Quick Hunting Tip: Drawing Deer with Minerals and Feed (VIDEO)

Hunters like to see deer and where it’s allowed, there’s not much better way to get them moving through your area like attractants. Whether that’s scent, minerals, or feed, here are a few quick tips on setting up a hot spot for a successful hunt.

The How-To

After de-scenting, I like to head out to my hunting spots a couple months ahead of time armed with a trimmer, saw, and rake in addition to the attractants. I select the spot based on existing deer sign, potential stand location, and travel corridors. Once there, trim away the larger brush for both a clear shooting lane and open place for attractants. A rake is helpful to clear away dead vegetation for a nice base of open ground for the minerals and mixes.

The Products

Once you’ve selected and prepped your area, you can get down to the fun part, laying out a modest buffet for the deer.  I do not like the idea of corn piles or big baits. Rather, I opt for a light scattering of a few handfuls of feed supplemented some minerals for animal health and antler growth. Then, I’ll broadcast the area with an attractant scent on a new location as a sort of scented-open-sign to deer that the area is worth visiting. Here are some of my favorite options this year:

It’s easy to prep a small area deep in the woods while packing in a few attractants like Deerlicious Apple Scent, a mineral block, and Primos Hunting’s new Take Out line of feeds. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)

Primos Take Out: The Take Out bags of feed and attractants are just part of Primos Hunting’s full line of Seed & Feed. The Row Crop blends barley, alfalfa, soybeans, molasses, and oats in a coarse mix; meanwhile, Fall Harvest is similar but more powderized blend of dried distillers’ grains, molasses, and corn. MSRP is $9.95 for a five-pound bag, and with the good eats and strong, sweet smell, a little goes a long away to pulling in the big bucks.

Deerlicious Apple Scent: This potent apple-scented powder is meant to be sprinkled atop corn or other feed.  However, I prefer to use Deerlicious as a broadcast scent in the area I’m setting up to hunt.  I’ve found, more than any other products, it gets naturally-curious deer into the area faster than any other.

Clearing brush and roughing up the ground ahead of time creates a nice base for attractants, minerals, and feeds, with some of the Primos Row Crop shown here. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)

A balanced mineral lick: This is as simple as it comes. Deer crave, and need, the salty blend of minerals for overall health.  In addition to a watering hole, a mineral source is a regular stopping point for whitetail. Small mineral blocks are cheap and readily available at your nearest farm or hunting supply shop, with many optimized for animal health and antler growth.

Legality

Before you venture into the woods with minerals, attractants, and deer feed, be sure to read — and understand — the baiting laws in your area. Given the rise of CWD, many areas ban or limit baiting, while other areas limit attractants to simple minerals or scents. Know before you go, and make yourself an example of a successful, ethical hunter.