minerals

[KillenTime]

What kind of minerals do you put out, and when do you start?

 

[BlountArrow]

Mixture of Salt, Trace Minerals, and Di-Calcium Phospate. I'm going to try to get mine in the ground by May next time around. I'm interested to hear what others have to say on this. Good post.

 

[KillenTime]

I'm curious myself. I use Luck Buck mineral and the deer love it. I start putting it out in March and have had very good results with it. Always like to here what else is working for other people tho.

 

[stik]

trophy rock. i keep it out and get use year 'round.

 

[KillenTime]

I tryed the trophy rock and didn't have as good of results, while other people in the county did. I think a lot of it has to do with what type of natural minerals you have on your property, as to what the deer need.

 

[BlountArrow]

Yeah, I don't have near the results that other people have had with Trophy Rock. Maybe I had a poor site location. Regardless, I'm going to give trophy rock another try. However, I like to think of my mineral site as providing nutrition of some sort other than just salt. I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes, but I enjoy putting them out and it ends up being, if nothing else, a good spot for the trail cam usually.

 

[KillenTime]

Yeah, I don't have near the results that other people have had with Trophy Rock. Maybe I had a poor site location. Regardless, I'm going to give trophy rock another try. However, I like to think of my mineral site as providing nutrition of some sort other than just salt. I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes, but I enjoy putting them out and it ends up being, if nothing else, a good spot for the trail cam usually. [/quo

If the trophy rock don't work for you I would recommend the Lucky Buck!

 

[Winchester]

Minerals have yet to be proven to help deer at all! Many studies and manufactures of products have tried diligently to prove they help, without success! I would plant a food plot if concerned with the deers health!

 

[BlountArrow]

Minerals have yet to be proven to help deer at all! Many studies and manufactures of products have tried diligently to prove they help, without success! I would plant a food plot if concerned with the deers health!

I agree to an extent. I read a post of BSK's, and I believe it, stating the same thing about there not being any scientific data to prove mineral supplements increase antler size, for example. However, I do plant food plots and I would argue that in my area food plots do very, very little for deer health too and I would bet that goes for most of TN. Like I said, if nothing else the mineral sites provide good photo ops for my places.

 

[DaveB]

On a 32 acre lease I had two trophy rocks out. One was hit hard, near constant, until it was gone. Another one was never hit at all. Not a single track. When I first saw this happening I cleared a large area-maybe 40 foot square-of leaves, small shrubs, saplings. definitely, not a single deer hit on this trophy rock and none came close enough to leave a track.

Weird, Huh? We also found another similar part of the lease where absolutely zero deer ever travel.

 

[Football Hunter]

trophy rock. i keep it out and get use year 'round.

yep

 

[Hunter 257W]

One thing you have to rememberabout minerals is that just because deer use one particular brand, that doesn't mean that brand is even remotely good for the deer. Lots of the more popular mixes are for the most part very expensive salt. Regardless of where you stand on the value of a proper mineral supplement, a bag of salt sure doesn't have a lot of health benefit for a deer. I always look at the salt content and won't buy anything with over 15 or 20% salt at most. What I have used most is "Rack-Up" by Evolved Habitat and "30-06" by Whitetail Institute. I do occasionally put some of the attractants with lots of salt on top of these to get more deer useage but that is rare.

I know that there is no documented study showing a quantified benefit of minerals. But then doctors say there is no benefit for humans to take vitamins or herb either. They tend to only see value when it is so large that it is obvious. I can't prove minerals work for deer either of course but it just makes sense that if you give them the trace minerals - some of which are almost certain to be missing in any given area - it has to improve their health somewhat. OF course we all - whether we admit it or not - really want to get bigger antlers. Anybody knows that you won't change what would have been a 10" spread 6 point into a B&C 150" 10point but I figure that it is realistic to expect maybe 5% increase in total antler mass on average. And if you can help does be more healthy going into Spring they will give birth to healthier fawn bucks. The differences will be small but as long as you can make any positive gains in your local deer herd for $50 a year, why not?

Also, a mineral lick is a great place to set up a camera in the Spring/Summer to see what your deer are looking like.

 

[BSK]

What kind of minerals do you put out, and when do you start?

No minerals other than the natural ones in Trophy Rock (a chunk of natural salt deposit).

 

[Bone Collector]

Minerals have yet to be proven to help deer at all! Many studies and manufactures of products have tried diligently to prove they help, without success! I would plant a food plot if concerned with the deers health!

I was thinking of doing both minerals and small plots. I only have 32 acres. lots of clay and rock. have to try to get it cleaned up and put some lime in.

Is winter wheat fickle or will it grow pretty easy?

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

i have changed everything to the trophy rocks

 

[BSK]

Mineral supplementation is one of those things that needs to be looked at from a cost-benefit perspective. If mineral supplementation would be just a tiny part of your management budget, then have at it. It probably won't do any measurable good, but it also probably won't do any harm either.

But for those with a limited management budget, which would do more: $25 worth of minerals, $25 worth of food plot seed, or $25 worth of gasoline and oil for you chainsaw? I'm going with the chainsaw option!

 

[primos32]

Trophy Rock and year around

 

[Bow Hunter]

Trophy Rock and year around

Same here they love that stuff.

 

[lpo1981]

i generally start around 1st of march. and usually out out some trophy rocks, trace mineral block, soda-ash (sodium carbonate), deer cain. may not be proven to help deer but usually gives you a good opportunity to get some good photos of deer.

 

[HOOK]

Yes there is no proven benifit to mineral blocks...the only thing they are really good for is a good draw to keep a camera on.

 

[BSK]

Yes there is no proven benifit to mineral blocks...the only thing they are really good for is a good draw to keep a camera on.

And that's what I use salt-lick for--summer camera censusing.

 

[wtbh236]

Bag ur buck or something like that hang from a branch
deer tair up the ground under it put out 3 of them this year
in spring lasted all though the season going to put up new ones next week

 

[Coach]

KT, I haven't read all the threads but I did see the deer you waxed...If I was going to put out something it would be what you put out!! haha