Salt Blocks and attractants for deer

roe steak

Well-Known Member
Do salt blocks and attractant actually work?

I'm a walk and stalk kind of guy and in the pub a chap with a local lease was going on about putting down all kind of stuff to attract and hold the deer near highseats.

He mentioned salt blocks and attractants of various 'magic' type names which I just nodded too because although I'm aware of boar attractants i've no knowledge of deer ones.

Anyone used them with success??
 
Hi Roe,

We have had good success using salt blocks, nothing fancy just normal cattle mineral blocks from the local farm store. We have also used road salt, dig a shallow pit line with plastic sheet, put in salt and cover back over with soil.

The above have been used for fallow; I dont have much experience with roe!

Tom
 
Hi Thomas,

i used salt to attract Roe / Munties. I clear offices in my job and found 50kg of dishwasher salt (granulated) a coupe of weeks back, took them out and have been using that.

Trick is to find a old stump of something like described above that will hold the salt (as it will get washed away)

It does help to keep them around - but its just a small part of what they need to be interested in staying in an area.

T
 
In my mind, salt blocks are used as mineral supplement in poor habitats and to help deer build bigger heads. It might be ethically disputable if they should be used as atractors and placed near high seats...

Just my opinion.

Greg
 
glogin said:
In my mind, salt blocks are used as mineral supplement in poor habitats and to help deer build bigger heads. It might be ethically disputable if they should be used as atractors and placed near high seats...

Just my opinion.

Greg
we all love the whole experience of stalking from start to finish, but we all want to shoot deer or why not just carry a camera. :rolleyes:
if you have culls to meet limited time,use what ever it takes to get the job done, within reason of corse. ;)
 
I don't shoot over the salt blocks or licks and they are not placed near the highseats; just use them to try and hold a few more fallow in the area as best we can.

Molases works well too.
 
Thomas,

Where do you get your molases from? and do you mix with water and barley? or wheat? Starting to get a few nice Munty Bucks about and it supposedly the best thing to get them out of cover!

T
 
Hi Tommo,

As Macberran says, any farm store should have it in stock. I paid about 6.00 for 2.5 litres last week for some. I either tip it into a rotten stump or fallen tree with plenty of cracks / cavities so it soaks in and the deer have to work at it. I have tried mixing it with wheat too, this works very well but usually ends up giving the badgers a good feed unless you can keep it off the ground!

Tom
 
Tommo

I've not used molasses, but have found the best thing for getting munties out of cover is the Buttolo roe call.

Are the bucks in hard horn where you are? We won't be shooting bucks for another month or so as most are still in velvet.

willie_gunn
 
Willy- Gun,

Yes mate - well some are anyway! Seen 3-4 decent heads (although not really stained up yet (you know how they darken with them digging in crap/scraping them). They are a nuisence where l shoot and they have been pushing over feeders etc on the syndicate shoot next door so they have asked me to get rid - and with some that l've shot (poorer looking ones/some in velvet still) its either l do or they'll get someone else too (who probably wont use a rifle....

Off out now to get a bag of corn to start mixing up some molases - and l'll water some down and seep it into some trees that l know they 'hang-around' ha ha ha

Tom
 
Lads,

Anyone had any experience using blocks / salt on red deer? Looking to start using them in an area. Would the blocks last longer out in the open? Where do you get the cattle blocks?
 
I bought about 10 spiral feeders for about £16 on eBay last year for pheasants but the deer loved them too and really used them often. If you do use them in the barrels like the pic then make sure the legs are splayed more or the deer will knock the feeder over and also high enough off the ground so that squirrels can't eat the bottom of the plastic drum. The little buggers destroyed about 4 feeders in only a week or so!
 
Back
Top