Mineral Licks

[Belo]

I think probably most of us would vote for a change in regs that allowed mineral licks in the non-hunting season. Or maybe you wouldn't?

For those that aren't holier than thou, what would be your thoughts on hearing of another hunter using one in the spring and summer? On a scale of 1-10. 1 being not wearing a back tag and 10 being jacking a trophy buck on posted property with a spotlight and just cutting the head off. 

[Bucksnbows]

I doubt you will ever see it for NY due solely to CWD. That said, I have several mineral sites on my one 107 acre property here in NJ. I can’t bait for deer here because it just attracts bears, but minerals will bring deer in and bears don’t spend much time at those sites, they scent check them and move on. 

[grampy]

47 minutes ago, Belo said:

I think probably most of us would vote for a change in regs that allowed mineral licks in the non-hunting season. Or maybe you wouldn't?

For those that aren't holier than thou, what would be your thoughts on hearing of another hunter using one in the spring and summer? On a scale of 1-10. 1 being not wearing a back tag and 10 being jacking a trophy buck on posted property with a spotlight and just cutting the head off. 

As far as minerals go, out in the western part of NY where you are located, the natural mineral content of the soil is pretty good. I've seen first hand the difference in antler growth among bucks of the same general age class between here in the hills of Albany County and there. That said, I feel most of the deer, in most of NYS get enough natural minerals. My opinion is age makes a bigger difference than minerals for the size of a bucks antlers. 

Right or wrong NYSDEC doesn't want too many deer coming to one spot. Be it baiting or mineral licks, for fear of spreading diseases amongst the herd. But......deer are social animals! With licking branches, and other interactions among the local herd almost daily. I personally don't see a big deal if someone wants to add more minerals to the deer herd on their property. Like I said, I don’t think anyone would see Iowa type bucks grown,  by just supplementing some minerals to their already diverse diet. 

I'm no biologist. So these are just the opinions and observations of an old hunter and part time farmer. 

[G-man]

The best time is spring and summer. Does seem to use them a lot to replenish minerals lost while nursing

[phade]

In Ohio we use them in the summer to inventory. I do not think I can ascertain any formative value as science can’t either, for deer. But its value as a point source attractant is clear.

I agree they won’t be legal here any time soon with CWD but I do think that logic is flawed given the social nature of deer as previously stated. I know some folks try to talk of the prion living forever (generally speaking) in soil. At the end of the day making decisions like that isn’t sound IMO when deer will transmit what they transmit due to social actions. No different than Covid masks for us.

They have next to no actual hunting value in NY with the season dates. So I guess I would say I don’t really get too concerned about someone setting a rock out or something to that effect. I think it’s much more common than food based baiting here as a hunch based on sales purchases and interactions with folks. Maybe it represents a line where ethics and legality conflict? I’d bet there are a lot of hunters who would or do, do that but not bait.

[LET EM GROW]

Id possibly use them for inventory purposes, But that would be it. Purely trail cam inventory/surveillance.. 

[dbHunterNY]

I've used them in other states where legal with trash soil similar to what we have in this part of NY. I know some do, but I think a vast majority of WNY hunters have no clue as to the difference in quality of soil here in parts of the Adirondack foothills compared to out in WNY. You can see it in harvest rates and carrying capacity of deer with DEC's deer summary. Some WMUs have sustained antlerless harvest over 4 times what we have. That's some fertile dirt! DEC would never allow it though due to the preventive mindset that's in place to prevent CWD and potential spread of other diseases. From using minerals in other states that aren't in severe draught it seems to help late winter through summer with both adult deer recovery, raising fawns, and bucks growing antlers.

Edit: agree that it does work well for trail cam use to see what's around for deer.

Edited June 26, 2024 by dbHunterNY

[Belo]

Interestingly I just stopped in tractor supply to look at water tanks and they have stickers on all their rocks and bags of corn. I know it's not much, but it's good to see someone in the store cares. 

[JohnPlav]

8 minutes ago, Belo said:

Interestingly I just stopped in tractor supply to look at water tanks and they have stickers on all their rocks and bags of corn. I know it's not much, but it's good to see someone in the store cares. 

I think its a NYS law they need to put those stickers on.  So if they care, its about making $. 

As for water tanks... I buried a 50 gallon tank from Tractor Supply and it works great.  Rainwater keeps it full and it gets lots of use from all the local wildlife.  Glad I didn't go bigger because digging by hand on the edge of a clearing was rough.

[Belo]

16 minutes ago, JohnPlav said:

I think its a NYS law they need to put those stickers on.  So if they care, its about making $. 

As for water tanks... I buried a 50 gallon tank from Tractor Supply and it works great.  Rainwater keeps it full and it gets lots of use from all the local wildlife.  Glad I didn't go bigger because digging by hand on the edge of a clearing was rough.

yeah that was my scouting mission and quickly decided anything over 50 is not realistic if doing by hand. I might even start with an old kiddie pool we have haha.

[Nomad]

I don’t give a rats ass ,what anyone does .

i do zero land work or management, I walk in sit down and shoot what I want . No scouting , one camera that’s not out yet .

[lucky118]

after 10 yrs on the last 3 sites. I know where this will end up. Just like the last 100 times it was asked lol

[Bucksnbows]

12 hours ago, lucky118 said:

after 10 yrs on the last 3 sites. I know where this will end up. Just like the last 100 times it was asked lol

Where is that, I’m wondering?  Being my experience with hunting forums was limited to NJ only until Matt launched this site and given that minerals are legal here, I’ve never seen any discussion turn south. For NJ hunters, mineral threads are about how to make them or which store bought brands work best or if deer are hitting them hard, a little or not at all. 
 

In my experience, does get more of the benefits of minerals while cranking out and feeding their fawns than bucks for growing their antlers. Some times of year the deer could care less and other times they hit the minerals hard. 

[mowin]

2 minutes ago, Bucksnbows said:

Where is that, I’m wondering?  Being my experience with hunting forums was limited to NJ only until Matt launched this site and given that minerals are legal here, I’ve never seen any discussion turn south. For NJ hunters, mineral threads are about how to make them or which store bought brands work best or if deer are hitting them hard, a little or not at all. 
 

In my experience, does get more of the benefits of minerals while cranking out and feeding their fawns than bucks for growing their antlers. Some times of year the deer could care less and other times they hit the minerals hard. 

I'm thinking he's lumping this into baiting in general.  

[Belo]

13 hours ago, Nomad said:

I don’t give a rats ass ,what anyone does .

i do zero land work or management, I walk in sit down and shoot what I want . No scouting , one camera that’s not out yet .

in fairness to those that don't know your situation, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but you have a pretty good chunk that is mostly ag and have been hunting it for quite some time. I would agree that if I knew my land real well and the farmers did my food plots, then little work would be needed.

Cams and habitat work for myself, and I know many is just fun and enjoyable. Like any labor that results in a nice benefit, woodworking, landscaping, knitting, gardening etc.