Licks/attractants, Elk/Deer what works for you?

[TheObserver]

First year using trail cams. Going to put down some salts/attractants infront of them.

Will be for Blacktails and Rocky Mountain Elk. The BT I have my spots picked and will be setting them up very soon, the Elk I will be starting to scout next month (first try for Elk).

What works good for you guys, and not so good for salts/attractants?

Will report back with what I end up trying over the course of the summer

[digger dogger]

Deer Co. Cain.
I like the powder over the bricks.

[XPEIer]

something sweet helps, I was using liquid molasses (500ml) per site, but I bought a bulk of Jello crystals this year to try. Salt, trace minerals will be enough as well.

XPEIER

[jac]

I use salt blocks. Sometimes anything but salt brings in bears which is fine but they can be hard on cameras

[Elkaholic]

I used to mix up mineral salts with powdered molasses and it would come out a brown/earthy color once mixed up. I like this as it blends better into the natural ground than say the bright colors stuff. In reg 4 we cant do this anymore so I can just pass on tips that helped me.

[358mag]

Brown trace mineral blocks

[TheObserver]

Thanks for the replies guys! I have heard good things about water softening salts, I would like to add something sweet/attracts but don't want bears coming in spooking things either.

[TheObserver]

Brown trace mineral blocks

I have heard these work very well, is there a brand that makes them and do you know what stores have them?

[5jackz]

I have heard these work very well, is there a brand that makes them and do you know what stores have them?


Most of the farm Co-Ops will carry any of the salt blocks . Brown - Selenium salt block . Blue - Cobalt salt block . Both are pretty effective and the game really like / need them .

[twoSevenO]

salt blocks have been working very well for 3 years straight now for mule deer.
Blacktail don't seem to care as much for it. They will lick it as they come across it, but don't go out of their way to revisit the site like mule deer do - not in my BT spots at least.

[decker9]

Water softener has been #1 for me. I find everything skips right on past the salt blocks for it (goats / moose / deer)

[mooseknuckler]

Water softener has been #1 for me. I find everything skips right on past the salt blocks for it (goats / moose / deer)

Another plus is that it rides in the pack better than square blocks!

[igojuone]

Buckerfield's sells a product called COB, corn, oats, barley with some molasses mixed in that works good.

[ekul246]

Bags of rock salt from Canadian tire. Under $5 for a 10kg bag. Make sure it’s pure rock salt with no additives.
I use a friends recipe for deer crack. They love it

[ekul246]

The issue with this right now would be bears coming out in the spring and eating it all?
I used COB in feed bags for the winter and the deer cleared out all out between mid November and mid December. They loved it

[Elkaholic]

The issue with this right now would be bears coming out and eating it all?
I used COB in feed bags for the winter and the deer cleared out all out between mid November and mid December. They loved it

When I use actual feed, that is when the bears tend to show up. I noticed my mix of mineral salts with the powdered molasses did not seem to attract the bears the same way feed did. But that was in my area, could be different depending on bear density I would imagine.

[358mag]

I have heard these work very well, is there a brand that makes them and do you know what stores have them?

The brand I use is brown "Windsor" TM with Selenium , there 20kg blocks .
Buckerfields is where I get mine from as we don't have a Co-op locally .

[Harvest the Land]

First year using trail cams. Going to put down some salts/attractants infront of them.

Will be for Blacktails and Rocky Mountain Elk. The BT I have my spots picked and will be setting them up very soon, the Elk I will be starting to scout next month (first try for Elk).

What works good for you guys, and not so good for salts/attractants?

Will report back with what I end up trying over the course of the summer

I have experimented A LOT with a ton of different attractants over the years. Some things worked for certain species, while didn't work for others. After many years of trial and error, without question and by a country mile, Primos Take Out Red Zone Primos® Take Out Granular Mineral Redzone Bag | Cabela's Canada (cabelas.ca) (https://www.cabelas.ca/product/131452) is the best I've ever used. Its got a bunch of key minerals in it (no chemicals) and beets so you're not feeding the deer anything harmful. And ALL species (BT, WT and MD) absolutely go bananas for it! I've even had moose go at the brick style of this stuff. Bears will come to smell what it is because its very aromatic, but they couldn't care less about eating it.

This has been my go-to stuff for about 4-5 years now. Last year I bought 10 bags of it because it was getting harder to find because of supply shortages, but I will be moving to Alberta this year and not allowed to bait deer there. So there is a very good chance I will have some bags left over if you might be interested in giving it a try. If you're interested send me a PM and we can work out a deal (I live in lower wasteland too). Now is definitely the time to start putting mineral licks out there. (Surprised our socialist tyrannical govt hasn't banned baiting deer yet - only a matter of time)

[bigstew]

Be careful using water softener salt as it can have other chemicals not meant for animals. I have used trace mineral and pool salt.

[358mag]

be careful using water softener salt as it can have other chemicals not meant for animals. I have used trace mineral and pool salt.

^^^^^^^^x2^^^^^^^^^^

[TheObserver]

Leaning towards the brown trace mineral block, and maybe some pure salt water softener definitely won't pick up anything thats not good for the game, ontop of that may end up eating one thats been on the lick, if I can't find one with no additives will just go brown trace mineral block.

