advice on a salt lick

[Broomed Ram]

I am thinking of making a mineral/salt lick in the next couple of weeks - wondering if anyone has some advice from past experience on the best type of salt and location.
Thanks

[f350ps]

If you do a search for salt licks or mineral licks you'll find lots of discussion on it. K

[FLHTCUI]

Go to a cattle supply store and spend 24.00 and get three.....
Of course you are not really baiting anything..... now are you ?
Rob

[Skeena Hunter 1]

What is wrong with baiting? Other than bears and migratory game birds, everything else is A-okay.

[digger dogger]

chilliwack dart&tackle has c'mere deer(acorns is what i think it mostly is) they should have deer co' cain in a block form.. it works great after it melts the deer eat the dirt..

[Charlie]

I just go down to the local feed store and buy the blue licks. They are cheap and last a while. Deer love 'em.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

You could also try one of the Stump lick type products. I believe it's a liquid that you pour onto an old rotten stump. Harder to identify by other hunters.
Never used them so I'm not sure how effective they are.

SSS

[dukester]

dig a 4 ft x 4 ft small hole.. one spade deep put a blue and pink cattle salt block cattle in the center then surround the 2 blocks with a bag of water softner salt. by fall it should be hit pretty good.

[yukon john]

tried it before in the back of mission it didnt work worth a darn, not to say I wouldnt try it again but it doesnt make for a shoo-in

[digger dogger]

if ya dig a hole put a couple smashed apples in with the blox so they know there is salt there. if you dont have a trail cam rake an area so u know if a bear or deer has eaten the apples. do it soon before the bears are in full force. remember no killing bears in that vicinity! good luck..

[XMD70]

I've "built" a few salt licks using a combination of water softener salt and red stock salt. They've worked very well, produced lots of moose meat. I just find a secluded place where there's an existing game trail and put the salt in a bit of a depression. The salt takes care of any vegetation, and the animals soon turn the spots into mud holes. Then I build tree stands with a view of the area. Last year I added a trail cam and was surprised to see how many animals came in range. Planning on building at least 2 more this year! Seem to attract moose, deer, and bears.

[Hidehanger]

Just be aware that you tend to draw in females in spring because they are sodium deficient from changing thier diets to more green foods and because they are lactating...bucks will take advantage of these licks, but they also don't require them come fall because they are moving off of green foods and don't require the same amount of sodium in their diets to metabolize the greens...its not a fall magnet if that is what you are thinking, but some bucks will continue to come because it is a common spot for deer to gather from earlier in the year and therefore, it is valuable territory for a buck to patrol. If you are going to use salt, at least get a trace mineral block so you do something beneficial to the deer...plain old blue salt is cheap and not great for them, and the softener salt is terrible...don't use it!
Lastly, you should be aware that with more deer licking the same blocks your disease transimition potential skyrockets...many diseases like orf and parasites like ticks and worms are more readily transported between individuals at these locations because they interact more frequently here...some of our wild goat herds are already affected by orf because of this 'old-school' approach to drawing in animals and the constant licking and close contact pre-disposed the goats to this disease....my advice would be to place your trace mineral block in the spring for deer if you feel you must (a better solution is to use broken salt/grind up a mineral block and spread it out so they can ingest it and not require licking a solid object) and then switch to apples or food they eat and take away with them late in the summer, no lick and pass on problems to the next animals that comes along.