Deer using salt

[tndeerman]

Trophy rock all year long

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I've stopped making salt licks. Although CWD isn't in my area yet, it will be eventually. Salt licks are definitely a prime location for spreading saliva-vector disease.

Interesting - what other method have you found for getting a good summer census of the bucks in an area?

We haven't stopped using salt yet, but plan to when it gets a little closer to us (maybe when it crosses the TN river.)

 

[BSK]

Interesting - what other method have you found for getting a good summer census of the bucks in an area?

Honestly, I don't anymore. Although it can be interesting to see which bucks are residents and which show up after they shift from their summer range, what is most important to hunters/managers is the "manageable" deer - those that use the property during hunting season. I can get this information from an unbaited census starting as soon as antler velvet sheds (which appears to be the biological trigger for a buck to move to his fall range). For me, getting a summer census over salt or food bait isn't worth the risk.