Backcountry attractant?

[Antlershed]

Anybody tried the Wildgame Innovations Apple Crush? I've heard the Whitetail in NE WA love it, but wondering about Elk?

[mburrows]

Weve used just about every attractant for trail cams and i think weve had good results with just about all of them. Now we just go with 50lbs of trace mineral with selenium or salt. Most economical and works great. Also a good workout hauling those bags around!

[Antlershed]

Weve used just about every attractant for trail cams and i think weve had good results with just about all of them. Now we just go with 50lbs of trace mineral with selenium or salt. Most economical and works great. Also a good workout hauling those bags around!

For places where hauling in a 50lb bag isn't realistic, how much salt is adequate for a 2-3 week soak?

[mburrows]

I would put out at least 5 - 10lbs. From what ive experienced, it can take a couple days for more than just two or three animals to start showing up regularly.

[Bango skank]

Weve used just about every attractant for trail cams and i think weve had good results with just about all of them. Now we just go with 50lbs of trace mineral with selenium or salt. Most economical and works great. Also a good workout hauling those bags around!

For places where hauling in a 50lb bag isn't realistic, how much salt is adequate for a 2-3 week soak?

One of the 4lb bricks is more than enough for a few weeks.  Just bring another each time you check the cam until a few are piled up.  This is the kind i use.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00JTFVCWM/ref=mp_s_a_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1466647604&sr=8-25&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=equine+selenium

That particular link is for 30.  I pick them up at the feed store, anywhere from  $2.50 to $4 each.

[hogslayer]

I huffed back a 50 lb salt lick 4.5 miles for getting some elk on cameras.  If you can't carry 50 lbs to where you are going to be hunting, then you shouldn't be hunting that far.  Your going to be carrying a lot more than that if you kill something.

[Bango skank]

I huffed back a 50 lb salt lick 4.5 miles for getting some elk on cameras.  If you can't carry 50 lbs to where you are going to be hunting, then you shouldn't be hunting that far.  Your going to be carrying a lot more than that if you kill something.

Its not about cant, its about why do it if its unnecessary?  No pack frame necessary.  You can carry a 4lb brick in a light day pack.

[jasnt]

Plus when you get older you tend to save your knees for the pack out

[Antlershed]

I huffed back a 50 lb salt lick 4.5 miles for getting some elk on cameras.  If you can't carry 50 lbs to where you are going to be hunting, then you shouldn't be hunting that far.  Your going to be carrying a lot more than that if you kill something.

Not all miles are created equal. My pack will be 40lbs before I add any salt blocks. Why would I want a 90lb pack 7.5 miles to go set trail cameras?

[Bango skank]

I huffed back a 50 lb salt lick 4.5 miles for getting some elk on cameras.  If you can't carry 50 lbs to where you are going to be hunting, then you shouldn't be hunting that far.  Your going to be carrying a lot more than that if you kill something.

Not all miles are created equal. My pack will be 40lbs before I add any salt blocks. Why would I want a 90lb pack 7.5 miles to go set trail cameras?

When im hiking a 12 mile loop to get to 3 cameras i guess i should load 150lbs of salt on my back, in addition to the other crap im carrying. 

[Antlershed]

I huffed back a 50 lb salt lick 4.5 miles for getting some elk on cameras.  If you can't carry 50 lbs to where you are going to be hunting, then you shouldn't be hunting that far.  Your going to be carrying a lot more than that if you kill something.

Not all miles are created equal. My pack will be 40lbs before I add any salt blocks. Why would I want a 90lb pack 7.5 miles to go set trail cameras?

When im hiking a 12 mile loop to get to 3 cameras i guess i should load 150lbs of salt on my back, in addition to the other crap im carrying. 

Well, yeah, don't be a wuss. 

[hogslayer]

just speaking from experience.  A 4lb salt lick wouldn't last very long at all for an attractant.  Maybe we are different, but when I go "back country" my pack weighs more than 50 lbs, so why not make a practice run during the summer to test your physical fitness?  Not try to see who is tougher than who, just a good idea to see what you could be getting yourself into.  I tried the 4lb show once and the salt lick got kicked away and eaten in 4 days. 

[browney5er]

just speaking from experience.  A 4lb salt lick wouldn't last very long at all for an attractant.  Maybe we are different, but when I go "back country" my pack weighs more than 50 lbs, so why not make a practice run during the summer to test your physical fitness?  Not try to see who is tougher than who, just a good idea to see what you could be getting yourself into.  I tried the 4lb show once and the salt lick got kicked away and eaten in 4 days.

After reading all the posts on here and all of the great ideas and success people have had, I can't imagine putting a 50lb block in my pack with all the other options out there. As far as seeing what I'm getting myself into, I like everybody else on here including yourself should already know what your getting yourself into. I know when I'm packing out an animal it's not the most enjoyable time in my life but once you hit the truck there's no better feeling and no more feeling of accomplishment. I can't imagine feeling that same satisfaction from Carrying a 50lb block of salt.

[emac]

just speaking from experience.  A 4lb salt lick wouldn't last very long at all for an attractant.  Maybe we are different, but when I go "back country" my pack weighs more than 50 lbs, so why not make a practice run during the summer to test your physical fitness?  Not try to see who is tougher than who, just a good idea to see what you could be getting yourself into.  I tried the 4lb show once and the salt lick got kicked away and eaten in 4 days.

After reading all the posts on here and all of the great ideas and success people have had, I can't imagine putting a 50lb block in my pack with all the other options out there. As far as seeing what I'm getting myself into, I like everybody else on here including yourself should already know what your getting yourself into. I know when I'm packing out an animal it's not the most enjoyable time in my life but once you hit the truck there's no better feeling and no more feeling of accomplishment. I can't imagine feeling that same satisfaction from Carrying a 50lb block of salt.

Part of packing in the 50lbs for baiting IMO is part of the whole hunting success. So when you get that big buck or big bull on camera then it is worth it. And then if you get the bull or buck then all the preseason work paid of and that's when you really feel your work paid off. It's when you pack 50lbs in and check the cam a month later and nothing is on it that is when it gets frustrating.

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[treeclimber2852]

Just to drop in my 2 cents - what do animals do when there aren't dedicated hunters hauling in minerals for them to get at (whether it be 4lbs or 50)?  They find it- and normally its in the dirt, most likely the tailings of an old glacier.  I carry in the crushed trophy rock stuff...and I carry anywhere from 10 - 20 lbs.  Sometimes I take in black magic, sometimes I don't.  The bottom line is, you want it to soak into the soil.  I put a 50lb salt block out at a tree line 10 years ago in South Carolina.  The deer would come and lick it, yes, but after 3 years, the block was gone.  To this day, they still come back and paw at the ground, so much so, they have made a large depression in the ground that is constantly muddy.  You want the mineral to soak into the ground and create that long-lasting mineral site.  4lbs can maybe do some of that, but only if it soaks in before it gets picked up and hauled off.  If you're just trying to get an animal to stop and let you take a picture, not really caring to hunt that exact spot during the season, then yes, the block will do it's job, but that's probably it.