When..

[kwaldeier]

just curious to when you guys start to set out your mineral lick or bait to put out in front of your cameras??

[PastorJim08]

I have to wait until all seasons are over with in Indiana, or it would be considered baiting.

Blessings.....Pastorjim

[BUG-E J]

Year round, deer are creatures of habit.

[pnut]

Corn pretty much year round..
Mineral block will go out well before horns start to grow again in June/July

[kwaldeier]

just curious to when you guys started...when i can get my hands on some corn i will start feeding once archery is over....i have not got a shooter buck on camera since September

[WIbuckchaser]

If I could afford corn right now I would have some out. I have just been trying to catch them on there trails heading to standing corn.

I will definitely have a mineral block out sometime in April or May.

[pnut]

Originally Posted by kwaldeier

just curious to when you guys started...when i can get my hands on some corn i will start feeding once archery is over....i have not got a shooter buck on camera since September

Small town feed mills or MFA is the best to places to buy corn. I get my trace mineral blocks from the same places for around $4-5 a piece.

[J Pike]

I start putting my mineral blocks out near the end of April when I start putting my cams back out, but unless im trying a new spot there is usually some of the 50lb block left that I put out the year before. Pike

[bandgod]

In Wisconsin it is illegal to put out bait (which includes mineral or any mineral substance) outside of the hunting season. Doesn't make much sense to me in regards to the mineral, but since it's the law I abide by it. It makes it a little more difficult to get good pictures but I just find good trails and scrapes and set up my camera's on those. I hope for your sake WIbuckchaser that you are hearing that regulation for the first time.

[Remnard]

Mineral Licks should be out year round (where legal). When deer are growing racks they are actually uptaking calcium etc. from existing bone. It is later replaced when they find a source to replenish it. The more of these nutrients they have available to them year round, the less they will have to tap their existing bone structure to achieve optimal growth.

Remember that the bucks are not the only ones needing macro and micronutrients year round. Does need it when lactating, fawns need it to put on vital weight and the necessary bone structure as they grow, which pretty much occurs year round.

To be honest, I would put them out regardless of the law. I would never hunt over them in either case, but I won't deprive my local herd because some paranoid bureaucrat doesn't want anyone hunting over something that may or may not bring a deer close enough to shoot. Hide them in a thicket somewhere, who's going to find them? With the economy the way it is, most agencies have reduced manpower to the point where there are not nearly enough of them to police serious violations, let alone chase someone down for putting out a mineral block.