Boss Buck (or similar) Feeders

Stonewall

Member
I have a 230+ acre farm in the Piedmont region of GA. Approximately 190 acres is old growth woods, mostly hardwoods that produce a ton of acorns every year, 33 acres in 3 yr old planted loblolly pines (converted old fescue field), and 7 acres of food plots. The only thing left I think for me to do is to perhaps add supplemental feeding. I tried year round Moultrie spin feeders in the past with corn, but raccoons ate more than the deer, and it also attracted the local hog population, which then tore up my plots.

Thinking of trying again, but with boss buck with protein pellets, etc.......I live 6 hours away and can only get up there once a month, and sometimes every other month depending on time of year.

Please give me suggestions or feedback on whether or not this is even feasible? I either want to do it right , or not at all.

Some questions in my mind:

How long will it take for them to learn to use the boss buck?
How long will a filled boss buck last on average?
What size should I get?
How many stations should I have?

Thanks in advance
 
You ask good questions but there is a lot more to consider before embarking on a supplemental feeding program. Feeding can have a measurable impact on your deer or be a colossal waste of money and time. At the least it is a long term project requiring discipline, money and an effective strategy. I am happy to share my experience with feeding if you are interested but perhaps a direct conversation will be more efficient. Pm me if you would like to speak directly and I will give you my number.
 
Just bought a 600# Boss Buck Protein feeder......I will start with corn and then introduce protein once they are using it. Will follow back up here in case anyone else is in a similar situation and is having the same questions that I posted.
 
Just bought a 600# Boss Buck Protein feeder......I will start with corn and then introduce protein once they are using it. Will follow back up here in case anyone else is in a similar situation and is having the same questions that I posted.
I suspect they will take to the corn quickly which will acclimate them to the feeder. A middle step might be to mix corn /protein together for a dose. It may be after green up before they really take to the pellets.What brand of protein are you going with?
 
I suggest getting the smaller one and having 3-4 of them on your property, that way the doe groups can stay in their own territory and you have less chance of spreading disease.
 
One month ago I put out a 300 lb. Banks Feed Bank. I filled it with a 50/50 mix of protein and corn. For the first week, I thought I had made a mistake and not used enough corn, because it was untouched. I put a few piles of corn around the feeder to try to draw the deer in and it got ravaged by racoons. I was sooooooooo frustrated! My trail camera was also showing no deer activity. Fast forward ONE week and the feeder was half empty with deer using it every day! I have since filled it twice in the last two weeks. I have went with 66/33 corn/protein and 66/33 protein/corn and the usage is the same. The goal is to go to 100% protein and the time for that may be now. I am even considering putting a second one in the same general location as it appears there are between 6-10 does using it. I think having two will let each deer have a better chance at feeding.
 
Just bought a 600# Boss Buck Protein feeder......I will start with corn and then introduce protein once they are using it. Will follow back up here in case anyone else is in a similar situation and is having the same questions that I posted.
Deer will take to it in no time. Only issue you will have is pigs (if you have them), around the feeders, even if they can't reach the feed ports. We just installed 30' diameter hog exclusion corrals around 3 of our feeders. Used 34" hog panels from TSC and one section of either 28" or 30" panel. The one shorter panel is to accommodate fawns being able to jump the fence. Put cameras on them 2 weeks ago and checked them this past weekend. Lots of deer pics inside corral. Not one single pig pic. That is very encouraging. I'll post up pics later this evening of corrals.
 
I suggest getting the smaller one and having 3-4 of them on your property, that way the doe groups can stay in their own territory and you have less chance of spreading disease.


This is the idea is was thinking also. After watching how the bucks would keep the does away and the doe groups when they got to the feeder would then keep other doe groups away I decided to get the Banks 300 pounders and spread them out. The only feeder I have now is a 55 gallon barrel with boss buck gravity three way. It works very well

I normally ran feed from March through July for the does/developing fawns but with the snow and temps I decided to start earlier. Very few bucks actually used the feeder during those months but does were like clock work. This Jan, Feb, and first part of March the deer were on the feeder thick. Now it is back to basically does and last year's fawn at the feeder with a few younger shed bucks since the snow melted and warmer temps have arrived. The clover is popping out and the deer are hitting the first leaves.

I do put out a couple corn piles after the last season is over in Jan to inventory survivors but that was gone in no time.

Next year I plan to have 4 300 pounders and the original 55 gallon feeder spread out after season is over and run them into July for key nutritional times.

The feeder tubes are 42" off the ground and I have pvc piping around the legs. I have yet to have a coon get to the feeder. They have been at the ground scrounging for any that may have dropped after the deer have left. I do have turkeys that can stand on the ground and reach the tubes. That amazed me. I didn't realize they had that long of reach.

