I have never had any luck with any mineral licks. I have had great luck with feed/corn. They seem to ignore the lick where I am at.
I start off or freshen a mineral site each year with a bag of granular mineral and then put a Trophy Rock on top of the area a month or so later and keep replacing throughout the year. The deer hit it often and hard.
I used the Trophy Rock last year but had 0 luck with it - I did put it out mid July so I am assuming that is my problem. I plan to buy a few Trophy Rocks and use them with Monster Raxx this season - Starting late March/Early April... Snow permitting.
I agree with above. I dont want to feed just salt but want to improve the deer herd health and antler growth. I use Monster Raxx and protein pellets.
Salt works great as an attractant, and a deer does require salt, much like your own body requires it. The problem with Trophy Rocks and the like is that they are so highly concentrated in salt that they don't give the deer the other nutrients/minerals that the body needs. Years back, even before we started using Monster Raxx, we were putting out dry cow mineral. Why? We weren't counting on having bucks constantly at our sites, but we knew for sure there would be does there, and if the does were having fawns, of which roughly 50% are bucks (obviously) they might as well be healthy to have a better chance to make it through the first year. Here's a good article I found. Now, I know folks always say "Deer aren't cattle" but the fact of the matter is, they are both ruminants, and have many similarities Importance of trace Minerals in Dairy Heifer, Dry Cow, and Lactating Cow... (Illini DairyNet) ? University of Illinois Extension Some of this doesn't correlate with deer, and some of it is deceiving, because in both cattle and deer, they aren't getting the nutrients from the mineral lick alone. The minerals and nutrients are everywhere. I use Monster Raxx because it offers all of the minerals that I look for, in proportions that I agree with. And the deer love it
Before all the "deer minerals" were on the market, I would watch deer lick the mineral blocks that my rancher friends put out for their cattle. It was pretty obvious to me that deer like salt. I've used Monster Raxx and I've used Trophy Rock each with limited success. My question is why is it in some areas the Monster Raxx gets hit fairly well and in other areas deer won't touch it. These are similar areas in that they are "big woods" within 30 miles of each other and there is no agriculture around. The food sources are pretty much identical (the wildlife department biologist agrees) in these areas. Not sure what's going on but I find it interesting to say the least.
so for the monster raxx it says clear a spot and dump it on the loose soil. so if you wanted to add a trophy rock, would you just throw it in the middle?
IMO soil composition. Some soil simply does not lend itself kindly To the pallet of a deer. To acidic, to basic??? Truly I can't say which. I can tell you this. I have started sites That got zero attention yet a site 1/4 mi away in slightly different terrain gets hammered.
Yes and yes. I actually like to spray some whitetail magnet on a small pile of corn in the middle of a new site. Gets their attention. I've even mixed the Raxx with straight corn in gravity feeders. I'm sure throwing a rockin the middle would be fine. In fact my godfather who is a longtime trophy rock user does that exact thing. Monster Raxx for the main site with Trophy Rocks as well. He loves it
I had two 20lb Trophy rocks out last year and they lasted a entire year up in norther MN. One was in the dirt and one was on a stump. both lasted and would get hit regularly. I tried two bags Monster Raxx on different parts of the property, one on a stump and one in the dirt. the one in the dirt never got touched even though I know there are deer that pass by. The Monster Raxx on the stump was hit within hours but didnt last for a week. im not sure what i will use this year... I might try combining them. That way you get the benefits of Monster Raxx with the lifetime of TR... just what i think...
One thing I've seen around here that might help if your set on using trophy rock and also something else is some kind of trophy rock mineral that comes in more of a powder/granular form. Its probably 15-20# bags. Haven't really looked to much into it or what it is just might be a option if your wanting to use it but the deer don't hit the rocks themselves.
I put a Rock out this morning, just as the snow storm was starting. I scraped the leaves down to dirt, smoothed it a bit, and sat it on top of two small logs. My cam is on the tree in the background. Does this set-up look OK? I had to set this up before the big snow because I'm on Public land, and don't want to leave tracks to the site. It's inside of a serious thicket though. I'll check it after the snow is gone. Can the deer detect the lick with snow covering it?
I've never used the Trophy Rock. . That's a great price! I just buy the 50lb. brown mineral blocks at Tractor Supply for $5.99.
I was in D!'? Sporting Goods last night and found Rack One X cellerator in 5lb bags granular on sale for $4 so I grabbed a couple of those too!! I have never had a mineral site before but I am looking forward to experimenting this spring!!!
I'm wondering why these deer didn't spend some time at my Rock? They came upon it, checked it out, and were on their way. I set it 3 weeks ago.
Yes, I believe they can smell it similar to how we smell ocean water or saltwater in a glass. I use those as well but they are mostly salt so deer get the salt wit ha little added benefit but as far as supplementing antlers they don't do as much as a high calcium/phosphorus mix Well, they don't need much salt during cold weather so it may not be too interesting to them and also if you handled it with bare hands it may take a while to flush off. They also tend to be weary of anything new and sometimes take a while to start using something like that. Once they start...it'll be a whole new ballgame.
I used to put some out, and the deer seemed to always hit them hard, but since it is illegal in Illinois now I don't anymore.
