Spring Mineral Sites

[Markus]

Who's getting their spring mineral sites prepped?

I got out about 10 days ago and set up the first 2 of our mineral sites. I've had great success with Rack Stakers "Blaze" and "Glory" powder mixes. We've played around with sites for over 5 years now and the best set up has been old punky logs. We soak the mineral into the logs and the deer chew them for months. I got these 2 spots set up early so the wet spring would help soak the mineral into the wood.





I'll give these 2 sites a look next weekend. It's a bit early yet, but the deer may be trickling back into their summer/fall ranges. May and June are the best months for us.

Looking forward to getting a couple more sites set up that weekend as well.

[ShawnD]

Nice!
And so it begins, looking forward to your posts.

[Out4trout]

Good stuff Markus
I switched to a different mineral this year. I use blocks, either on the ground or on a tree stump. Set on a hummock and the deer eat the mineral and eventually the dirt under the block, some years we hollow out a tree stump and set the block on the stump. Have only one out for 1 week now, in another week will be starting the 2nd site.

[toddc]

this is prime time for salt blocks, the does need high salt content for the birthing time,they will stay at your sites all year as it becomes a safe spot for fawns, which in turn bring the bucks in come the fall

[Markus]

This is the log in the second picture. It use to extend out an additional 15-20' but the deer and other critters have eaten it over the last 5 years.



We normally set up mineral sites on deer trails so they can find it easier. This one is one of teh few remote spots we set up. It doesnt get a lot of traffic. We get a few deer at it every year and to be honest, the only reason we keep it going is because there's a nice buck here thats been tending it since he was a fawn with his mother. We're really hoping to get a look at him so we know he made it through the winter. He was a decent buck last year, but he should be a great buck this year.

Here's who we're looking for at that site. He should show up early May.

[Markus]

It's been a few weeks, and I was excited to check the cams. I wasnt expecting much to be honest. These 2 sites are located in areas that deer use more in the summer/fall and activity is determined by which deer have filtered back into the area from their winter/spring ranges.

Nothing was around our small food plot or the mineral site beside the plot. There were a few fresh deer tracks on the trails leading to and from....so this tells me they are interested in other food sources at this time.

The next mineral site had a dozen pics of a small buck that had recently found th mineral and had been hitting the last 3 or 4 nights. I dont believ he's the 10pt we're looking for....i think its the small spike we had there last year.



I picked up a mineral block to play with. We dont have much luck with the blocks....but i wanted to try this one. I buried it into the ground so it was level with the surface. I put it right on a known deer trail. Even if they dont get on it, I'm hoping it'll be enough for them to stop for a couple pictures.



We'll check these sites out in a couple weeks and we have 1 more site to set up this year.

[Markus]

I'm pretty sure the small buck in the above post on the right is this spike/forkie we had living there last year.



It could be a new young buck that filtered into the area, but i doubt it. This mineral site isnt on a trail and my bet is a deer familiar with its location is tending it.

[CBB]

Want something that works great and is easy on the pocket book, Water Softener Salt. Pour it into a stump or hole in the ground and they will lick the stump and dig up the ground. Works great as no chemicals and all natural.

[Markus]

Want something that works great and is easy on the pocket book, Water Softener Salt. Pour it into a stump or hole in the ground and they will lick the stump and dig up the ground. Works great as no chemicals and all natural.

We've used it before and had good results. My only issue with it is there's no micro nutrients and trace minerals in it. We're big believers in the concept of limiting factors which states that maximum growth/potential is controlled not by the total amount of resources available, but by the scarcest resource.

[bradford2]

I put out 5 sites back mid April. Some day soon I'll donate some blood and go check em. All 5 are new sites, so we will see if there's any activity.
I love that brand of blocks, but always use the sugar beet crush. Every one of my mineral sites has one.
Looking forward to following the hellbear reports this year!

[fatluke]

This is great Mark.

Something I really need to do now that I have property.

[jshow89]

I spent the winter doing some online reading, and found a mix for a diy mineral spot, all stuff I bought from ritchies feed and seed, produced nearly 150lbs to put out in different spots all for about the cost of 2 bags of the name brand stuff, I'm gonna watch it and put the cameras up, if it works I'll deff share the recipe on here!

[bradford2]

I spent the winter doing some online reading, and found a mix for a diy mineral spot, all stuff I bought from ritchies feed and seed, produced nearly 150lbs to put out in different spots all for about the cost of 2 bags of the name brand stuff, I'm gonna watch it and put the cameras up, if it works I'll deff share the recipe on here!

Did they have the di-calcium phosphate there? Curious to know how much it was a bag...

[Markus]

We've transitioned our spring mineral cams to deer hunting sites now. We had 1 new mineral site fail and we had a busy spring at our faithfull mineral site...and accomplished what we wanted. We wanted to monitor the big buck from last year and we got loads of pics of him.



He's got our attention and is target number one at this point. We hunted him last year but he gave us the slip on a few occasions...and earned his nickname "The Slip". lol Here's pics of him from the same day ovr the last 3 years. He's matured into a nice deer.



We're hoping he'll hang around during the early season and make a mistake. Once he goes into rut, he'll start traveling and we'll see him less and less.