Views on minerals

[dadeo316]

Has anyone used trophy rock?

Yes! Used one in front of my trail cam until it got stolen along with my treestand.  The rock appealed to everything from deer to mama bear with cubs and even a coyote.  The salt seems to melt into the ground too.  Even when the rock was gone the deer would come in and scrape the ground. 

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Im on the wetside too.

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[HunterofWA]

Cool. Glad some one else is having success with trophy rock too!

[HunterofWA]

Seems like you have some unrealistic expectations as far as being able to get a bigger class of bucks by putting down the "right" mineral.  Youre really not going to see a noticable increase in antlers.  If you want bigger racked bucks, they need to get older.  Really just put down some trace mineralized selenium salt.  A little extra calcium isnt going to perform a magic trick on the antlers.

Sorry for keeping this thread going...  but does trace mineral salt contain any other  minerals? if so, what kind?

[HunterofWA]

So who else has had success with purina antler max water sheiled deer 16 pellets? Does anyone know if there apple flavored?

[HunterofWA]

I think I'd use that for trail cam surveys. What I'm really wondering is if the Red edge goat mineral would work. Like if it can be poured on the ground, is is safe for the deer...

I personally wouldn't spend $17.99 on a 25 pound bag of something that might work when I can get a 50 pound bag of trace mineral salt with selenium for $9 that I can personally guarantee works better than probably pretty much anything. The only thing I've found is that their effectiveness is a little bit based on geography. I don't think the salts and minerals work as well on the west side of the state.

The thing that gets me interested in it is that it contains about 4.00% calcium... which promotes antler growth.

If you want something that promotes antler growth get 40lb bag of Purina antler max for $16.  I have been putting it out at my place for the past couple of years and have noticed a big difference. I go through a bag a week, 15 bags a spring/summer so it gets expensive but what can you do.

Are you using it on black-tails?

I will almost guarantee you that lots of other things will work better than salt and minerals in Western Washington. The soils are a lot more salt and mineral rich on this side than the dry side. The animals don't crave it much over here.  Over there, they'll dig craters in the ground to get the minerals that have leeched into the soil. I haven't seen my camera sites in a couple years now, but I'll bet there are holes in the ground where that salt was dumped.
I have a couple cameras in the Gifford Pinchot that have been out and unchecked since last August. It will be interesting to see what is on those cards. Nothing in front of the cameras but trace mineral salt w/ the selenium.

You should go check those cams' it would be interesting to see what showed up. I can't wait that long to check my camera

[JakeLand]

If you just want something to bring them in for your trail cam, I've found this to be the best.

 Works real good on blacktails! Just make sure you pour it under a big thick canopy that way it doesn't wash out quickly

[HunterofWA]

Thanks! i might give that a shot!

[JakeLand]

The buck jam Apple liquid ! They had a hole
Scraped out you could put a couple bales of hay in they were loving it

[Antlershed]

I've used the 50lb trace mineral block here on the Westside and had deer, elk, bears, and even a coyote stop and check it out all on the same set.

[HunterofWA]

I think I'll use a trophy rock and this trace mineral selinium salt https://www.farmstore.com/product/trace-mineral-loose-salt-with-selenium-90-50-lb/

[fish vacuum]

HunterofWA, I couldn't post pics in a PM, so here's some old pics of the hole the deer have made going after the buck jam. Just one quart a month during spring and summer.

[nwwanderer]

Some considerations:
Selenium is very low in the inland northwest, at the very least salt w/selenium (needed in very small quantities but essential)
Most years A,D,E are very low late summer through winter, not so much this year, fall rain
If you are feeding grain calcium is important, it is high in Phosphorous and you need more Ca than P
Nearly all branded supplements are very expensive for content
Most years, most situations, your efforts have little or no effect beyond your satisfaction of seeing the critters