Attractant for Camera survey

[M. R. Byrd]

Looking for recommendations for good attractant to survey the developing bucks in my area. I have tried numerous blocks that say they will "pull every buck in the county", with poor results. Here in SW Kansas in July it is hard to get deer in front of cameras. There is tens of thousands acres of irrigated corn and beans, so they have cover, food and water that they don't stray far from. I do use trophy rock in front of my cameras later in the season. I don't think the trophy rock attracts them to the area, but it does help stop them in front of the camera for a few moments. I have had mixed success with loose minerals. This year in addition to the usual irrigated acres and a good number of acres of dryland corn and milo, an unusual amount of spring rain has created jungles of weeds in the waste areas and the CRP acres are chest high in places. Starting in September the corn and beans are getting harvested and winter wheat is going in the ground. The lush green winter wheat becomes the biggest food plot and the deer start hanging out in the CRP acres and any brushy or woody areas(yes there are some trees in SW Kansas).
My plan this month(July) is cameras adjacent to the irrigated corn with at least trophy rock. Anything working for you guys?

 

[Moe Shetty]

start a mineral site, then top it with either cherry kool aid or cherry gelatine mix. has worked well for me for several sites in four years

 

[gut_pile]

I have had great luck with trophy rocks and using corn to get them to find it. Sometimes I will pour some molasses type attractant on top of the trophy rock just to get them started. Usually once they get started they will visit it daily

 

[Moe Shetty]

I have had great luck with trophy rocks and using corn to get them to find it. Sometimes I will pour some molasses type attractant on top of the trophy rock just to get them started. Usually once they get started they will visit it daily

yes, those salt blocks and trophy rocks are great, but buying bags of stock salt and dical for diy mineral sites appears to be much more affordable, pound for pound

 

[Mennoniteman]

We keep the same mineral sites going, buying bags of mineral to save money. Keeping the same site going year round is key in getting local deer to stop by. Our deer like the minerals mixed 50/50 with dirt, I add extra salt on top of the minerals.

 

[Moe Shetty]

We keep the same mineral sites going, buying bags of mineral to save money. Keeping the same site going year round is key in getting local deer to stop by. Our deer like the minerals mixed 50/50 with dirt, I add extra salt on top of the minerals.

It's amusing watching them eat dirt like their lives depend on it.

 

[M. R. Byrd]

Thanks for the responses. I have tried the mineral mix without any success, but I will try it again. I suspect part of the issue here is that every pasture has salt blocks, mineral feeders and maybe molasses tubs. I have not found any dical at the feed mills around here, seems all they have is monocal.

 

[Moe Shetty]

Thanks for the responses. I have tried the mineral mix without any success, but I will try it again. I suspect part of the issue here is that every pasture has salt blocks, mineral feeders and maybe molasses tubs. I have not found any dical at the feed mills around here, seems all they have is monocal.

Are you mixing the salt into the ground and topping it with something that smells nice like cherry kool aid? It works very well for me, sometimes within the hour.

 

[M. R. Byrd]

Are you mixing the salt into the ground and topping it with something that smells nice like cherry kool aid? It works very well for me, sometimes within the hour.

I have not tried the cherry kool aid, but will. I have found a source of dical, so will pick up a bag of it. Thanks

 

[Native Hunter]

Look at Tractor Supply for Lucky Buck mineral. They love the smell, and it is extremely strong. I don't put it out all the time, but if I want to see what is around, I will put out some at a normal salt/mineral site. Every deer in the country will come check it out.

 

[catscratch]

You might add salt and pour a bucket of water on it.

 

[KSQ2]

I’ve had absolutely zero, and I mean ZERO, luck with any type of mineral; and I’ve tried them ALL. My advice would be setting up a good licking branch/mock scrape and spend your money on a licking branch gel. I put our cell cam on one last year the first of July and began getting buck pics within a week. By September we were getting lots of bucks pics and the traffic continued almost through December. The advantage, if using a cell cam, is not getting too many pics of does/fawns like you do over any type of bait. Although, there will be does hitting the licking branch too on occasion.