The feeders will have dual purpose as I will use the posts that the banks feeder will be sitting on as mock scrape trees since I can easily pull off the feeders when empty. I will drill a 1.5" hole through the post and stick a branch through them and screw them in.
 
This is the idea is was thinking also. After watching how the bucks would keep the does away and the doe groups when they got to the feeder would then keep other doe groups away I decided to get the Banks 300 pounders and spread them out. The only feeder I have now is a 55 gallon barrel with boss buck gravity three way. It works very well

I normally ran feed from March through July for the does/developing fawns but with the snow and temps I decided to start earlier. Very few bucks actually used the feeder during those months but does were like clock work. This Jan, Feb, and first part of March the deer were on the feeder thick. Now it is back to basically does and last year's fawn at the feeder with a few younger shed bucks since the snow melted and warmer temps have arrived. The clover is popping out and the deer are hitting the first leaves.

I do put out a couple corn piles after the last season is over in Jan to inventory survivors but that was gone in no time.

Next year I plan to have 4 300 pounders and the original 55 gallon feeder spread out after season is over and run them into July for key nutritional times.

The feeder tubes are 42" off the ground and I have pvc piping around the legs. I have yet to have a coon get to the feeder. They have been at the ground scrounging for any that may have dropped after the deer have left. I do have turkeys that can stand on the ground and reach the tubes. That amazed me. I didn't realize they had that long of reach.

The feeders will have dual purpose as I will use the posts that the banks feeder will be sitting on as mock scrape trees since I can easily pull off the feeders when empty. I will drill a 1.5" hole through the post and stick a branch through them and screw them in.
You should put your area on your profile so people can see what climate you are in. I do like your program, maybe I should consider feeding past March. In my area the deer really slack off of my feeders once the spring greenup hits, when I have several different species of plots growing including Ladino clover at 25-30% protein and 70% digestibility this will grow antlers and produce milk, so I feel like don't need to feed the deer at my feeders, especially since the deer almost ignore them..Things like our brassica plots last to the end of December or even longer if we have soybean pods. So our feeding program has been to get the deer through the tougher part of our Pennsylvania winter, January, February and March. I don't have any banks feeders but want to try one next year, I like your idea of using the post for a scrape.
 
You should put your area on your profile so people can see what climate you are in.

Good idea again. I tried to figure it out but didn't get er done. I'm in the southern end of zone 5. If you can explain it to me I will put it on the avatar thing.

The deer had my 4.5 acres of beans gone by the end of Jan. I also have 4 acres of clover that they made look like it was hammered by mortar fire. Hasn't happened since 09/2010 when we had another brutal winter. The beans usually last until March to early May.I don't know how far the deer came from for the groceries but there were more than I normally see. It is a high deer density area anyways but when I had 11 bucks around the feeder at one time the end of February I knew they were having a tough time finding food. The feeder is only 75 yards from my house and I can watch it through the window. I had cut a load of trees down for them but with the idea they were struggling more than I originally thought I went and dumped another dozen or so down. Three big elms by the feeder and they were on them like stink on &%*^.
 
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Good idea again. I tried to figure it out but didn't get er done. I'm in the southern end of zone 5. If you can explain it to me I will put it on the avatar thing.

The deer had my 4.5 acres of beans gone by the end of Jan. I also have 4 acres of clover that they made look like it was hammered by mortar fire. Hasn't happened since 2012 when we had another brutal winter. The beans usually last until March to early May.I don't know how far the deer came from for the groceries but there were more than I normally see. It is a high deer density area anyways but when I had 11 bucks around the feeder at one time the end of February I knew they were having a tough time finding food. The feeder is only 75 yards from my house and I can watch it through the window. I had cut a load of trees down for them but with the idea they were struggling more than I originally thought I went and dumped another dozen or so down. Three big elms by the feeder and they were on them like stink on &%*^.
Click on your name, click on personal details at top left, scroll 3/4 of the way down to location, enter your location, hit save changes at the bottom.
Providing winter food for deer is the #1 habitat challenge in the snowier climates, especially when managing deer and having higher deer populations than normal. A tough winter will set a high deer numbers area up for starvation really quick. Thick habitat provides browsing, dropping trees like you said, is a good option. Feeders, if allowed, but don't start feeding corn once the deer are already starving, it'll kill them. Winter rye is a great option, it'll be available right after the snow melts.
 
