Bag a Buck testing

[ncboman]

I am kinda disappointed in the results of the one bag I hung last fall so I've decided to conduct a little test this summer.

Now, to be fair, I did not have the bag hung in an ideal spot. Water would stand under it after heavy rains. The deer in the immediate area are abundant though and I suspect at least 30 individuals course by there in any given week. I saw good activity under it last winter but when I checked it last week, there was no fresh sign under it.

At any rate, I've put out a couple of mineral licks about a hundred yards apart on prime higher spots along the side of a path that runs thru the property.


I mix this stuff about 60/40 with salt.



After it rains again, I'll check for activity and hang a bagabuck perhaps 5 ot 10 yards from the lick that's most active and we'll keep tabs on what happens thru the summer.

[freedomrules3]

mine actually hasnt had much action either, but my mineral area hasnt been getting hit a whole lot either.
where did you get the tastee blend? think southern states carries it?

[ncboman]

I never had a mineral lick on this particular property so we'll see how it does. This one is only about 10 miles from home so it's easier to keep tabs on.

My mineral lick on the property up in Gates is getting torn up but it's a drive and I didn't hang a bag up there.

I got the tastee blend from a local farm/garden supply. It's not difficult to find I don't think. I mix salt in just to make sure. Deer don't seem to care about the fact that minerals are good for them but they sure go for salt.

Do you have a bag hung behind your house? I wish I had a block of woods like that out back. man o man.

[freedomrules3]

i got a bag a buck out back and off the side where i can see it from the kitchen window. i also have a mineral lick out back that i put out in late january. i put deercane, some other brand , trophy something or other and 20 lbs of salt out there. they are hitting the mineral lick but not like i thought they would. rain has been scarce to say the least and they could be hanging around the golf coarse ponds more than usual.

well my neighbor is selling off parcels for houses off to the side but had to set some aside as wetlands . just happens the land behind my house is the wetlands spot now i am surrounded by land that wont be built on i my lifetime, oh happy day

[freedomrules3]

as a sidenote , my neighbor across the way ( other side of the woods) shoots everything he sees, so rarely does a big buck grow there. but some often cruise through come the rut , problem is lately i have been out of town during that time. i traditionally see a whopper yearly just around the 20th of nov

[ncboman]

well it's raining here now but the heavy stuff passed just north, at least so far.

Rain should activate these new licks pretty good. I have to be careful though how I traffic to them. One of the guys that hunts the area is an expert woodsman and he'll pick up on human tracks or mashed weeds quicker than he'll take note of deer sign. Fortunately he hunts further back and I'm countin on his attention being back there, plus he's not as hot after it as he once was.

I usually have this property like I want during bow season but once gun seasons open I get cut off a lot from then on.

[freedomrules3]

i put out 50 lbs of minerals and 50 lbs of salt with soda and 10 lbs of sugar today. mixed it up real good and then it started to finally rain here. should get it going pretty good. i also put out some apples i had to get them to find it real easy. i'll keep an eye on it and see how they react to it. hopefully the buck i saw turkey season gets in there and takes advantage of it. he didnt look like he would be a shooter this year but hopefully if he isnt he'll get through the season for next year. i'll take pics if they hit it and post them up in a few weeks. its nice to have a place right by the house to expeiment with

[ncboman]

Did you put all that mix at one spot?

I usually put about 15 lbs to each lick.

Around here deer go on high alert when they happen upon apples in the woods but they have no problem going into a yard for them. Other than the bag stuff and mineral licks, I don't get into baiting so much.

Rained nearly all day here... and the skeeters arrived in mass right at dark.

[freedomrules3]

yep put it all in one spot . around here apples wont last a day. i'll bet they are gone by morning . i just added it to the spot they were hitting already, it needed replenished anyway.

[ncboman]

way too much imo. Much of the mixture will leach away before the deer eat it and you'll see only minerals left behind after the salt is gone . I like to put out smaller amounts and when they eat out a hole, I refresh off to the side a little so water doesn't stand where the fresh mix is.

A hundred pounds of mix would make 5 or 6 licks for me. I figured you'd have licks in every area you hunt for bigger bone.

[freedomrules3]

well since it isnt legal to put any out in public land i dont . i also am going to concentrate some on the deer behind the house , ive neglected them through the years. at 4 bucks for 25 lbs the salt with soda isnt much of an issue to add more to the mix . with the clearcut next door getting just about the right age , i think the next few years its gonna produce something right nice.

[ncboman]

Not legal to put a mineral site on public land?

how so?

[freedomrules3]

that would be considered the same as baiting

[ncboman]

Have you talked to a warden about it?

during off season I don't see how it could be baiting.

[ncboman]

A few years back it was illegal to bait here in NC. I talked to the district supervisor game warden about mineral sites and he said if the minerals were there year round and no one was hunting right over it, he would have a hard time making a case in court.

As he put it, a bag of minerals may have fallen from a truck or been thrown away. How would anyone know?

If no one is hunting, there cannot be baiting.