ko1593

I hear a lot about mineral blocks bringing in deer and helping antler growth. Any body used them? What ones work best?

mountainman08

Check your state laws, they are illegal to use in some states. All animals benefit from supplemental minerals.

ko1593

Thanks, They are legal in Massachusetts. Any idea which ones work best?

bowmanaj

I use Whitetail Institute 30-06, and sometimes the deer cane powder as well as mineral block. They hit it really hard in the early spring and into thesummer. It helps antler growth, but it is also beneficial to does that are nursing fawns. I don't use it as an attractant...baiting is illegal in Indiana and I wouldn'tdo iteven if it was legal. Its more for helping the health ofmy deerin the spring/summerand getting trail cam pics of bucks growing their antlers. It definitely will draw deer to your property though...If you make a mineral site or two, make sure its atleast 10 feet off of a trail. As time goes on it will ruin the trail as they eventually dig and tear it up creating a "wallow" area of sorts. Also try to put it in a place that they'll feel safe visiting often, maybe on the edge of a thicket. Good luck to ya

ko1593

Thanks AJ. Apreciate the help. Drawing the deer to my camera is my initial intentionalong with the deers health. I am looking intosome mineral blocks until i get my foodplot in.

farm hunter

Most mineral suppliers insinuate that their product can help with antler growth and fawn nursing. - but alas - they can only insinuate because most every serious study on mineral licks is inconclusive. Note I didn't say it didn't work, but only that its very hard, if not impossible to prove as such.

Intuitively, it seems that a product that offers Phosphorus, calcium, etc - can only help with antler growth.......right? Thats why they can market the product and make some money - and not even lie - because the results are inconclusive.

The truth is - that its a little more complicated then "lick up the good stuff..... and your antlers grow - or the fawn gets more nutrients".

Think about this for a moment - a deer spends time at a lick, gets a good bit of it - and probably a good bit of salts as well (heck we crave salt too) - but unfortunately - the deer now becomes thirsty - and needs to drink. Often times you even hear to locate a salt block or pit near water for this very reason. So now the animal drinks water and "fills up". While it doesn't sound like a problem on the surface - if the lick was not available - the deer would tend to "fill up" on more high quality Spring Browse and obtain the same minerals from their intake instead filling up on water. Also, those minerals in a plant are much more easily taken into a deer's system during digestion than swallowing loose minerals. And more importantly -protein, and carbohydrates are stockpiled.

Same with nursing does - salt is good for them, because it helps them to drink more water, that is obviously needed to produce milk.Minerals provided to lactating deer can only help............right? One would thinkso - but a deer cannot stockpile minerals in their system,so excess minerals like sodium, phoshorus,calcium, etc - jast passes throght the deer (same with bucks & antler growth). So if the available food is such that mineral supplements are not needed...............you are just wasting time & money - and possible attracting deer to a lick site that could make them more suceptable to predation and/or disease.

I think that those of us that have hunted a while - have run into a year that was "dry" - maybe even drought-like - and antler growth suffered (as well as fawn survival). In a "wet year" - plants tend to grow more, and better - and can much more extract needed minerals (for deer) from the soil. In those years antler growth tends to "boom". Unless something has changed - mineral supplements have not shown to have the same effects for antler growth in a "dry year".

Maybe it makes more sense to lime, fertilize& irrigate instead of providing mineral licks?

All that said - I wish we could legally use salt or mineral licks in NY- if for no other reason -than to slow down & attract deer for the trail cam and help us with our summer surveying.

FH

ebc187

As farm hunter clearly stated, there are no tests that have proven the results of these mineral blocks.

Some of these mineral mixes are nothing more that salt. You could save yourself alot of money by going to the grocery store and buying a bag of salt without the picture of a deer on it.

Others mixes have more minerals, but its important to know that deer use the blocks more during the spring and early summer during antler development and milk production (someone already posted this). This is important because alot of guys buy the blocks or rocks right before gun season and put them out to attrack deer. Hunting season is the time of year when deer use these blocks the least.

So if you want to use the mixes for a camera site during the spring and summer, then go ahead and put them out. Also, cheaper homemaid versions of these mixes can be made. Go to www.QDMA.com click on the forum section and search "mineral blocks"

IOWABUCKHUNTR

Deer in my neck of the woods come out of the woodwork in early spring when we set up mineral blocks to draw them to the cameras. I would also look into Deer coCain or another attractant as I personally have found them to work just as effectively, though many others have not. Just remember if you do use them and it is illegal in your state to hunt over bait or mineral licks, you need to make sure they are completely gone before the hunting seasons as to avoid accusations (especially if you mangage to nail that record breaker!).

bowmanaj

well said...

ko1593

Thanks for all the information FH and everyone. It really helped educate me more and know i have a better plan. I am just going to use one mineral lick to help scout out the area until i get my foodplot planted. The information on the items in stores really leaves out alot and so much is BS.