Mineral Licks! It’s almost that time.

[KentuckyTJ]

For those of you that have land you can manage. I wanted to share my findings on addition of my mineral mixture into my hunting spot. Until recently the bucks on this place (300 acre farm) would hit a plateau of 120” and very rarely would bloom into anything bigger even with age. Three years ago I began pouring the minerals to them. In the past two years I have noticed a big difference in our mature bucks and their antler development.

I have four mineral holes going and refresh them at the beginning of the growing cycle each year in March/April. The buck I killed this year was a good example of their progress. This year the place had four bucks in the 140-160” range. I know the addition of the mineral licks has greatly improved their racks.

2017 as a 3 1/2

2018 as a 4 1/2

[Terry Green]

Wow!

[mec lineman]

Tom , could i ask you exactly what mixture you prefer. thanks Craig

[ESP]

I was starting to think it was time to refresh the licks.   May I ask what you are using?   I use cattle mineral block with selenium then pour 50 lb of loose on top.

[KentuckyTJ]

Hey guys, I get 50 lb bags of trace mineral and di calcium phosphate and mix 50/50. Find a low spot that will
Hold rain water, grub hoe up the soil and mix it in. I usually put about 20 lbs at each site.

[pavan]

It should be noted that mineral licks and blocks are illegal in Iowa.  They sell them here and a game warden will ticket those if they catch them with assumption that they will be targeted by the hunter come deer season. 

[KentuckyTJ]

Yeah Pavan, I assume a hunter knows whether they are legal or not in their state. We don’t hunt over mineral sites here as by the time our season opens the bucks are no longer using them. By that time antlers are developed and the urge for minerals greatly reduces.

[bucknut]

I have been doing the mineral thing for years with the same type of results. I once made a new spot and had 4 P&Y and 10 bucks total on cam the night I made the spot. I mix a ratio of 2 parts stock salt, 2 parts trace mineral, 1 part di calcium phosphate with awesome results.
I generally buy 100# each salt and min. and 50# di cal.  It generally cost a little over $50 total and gets me thru the summer.  Lots better cost wise than the Rocks.

[PistolPete]

I’ll probably be putting a few licks out this summer as well to get some pictures. That’s great that you’re seeing bugger bucks on your property! I don’t want to rain on your parade, but mineral licks (and food plots for that matter) have never been shown to noticeably increase antler growth, however, and they’ve been studied pretty rigorously. Wouldn’t that be great though, if you could throw it some minerals and add 20-40”! Not that it could hurt (except if you have CWD), and they do make a great way to monitor the deer and get pictures.

[Mike Bolin]

As for mineral sites not helping the deer as far as antler growth and overall deer health, that is subject for discussion. A state biologist explained it to me like this. Dumping out a 20# bucket of commercial deer mineral works as an attractant, but most likely doesn't do a lot to promote a healthier deer herd...but, if you have a mineral site (his suggestion was one mineral site per 40-50 acres) and it contains the "proper" amounts of minerals (such as the mixture that TJ is using) it can definitely be beneficial to both bucks and lactating does. I have read the studies as well and while they show no proof that they mineral sites help, they also show no proof that they do not help. The biologist that I spoke with felt that the mineral site should start with 50# in late February to mid March and an additional 50# should be added 2-4 months later, depending on the amount of use the site was receiving. In other words, most mineral sites don't contain enough minerals to be beneficial.

The demand for the mineral definitely decreases in late summer/early fall. I kept a site going with a camera on a "no hunting" property a couple of years ago just to see what kind of activity the site got through out the year. March through July saw daily use, with the heaviest use March through May/early June. From August on, usage dropped off considerably, with October through January showing almost no activity.

Many, not all, of the commercial mixes are little more than salt and apple flavored powder and do not contain the necessary amounts of calcium, selenium, zinc, manganese and other things I can't remeber right now. Salt is a necessary part of the deer's intake, but they need more than just salt. Ideally, they would get the minerals they need from the plants (both natural and agricultural), but in many instances that is not the case. The mix mentioned is what is used by farmers and ranchers for livestock, so there must be some benefit in using it.

The same thought goes along with food plots as well. Guys will spend a bunch of money on seed for their plots, but little to nothing on the fertilizer the plot crop needs to thrive and provide the minerals the deer need. Put in 2 plots of clover and properly fertilize one plot and leave the other one alone...guess which one gets hammered?

If nothing else, it's fun to see what deer are using the property and see the changes in the deer from year to year!

[Don Stokes]

Sorry, but baiting and mineral licks spread CWD. Both have been banned in my state since it was found here.

[gregg dudley]

Sorry, but baiting and mineral licks spread CWD. Both have been banned in my state since it was found here.

