Feeding minerals to deer

Here in the great state of Florida we have many passionate outdoors men and women. We have an abundance of wildlife especially in the panhandle where I live. I am really blessed to live where I do, but like most hunters I like the idea of hunting larger bucks each year. Unfortunately Florida is not known for a consistent monster buck harvest. So with that realization I have started to gather information to try and improve the deer that I hunt on a small tract of land.

After a lot of reading, one major area stands out and that is minerals! It seems that not only does the mid west have an abundance of high octane food that is farm grown, but the soil actually has a higher content of needed minerals for healthy deer.

So with this knowledge I will start 2 mineral sites and see as the years progress the impact it has on deer health and rack size. I plan on using trail cameras ( Moultrie) to document the progression. Wish me luck, and remember to continue Outdoordreaming!

You can follow me on facebook  to watch my DIY hunts and my continuing pursuit of what I love!

 

Cheap Alternative for Salt Deer Attractant

I am constantly on the look out for cheap alternatives to the more pricey hunting products. I do this out of  necessity rather than my desire to just be thrifty!

Heres how it went down for me recently in a local hardware store. A gentleman comes in looking for a bag of water softner salt. I strike up conversation with him and he tells me a good friend has informed him that he has recently put out a bag of this salt and the deer just love it!

So I get to thinking about this approach. A small salt brick would cost about 7-9$. A large bag of softner salt would cost about 6-7$. Makes sense to me to go with the large bag. Many times what you would get in a brick, plus much easier to handle and put out at different sites.( It is pelleted)

Just more food for thought. I will update soon as to how it turns out for me. Remember to check local regulations before you use any type of attractant.

 

Cheap Alternative for Scent Killing

 I was recently reading a question and answer forum regarding archery hunting. One question stuck out to me because it had to do with human odor. Specifically odor coming from our mouths. The answer made perfect sense even though I had never thought of it before. The response to killing odor in our mouths to help with scent control came down to using a toothpaste with baking soda. This really got me to thinking because it made so much sense. We use baking soda in our refrigerators and freezers to kill odors that can at times be very strong. Yet at the same time it stays odorless. So my conclusion was why can we not use straight baking soda and apply it however you would like to kill human odor while we hunt? We could use it like baby powder and foot powder and apply all over. I gave it a try recently and from what I can tell Baking soda far surpassed all the expensive scent killing sprays that i have used up until this point. I will take it a step further and say why not mix baking soda and water in a spray bottle to accomplish the same thing these high dollar sprays try to accomplish.

The great thing about this product is a box of baking soda is a dollar at the most. I plan on using this for the rest of this hunting season and I will update my findings in the future. Good luck and continue in your OutDoorDreaming.