Mineral and Salt Licks for Whitetail Deer
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- Logan discusses why mineral and salt licks are beneficial to the health of the deer herd. He also show how he sets up these sites.There are also some photo proof (via trail cameras) that these methods help grow healthier bucks and does.
www.thebackwoodsmansinstitute.com
I have never used mineral or salt licks before, but want to try this year. It amazes me that Deer will lick the dirt in order to get to the salt. Great video, and helped me a lot. Thanks.
a friend of mine is a retired game warden here in Kentucky. he explained in detail what to put in my mineral lick and why. I started using what he told me about 17 years ago. our ground is heavy clay at our deer cabin. the clay holds the minerals right there and doesn't allow it to leach out as fast as normal soil does. in 17 years I have watched our mineral lick expand out to 10 feet round and over 2 foot deep. last year I put over 800 pounds of the mix he gave me out. this is not a over night thing. you are not going to start a lick today and three weeks from now see monster bucks walking around. in the late winter and spring pregnant does will start coming to it. when they fawn they will keep coming back. when buck start to grow new antlers they will be all over it. it is a generational thing. it takes years to see the difference, but you will see it. we have 2 1/2 year old 8 point bucks that have a 15 inch spread on our place. the 3-3 1/2 year old deer are amazing. the mature bucks are the stuff people write about. don't start a mineral lick and expect monsters the very next year. it is a generational thing that just takes time.
So what was the recipe your game warden friend gave you?
to sum up any questions about what to use, and how long do they last..
well the mineral site itself will forever be there. the amount of mineral content in the sight is dictated by how much you use. For example, you can go to any store that carries mineral, and you can put 1 lb of mineral into a pile and never dig it into the ground. after a few rains, the ground soaks in the water, in which at that time it will also soak in the mineral youve placed out. the first year, or maybe even two, you wont see much of a hole, or much sign of a mineral site until they start digging at the ground. at that time you can have a huge hole in the ground, and as time goes on, and you get even more rain, the mineral spreads out and actually contaminates more of the soil around your mineral site.
so your mineral site will realistically last forever. once placed there, and soaked in. the mineral site will continue to expand. now myself, and other will add mineral every year, for at least the first couple years. after 2-3 years of adding mineral, the site is very well established and 9 out of 10 time you dont need to add anymore salt/mineral.
Like this guy said, all manufacturers are going to tell you that there product works best. You can go to any fleet farm, and pick up a 50lb bag of 3:1 Traced Mineral for less than $10-15 and it acts the same as most mineral you can buy off the shelf at a cabelas, gander mt, dicks sporting goods ect. except you can buy a bag from an outdoors sporting goods store for $12 per bag for maybe 5lbs.
To establish a good mineral site foundation i would recommend using a liquid, i use deer cane, and i will also blend in some sugar beet/salt mix, that i think Wildgame Innovations produces. take both 1 gallon jugs, and mix both in a 5 gallon pale. refill both jugs and place out. a lot cheaper, and a lot easier that mixing powder and dirt. the liquid form makes soaking into the soil a lot easier, and a lot faster. producing a better site, that will last longer.
I am by no means saying this guy didnt do a great job on his site, i personally have found my own ways/theories and what works best for some of my deer herds.
vikings55eagles34 Good information
The Jam kicks ass!!
already got mine going great job on the vid you guys all ways have good info
Earned a subscriber. Great video. To the point and very helpful. Thank you sir.
Save money or spend the same and get 4 times the product by making your own mix. 1 part stock salt, 1 part dical, 2 parts trace mineral. You'll get 200lbs of product for less than $70 in most parts of the country. You can even add granulated molasses, although if you have bears in the area you may want to avoid the molasses, unless of course you are targeting them. Pretty much the same in not higher percentages of minerals than you'll get in the commercial lines. I mix for each plot about a gallon of mix in May. Some areas are hit earlier than others, but once they are established the deer know. To get them to take notice you can also plant a micro food plot near the mineral, or throw some corn in the mix. Sure the squirrels will hit it, but the deer will take notice.
Hey saw your post and thinking the same thing Do you think azomite (Rock mineral dust) would work also? Thought about throwing that down and mixing up a liquid salt molasses maybe some kool aid fruit juice liquid. Whats your thoughts? Any experience?
A better option would be to use a free choice mineral. Dical is
extremely bitter, and just using trace salt, you aren't giving the deer
all they need, and you are using a mix that is 98%-99% pure salt.
This is a mix I formulated about 10 yrs ago, and it works great. It
makes approx 157 lbs, and costs $45-50.
