whitetail deer feed or licks

[alwayshunting]

Before hunting deer do you put out any salt licks or feed for the deer ie. apples, deer cane or other products in your area. What have you found works best. I'm intersted due to the amount of products out there. Just wondering what to pick up and what works best.

[calgarychef1]

If you happen to be from Alberta you had better have a gander at the game regulations under---"baiting" If you're from Sask I think it's all right.

I've experimented with baiting --strictly for scientific reasons of course. Deer love apples but seem to hit them after dark and only in the late fall. Peanut butter mixed with molasses dissapears but I've never seen them eating it, so probably at night also. Setting up by the water hole didn't seem that good as they don't hang around very long drinking and seem to drink at different areas and also quite late so after legal shooting time.

Setting up between feed/bedding areas/ and water hole of course works.

the chef

[alwayshunting]

I'm over in Ontario and didn't have time to get a food plot in so I was wondering what would be the next best thing.

[calgarychef1]

I don't wanna sound like a jerk, but the next best thing is--learn how to hunt rather than sit on a food plot.

Search the net, read books, subscribe to a couple good magazines. Eat, breath, and think hunting for the next 3 months, talk to anyone you can, find a mentor who will teach you the tricks. A great book is Still hunting by g. fred asbell that's great place to start.

Hit the woods as soon or sooner than the season opens and sit quietly and observe where the animals go, why do they do what they are doing? what time do they do it? What are they eating now and what will they eat later. Where are last years rubs---chances this years will be very close to that.

Soon you'll start to see scrapes--stay the hell away from them--but find out where the deer come from to make the scrapes. Also be aware that some scrapes will be close to the bucks "bedroom" his place of refuge- usually a thick tangle of bush very hard to penetrate quietly. Find the trails into there and you have a great place for an ambush.

Are there any rubbing posts? Thats a post-could be a fence post or a power pole that a deer has rubbed his antlers on every year and the post is starting to look fuzzy and have an hour glass shape- stay away from that one too but get down on yer knees and thank the creator because you have just found the mother lode.

Learn still hunting- learn to walk slower than molasses and absolutely quite. Learn "deer stepping" for when you have to make noise or move quickly to get somewhere.

Learn to call using the various grunts and estrous calls, or rattling. Use these calls when the deer are in the proper season--else you might spook them.

Tie a feather on your bow or gun and hunt the wind. Hang some tree stands if you have them. Or make some ground blinds close but not too close to the places mentioned above.

Once you decide to be a hunter instead of sitting on a food plot you will experience an excitement that is unsurpassed...your sucess might actually go down for awhile but you won't care, because you will be having a lot of fun. Eventually your sucess will increase dramatically and you will make the hunt go your way, instead of waiting for something to come to you, you will be able to MAKE the animal come your way or be able to follow the animal in his environment.


Not that's hunting!!!

the chef

ps--good luck!

[Dillershortbow]

Or salt licks and foodplots for deer legal in ont. i sure isn`t here. A good part of southern BC is range land for cattle so there is salt blocks every where . The deer here for sure like there natural licks i do`nt think i have seen a deer track at a salt block. Here along the logging roads they plant clover to help with erosion bears sure love it but i don`t see a lot of deer in it. I agree with the chief theres a lot more to hunting than sitting over a foodplot.

[BlueNorther]

I've seen elk and deer use the blue cobalt salt blocks.It's funny to watch too.They do lick them but they also scrape them with their lower incisors.I actually watched a cow elk strike a block with her front hoof and then eat the small broken pieces.

[alwayshunting]

Hey CalgaryChef1

I've been hunting for years now and put alot of time into hunting different animals and reading different hunting materials. I am also part of a conservation club which helps in the reintroduction and conservation of land and wildlife to better provide for wildlife. For One I have never hunted over a food plot before and I have never baited for deer. I am what you call the dog when it come to hunting I go into the nastiest places to get what I am hunting for. So to say that I should learn how to hunt is BS. The reason I mainly asked the question is that friends of mine have property on Manitoulin Island for deer hunting and only have 5 arces of land. The food plots help to keep the deer on his property and very healthy and helps in the growth of antlers. The baiting helps to keep the deer moving through his property during the day as it is a source of food for them. The question was only asked to see what other hunter might be using for my information. I find field information from other hunters very valuable and is different from someone writing a article who is being paid for it. So I value your opinion on plots and baiting but your comment about learning to hunt was uncalled for. In all I hope your hunting season is very sucessfull and I haven't taken your comment personally.

Good luck and shoot straight.

[calgarychef1]

Well like I said I wasn't trying to sound like a jerk. Calling deer is a great way to get them off other peoples land. The area I hunted last fall was a strip about 30 yards wide and maybe 200 yards long... I called a lot of deer over.

the chef