Making you own 30-06 blend
 

I did a little research and thinking after I just recieved the new Whitetail Institute magazine, which has some great articles and Im sure great products, onethat caught my eye was their 30-06 blend and how the minerals and etc. was beneficial to the deer. Their product contained MORE than just salt. Their product does this:
[ul][*]Provide needed minerals and vitamins critical to the overall growth, development and reproduction of deer. [*]

Maximize deer weight gain.

[*]

Maximize antler development.

[*]

Help hold deer in your area.

[*]

Attract deer from adjoining properties.

[*]

Easy to use and maintain year-round.

[/ul]

From what I read in their magazine on ingredients, I went out and bought a salt block, and a "red minral block" at my local feed store. I put them in a sack and busted them up with a sledge hammer, poured the chunks out around an area and the deerhave alreadyvisited the spot after 2 weeks. Their product works very well Im sure, butis 35.00 for 20lbs and 80.00 for 60lbs. Mysalt and mineral blockhas the minerals and vitamins in it as well. It to was made for livestock and giving them what they need.For deer itwill maximize their genetic potential as well as bigger antlers, I thought a few of you guys might want to try this it can save you some money as well as give you, I would say the same results. Good Luck

RE: Making you own 30-06 blend
 

Triple,

Welcome to the forum you will find a wealth of information. Here is another recipe you might try. Will probably save you from having to swing a hammer!! It is a good read too.

http://www.icducks.com/cgi-bin/blah1/Blah.pl?b=Habitat,m=1112392838

another good read too.

http://www.whitetailinstitute.com/info/news/mar04/10.html

RE: Making you own 30-06 blend
 

I do believe our new friend, Triple D, is going to fell pretty silly after he finds out you can buy those minerals in a granular form. :DIt sure does save on that chain gang work.;)

RE: Making you own 30-06 blend
 

3D, I'm not sure exactly what's in the 30-06 but I'll guarantee you that the salt blocks you busted with a hammer are not close. Most salt blocks are nearly pure saltand the trace mineral blocks are just what they say, salt with traces of mineral.

If you look at the tags on the blocks you will more than likely find at least 90% salt and possibly up to 98%.

I called my friend at the feed lot and asked him about 30-06, they sell it. He said there is no way to copy a tag from 30-06 or any mineral supplement because the tags only mentions the major minerals. The minor elements are just as important as the stuff on the tagand the sources of these elements are critical.

He also read your post and questioned the price. He sells 30-06 for $24 not. I guess you could have the freight figured in but I don't think it's that high.

I haven't received my Whitetail News magazine as of today but I'll be curious. I have bought it before but lost the lease 2 years ago and now I'm bumming hunts from my buddies.

Buster.

RE: Making you own 30-06 blend
 

I dont know how your buddy sells it cheaper than the company that produces it, go to the whitetail institute webstite, you can order straight from them shipping included in price. As for the other replies thanks for the info I might not buy the blocks next year if I can buy the granular. I do believe what you can buy at the feed store here in Missouri for cattle and horses comes close to what is in 30-06 the mineral block I bought with minerals in it are designed to replace what cattle have lost or need...just like a deer would, it isnt rocket science.

RE: Making you own 30-06 blend
 

slumpbuster,

I agree. I got caught up in the "forums"buy it cheaper at the coop on seed several years ago. I planted a mix of perennial cloverfrom the local coop and it isn't nearly as good as the whitetail clover.

I have also used the 30-06 with protein for about 4 years and it has worked well. The deer love it and we have killed some nice deer for our area. 1 scored 152 and 2 others in the 145 range. I buy off a coupon in the whitetail news and I pay about $240 for 240 lbs.

RE: Making you own 30-06 blend
 

To my way of thinking the fact that Whitetail Institute advertises one of their 30 06 mineral products as having a 10% protein boost proves they are all about 'hype' and not about offering honest products. There is no way that a deer is taking in enough of a mineral supliment to make the addition of protein worthwhile to it. Deer get their protein from pounds and pounds of nutritious forage everyday, not from a couple of licks on a mineral site.

RE: Making you own 30-06 blend
 

Answerguy,

Wehad the same question a few years ago so I called and asked about it. I was told that the protein additive in 30-06 with protein is not supposed to be the only protein source for deer. What i was told that made sense was the 30-06 with protein has only 15% salt in it(I think)and the protein replaced some of the salt thatwas in the original 30-06 whichwas 40% I think. Itmakes sense thatprotein would be better than salt.AllI know is the deer like it and we have better deer to hunt. I also know the mineral is not the only reason because we are heavily into food plots too, we try not to shoot the little bucks and we kill alot of does.

Whatever works is what I say you need to use but some of the infoon these message boards does more harm than good. I saw on one where a guy in one post said never use a mineral with more than 50% salt and a few post later the same guyreccommended a recipeof dicalcium and salt that produced a 75% salt product. HUH?

Anyway, I've tried nearly everything out there and some are good and some are laughable IMO. People need to experiment and find what works for them but at the same time make sure the deer on their propertyare improving.

To say whitetail institute is all about hype is anuninformed opinion IMO. We haveused their clover and their mineral along with other branded products and some we mix ourselves and have had very good results in most cases.

Also, their Whitetail News magazine is the best magazine I get. I have learned more from it over the past 5 years about managing deer than all the others magazinescombined and I get it free. They even ran a picture ofa deer my brother in law killed in it a couple of years ago.

RE: Making you own 30-06 blend
 

So instead of it being a protein boost they say it's just a different filler?

RE: Making you own 30-06 blend
 

I don't know how much of an impact that the addition of 10% protein in a mineral supplement canbe. I guess about 10% better than nothing. My deer wear out my 30-06 Plus Protien licks. Everything else I look at is a high sodium content product. If I want to spend time mixing my own I guess I could butI feel like I'm gettingmy $$$ worth.

Our hunting has been better since we started using it and that's what it's all about to me.