Mineral Site Advice

[Coach1310]

Good day all. I am hoping to get a mineral lick/site etc going this year. My main focus is to get some good trail cam photos as my kids have found trail cams to be a blast and Dad sure likes it too!!!

#1- Any suggestions for a recipe?

#2- How big?

#3- How often do I have to freshen it?

#4- Are certain areas better than others? Trails? staging areas? etc?

Thanks for any help.

[Lunker]

1- I've only purchased already made stuff

2- 3' x 3' or so- not an exact science

3- establish, than a couple recharges through the summer

4- off of high traffic trails. If its out there they will find it, but I like a spot that there will be deer moving through often and can stop and check it out on their way in and out.

[skee0025]

1 part Di-Calcium phosphate

2 parts Trace mineral salt, the red loose kind without medications

1 part stock salt/ice cream salt.

Directions:

use a coffee can to use as your measure.

mix all together well but not until ready to use. keep ingredients separate until ready to use

dig or tear a circle in the soil about 36 inches wide and 6 inches deep and add your mineral mix to the soil.

replenish in 6 months with fresh minerals, then each year there after

[rocstar]

Get going early with spring to early summer. That's when the deer really want the salt, expecially bucks. Even if you just set out a block on a trail. If there are deer in the area they will find it and make new trails.

We like to set blocks out in the late winter as it seems like we never get back out in the woods once spring comes. After Sept 1 the bucks seem to really drop off. A salt block should easily last six months.

[sticknstring]

If the homemade recipe listed above doesn't suit your fancy, you can get the same results from a $17 Trophy Rock or a $6 white salt block. Put it out on a stump or even the ground and they'll find it. No better place during the summer to have a trail camera to inventory the deer herd!

[Fever]

Do a Google Search on Lucky Buck Mineral. I firmly believe it is the best product on the market bar none. I use it on multiple sites in 3 different areas of the state. One bucket lasts for a couple months. Deer frequent the sites and it allows for good pics.

I stand by Lucky Buck and will continue to use it. 16-18.00 dollars a bucket and deer do not over eat the stuff like they do so many other products.

[skee0025]

I looked it up, for a little more than your paying for a 20 lb bucket, you can make around 10x the amount. Give it a shot, what will it cost you vs. what you can save for the same result. If your feeling creative you can even mix in dried molasses to give a little something extra. I use it and when I first started I just poured it out straight on to the ground with no prep. The deer ate a hole in the ground.

[Fever]

I like the idea of saving money don't get me wrong. I'd like to know how to make 200lb of mineral for a bit over 20 bucks. I haven't seen the Calcium phosphate or the NaCl on sale at farm supply stores for that cheep. I've looked. Also the dried molasses seems to be tougher to find than the liquid stuff. For the peace of mind / confidence and proven track record I think I'll stay with Lucky Buck. Although - I think I'd enjoy making my own. So I may look into it and see if it works - just for fun. I've also used the Rack Rock and some buck licker's bricks along side the Lucky buck sites just to add some variety. Also make a few of my own little treats. In an empty 1/2 gallon milk jug - pour two lb of table salt. I mix in a little oat meal, cherry kool-aid powder, corn meal, corn, sunflower seeds - Then pour two 12 oz container of full flavor Molasses into container. The molasses slowly sinks into the salt and within a week or so it turns into a brown solid. I then hang the bottle about 2-3 feet above ground by a hook or a bungy cord and cut the bottom of jug off with knife so deer can have access to the mixture as it slowly seeps down the bottle. Anyway... Been using Lucky Buck in a couple spots now for 2 years. Talk about deer eating a hole into the ground... One of my original sites is about a 5x6 oval about 8-12 inches deep.

[midwesthunter]

I second Skee0025's recipe.

1 part Di-Calcium phosphate

2 parts Trace mineral salt, the red loose kind without medications

1 part stock salt/ice cream salt.

I've been using this recipe for about 3 years now with good results. A 3'x3' area should be plenty. I think a mineral site works a little better in an area that has soil on the wetter side. I'd refresh it about once a month in the spring and summer. Once fall comes around the deer don't use the minerals as much.

Fleet Farm will have all the ingredients you need for about $50-$60.

[PerchJerker]

This home-made deer mineral recipe is a pet peeve of mine .....

This recipe is 3 parts salt and 1 part dicalcium phosphate .... dicalcium phosphate is less than 30% calcium and is not even included in a lot of the commercial deer antler mineral mixes sold ...... this home-made mineral recipe is really just ..... salt.

They only reason the deer are using this "mineral" is because it is essentially all salt. They crave salt because of the huge amounts of water and phosphorous they consume in their diet in spring and summer.

If you want to put out a salt lick or even deer minerals then go for it, I do it on 2 sites on my property. Just don't fool yourself into thinking that this recipe is doing anything more than giving them just salt. It is an attractant and nothing more.

The trace mineralized salt and/or water softener salt pellets will do the same thing .......

Your mileage my vary

[klecker]

Understanding the total benefits of Dicalcium Phosphate will remove the pet peeve.

