alabama deer hunting - need advice
03-04-2014, 06:52 PM
#11
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
Where I hunt in SE Alabama the deer are still very nocturnal. Buddy of mine has about 30 trail cameras out and just went hrough over 50,000 photos that were taken in the last month or so. I'd bet 90% of the movement caught on these cameras, which are all on food plots, were between 10:00 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. So if I were you, I would not be so concerned right now about your 8 pt. being nocturnal. That'll be the case when pressure of hunting builds.
As far as attracting deer to move in daylight, about all that you can do legally is to set up good food plots, put out plain salt and set-up a feeder. The feeder use has specific guidelines, but leaves a lot of wiggle room for subjective enforcement. So, be dang careful come deer season if you decide to use feeders. And don't forget, if you plan to turkey hunt this spring on that land the pile of corn youn have out now ..... best have all traces gone before March 5.
Also remember that in Alabama, come deer season's start, none of the deer mineral "attractants" other than 100% NaCl are legal to have out. No "Trace Mineral" salt. No feed blocks of any kind. No "Sutmp Juice". No Deer Cocaine (I hate that product name). Nothing but plain old NaCl. Block form, rock form or loose granular form are all OK.
If I were you I'd go ahead and establish 2-3 supplemental mineral areas using a mix of Di-Calcium Phosphate and granulated NaCl in a ratio of about 2 -1 by weight. If you can find a high calcium dairy mix, throw some of that in too. The NaCl will attract. The others are the nutritional stuff. Bagged NaCl is often called "mixing salt". Both Di-Cal and Mixing Salt are readily available at any decently stocked feed/seed store. The salt is about $5.50/50# and the Di-Cal and Dairy Mix are about $15-$20/50#. Di-Cal is great for lactating does and to help with antler development, but it is only a tiny part of overall nutrition. Use a 55 gallon plastic barrel cut into half, long ways as a serving trough. Set it in a trench dug into the ground to keep the deer from rolling it over. About 100#/barrel is a good start. Check in about July to see if the minerlas need replenishing. When season comes around you can remove the barrels. They shold be close to empty. Then where they were located, pour out 25# or so of NaCl to keep the deer interested in that spot. (I'd keep the salt licks off the cattle land!)
Also I would ride the edges of the pasture and fertilize any browse that is growing long the edges with 33-0-0. Any browse will do ... Wait-a-Minute vines, honey suckle, briars, French mulberry, etc. When these green up later in the spring ... if it ever comes this year ... the deer in the area will browse the heck out of the tender fast growing borwse. Unfortunately so might the cattle !!
As far as attracting deer to move in daylight, about all that you can do legally is to set up good food plots, put out plain salt and set-up a feeder. The feeder use has specific guidelines, but leaves a lot of wiggle room for subjective enforcement. So, be dang careful come deer season if you decide to use feeders. And don't forget, if you plan to turkey hunt this spring on that land the pile of corn youn have out now ..... best have all traces gone before March 5.
Also remember that in Alabama, come deer season's start, none of the deer mineral "attractants" other than 100% NaCl are legal to have out. No "Trace Mineral" salt. No feed blocks of any kind. No "Sutmp Juice". No Deer Cocaine (I hate that product name). Nothing but plain old NaCl. Block form, rock form or loose granular form are all OK.
If I were you I'd go ahead and establish 2-3 supplemental mineral areas using a mix of Di-Calcium Phosphate and granulated NaCl in a ratio of about 2 -1 by weight. If you can find a high calcium dairy mix, throw some of that in too. The NaCl will attract. The others are the nutritional stuff. Bagged NaCl is often called "mixing salt". Both Di-Cal and Mixing Salt are readily available at any decently stocked feed/seed store. The salt is about $5.50/50# and the Di-Cal and Dairy Mix are about $15-$20/50#. Di-Cal is great for lactating does and to help with antler development, but it is only a tiny part of overall nutrition. Use a 55 gallon plastic barrel cut into half, long ways as a serving trough. Set it in a trench dug into the ground to keep the deer from rolling it over. About 100#/barrel is a good start. Check in about July to see if the minerlas need replenishing. When season comes around you can remove the barrels. They shold be close to empty. Then where they were located, pour out 25# or so of NaCl to keep the deer interested in that spot. (I'd keep the salt licks off the cattle land!)
Also I would ride the edges of the pasture and fertilize any browse that is growing long the edges with 33-0-0. Any browse will do ... Wait-a-Minute vines, honey suckle, briars, French mulberry, etc. When these green up later in the spring ... if it ever comes this year ... the deer in the area will browse the heck out of the tender fast growing borwse. Unfortunately so might the cattle !!
Last edited by Mojotex; 03-05-2014 at 10:15 AM.
03-05-2014, 07:07 AM
#12
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: DeFuniak Spr.Florida
Posts: 4,329
Alabama has one of the most confusing hunting sites,there seasons go by county's.
http://www.eregulations.com/alabama2...nd-bag-limits/
I keep this in my bookmarks and it almost takes a lawyer to understand.
http://www.eregulations.com/alabama2...nd-bag-limits/
I keep this in my bookmarks and it almost takes a lawyer to understand.
