I am a longtime Moultrie fan. They have always had what I consider to be the premium products on the market when discussing feeding motors and accessories. So of course I am very accustomed to the Pro Mag feeder motor and have used and replaced many in past years for different reasons. So when this new unit showed up on Amazon, and the old unit was no longer available, I will admit to being "concerned". How would the mounts line up, how secure will the unit remain, water proof, etc. But when the unit arrived and I unboxed it, most of my concerns were gone. This unit is substantial, and seems really well made. I love the smoother lines and the idea of keeping squirrels and raccoons from my corn seemed to finally be at hand. HOWEVER, I quickly realized that even though they (Moultrie) say that the mounts are interchangeable, this is impossible with corn already in your feeder. The reason? Because the screws for this unit are 3 times as long as the old ones. This means that when changing from a Pro Mag to a Super Pro Mag you must empty your barrel first. Not the end of the world, just saying that some of us are "handy" and after switching out more than 10 in the past few years alone (bears do a lot of damage) I have figured out that you needn't empty the corn to replace a motor of like kind. Onward. Once I had these very long screws in place, the install of the unit was super easy and made sense, right up until I had to install the bottom "cap". This thing is ridiculous, while the whole unit is good metal, this "cap" is plastic, and will not fit into the appropriate position. It reminds me of plastic cut on a discount 3D printer that my 12 year old has in his room. The teeth just do not allow the puzzle to fit together. Not sure about all of you, but I don't work on these units in a sterile, air conditioned shop, with lights and a radio. I am in the field, it is hot, there are things trying to bite me, I am standing in mud past my ankles, and we have wild hogs here, so it literally stinks. That said, I could not get this cap installed after over an hour of trying. I read the instructions 4 different times, just knowing that I must have missed something, but I hadn't. So I kept trying, and trying and trying, until finally it clicked into place. This cap issue is so difficult, and so frustrating, that I will not remove it again until I am certain that the batteries are dead. And at that moment, I will be replacing this unit with something else. This isn't the end of the issues however. The first 4 or 5 feedings went well. The slick metal and new design really dispersed the corn even better than the old unit. BUT THEN, the volume of corn being slung diminished greatly and I can now see that the distance from the bottom of the corn barrel to the top of the motor is too close and so allows corn to compress in that cavity and basically plug itself so that it is no longer subjected to gravity. In other words "it don't work no more". Last issue, the "remote" with the old fashioned phone cord is stupid. It only pulls out a little ways, and no matter where I held it I had to get into a very uncomfortable position to read it (like partially bent knees, leaning back and holding my arms way away........weird). And, maybe it is because you remove it from the unit and so it is more susceptible to sunshine, but I could not read the display at all. I was using glasses and then a flashlight and it is very hard to hold a flashlight, the unit and then work on your settings. I may have chipped a tooth:). So I am disappointed in this new product, but that is not the worst part. I am fine with Moultrie bringing on a new product or line of products and trying to better them, but PLEASE also allow us to buy the old ones while you work through the kinks. I just bought 6 of the Pro Mags (OG's) from a local sporting goods store because that was all they had, and according to them, all they will ever have because Moultrie has discontinued the old ones. I will continue buying every old Pro Mag I can, while Moultrie receives bad review after bad review for this very obviously inferior design/replacement, and maybe by the time I run out, Moultrie will have reconsidered and trashed this new line and started selling what we love and what works again. I am sorry Moultrie, I really hate this unit and will never buy one again. Even if it means that I must change all of my equipment and products over to a different brand/company. Please contact me, or hunters like me next time you think you have a design that will work. I do not think you received honest feedback prior to going live with this change, or maybe you didn't ask???