 

[KSQ2]

One more point, if you already have a community scrape in action, that is the best spot and they will visit them in the summer too. We’re moving our cell cam this year to a big community scrape on the edge of our back plot, the best of both worlds imo. I hunted a lot in SW Kansas years ago, on a phenomenal 4500 acre property 20 miles north of Dodge City. I always wanted to set a camera on a scrape, but there were no digital trail cams yet back then, and we only spent a week out there. Some of the scrapes were literally yards in diameter!

 

[M. R. Byrd]

I’ve had absolutely zero, and I mean ZERO, luck with any type of mineral; and I’ve tried them ALL. My advice would be setting up a good licking branch/mock scrape and spend your money on a licking branch gel. I put our cell cam on one last year the first of July and began getting buck pics within a week. By September we were getting lots of bucks pics and the traffic continued almost through December. The advantage, if using a cell cam, is not getting too many pics of does/fawns like you do over any type of bait. Although, there will be does hitting the licking branch too on occasion.

Great idea. The Ponderosa has a few trees.

 

[MarkDarvin]

If it's gonna be dry, get a few bags of pelletized all stock sweet feed. Don't pile it, scatter it. Beware, you don't want that getting rained on. It's worthless if it gets wet. Could also do the same with shelled corn, sunflower seed, or mixed bird seed. Sweet feed has some molasses in it, I like that. Go light on it though, processed feeds like this can contain a bit of pesticide residue in them.

The harder work would be finding a good summer food source. Up here, that's jewelweed. Midsummer, it's the number one natural forage in the woods. Could also try powdered deer can if it's wet, liquid deer can if it's dry.

 

[catscratch]

I have my cell cam set up on a mineral site, that has a licking branch, that is next to a small water hole. It gets yr round use for whatever they want at the moment.


Being out west is water an option? Whenever I stumble across a water tank out that direction it's covered in tracks. My farmer buddy has some guzzlers he maintains for critters. Seems to draw all sorts of stuff.

 

[1100LT20]

Bag of apples or pears, smashed pumpkin or winter squash works too.

 

[M. R. Byrd]

Pears do work. No wild pears out here, but one big tree in a little town that the owner let me pick up some fallen pears. Gathered a few in a black trash bag, got busy and the summer heat fermented them before I put them out in front of a camera. One doe immediately showed up and she ate and ate, and I was waiting to see her fall over, but didn't. Back in the day, probably 1958, we slopped our hogs with soaked barley. Had several 55 gallon steel drums with the lid cut out that we used. Our dad was busy with farm work and also a business and my mother worked and the care of the hogs fell on us boys. My older brothers would hide one of the barrels full of soaking barley in the shelterbelt and let it get really ripe before using. We had a huge duroc boar and landrace and hampshire sows. When they knew our parents were busy at work they would pull out the barrel of home brew and slop the hogs. They would all get stinking drunk, especially the huge duroc boar. The whole pen would be squealing and eating and falling over. It always made our day on a lonely Kansas farm.

 

[Moe Shetty]

Pears do work. No wild pears out here, but one big tree in a little town that the owner let me pick up some fallen pears. Gathered a few in a black trash bag, got busy and the summer heat fermented them before I put them out in front of a camera. One doe immediately showed up and she ate and ate, and I was waiting to see her fall over, but didn't. Back in the day, probably 1958, we slopped our hogs with soaked barley. Had several 55 gallon steel drums with the lid cut out that we used. Our dad was busy with farm work and also a business and my mother worked and the care of the hogs fell on us boys. My older brothers would hide one of the barrels full of soaking barley in the shelterbelt and let it get really ripe before using. We had a huge duroc boar and landrace and hampshire sows. When they knew our parents were busy at work they would pull out the barrel of home brew and slop the hogs. They would all get stinking drunk, especially the huge duroc boar. The whole pen would be squealing and eating and falling over. It always made our day on a lonely Kansas farm.

Old apple cider from the back of the fridge was my first real buzz as a youngun'. Pops couldn't stop giggling at me, mum wasn't happy.

 

[BenAllgood]

Rice bran, if you can get it, works good for camera surveys.