My opinion is there is no significant difference (in antler outcome) from using any mineral lick product. I do believe mineral licks provide some benefit to deer, just do not believe any of them will make their antlers grow 1% larger --- show me some scientific proof --- until then I'll continue to believe it's mostly marketing hype than any of the mineral licks are causing antlers to grow noticeably larger.
Not saying mineral licks don't increase antler size, just saying it's so negligible I've never seen scientific proof of any. But, again, I do believe mineral licks provide some overall benefit to deer (just not to growing larger antlers), so I put out mineral licks and refresh them at least annually.
I mainly use red trace mineral salt which I purchase in 50-lb bags for about $5 a bag from the County Co-Op. I also use some of Saltman's "Trophy Rocks" for a some applications, but more because of how they look than in the differences between them and trace mineral salt.
From an economical standpoint, if you want to maximize those minerals over the salt, would be hard to beat simply mixing red trace mineral salt and all-purpose cattle mineral supplement (also coming in a 50-lb bag).
