salt blocks

I may have said salt blocks, I don't remember.
The conversation was probably 8 or 10 years ago.
Now you guys have me intrigued about the salt solution in the ground, or a stump. Purely for curiosity and research, of course.
 
You fellas have all heard of Deer Cocaine right? In this area it is very popular with hunters and the deer love it.
The stuff is rediculously expensive for a small bag but the reality is that it is a rip-off! Deer Cocaine is actually just MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) the same salt derivitave that they use on Chinese food and many other prepared foods.
You can buy a big bag of MSG from restaraunt suppliers for about 1/10th the price of a bag af deer cocaine. The only difference is that it does not have a picture of a nice big buck on the front of the bag!
I am not advocating using this stuff, its just for your own information!
Quite a few years ago I had a couple of bags of softener salt in the basement that got wet and I did not want to use them in my water softener.
I dumped them back on the property where I have a feeder... the deer were on it immediately and actually ate the dirt for years afterward!
 
A picture of a 3 year old salt lick approx. 7 feet long , 5 feet wide and over a foot deep .
April2106202.jpg
 
the keepa said:
A picture of a 3 year old salt lick approx. 7 feet long , 5 feet wide and over a foot deep .
April2106202.jpg
Click to expand...



wow that is one huge hole.....it almost looks like one of them moose piss holes...what type of tracks are around the hole?
 
I do use salt licks as a deer attractant, have been doing so for years, and if I may judge by the depth and width of the holes where the salt blocks have been, the deer like them too.........

Doug
 
fogducker said:
wow that is one huge hole.....it almost looks like one of them moose piss holes...what type of tracks are around the hole?
Click to expand...
Mostly different sizes of deer tracks, although I have also seen a few moose tracks. Noticed some wolf scat near the edge of the lick....I hope there haven't been some fawns caught up in that foot-deep mud .
Like Demonical said ....there are deep game trails heading into/out of the lick like spokes on a wheel .
 
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Gibbs505 said:
Being beside it is quite freaky!! Mayby a pair of pants as well!!
Click to expand...
The Tilly-style hat wasn't meant to be "freaky" :)...was meant as a scale for the pit . The hat is 12 inches in diameter .
The lick was started, about 3 or 4 years ago, in early spring on bare clay ground, using water softener salt . In the spring of /05 the above Mineral Mix recipe was used(supposed to be better for bone/antler mass and to help does with their young-uns[especially in the spring]) to refreshen the lick.
I think it works better to start with pure salt then switch to the Mineral Mix after the lick has become well established .
I've seen lots of deer at various salt licks, have yet to shoot one over a lick ...at least I can't recall any ....but it does add another benefit for the deer in an area that has good feed , good water and excellent deer terrain (thick swamps , open areas, heavy timber etc.) .
 
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Levi, anwered your question.


I will add , Yes a salt block can help the deer in the area. It will keep them around and help promote a safe zone for them. As for hunting over them , save your money because deer will only use them in the early spring as Doe needs salts for fawning. Bucks will use them very little as well for antler growth. They also use them in the summer when the weather heats them up and they start to lose salts in their body. Deer stop using salts in early September here when the weather cools and by hunting season they are stopped. Another note is that in the early spring they will use White Salt blocks over colour as the colour has idine in them for cattle.

When it comes to blocks they can be set on the ground , but I like to put them on a steel fence stake 2.5 feet off the ground. The deer will lick right from the salt block and not dig the area. The reason they dig the areas is that the salt content runs out and they are after any remaining salt that has gone into the ground.

I have seen this for 8 years as I have a Block set in my front yard and have watched it for that time. I also go through 2 blocks a year.

Hope that helps.

SaltDeer.jpg


...BT
 
Thanks JYC
I could reach it, but couldn't post it
Since the picture was taken the lick has become deeper, wider and longer.
I've made a few trips out there this summer to refreshen the lick...we had so much rain this year that the salt gets diluted quickly.
Next time I'm out I'll take the camera so I can post some updated pictures.
Gotta go out also to rebrush some shooting lanes .
 
the keepa said:
Thanks JYC
I could reach it, but couldn't post it
Since the picture was taken the lick has become deeper, wider and longer.
I've made a few trips out there this summer to refreshen the lick...we had so much rain this year that the salt gets diluted quickly.
Next time I'm out I'll take the camera so I can post some updated pictures.
Gotta go out also to rebrush some shooting lanes .
Click to expand...

keepa....................if you have spare time the week before and the first week of moose hunt..drop up cedar narrows road for a pint:cheers:
 
Thanks for the invite .
I have hunted and fished in that area about 15-20 years ago ....lots of bush roads then ....prolly lots more now .
I'll see if I can talk my Newfie buddy into going for a ride down there....we mostly moose hunt off/on the various roads past Bear Narrows(if we hunt south of Dryden)....only have calf licenses .
 
When I clicked the link for the mix, I got a malicious software download warning for that site.
As such, I trusted my protective measures, opened another browser, and cut and pasted the formula below so nobody gets hit with whatever is, or is not, at that site.

Whitetail deer mineral mix recipe

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]WHITETAIL DEER HOMEMADE MINERAL MIX RECIPE[/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica] Ingredients: Makes 200 lbs. for about $23.00[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica] 1 part Di-calcium phosphate, this is a dairy feed additive bought at feed stores.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Comes in 50lb Bags at around $11.00 you need one bag.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica] 2 parts Trace mineral salt, the red and loos kind without the medications.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Comes in 50lb Bags at around $5.00 you need two bags.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica] 1 part Stock salt, ice cream salt.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Comes in 50lb Bags at around $2.00 you need one bag.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica] Directions:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica] -Use a 3 pound or similar size coffee can to use as your measure for each part of the mix.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica] -Mix all together well but not until read to use, keep ingredients separate until ready to put to use.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica] -Dig or tear up a circle in the soil about 36 inches wide and about 6 inches deep.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica] -Mix your mineral mixture with the soil.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica] Maintenance:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica] -Replenish in 6 months with fresh supply of mineral, and then each year there after.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]MISSOURI SPORTSMEN'S INFORMATION NETWORK[/FONT]
 
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