1-50 lb bag of a quality all around "Free Choice" mineral
1-50 lb bag of a quality spring "Free Choice" mineral
1-50 lb bag of Stock Salt
2-1 lb boxs of Baking Soda
2-2lb bags of Powder Sugar
1 container of Pre-Sweetened Grape Koolaid
I use the 2 separate free choice minerals for specific reasons, the all
around mineral, because it is just that a very balanced general mineral
mix, that is very low in salt (max 20%), so you get more needed
minerals per 50# bag that the deer can utilize. It also has dry molasses
in it so it helps with palatability since most pure minerals tend to be
bitter. The spring mineral is also a low salt mineral, but it being a
spring mineral, it helps the deer in early spring to overcome their
magnesium deficiency, the same as cattle before they are put on pasture
in the spring. Quality "Free Choice" minerals have a good Calcium to
Phosphorus ratio close to 2:1.
The reason for the baking soda,
is, it acts as a rumen buffer, keeping the pH of a deer's digestive
tract in check, basically keeping stomach aches away. The plain stock
salt is for spring and summer, as the deer will naturally go through a
sodium deficiency because the moisture and potassium content of the lush
green vegetation they eat, interferes with efficient sodium conversion
in the body and increases their need for sodium. The sugar and koolaid
is just for the initial wow factor, to help the deer locate the site,
and is gone relatively quickly.
you should add selenium also
Thank you I did learn a lot
very good video.
I use stock salt and general mineral in lay with salt on top and bottom with mineral in the middle so the deer have to lick the mineral to get to the salt
I always seem to use a mineral block but I like how you set this up so I'm going to try it. Did you use the whole bottle in that one set? You make great videos and have a lot of information for new people that have started hunting. Keep up the good work.
Thanks much...
Deer Cane never worked for me either
So, deer will eat dirt in order that they might also eat the salt/mineral powder that has been mixed into the dirt?
Al Kidd Exactly
Al Kidd or go to a feed store and buy 7 50 lb mineral blocks for the same money
al kidd yes ,they will also eat a log if you put mineral on it
the nutrients goes in the ground and they will dig holes and try and lick the ground to get all the stuff in the ground they will eat anything you put out
I prefer the blocks because in my area I can get a 50 pound block for $5
thanks for the info. did you use the whole bottle of buck jam? thanks again.
I do. I pour the whole thing on it. I also add water to what's left and shake it up and then combine them and use that up.
How often do you update the site?
Deer wont touch a salt block in Bladen Co NC
try record rack rock they hit it really fast and loved it
I haven't read too deep into the Indiana regs but I know that you can't hunt over a mineral lick. What I'm not sure of is how far away you have to be before you are no longer considered to be over that site
Zedleppelin acording to the TWRA in tennessee its not illegal to hunt over mineral licks or blocks
Nice bucks. I've always just use the mineral rock. How long do these patches you create last?
2bonosc i usually refresh one time during the summer, but does it need it probably not. so my best guess is it stays active for a few months.
Guys, Im in Indiana as well. I live outside Pendleton, and hunt near Warsaw and Terra Haute . If your available some day, I would love to meet for dinner, lunch, or just coffee. Id love for the son and I to meet you, and pic your brain on a couple of subject's.
Great video! Keep up the great work and praising Jesus! If it offends someone, oh well.
I just go to our local Southern State Store and get a huge bag of mineral salt for like $10
sad for me, i can't take advantage of any salt or mineral blocks. up here in canadaland, the ranchers are allowed to release all their cattle up into the crown/public land in the spring, and they are up there in the hunting areas all through the hunting season. put any salt/minerals down and all it does is bring all the cattle in.
what if you don't have water nearby?
Marshall Loth basically go to a location where water is avaliable. Not being rude
seems like are mineralick i see more buck traffic near them during the rut....maybe from all the Doe smell they smell through the year
I have a couple hundred acres and hunters are putting down something that kills the ground! This is very upsetting because 99.9 (repeating decimal) percent of hunters do not care about property of others. I could write a book on this. They nail into pine trees. They strap around the tree with something at the top of their tree stands which they do not remove. Trees grow into this strap and get chocked to death. Hunters need to have something made to assure nothing kills the ground of the land owner.
You don't understand the word "Rhetorical" do you..?
Firdt
My feelings on your report are both positive and negative. I lived in the northwest of Montana for 20 years and hunted and fished almost daily. It was a natural thing for my sons, wife and myself. For the most part all we lived on meat wise was the deer, grouse and turkeys we took. We lucked out living on our land which bordered blm land. I really like the speech you wrote up till the part where it sounded like you were preaching. I can tell you are religious and that's OK but there are some of us who aren't. This may sound petty of me and maybe it is, but I don't like to be preached at when I'm trying to learn techniques of anything. If I want religion I will go to church. Sorry. I don't mean any disrespect to you or your religion. I'm just being truthful. Thank You
You can't go to church 6 feet under. Just being truthful.