Sorry, but that is overly simplistic.  There are plenty of natural circumstances that concentrate deer in one area like food, water, winter yarding areas, breeding, naturally occurring mineral sites, etc. 

[23feetupandhappy]

It should be noted that mineral licks and blocks are illegal in Iowa.  They sell them here and a game warden will ticket those if they catch them with assumption that they will be targeted by the hunter come deer season.

I don't recall it being illegal to use here in Iowa, just that you cant hunt with in a certain distance of the mineral site.
Has it changed?

[pavan]

Years back I called my local game warden and asked about all of the stuff in the local Bomgaars store.  He told me that it was all considered baiting and to tell anyone that I knew that had any to not use it.  two years ago, another hunter found several mineral blocks on a public area.  He called the game warden, the game warden set up cameras.  The owners of the mineral blocks and nearby tree stands came by soon enough.  They also had stuff called deercain by their tree stands.  Personally I see no harm whatsoever in putting nutritional supplements out after the deer season.  I do disagree with anything that can be used as bait during the hunting season.

[Don Stokes]

This is the law in Mississippi:

"Supplemental feeding is banned in all CWD Management Zones (salt licks, mineral licks, and feeders). Direct contact with prions is the most effective means of transmitting CWD. Research indicates saliva may have the highest concentration of prions. Thus, to minimize concentration of deer and potential spread of CWD, supplemental feeding is banned within all CWD Management Zones."

[bigbadjon]

Good thing the guy that posted the thread doesn't live in Misissippi then.

[1Arrow1Kill]

Early season speculation indicates that Baiting, which includes Mineral Licks, will be illegal statewide in Michigan starting in 2019.  A few cases of CWD have been found in several counties during the last couple years and the Michigan DNR is implementing the ban.  Sounds like Pure Michigan will be returning to Pure Deer Hunting.  When the 2019 Hunting Regulations are released we will know for sure . . .

[Don Stokes]

When I was in college taking wildlife management courses decades ago, the deer population across the nation was booming, and 'overpopulation' was something that sounded good to hunters! Baiting was illegal. Salt licks were illegal. Shooting does was illegal. The objective of wildlife management was to increase populations.

It worked. The deer population grew all over the country. A resource that was nurtured became a liability. The auto insurance lobby campaigned for more liberal seasons and harvests, because they were paying out big bucks (pun intended) over deer/car crashes. Shooting does was introduced, and considered treason by old-timers who thought shooting a doe equated with sin. Eventually baiting was allowed, including licks and chemical attractants. Enter CWD. It had long been known that turkeys were highly susceptible to disease if they fed in the same area too much, but the effect it has had on the spread of CWD wasn't really expected. Now wildlife managers, older and wiser, have come to realize that anything that concentrates wildlife that normally feed by browsing while on the move on a shared food source is dangerous for them. I'm sorry for anyone who hoped to profit from supplemental wildlife feed, but all forms of supplemental feeding (except in emergency starvation situations) should be banned nationwide, in my opinion.

Besides that, hunting over bait or licks is not hunting, it's just shooting animals. Deer hunting around here has become sitting in a little house on the edge of a field, where the 'hunter' has his portable heater and his thermos of coffee, and he can check in on social media with his hand-held supercomputer while he waits for a deer to come to the food he bought and put in view of his stand.

And yes, I'm a grumpy old geezer who thinks hunting means learning the habits of your quarry, learning when to expect the prey to move through its habitat naturally, where you wait in ambush, and making a kill that you earned. Hunting is declining in popularity, and I feel sure the move away from the aspects that require immersion in nature and understanding the game's habits has oversimplified the hunting experience, taking away the challenge and the personal satisfaction of having outwitted a crafty beast on its own terms. There's not much point in sitting in a little house and shooting something, when it's a lot less messy to go to the grocery store.

I guess I need more coffee. Rant over. I also realize that different strokes drive different folks, and it's all good, as long as no damage is done.

[Bvas]

I’ll be freshening mine and starting a couple new ones in the next week or two.

I use two parts trace mineral salt, one part range mineral, one part di-cal. For new sites, I will add a little dry molasses just to get them started on it quicker.

Baiting/minerals and CWD can be argued both ways. If I provide deer with everything they need, wouldn’t this reduce their need to travel and slow the spread of CWD or any disease for that matter?

[KentuckyTJ]

I appreciate everyone’s opinion about CWD on a thread I started to share my legal finding and it’s benefits for anyone that can put out minerals in their state. I’m not drinking the coolaid quit yet. My thoughts on CWD are that I believe it follows the trend today of fake news. No one to my knowledge has produced any legit numbers of deer that are affected in any state. Until they do it qualifies as scare tactics blown out of proportion through social media to achieve a new management direction in high deer density areas spurred on by insurance companies.