Recommendations on mineral/salt for attracting deer?

[sightsee]

I was wondering what you enthusiastic deer hunter/managers are doing to attract/improve deer herd health with minerals/salt?
I'd like to experiment this spring with the products and hear your strategy on where you place a mineral station with my local deer herd. Thanks for all your help.

[happy1]

Salt and mineral blocks from your local farm supply store.  Cost is about $6.00 each.

[Trenton G.]

Regular old livestock salt. I've tried livestock mineral and they wouldn't touch it. I also bought a trophy rock, but got a picture of a bear carrying it away within the first week of it being out. Haven't used one since.

[Roger Norris]

happy1 nailed it.

We place a few around the farm, not in spots we hunt over, but in thick cover so they feel safe using them. We don't use them as baited hunted spots.

[FlintNSteel]

I use 50# salt blocks from the local farm store.  I dig a hole perhaps 6" deep and a couple of feet around and place the block in the center.  This just provides a place for rain to gather. While the deer will eat and lick on the block, the block also dissolves into the soil and the deer will start to eat the dirt.  I have one "hole" that after only three years is about 18" deep and 4 feet across now.

In addition to the salt, from time to time I add a granular mineral supplement that is different from normal domestic stock supplements.  I put about a 1/3 of a bag in the lick in April, then another 1/3 of a bag in early July.

 https://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/field-n-forest-deer-mineral-vitamin-mix/0000000040093?Ntt=deer%20minerals

We have seen a nice increase in rack quality in the last 3 years.  More mass.

I generally will place licks on the edge of a food plot on a major incoming trail.  Will also place them in cover where a number of trails come together.

The licks are primarily used for camera locations during spring and summer vs actual hunting in the fall.  Generally, by the time hunting season opens, the licks are no longer being used by the deer and fill with the falling leaves.

[bucknut]

I have been using a mix of 2 parts stock salt, 2 parts trace mineral and 1 part dicalcium phosphate for several years. I dig a hole about a foot deep, dump in the mixture and mix it with the dirt that was removed. It is amazing. I often have multiple deer on it the same day. This is a real money saver over the rocks and the results have been as good or better. I think the last time I bought this it cost me $47 for 250# of minerals. I usually carry in 20-25# in a feed sack, This will do 6 sights multiple times thru the year. Location wise I try to put them in pinch points or saddles to get the most attraction.

[K.S.TRAPPER]

Yep, 50# trace mineral blocks for about 6$ is all you need. Deer and everything else love them and visit them regularly and now is the time to put them out. We do not use them for attracting or hunting over and placed near water supply's.

You can waste your money on the fancy stuff or make your own but really after a dozen years of using them I haven't seen anything that's works any better. Great place if not the best for trailcams to watch your bucks grow, check your herd numbers and health and get some of your best pictures of the season.

Tracy

[Bow man]

Yes go to the local farm store and get what ever you decide on. The high priced big name stuff not worth the money.  

What I do is buy a big of Beef Mineral it has more minerals that the deer need you will need to add more a few times through out the spring and summer.

Now is the time to start your mineral licks

[fireball31]

I like to put a big beef mineral on top of a stump. It seems to melt into the stump over time and the deer just eat that thing up.

[aim small...release]

I have been using lucky buck for 5 years now and my mineral sites are absolutely tore up. Yes its a bit more $ but it works.

[Pat B]

I've used the 50#, brown livestock mineral blocks for about 20 years or so in the same location, usually one in early spring and one in early summer. I placed the first block, years ago, on the ground and now there is a 2' hole that the block goes in. When the block disappears the deer eat the mineral rich dirt.
 Spring and early summer is when the salt/mineral blocks are hit the hardest around here. I was told that as new, lush growth comes out the deer eat it and the heavy moisture content they get from this new growth flushes out their minerals thus the heavy use of these salt/mineral blocks during this time. They hit the "salt lick" all year long and over the years this salt lick had produced a major travel route for deer and other wildlife. All animals crave salt and minerals.

[monterey]

It's not legal here to put minerals out for wildlife.  Ranchers put them out on their land for their stock, but they don't seem to be a magnet for game. OTOH I don't get much opportunity to observe them in the spring.

My granddad in the UP used to dissolve salt in water then poured it over Stumps.  They weren't for hunting over.  He put them near his hunting camp so he could watch the deer all summer long.

[dnovo]

Our conservation dept has outlawed the use of salt and minerals in some areas now due to CWD.  They feel it could help the spread of it due to increased contact between animals at these sites.

[dhaverstick]

My dad, I and a lot of my friends swear by Ranch House Trace Mineralized Salt in the bags. At my farm, I think the deer just stand around waiting for my dad to pour that stuff out! He typically goes through 1600-2000 pounds a year. The deer like it way better than other brands like Stockade.

Several years ago, the University of Tennessee did a study on different mineral salts with deer and Ranch House won hands down. Here is a link to that study:    An Evaluation of Four Mineral Formulations to Attract Deer to Cameral Survey Sites

Darren

[ksbowman]

Darren, who sells Ranch House? Haven't heard of it before.

[JCS]

We've always put a bag of trace minerals and then thrown in some canisters of salt too.  It's a wildlife super highway during the summer.  Every animal in the woods comes for a visit.  Don't worry if they dig it out and it holds water. That's actually a good thing since it means the minerals don't leach through the soil as bad like sandy soil. We start them on rotten stumps.  I've heard dumping a container of grape Kool-Aid on them works to get them started too.

[dhaverstick]

Ben, Ranch house is made by the United Salt Corporation out of Houston, Texas. You would have to check with them to see who sells it in your area. The sales rep listed for your region is Terri Feldman (713-877-2600).

Hope that helps!

Darren

[Friend]

How many pics from a single cam, from December thru mid January, over a mineral setup would be undeniably convincing?...would 2000 single pics suffice.

Would the whole multitude of trails crossing a 6" snow covered footplot, with 100% of the trails converging on a 12' wide deeply dugout stump mineral setup be convincing?

The best sell is to experiment yourself and especially find reliable resources in your area.
The deer in your area may have totally different requirements and that specific requirement is subject to significantly change from year to year.

The bottom line is that the deer in your area will determine their needs and may not reveal those needs in advance.

[newhouse114]

I've tried every block under the sun and can't get a blacktail to even notice it! Haven't tried with elk yet.

[FlintNSteel]

Originally posted by ksbowman:
Darren, who sells Ranch House? Haven't heard of it before.

http://www.unitedsalt.com/site/html/p_0083.htm