ADVANCED NUTRITION

In Part 1 of this series, I explained why I believe minerals can help bucks grow bigger racks. I did not provide critical details to actually help whitetail land managers get the best results from a whitetail nutrition program that includes mineral supplementation.

I strongly believe most folks who put out minerals for deer see minimal — if any — impact on antler growth.

First, nutritional supplementation in a wild deer herd will rarely show a fast return on the investment of time and finances. When I design a custom whitetail management plan for clients, I tell them to think of my suggestions as part of a five-year plan. And we need to give the plan a full five years to start seeing the real impact it will have on a property. That doesn’t mean we won’t see some improvements sooner, but five years is typically the point when the change in the size of bucks on a property becomes noticeable. Some other