All right, so now you know what the benefits are of supplementing minerals to deer but you may be wondering how to make a site.
1. Find a general location
First thing you are going to need to do is find a location that deer frequent. What I mean by this is find a place that deer activily use throughout the week, such as near a water source, feeding area etc...
You want to make sure you've found a spot that gets frequented throughout the week consistantly and has a good amount of brush and cover to make sure the critters feel comfortable in that area during the day.
2. look for a tree for your game cam
Although this may sound silly, there are many instances where I have dumped out some mineral or attractant and overlooked the very important detail of where to place the cam. Because of this, I have had to improvise causing the pictures to not turn out as well.
To prevent this, I always put my camera up first, and then make a mineral lick.
3. Putting out the mineral
Now that you've got your spot picked out and you have the cam up, it's time to make your mineral lick.
Now there are many different places you can put you mineral site on. I prefer a stump, but I have a site that is just on top of the dirt as well. It really depends on your personal preference. I like the stump better because as the stump decomposes, the deer will be able to consume the salt enriched rotting material. If you put it on the soil directly, most of the salt and mineral will leach in to the ground and may make the deer less interested in it if it isn't easily accessible to them.
Since I use both, I'll explain both situations.
When putting mineral on a stump it is important to make sure the wood is rotten enough to hold together for a couple more years but still not be too hard as to not absorb the mineral. Typically I'll scrape the ground surrounding the stump and pour a little around it.
When you make a mineral lick directly on the soil, it's important to pick a spot that won't wash away the salt, and is not sandy so that the mineral doesn't leach down fast as it typically does in sandier soils. After you have found a spot like this, then pour about 5-10 lbs of your mineral over the location and mix it in a little.
Now that you know how to make a mineral lick you may be wondering what mineral to pick. Most commercial deer minerals work, but I would go with cattle mineral over most deer mineral. First, cattle mineral has a higher content of mineral and since cattle and deer are both in the same general family. When you are picking a mineral, try not to pick a product that has a ppm of selenium that is higher than 10. The reason is selenium is toxic to deer if they have to much, and since it is already in the soil, they receive all they need from what they eat.
What I am using this year is American Stock-man Trace mineral loose salt. It has six minerals which help keep the overall health of the animal. Since it's only $10 for a 50 lb bag it is a lot cheaper than most other deer mineral and works just the same.
Now don't get me wrong here, I am not saying that deer mineral products are junk, just be wary. They may be selling you something you could pick up at you local feed store for way more than it's worth. One product I have tried with some decent success is Trophy Rock. It is mined in the US, completely natural and contains a little over 60 trace minerals that help improve over all deer health.
Well that's that! Thanks for reading,
-Jeremy
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