RE: Brain Crunch...Free access feeding or timed?
most truely 'wild' mature bucks will still only visit under the cover of darkness even if you feed them. I say 'wild' deer because I feed the deer near where I live now and the big bucks feed there several times a week in broad daylight....BUT these are city limit deer living in close proximity to humans so I believe they are not nearly as wary as 'normal deer'. I cannot hunt the deer that come to the feeder (its illegal) I just enjoy seeing them and the photo opportunities it provides.
To me... the biggest advantage of using a timed feeder is that you can set it to only put out enuff feed to give the critters a good snack. You really dont want the wildlife in your area to become dependant on your feeder as their major food source. A timed feeder that spreads the feed also allows more deer to get a few bites of feed. Pouring the corn on the ground in one small spot or gravity type feeders can cause alot of fights in which the dominant deer eat ALL the feed. One other bonus is that a timed feeder makes a 50lb sack of corn last alot longer becuz the deer/coons cant just stand there and eat til its GONE....and believe me when I say if you have many coons in your area the birds and squirrels will be nuthing compared to what those masked bandits will get lol. They can only eat what the feeder put out and wait til tomorrow for some more.
** I almost got him but I refuse to take a marginal shot **