Deer lick
 

I'm sure this has probably been explained to death, but I would like your opinion. I'm not new to hunting by any means but do like to try new things. I would like to hear about some of the deer lick recipes that have worked for you. Thanks in advance, and good luck out there!

Salt, but it works best in spring and summer.

Try The Rock! Looks like a piece of granite. Deer love it and good for antler growth. I have used it for 4 years. Got mine at Cabelas.

The rock IS salt, and it does nothing for antler growth.

You need other minerals for antler growth, mostly calcium and phosphorus in large concentrations and in a 2:1 ratio, but also magnesium, potassium, sulfur, and micros like iron, copper, and selenium.

Salt will attract them, just dont think you are helping them.

My mistake. Try trophyrock.com

never been any evidence that mineral licks help the health of wild deer. Goat minerals from Tractor Supply work well mixed with plain old water softener salt without additives works great as a attractant and is inexpensive. Mix it into the soil and give it a couple of rains and watch the deer dig in.

I have no hard evidence that the licks we put out have an effect on the antler growth, but the sheds we have found and the bucks we have harvested over the last 4 years has increased in both length and mass. I would say that an average of 5-10 inches of growth per side. Now, like I said, I cannot prove that the bucks used our licks extensively, or been able to compare year to year. We are still working on acquiring enough cameras to cover all the licks and travel areas to get an accurate inventory of the bucks on the 1000 acres we manage. Plus we don't know 100% what the neighbors are putting out.

We have several different food plots along with about 10 lick sites. Our plots consist of the normal plants, clover, rye, brassicas, beets, etc. The licks consist of this recipe I found for the licks on a website.
1 part loose stock salt
1 part DiCalcium Phosphate
2 parts loose trace mineral salt.

All can be acquired at feed stores. The Dical is a little harder find though. Usually have to go to a feed store that grinds their own feed. I think for 200 lbs of total mineral costs about $50. We put a total of about 25lbs per site in the late winter and 12 lbs to refresh during the summer. Most activity is seen from March through July. We see a lot of Doe activity as well as buck activity.