Feeders/placement

Feeders are available that will hold up to 400 pounds or as little as 50. Gravitational or programmable electrical feeders are both an option. When making your choice consider accessability.  Two to four hundred pound capacity feeders come in two basic styles, tripod and ladder access. Tripod style feeders can be difficult to fill.  A separate ladder or platform is necessary to load it.  However, ladder style feeders provide easier access to raccoons in addition to you, then the tripod styles will. Reference the following picture.

Also remember if you buy a large capacity feeder you have to move large quantities of feed to the site, and for some people that isn't an option.  Generally speaking, if you are using a 200 - 400 pound feeder your method of moving feed to the site is by some type of vehicle.  Often times this can serve as the platform necessary to access a tripod style feeder. 

Smaller capacity feeders are usually hung from a tree and lowered to the ground when filling.  Their obvious advantage is size.  Most people can carry 50 pounds of feed by hand to the site.  This can be a disadvantage as well because they must be filled more often which requires you to disturb the area more often. 

Options for minimizing usage by rodents include cages that enclose the spinner plate, zapper attachments, and in the case of tripods, greasing the the legs of the feeder.  Another option to consider is a rechargeable battey and a solar panel.  This option will allow you to disturb the site less checking on battery life and potentially save you money as well.

It is important to place your feeder in an area where you know deer travel. A feeder is not a magic wand that will attract deer from anywhere, but if you place it in a traveled area you can expect more traffic and a more predictable deer presence. In areas where food sources are especially poor, feeders are an excellent way of patterning deer. In other words, they will come to the feeder when they hear it go off.

In most areas feeding shortly after day break and shortly before sunset makes sense as the idea is to draw deer to the site when hunting.(if local laws allow for hunting over bait sites). Usually, unless feeding pressure is extremely heavy, 4-5 second or less, dispersal times allow for enough feed to attract deer, but not enough to go to waste.