Will the salts/minerals only attract? Or just if they come across it and discover it?

I am pretty hesistant to use anything sweet/flavour enhancing as I really want to avoid bringing bears onto the site,and to attract ungulates only.

And hey thanks for the replies Gent's!!!

[358mag]

Leaning towards the brown trace mineral block, and maybe some pure salt water softener definitely won't pick up anything thats not good for the game, ontop of that may end up eating one thats been on the lick, if I can't find one with no additives will just go brown trace mineral block.

Will the salts/minerals only attract? Or just if they come across it and discover it?

I am pretty hesistant to use anything sweet/flavour enhancing as I really want to avoid bringing bears onto the site,and to attract ungulates only.

And hey thanks for the replies Gent's!!!
Stick with brown and you will never go wrong

[decker9]

Be careful using water softener salt as it can have other chemicals not meant for animals. I have used trace mineral and pool salt.

I was sent a bit of a study that was done on softener salt years ago when I first started using it, because I had heard the same concern.

In the study, there was no evidence of the salt being harmful to farm animals (farm, not wild). Iirc, it was a vet that had done the study, and in the end she said, she “preferred” mineral blocks. It didn’t actually say anywhere in it that the softener had a negative effect on animals (farm animals),

It does concern me, last thing we want is to cause problems. Over the last 8-10 years of using it, I haven’t seen any bad effect.

I mostly play with mountain goats / game cameras, and have watched the herd very closely for a number of years, while using this salt. I can year after year pick out the same individual goats, as well as nannys and their offsprings while monitoring through cam’s.

Iv never once seen a reason or a sign that the softener was doing them bad…. Other then them fighting over it.

Bottom line though, we don’t want to cause problems in these animals. If anyone has anything solid about softer being bad, I would really like to know and see it.

[TheObserver]

Going with brown trace mineral blocks, will update how my first scouting season using cams goes, first for salts/minerals too for that matter

[nelsonob1]

We used to have great success with salt blocks particularly at higher elevation- elk really love it. Unfortunately we are in Region 4 and can't do it anymore.

[TheObserver]

We used to have great success with salt blocks particularly at higher elevation- elk really love it. Unfortunately we are in Region 4 and can't do it anymore.

Really why is that? Another fella commented that as well. You guys can use them say in spring/summer for cam shots and just not during hunting season. Or can outright not use them at all?

[nelsonob1]

Really why is that? Another fella commented that as well. You guys can use them say in spring/summer for cam shots and just not during hunting season. Or can outright not use them at all?

The stated reason was CWD spread in ungulates- wanting to avoid concentration. Not certain but I think it's all year.

[TheObserver]

Got the blacktail set ups done, my one spot has Elk droppings right infront of the lick/cam along with Deer so maybe I can get some footage of one.

This weekend will be up in Region 8 and hopefully get at least one set up for the Elk. As the season goes on if I get some good pics and results on the licks will post back

[TheObserver]

Went with the TM brown salt block, I think they're made by Salvtec.

Here is the first week of my one blacktail spot

https://i.imgur.com/o4zGlPM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/zckFvRJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/kcilPOg.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qr0vXaW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/mKhlEyx.jpg

The first pic has two bucks if you look hard, the one that is sprouting brow tines in the following pics is the one in the back, unless there were more

Checking my other blacktail one this weekend, and just put one up for elk which I will be checking in two weeks.

Man do these things ROCK!! I can. not. believe! I have not used these before, what fun lol!

[TheObserver]

https://i.imgur.com/FY4eKeL.jpg

His claw haha

[ekul246]

Super cool Observer!
I deployed my first Blacktail cam two weeks ago. Threw some salt and deer crack down. Also sprayed some vanilla and home mixed apple scented spray. This spot is 15mins from home so it would be great if it panned out!
Looking forward to more updates.
ekul246

[Ourea]

Does are dropping and will be lactating and as a result craving minerals.

Every area has different mineral deficiencies. Not a bad idea to chat to a rancher or a feed stock supplier as to what the ranchers are using in a particular area.

Another option, the one I prefer, is dump a ton of different sh*t down and quantify the results.

A lot of deer carve out a very comfortable living going from site to site to site to site.
What?
You didn't think that a deer on one of your sites is probably hitting a dozen(s) of other guy's sites.

[browningboy]

Haven’t done cameras for a few years but we used to use “apple pie crush” and flavoured blocks underneath that and worked very well (for elk ), used to buy that stuff at Cabellas.

[tigrr]

I use that $8 blue salt block. The does are hitting regularly. 1 buck so far.
The salt block sits up on a grate on top of a 24" block with a plywood cover on the block. It will last for 2 years this way.

[TheObserver]

Super cool Observer!
I deployed my first Blacktail cam two weeks ago. Threw some salt and deer crack down. Also sprayed some vanilla and home mixed apple scented spray. This spot is 15mins from home so it would be great if it panned out!
Looking forward to more updates.
ekul246

here is an update

Check out these Bucks and Bulls, 1st year cam results (huntingbc.ca) (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?170534-Check-out-these-Bucks-and-Bulls-1st-year-cam-results)