put a Spintech on it, problem solved.

[BURTONboy]

I read where you didn't want to weld cattle panel but bear with me; this would be better explained in a drawing also. What about welding a hinge on two of the legs, that are diagonally opposite from one another. On each of those hinges you have two cattle panel pieces that swing out towards the non-hinged legs, and are able to lock in place. Essentially you would have the cattle panel cage that could be removable for easy transport. I'll try to draw it tomorrow if my description isn't clear. Now I'm wondering if there is just a different way to have a removable varmint cage made of cattle panel.

That's good thinking, but better lock it good as those coons are smart critters. O'rings tieing it all together with a bottom piece of panel would work great there. Basically the same cage they put on All Season Feeders but hinged on two sides and pinned/locked on the other two.

[Patton]

I look forward to a drawing..

Lucky for you, my drawing skills are on par with Picasso.

In the picture you can see 2/4 hinges that Leg 1 & Leg 3 would need (4 hinges on both of those legs each).

Off the hinge on Leg 3, you can see I drew a black polygon which is clearly a cattle panel. That panel swings to Leg 2, as does one of the panels that comes off of Leg 1. Somehow, you wire-tie or lock those two panels together on Leg 2.

(Not Drawn): Replicate the same thing in the other direction- a Hinged panel coming off of Leg 3 and Leg 1 that swing into Leg 4, and are wired/fixed into place.

That way you can 'unlock' the panels from Legs 2 & 4, which would allow for easier transport.

[Smart]

Varmint guard for directional feeder??

Why switch to a directional feeder.....if you lower it a 1' it won't effect your bow shot or viewing area. You got a good system now, no need to change it.

Put a Spintech on it, problem solved.

Very simple... My deer can be hesitant to walk directly under the feeder where a large part of the corn drops now. They are much more calm feeding outside on the edges. With a directional the whole pile of corn would be "outside the edge" and the area directly under the feeder now would also be occupied by deer versus just shooting on the edges. In other words, if I move the feeder off to my right the whole area in front of my shooting window will have deer in it.

I've tried Spintech and they are junk. Wouldn't own another one unless it was a road feeder where coons don't matter.

[Smart]

Lucky for you, my drawing skills are on par with Picasso.

In the picture you can see 2/4 hinges that Leg 1 & Leg 3 would need (4 hinges on both of those legs each).

Off the hinge on Leg 3, you can see I drew a black polygon which is clearly a cattle panel. That panel swings to Leg 2, as does one of the panels that comes off of Leg 1. Somehow, you wire-tie or lock those two panels together on Leg 2.

(Not Drawn): Replicate the same thing in the other direction- a Hinged panel coming off of Leg 3 and Leg 1 that swing into Leg 4, and are wired/fixed into place.

That way you can 'unlock' the panels from Legs 2 & 4, which would allow for easier transport.

Thank you General. When I get back to my home monitor, I'll look at that closer.

[mev002]

Very simple... My deer can be hesitant to walk directly under the feeder where a large part of the corn drops now. They are much more calm feeding outside on the edges. With a directional the whole pile of corn would be "outside the edge" and the area directly under the feeder now would also be occupied by deer versus just shooting on the edges. In other words, if I move the feeder off to my right the whole area in front of my shooting window will have deer in it.

I've tried Spintech and they are junk. Wouldn't own another one unless it was a road feeder where coons don't matter.

I have noticed the same thing with my deer. If I ever have to buy/ build a new feeder it will most likely be a directional.

[Traildust]

Very simple... My deer can be hesitant to walk directly under the feeder where a large part of the corn drops now. They are much more calm feeding outside on the edges. With a directional the whole pile of corn would be "outside the edge" and the area directly under the feeder now would also be occupied by deer versus just shooting on the edges. In other words, if I move the feeder off to my right the whole area in front of my shooting window will have deer in it.

I've tried Spintech and they are junk. Wouldn't own another one unless it was a road feeder where coons don't matter.

10four! Those must be some hoodlum deer you have.....we have ours sleeping under the feeders!

What feeders do you recommend, so when the (6) Spintechs I've been running flawlessly for the past 4 years crap out

[systemnt]

Smart .. you have the spintech on a 6v system?

I like the idea of directional for the very reasons you gave.. some deer are just too spooky.. and opening the shooting lane without obstacles sounds like a great idea..