Any of you guys mixing up any home brew mineral licks. Me and a buddy put out 2 1/2 tons of licks a couple of days ago. Have a few cameras on some of them and deer both doe and bucks are already hitting them. On new licks we started out with 50lbs and added 30 lbs to existing licks.

I usually put 200 lbs in a new mineral sites and in old ones every spring 2trace minerals one dical one rocksalt. then I'll put 50lbs trace minerals in it every 3 months or so until springtime again. theyll hit it so hard it'll look like a hog waller. put it in soil that doesnt drain easily preferably a spot that holds rain a few days after a rain and is close to fresh water dig a hole fill it up then mix the dirt back in

I usually add sulfer blocks to trace minerals in mine. Not sure how well it works but anything that supposedly helps keep ticks off is worth it. I do smash them with a maul or sledge. Get them out before the cwd makes them illegal.

I've used something like this before.

1 part Di-Calcium Phosphate
This is mainly used as a dairy feed additive and for livestock.
2 parts Trace mineral salt
Red and loose, non medicated.
1 part Stock salt
The same salt you use for making ice cream.

Directions:

Mix your mineral mixture together.
Dig a hole in the ground about 6 to 10 inches deep.
Pour your mixture into the hole. You can also use a tree stump and pour your mixture on and around.
Place your trail cam next to your salt lick to see what deer you are attracting.

Holy crap Muzzie how many acres do you manage to put 5000 lbs of mineral licks.

and only using 50lbs at a time

I have right at 1400 acres. I decided to increase the number of licks we have had in the past due to the fact that the farmer that leases 300 acres is not planning to plant soybeans this year. Typically we only work about 20 mineral sites. If I am going to invest time and money in the land, mineral licks are high on the list of priorities for me. I feel confident that is one of the key reasons we are able to produce quality bucks year and year out.

[quote=Skullworks]I've used something like this before.

1 part Di-Calcium Phosphate
This is mainly used as a dairy feed additive and for livestock.
2 parts Trace mineral salt
Red and loose, non medicated.
1 part Stock salt
The same salt you use for making ice cream.

This is the exact ratio that I have been using for years, but I use just regular 50lb bags of granulated salt as opposed to rock salt.

I will go back and add to each site twice before bow season opens. I didn't put out the entire 5000lbs at once, a little less than half of it (2000lbs)

This thread comes up so often it needs a sticky.

Lol agreed

There’s gonna be a lot of deer with HBP, CRD, ESRD and eventually on dialysis. Lol. All kidding aside we used dical, crushed trace mineral salt, plain white salt and grape koolaid. You can put a Volkswagen in the hole the second year.

Yes it does. And I always post my simple recipe , 1 part di-cal phosphate to 2 parts red trace mineral . No need to add anymore salt as the red trace mineral is about 90% salt. No need to add kool-aid, jello, pudding or anything else either.

From what I’ve seen through tracking across multiple counties and seeing a few noticeable difference across properties…….1) The soil type makes a big difference….the areas with black belt soil just grow bigger deer on average……..2) Age makes a big difference……Most deer being killed are 2-4 year olds and letting a deer reach 6-7 opens a whole new can of worms……..3) Only a fraction of the bucks actually have the potential to grow trophy racks and they’re the most targeted 3-4 year olds therefore few make it to an old age……4) Genetics in Alabama probably don’t vary a whole lot and play very little role except in a few select areas like Bankhead or maybe along the state line where other genetic sources overlap

I think the above factors are at the top of the pyramid when talking about growing quality deer…..age and passing the young bucks with the most potential being what really matters most. I do think minerals probably play some role though that we don’t fully understand. I actually think it may be the health of the does that matters just as much from this standpoint as “feeding” minerals to the bucks on your place. I think the maternal health of the doe herd is likely an overlooked factor in raising quality bucks that doesn’t get much attention. Just think about when your wife was pregnant with your kids and the importance placed on her maternal health and the long term effects it has on the off spring. The problem with this from a deer management perspective though is that the bucks born from your healthy does will likely not be the future bucks that call your property home unless you manage a really large property.

Also, from studies I’ve read in the past about supplemental feeding your deer…….the full impacts of feeding them is not actually seen until the second and really the third generations are born from does that are getting the additional supplements. I think the same the is probably true with minerals as well. Meaning that your not gonna start feeding or supplementing minerals this year and see much change in the deer that already exist. It will be after your existing does become a little more healthy while pregnant and have doe fawns born from mothers with excellent maternal health….and then those does have bucks fawns that the real benefits will be seen. It will be the bucks born in that third generation after feeding and mineral supplements have been supplied to the herd that will be the ones with a significantly increased potential to grow a trophy racks. The impacts of introducing feed to bucks that did not have quality maternal health while in the womb was pretty insignificant and I think the same would hold true with supplying minerals.

I have been using the minerals on this specific property for almost 20 years and if given the chance to reach maturity which several do, I feel certain the mineral sites have contributed to their development. It’s not unusual for a buck to reach 150’s if allowed to grow. I agree 100% with the effect on the doe especially while carrying fawns and lactating period. We have Praire soil on majority of the land and some of the places look like a ufo landed there.

I’m with you, don’t get me wrong…..It’s tough for me to believe that minerals have no benefits whatsoever…..but its just so hard for any of us to prove that they do beyond speculation and more importantly to be able to measure its impacts. There’s just so many other variables that have an effect on antler growth from year to year….deer to deer….property to property in a wild situation that its hard for us average joe hunters to isolate one factor like minerals and measure its impact. We hunters are bad about coming to the conclusions that we’re looking for and drawing conclusions that are far from being scientifically sound…..”We planted a few acres of summer plots this year and killed the biggest buck that’s ever been killed on the place….The summer plots definitely made the difference!!!”……Did they though?....I’m just making up an example with that but you see that same thought process play out with a lot of different products and whatnot. Would the 150’s on your place only be 130’s if the minerals were taken away? How much are those 150’s a result of great soil?

Like I said to start with though….I put them out just the same as y’all do so I’m in no way trying to say anyone is right or wrong for doing it. I’d just like to be able to put more definitive numbers on the real difference it makes and how much it varies from place to place due to changes in things like soil quality…..If I remember correctly, most of the studies suggest that it doesn't make a difference but I don't know if that's the whole truth to mineral licks. If nothing else it makes for a great place to get pictures.

They like powdered gatorade,I us it to jump start a feeding or mineral sight

this....we’re being discouraged from making/refreshing mineral sites in non-confirmed areas. won’t be long before we have a statewide feeding ban, here...which doesn’t hurt my feelings. hog trapping will have to be worked out, feed-wise.

Yep!