[troyboy94]

Wich ones work?

[willymike]

Which ones work?

The ones the deer like the best!

All kidding aside, the success I've had with deer attractants are rarely a hit and mostly miss. Especially for the price you pay for them. I honestly believe they are more an attractant to the hunter with money in his wallet, who is willing to shell it out to the producers of these products. Not that they don't work, it's that they don't ususally give the stunning results of the ad copy on the bag.

The basic ingredients of most of these products are di-calcium phosphate blended with mineral salts and other calcium based compounds, with a few scent attractants thrown in the mix.

Again, I consider them too expensive for the results they produce.

However, if you want to mix your own deer attractant that will produce similar, if not better, results than the pre-packaged wonder blends at a fraction of the cost, just follow the directions below. The recipies will give you 200 lb of "attractant" for typically the cost of a few jugs of the store bought stuff.

Recipe 1: Ingredients for 200 lb.

1 part Di-calcium phosphate (this is a dairy feed additive)
2 part Trace mineral salt (the red and loose kind without the medications)
1 part Rock salt (ice cream salt)

Note: All the ingredients come in 50lb bags. You will need one (1) bag of di-calcium phosphate; two (2) bags of trace minerals; and one (2) bag of rock salt. Use a 3lb or similar sized coffee can to measure each part of the mix and do not mix together until ready to use. Dig or tear a 36" wide by 6" deep hole in the soil and mix the mineral mixture with the soil. Replenish in 6-months with a fresh supply of mix.

All of the preceding supplies can be purchased at most farm supply stores or you local farm co-op. The cost should be less than $30.00

Recipe 2: The following can be purchased at Tractor Supply

One (1) 50 lb bag of Ragland 12% Hi-phos.
Three (3) 50 lb bag of American Stockman "Hi-Salt" trace minerals for cattle.
One (1) Cup of Buck Grub for added attractant with more calcium.

Mix: One (1) part Ragland Hi-Phos; three (3) parts American Stockman "Hi-Salt"; and one (1) cup Buck Grub. Dig the same 36" x 6" hole and apply the blend. The cost should be around $40.00

I've used both of these blends and they produce as good or better results as the pricy 5lb - 5gal buckets of stuff you can buy at the retailers. I've found the best time of the year to start putting out these blends is in March and April. I put out the whole 200 lb batch and then start supplementing the patch with additional applications in late summer through early fall. This stuff really works, but as with any attractant you have to give the deer time to locate the stuff. No attractant I've found will work overnight.

I hope this will be helpful.

[SilverDollar]

I have found the best way to attact deer is to plant a garden. Deer come from miles away just to eat my plants. I had 5 big bucks and 4 does in my yard this morning. Ten more days until rifle season then I'll never see these bucks again!

[willymike]

Silver Dollar,

I'll agree with that! I've killed a many deer withing 100 yards of my mother-in-law's very large garden and have stands strategically placed along trails leading to her crops.

Dang, sure wish I could drop that garden in many a location on other hunting grounds that are miles away.

[swiftak]

where the hell are you that deer season starts in 10 days?

[oneounceload]

The best deer attractant has to be my headlights.....The best deer repellent as to be the tag in my pocket.....both work great every time!...:D

[hardluk1]

Screw a lid from plastic bottle of peanut butter to a tree and then cut the bottom off. Deer allways seem to like it even if they never had peanuts. Illinois?? you ain't suppose to be baiting at all. Tarsal gland at the time of the rut. Get some fall blend seed and try to get some out in a place you know the deer travel after the season starts. Also just happening to spill some salt and molasses on a cross trail edge at the base of a tree or stump will work.

[ohio bowhunter]

Get yourself some Tinks Doe Pee . Put pads on the bottom of your boots , saturate them each time you walk to your stand . I always use the SAME path each time when going to my stand , kinda like starting your own deer trail . Works every year .:) Heres a few I've snuffed doing just that .
http://i31.tinypic.com/vfjwk4.jpg
http://i29.tinypic.com/2927ds0.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/28c3n6w.jpg
Oh , I am also a chain smoker , doesn't bother them at all . Dont waste yer money on that scent lock hype .

[moosehunt]

The pee pads may work and be legal, but you'ld have to keep looking behind you to see if a deer was catching up on you. That doesn't seem logical. The others (not the garden or the headlights) are known as baiting, highly illegal (and unethical) anyplace I've ever been! I am amazed that you would post anything like that on a legitamate hunting forum!

[scythefwd]

I have some hunter specialties doe in estrus urine that seemed to work last year. All was quiet until I cracked open the bottle and set it in a nook on a downed tree where the wind would blow over the open bottle mouth. Within the next half hour, I heard at least 20 blasts down wind. Nothing got to where I was at... but those hunters were shooting at something (my deer most likely). That is why I don't hunt public lands anymore.

[pfrnkln]

Hmmmm, somehow it looks like some info got crossed...
The pee pads - I use em too. its for walking to our spot - you leave the trail...then you are posted and keep an eye on the trial you left.
As far as attractant edibles....many states let you put feeders up so I am not going to get that whole fire started but really - putting out a salt lick or minerals (provided its legal in your area) is not the end of the world.
Most guys I know who do this continue year after year.
You could argue that you are actually providing resources for the game just like planting a food plot/garden.

[troyboy94]

I never said I was baiting I just simply asked wich ones worked...

[willymike]

Troyboy94,

You never did ask about baiting - true! I also don't bait. Rather, I provided a mineral supplement for a deers diet.

I also don't hunt over these mineral spreads. Some folks just like to take pictures with their game and trail cameras. For that matter, the land where I use this supplement is banned from hunting since it is so close to our family residential property. Too dangerous to allow hunters that close.

Some folks just have to get their drawers in a wad and draw conclusions without knowing facts.

[1/4MOA]

Baiting is in no way unethical. If its legal in your area i say use it. The law of the land. I guess some of you might cry when you see my bait piles. In my opinion the use of bait better lets you manage your heard. You get a better look at the quailty of wildlife you have.

If you want to go back in the day take a look at the Great plains where buffalo were all most killed off. It was used as sport. Thats not hunting and thats unethical.

I read a lot of books that were written by plantion owners here in the south and one i enjoy in particular is stories written by Archibald Rutledge and his accounts on his homestead as a young man. His best book is called Hunting and Home in the Southern Heartlands. Even back in these days the plantion gunnermen used bait harvest animals. Never taking more than was needed. I dont believe it to be unethical then or now.

Alot of places allow the use of bait piles and while i can i entend to make them fat and happy. just my 2 cents.

[moooose102]

take an apple with you, when you get to your stand, smash the apple into the trunk of the tree (or a nearby one) your in (or sit by if your not in a stand). rub it in fairly well so the wind will blow the scent all around. sit back, relax, and wait! of course, this works best if there are a couple of apple trees in the vacinity.

[EatBugs]

peanut butter

[Olympus]

I like to listen to the Ted Nugent raves about hunting over bait. :D