Question: “Needing some deer hunting advice. I’ve read that several hunters recommend a large round pen for spin cast feeders so the whitetail do not “trapped” and it keeps the corn in the pen and away from the feral hogs, but what about for a free -hoice protein feeder using 34-inch hog panel? It would seem that the low panels and no spinning would not require as large a feeder pen. I bought eight 16-foot hog panels, but that seems like more than may be necessary. Looking for some experience-based suggestions on deer feeder pen size. Thank you.”
Wildlife Management Pro: From my experience with deer hunting and feeder pens, if you have cattle on the place you hunt then the greater the distance between the edge of the feeder pen and the feeder the better off you will be. We use pens that are made of 10 16-foot by 34-inch hog panels with two t-posts per panel. If you have cattle on your deer lease then you might buy the 16-foot by 52-inch cattle panels and cut down a spot or two for easier deer access. The panels cost the same, or nearly, at most places as hog panels. You should be able to find these panels in the $20 range.
In my opinion, 10 of the 16-foot panels make a near perfect sized round feeder pen that works great for deer hunting and keeping the cows out. We had tried smaller in the past, but constructed some feed pens that size and it definitely gives more room for the deer to move around as they compete for the protein tubes. I would suspect that 8 panels would work, but not crowding them up in the pen just seems a better idea. Its really not that much more expense and it will push the cows further away from the feed. This may save you many headaches, so the extra cost of two more panels is probably well worth it. Good luck this deer hunting season!