mineral licks, bait for trail cameras

[pass-thru]

What kind of lick/bait set up do you all have the offseason to get as many bucks as possible on your trail cameras?

I have never used this tactic, at least not with any regularity. I used a trophy rock once several years ago and it was consumed by does and fawns in short order. Tried another one a couple years ago and it was almost completely ignored.

I am wanting to get something out as soon as the season ends, to try to get an inventory on the deer that made it through the season. Shell corn seems like the easiest option. Not sure that it would pull deer in though, probably just get more pics of the sames I would get pics of anyway. Is this more of a long term project where you spend years conditioning deer to return to the same area for goodies? That is not as appealing to me....looking for quick results before they drop...lol

 

[MickThompson]

Salt will have pretty limited use right now, more of a spring/summer thing. Corn will be the most attractive option for deer right now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TheLBLman]

Corn will be the most attractive option for deer right now.

The "attractiveness" of corn is debatable.
No doubt, particularly immediately post-season, it may be one of the best magnets.

But it can cause harm that should be weighed against its benefits, particularly when just put out on the ground.

Many years ago, I used to do this post season.
One year, the certified aflatoxin-free corn I purchased from my county Co-Op
developed aflatoxin after I put it out. This was in February.
At the time, I had lots of turkeys.
They found it, and ate it.
Killed every one of them, and we're talking dozens of turkeys.

I was using a gravity feeder, not simply pouring it from a bag onto the ground,
so I believed the risk of developing aflatoxin (especially in later winter) to be extremely low.
That risk would have been considerably higher if using the "deer corn" sold by Walmart.

I haven't used any corn period since then.

On an ongoing basis, using corn can be expensive & time-consumptive.
When used ongoing, crows, other birds, and particularly raccoons will often consume most of your corn before the deer get it.

Lastly, when feeding sites are used long-term, predators (dogs, bobcats, coyotes) learn that near a feeder is a great ambush site. They kill a lot more fawns near feeding sites than most people would believe. The run off with them, leaving no evidence.

My preference remains salt,
although I will add some other things (like a little peanut butter, etc.) to initially draw them in better. There are small commercially available salt blocks available already containing additives such as persimmon and acorn, which can also help.

But my main attraction is a combination of red trace mineral salt (very cheap, purchased in 50-lb bags from a county Co-Op)
along with the Trophy Rocks (relatively expensive).

 

[TheLBLman]

I would also recommend your making a mock scrape close to your mineral licks you're monitoring with cameras. Simply urinate in them each time you visit, and be sure you cam is set to pick up deer at both the salt lick and the scrape. Deer may not visit as often as they would a corn pile, but they will still visit.

 

[pass-thru]

I picked up a trophy rock at Dicks. I will put it in front of a camera and see what happens. I may get a bag of corn if I see any. Crows and coons will make quick work of it I bet.

 

[Fitchj13]

I get zero attraction with corn at my lease. Tried timed spin feeders, gravity feeders, and just spreading it out on the ground. I say zero, but I have some very fat coons - best pic had 12-14 of them in it dangling on and around the feeder.

My go to is mineral rocks and dumping a container of Deer Caine on and around it. The deer in my area hit that combo before anything else other than acorns. I've tried most every flavored powder attractant sold and even those burlap hanging bags way back in the day.

My other successful attractant is a salt block with that molasis stuff poured on it. That actually smells good enough to try it honestly.

Back in La when I was a young-in, we would put corn in jugs with holes in it. The deer would kick it around to get the corn out just like pups do now with those treat toys. Also served as a wake up alarm lol.