Hunting Product review - Main Street Feeders
by Brian Hughes

After our feeder building experience, I couldn’t wait to get REAL feeders to review!

First in line is the Main Street Feeder Company, located in North Richland Hills, Texas. Family owned and operated, Main St. Feeders is growing so fast it’s getting harder and harder for Gerald to get out and hunt!

To keep the evaluations as even and fair as we can, we are selecting barrel feeders from all manufacturers when possible. Barrels are pretty much all the same, it’s what you do with one that makes the difference. Of course, barrels used by Main Street Feeders are all spotlessly cleaned before use.

First thing I noticed about the Main St. Feeder was the motor housing and varmint cage. The motor housing  is a steel box that looks to be nearly bulletproof. Ok- so maybe not bulletproof, but certainly able to withstand the rigors of a deer lease, being moved around and so forth. One wing nut holds the cover in place for easy access. 

A word of caution here, when taking the access panel off, be VERY careful with the wing nut. I dropped mine a couple of times while setting the timer. Luckily I was in the driveway and didn’t lose it! I would even suggest you buy two or three extras and tape them inside the housing. You don’t want to lose one fifty miles from town! Removing (carefully!) the wing nut exposes the timer and battery. Timer setting is simple if you read the directions, but you DO need to read the directions first. Battery hook-up is simple, as is connecting the solar panel. The motor used by Main Street is one of the most reliable and well- known motors on the market. Include an Interstate rechargeable battery and solar connection, and you are virtually maintenance-free!

That takes care of the most important part of a feeder, the guts. As for the rest, everybody has their own approach. In the case of Main Street Feeders, they chose to use a banded leg bracket, meaning instead of drilling into the barrel, they have a broad band around the barrel which has the actual brackets welded in place. 

When you compare the pictures of our home-built feeder you will see the difference. You will also notice the difference in quality of materials. Where we used whatever we could find, Main Street uses only first quality galvanized steel. Look at the pictures (keep in mind that we have added a camo paint job to ours to cut down on the brightness) and you can see what I mean. Another thoughtful move was having the legs go INSIDE the brackets, allowing rain water to pass over   the legs, preventing a build-up of water. If you have ever moved a feeder with legs full of water, you will appreciate the absence of foul smelling muck dripping on you as you remove the legs or shift it around! Main Street also uses four legs on their feeder for stability.

The standard lid is a locking- ring type lid. This lid is two parts, the actual lid and a locking ring. It is a  perfectly good lid, but it has two drawbacks. One, it is hard to open or close with one hand, while standing on a ladder, with a bag of corn over your shoulder! Since the legs are eight feet in length, the feeder opening is nearly ten feet off the ground! The other drawback is the recessed lip on the lid. About one-quarter inch deep, this recess will hold rainwater and give you a big surprise when you open it. Optional lids are available and now we know to ask for the domed, plastic lid, which snaps into place.

As I mentioned before, the varmint cage was another item that we noticed right away. The cage keeps raccoons and other unwanted critters away from the spin plate and the feed. This cage is well constructed and one side fully opens for access. In addition, the varmint cage serves as a mounting surface for the solar unit.

All in all I would have to say that the folks at Main Street Feeders build a great feeder!  With an MSRP of 299.99, this unit is well worth the price. Other models are available and you can access their site through our on-line magazine. Main Street Feeders - 8032 Main St. - N. Richland Hills, TX  76180 - (817) 428-9733 - www.mainstreetfeeders.com

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