Has anyone had luck using salt licks or mineral sites during hunting? I can’t say that I see more deer hunting over mineral sites, but I can tell you from experience it helps to bring and hold more deer. And the Whitetail deer you have around, these bucks’ horns will definitely benefit and be larger! Well, I think the studies show "larger" in a sense of almost unmeasurable. It's one of those things you do for "fun" and out of principle, but the land in Kentucky probably provides all the mineral wild deer herds need.
Some tricks I’ve done on my Kentucky deer hunting ranch:
1)Pulled out large rotten 15’ logs and placed them on the edge of many food plots. This method serves a few different purposes. First, I enjoy visually seeing this tactic. I enjoy the big holes all around the log the deer make while digging and eating up the molasses that dripped on the ground. It reminds me (and my hunters) there are plenty of deer around. It’s just neat to see the little things that makes your Kentucky deer hunting Outfitter project that much more well-rounded. Nobody sees how much fertilizer and how many times you add lime over the years; they don’t see all the cash you pealed out for a bulldozer and all the fruit trees you planted that failed, etc. This is one of those management techniques you say and feel good about.
2)In addition to pulling out the logs, I placed them in spots where I can mount cameras and be able to monitor which sections of the log they are focusing most of deers attention on. I pour 3 different deer hunting attractants on the log. Wow! Some of this stuff smells so good I want to drink it! Anyway, my favorites have been a C’meere Deer liquid, Molasses and a stump licker. The differences seem to be marginal between the 3. Either way, it’s a fun technique for me to continually monitor and make judgments bases upon the hole dug and how much the log is chewed up in each section. It also creates mineral sites on the ground from the overflow (50%).
3)Wal-Mart has been selling small $10 Trophy Rocks. I’ll put one of those out for the Kentucky bow hunters to see. I think it gives them a warm fuzzy feeling, but it’s real value is instilling confidence and the amount of time Kentucky hunters will stay in their stands.
4)My last fun thing I do is to spread 50 pound salt bags along the edge of a stagnant water pond. I like look at the deer tracks in the mud and attempting to name the deer based upon their hoof prints. Again, this is another rewarding whitetail management technique that you can visual observe the presence of Kentucky trophy deer.