“During our first year on this property we had two old salt licks and added the Red Spot Plus to those sites,” said Hawkins. “Then we started five new mineral licks with only Red Sport Plus in different spots around the property.”
He said the spring is when establishment of mineral sites is most effective.
“Turkey season is the perfect time to start putting it out to get them established by the time the deer are looking for them in hot weather,” Hawkins said. “By the end of May and the first of June they’ll really start hammering the mineral sites.”
Of course, cameras were set up at each site.
“We ran five cameras through the summer, starting around July 1, and stayed with them through the start of bow season in mid-October, and then picked them up again around the first of December to keep up with any trophy bucks that were on the property for hunting purposes,” he explained.
By spreading the mineral sites on all parts of the property, Hawkins said they’re able to keep track of deer if they move from one area to another.
“I like to start a mineral site on low ground that doesn’t hold water,” he said. “I’ll put the mix on an old stump, log or anything that holds the minerals.
“They actually take the meat of the stumps and wood or dirt as they eat the product.”
There’s more to jump-starting a mineral site than just pouring it out on the ground, however.
“I’ll start with 8 to 10 pounds of mineral mix and combine it with dirt and water,” Hawkins said. “If you add water to the minerals and dirt, it helps it activate quicker and get in the soil and the deer will start using is sooner.
“So if you just put it on the ground without adding water, you won’t get results as quick.”
Maintenance is minimal.
“After your initial site is up and running, you need to put a 16- to 20-ounce cup of (mineral) every month to month and a half to refresh it and give it that fresh smell.
“By adding more Red Spot Plus every four to six weeks it seems to get interest up again in the deer herd. They smell it and think, ‘I’ve got to go check that out now.’”
During his initial application on their farm, Hawkins checked the cameras every seven to 10 days.
“I needed to know how it was working and know what was happening,” he said. “If there’s no deer in the area, then you won’t see anything. If you find deer where they are in the summer months, the product becomes more useful as you monitor the bucks and does on the property.
“But you’ve got to find the deer herd and get the mineral licks started first — and then the deer will continually use them.”
Once he’s certain deer are visiting a lick, monitoring can be ratcheted back.
“After my initial site preparations and getting the deer coming, I monitor the mineral licks and game cameras once a month,” Hawkins said. “We’ve found that some areas are better for does, and those licks get hammered so much that the bucks stay off in the background and they’re timid about coming in to the site with all the doe activity.
“At some other places, we see only bucks using the sites while traveling in bachelor groups.”
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