I've had my feeders penned for a couple years now, most of them anyway. It really cuts down on the hogs hanging around. They'll still pass by, hang out long enough for one to die if I'm there, but the days of three hour visits and sleeping under the feeder are over.
 
but the days of three hour visits and sleeping under the feeder are over.
That would suck, the fence idea sounds like a winner if hogs are around.

Thanks Mennoniteman for the tutorial. I appreciate it. I kept clicking on my name in the avatar area and didn't see what you were talking about, then I figured out you meant where the name is at top left of the screen. Sometimes I struggle with technology.:)

I hear you on the rye. I over seed my soybeans every year and it is a great food source as soon as it comes up and into spring. They have it eaten down to the ground right now. My clover is looking greener everyday and the deer were hitting that and the rye yesterday evening.
 
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Here's pic of the only surviving gun shot deer from this year. I had 4 originally, 1 doe and 3 bucks. The pic don't show it but he really is a good size deer compared to many. He commanded attention when he rolled up to the feeder and would push off other bucks. He'd come in ears back and the others would back away, even the busted up bully buck that otherwise owned the feeder until he was done. It looks like he's healed well, certainly spent a lot of energy surviving based on poor condition of his body. Hopefully I'll see him on camera in a few months. pic is from March 8
survior2.jpg
 
Here's pic of the only surviving gun shot deer from this year. I had 4 originally, 1 doe and 3 bucks. The pic don't show it but he really is a good size deer compared to many. He commanded attention when he rolled up to the feeder and would push off other bucks. He'd come in ears back and the others would back away, even the busted up bully buck that otherwise owned the feeder until he was done. It looks like he's healed well, certainly spent a lot of energy surviving based on poor condition of his body. Hopefully I'll see him on camera in a few months. pic is from March 8
View attachment 15201
It appears you have a bit of an advantage, your neighbors are poor shots.
 
:) They run rough shod over the place during rifle. it really helps the hunting on our place. The survivors tend to favor our place starting in Oct.

We have shot our target bucks the past 5 years. 4.5 or older. If my friend could of made a better id on the buck he shot he wouldn't have filled his tag and later that day he would of had the other target buck from this year. It was a 4.5. It ended up getting killed 4 days later on the lease side of the fence. It was in front of the two blinds that have been money earlier that day as well. Just was following a hot doe on camera go the wrong direction.:)

Last season when I asked the the head guy of the lease about the all the shooting going on over there he replied "shooting meat deer" not sure what that means but they have several hunters come from the south to hunt and they can't believe the size of our deer. 2.5 years olds are major targets.

We have a friendly, working relationship but there have been some rocky points as well. The guy who's name is on the lease is a good guy so it's easier to live with.

Steve Bartylla has helped me calm down with his message of if the neighbors are hunting legal, and that's what/how they want to hunt, more power to them. As he has also said the deer survivors figure it out.

My goal/philosophy with my property is to make the does king and the rest will follow.
 
:) They run rough shod over the place during rifle. it really helps the hunting on our place. The survivors tend to favor our place starting in Oct.

We have shot our target bucks the past 5 years. 4.5 or older. If my friend could of made a better id on the buck he shot he wouldn't have filled his tag and later that day he would of had the other target buck from this year. It was a 4.5. It ended up getting killed 4 days later on the lease side of the fence. It was in front of the two blinds that have been money earlier that day as well. Just was following a hot doe on camera go the wrong direction.:)

Last season when I asked the the head guy of the lease about the all the shooting going on over there he replied "shooting meat deer" not sure what that means but they have several hunters come from the south to hunt and they can't believe the size of our deer. 2.5 years olds are major targets.

We have a friendly, working relationship but there have been some rocky points as well. The guy who's name is on the lease is a good guy so it's easier to live with.

Steve Bartylla has helped me calm down with his message of if the neighbors are hunting legal, and that's what/how they want to hunt, more power to them. As he has also said the deer survivors figure it out.

My goal/philosophy with my property is to make the does king and the rest will follow.
Buy all the land you can afford, the price of land will be going up drastically in the future, as the world population increases, and more acres keeps the neighbors further away.
 
What brand of protein are you going with?

The Tractor Supply store only had 3 bags of Sportsman Record Rack 20 and 1 bag of Purina Antler Advantage 20, so I bought all 4 bags, along with 8 bags of corn. Hopefully they will take to the protein and then I will buy in bulk, as well as buy more feeders.

Triple C, I am nervous about the hogs. I am mentally preparing myself for having to do the corrals.......but am hoping the pigs have disappeared. We never had them for 30 years then they showed up a couple of years ago when I was broadcasting corn round. I quit feeding and shot as many as I could whenever I had the chance. Have not seen them on cameras in many months.....hoping the neighbors (who I think turned them loose in the first place) killed them all off.
 
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