Mineral Lick Update

Here's the site I always recommend for this sort of thing:

http://fw.ky.gov/mineral.asp

I know the guy who wrote a bunch of these pages. I hunt with his Dad.




Just to give you an update on my mineral lick progress: My last refresh was before Memorial Day. I had refreshed two existing licks, restarted one old lick and tried one new location on my 200 acres. The experimental lick was a zip. So was the old one that I had abandoned two years ago, but the two well-established licks were and are being hammered. The two major licks I maintain have been there since at least 2002. They take half of what they used to in order to maintain them. This is due to the build-up of residual salt in the ground. Eventually, the licks will not need refreshing at all. There will be enough salt in the ground that it will continue to leech for a number of years .

I used to think that location was fairly unimportant, but then I started experimenting. Of the first 4 I started in 2001, 1 was seriously utilized. Of the second batch of 4, only 1 was seriously utilized. After that, I have been hard-pressed to find new locations that the deer will use on a regular basis. I find this interesting. What the two major licks I have on the place have in common is that they are on level ground, under the forest canopy, next to known travel routes. The major flops have been on hillsides, out in the open, or too close to the house. I have one more lick site that I am planning on activating next Spring.

My conclusions so far:

* If you give the deer a choice, they will make one. The are not indiscriminant in their choice of licks. There are only so many a given location will support.
* If you have a lick that is not producing, try moving it before giving up entirely. The best spots to locate them are near the highways between known bedding and known feeding areas.
* The deer will tell you when they have enough licks.
* Late summer into Fall is the absolute worst time to start a lick. Late Winter into Late Spring is a better time. If your refresh after August 1, you are leaving salt for next Spring.
* All the extra mineral you put into a lick beyond the rock salt does nothing to aid in the attraction of the deer. The deer are after the salt, and are willing to put up with the other additives. They treat it the way a kid takes medicine. Given the choice between salt and mineral and plain salt, they'll gravitate to the pure salt.
* Burying rock salt is the way to go. You use far less salt and get a much bigger effect than blocks. I've done blocks, stumps, fancy preparations, you name it. Pure rock salt or water conditioner pellets are the way to go.


Lastly: Never expect to be successful hunting over a lick during normal deer seasons. Deer have generally lost their fascination with salt long before most modern seasons start. What you are doing is habituating the does to a given area. Once they get used to using the trails around the lick, they will continue to use them into the Fall and Winter. I have two stands near my best licks. In 8 seasons I have witnessed a total of two visits to the licks during October and November. I have also used trail cams at the lick sites. Yes, they do bring in bucks, but I hardly ever see the same bucks licking as I see out there come season.