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Crow-Proof Squirrel Feeder (video)

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G

greg

Member
Apr 2, 2015
172
11
Washington
So, I've got this little orchard in my backyard with cherry, plum and apple trees. In the past, here is how the harvest was distributed:

Cherries: 95% - Squirrels, 4% Native Birds, 1% my kids (homo sapiens)
Apples: 50% - Squirrels, 25% - insects, 25% my family
Plums: 25% Squirrels, 25% Compost Pile, 50% - my family

I thought the solution could be to call FX Indy .22 to the rescue. Problem is, I cant shoot up (houses nearby), so, to lure the tree rats to the ground - I would spread some peanuts. The problem now was - crows would pick up 19 out of 20. I don't shoot what I don't eat, unless its a rat, so crows and of course all other birds get a 100% pass.

So, I spent an hour a couple days back to built this "crow-proof squirrel feeder". Idea is not mine, I saw it mentioned on the "squirrel lover's" forums (I know, its horrible, if only those people knew how their invention was re-purposed for evil purposes)

Anyway, it works! 100% Crow proof, 100% Squirrel accessible.

First visitor today (already out of pressure cooker, BTW, if you know a good recipe, pls share):
 
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There are way too many crows where I live. I shoot every one that I can and it does not make a difference. I put cracked corn out for the squirrels and native birds, but the crows hog it when I am not home. I found this out by using one of my trail cameras. When I am home, they rarely land in the yard. I pop one or two a week, but it has no effect. They are very instinctive and weary. 

I get the "eat what I shoot" theory, but the neighbor's cats need to eat too.
 
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Thanks! Nah, still the same old scope, gets the job done, and I really don't have much of an opportunity to shoot outside of my backyard, so don't even go beyond 10x on the scop.

Not sure if GoPro would make a good scope cam. Given the lack of manual controls, and fixed wide lens - I strongly doubt it.

Over the past month or so, I really got used to the "ready in one button push" style with hacked firmware on Powershot N. Literally, one second between pushing a power button and having all optimal settings on. No fiddling with the focus, zoom, etc when the game is on and seconds are precious.

My gripes with Powershot N are:
Low pixel resolution in high speed mode (640x480 at 120 fps and only 320x240 at 240fps).
1 minute (or even less) limit when recording high-speed can sometimes be frustrating, recording stops and I have to take my hands off the rifle to push record button again
Battery seems weak. Have not run out yet, coz I always keep it charged, but for a day trip - would probably require recharging (or tethering to an external power source)
 
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Ah! Thanks for noticing, Looks like I missed it. I uploaded the file to the same dropbox folder: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/909ou7ube3jt3zf/AADV3obuaghC4oSLdi9z8ey_a?dl=0

Its an STL file, which is not very 'editable' apart from simple scale/cut actions. The actual design was done in Rhino 3D. Lemme know if you'd like that as well.

If you are building this scope cam, feel free to ping me. There are a couple of small gotchas I discovered over time, such as how to work in power-tetherd mode, and making sure your adapter does not push on the shutter release ring (Powershot N has a cool, but peculiarly located shutter release button, which, if pressed by the adapter, may result in weird behavior)
 
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