I have been using the above recipe for four years now. I deleted the rock salt out of it.

I charge it once a year, in the spring as soon as the ground thaws.

[McGurk]

I started using the 3-part recipe stated above this year, both to draw some animals in and to give my camera a workout. Whether the DiCal works or not, I have a bunch of stunted bucks around our property and am going to give it a shot. I know it's not a one year result, but I guess I thought it was worth a shot. I understand it in that the salt brings them in, and the minerals are just taken in along with the salt. After a lick has been established, can you cut the salt on the refreshings?

[skee0025]

Dicalcium phosphate is used primarily as dairy cattle feed additive and other animal feeds. It promotes feed digestion, weight gain, and milk production, which is obviously beneficial to a lactating doe deer. Dicalcium phosphate contains roughly between 18 and 21 percent phosphorus and 19 to 23 percent calcium.

Hardened antlers contain 40 to 50 percent organic matter from mostly proteins while the most abundant minerals consist of calcium and phosphorus. The demands for these minerals on a daily basis can be significant for antler production.

In addition, a lactating doe's milk contains high percentages of both calcium and phosphorus to pass on to their young, also causing a significant mineral drain on the doe. What makes all this significant is the fact that phosphorous cannot be synthesized by the body so it must be provided in needed levels in the animals diet. This is where a mineral mix such as this could be very valuable if an area is lacking in these naturally.

[slimngrizzly]

I use a Trophy Rock, Lucky Buck, AND the three part recipe! SO THERE!

Actually I do use bulk bagged salt and trace mineral but have never tried the Di-Cal. I WILL be adding it in to my arsenal this week based on some of the points you guys have made. I guess as long as its not bad for the deer, what a guy got to loose?

The deer in my area seem to grow very well. You get the odd buck with poor genes (i assume) but over all theres often times extrodinary growth up to 4 1/2 IMO. It would be SO fun and interseting to know how much our feeding and supplementing efforts actually impact the antler growth! What is each bucks true potential? Questions I really wish I had all the answers too. Until then I will keep dumping and planting whatever I think may put an extra inch on!

[Bear55]

If you want to keep it super simple you can do fine with the 50 lbs salt blocks too. Place on a stump or just about anywhere in the woods ant he deer will find them and pound them. And they only cost $5 and last all year, sometimes multiple years.

[Crow Hunter]

I have used the three part recipe, the last few years I have just bought a mineral block designed for deer and put it on a stump. They have the stump polished, pic attached.

[slimngrizzly]

I went and picked up a bag of the di-cal friday. Im adding that in now. Im expecting to see much larger deer in the upcoming months and years because of this.

Funny thing, I called the elevator in one town and it was $66 for a 50lb bag! Thinking that was insane, I called the next one on the list and got the same thing for $23.

[McGurk]

Yep, lots of variation on pricing. I was able to get mine in Battle Lake coop for a decent price, all 4) 50 lb bags for around $45 (2- trace mineral salt, 1-stock salt, 1-diCal). I'll be getting the same package mid summer for a refresher. I like all of the rain that we have been getting since mid-May, as that will help "dig it in" to establish the sites.

[PerchJerker]

There is a lot of research out there on deer mineral supplements, and if they actually help or not. One that comes up a lot was done by Penn State in the 1950's, another one that comes up a lot was done years later in Texas and changed some of the things done in the Penn State study.

The conclusion on deer minerals from researchers and biologists is always the same ..... there is no proof that they help deer, and there is no proof that they harm the deer, and salt is an attractant so if you have salt in your minerals the deer will use them more.

The one thing that HAS been proven to improve body size, antler size, and the overall health of the deer is BETTER NUTRITION. Planting food plots for deer, fertilizing properly, and managing your native habitat will definitely improve the health and size of your deer.

The studies on deer mineral supplements show that deer get all the minerals they need from a proper, nutritious diet.

Salt is just an attractant and is the only reason they eat the di-cal or whatever other minerals you're using.

For cattle, mineral studies have shown that mineral supplements do actually grow bigger cattle and get them to produce more milk. But that is for cattle, not for deer.

Somewhere along the line a lot of deer hunters decided that if minerals worked for cattle they must work for deer too. But the studies done by researchers and biologists show that they really don't work the same way for deer.

I do salt licks and mineral licks on my own hunting property, but I am convinced they are an attractant only and aren't doing anything to help the deer herd. I think my food plots and my fertilizer and my habitat improvement projects are helping the deer herd, and other wildlife as well.

Again, your mileage may vary

And if you really do want big bucks there is only 1 way to get them ..... don't shoot the young bucks, let them grow up until they're at least 4.5 years old.

[slimngrizzly]

I would agree 99% Perch... the only thing I feel differently about is you say you're convinced mineral supplements DONT help the deer. I guess I wouldn't waste my time or money, but I believe that they DONT hurt the deer. Im just looking for anyway to grow an inch (or not loose one), and actually attracting deer for better picture taking opportunity is certainly a bonus!

Obviously, no supplement is going to take the place of "years of life". Gotta feed them good and let them age!

[countyline]

Pic of the above three part recipe

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