Ani-Logics Outdoors

            It’s June – Mineral sites and summer velvet pictures are currently the main topic that’s being talked about in the whitetail world.

            When it comes to establishing a mineral site, there are many things to think about such as where to put it based on how the deer will come and go to and from the site, how you will access the site, and what mineral to use.

            However, one of the most overlooked things when planning out a mineral site is what kind of pictures you’re looking to get. What I mean by this is, are you looking to get pictures of any deer or are you looking to get pictures of big mature bucks in velvet?

            If you’re looking to get pictures of just any deer in general, one of the best places for establishing a mineral site is just inside the woods on a heavily used trail that leads to a field edge. These are places where the deer will bed closely to in the summertime. You will have a lot of pictures of does with fawns, as well as younger bucks. I like to try to find these spots as close to a corner of the woods as I can, this way I can walk straight to that corner through a field when the wind is right, without causing any disturbance. It will also give you fairly easy access to get in and check your SD card as well as replenish your sites with Mineral Dirt 180.  I choose to use Ani-Logics products as it is highly attractive and it also provides the deer with all of the key minerals that they need to reach their full potential health and antler growth wise. I like to get these sites established in April and I tend to come back and check these mineral sites once a month to keep intrusion to a minimum.

            Now, if you’re really looking to hone in on mature whitetail bucks in velvet then you have to dig a little deeper and put a little more thought into your mineral sites. During the summer, bucks do tend to hangout in bachelor groups at times, but the more mature bucks like to hangout by themselves as much as possible and this makes them much less likely to hit your mineral sites that are close to the field edges than all the other deer in the herd, although, you will occasionally at times have pictures of them hitting these sites too. I live in Southeast Indiana and the bucks around here will bed a little deeper into the cover, out in wheat fields, or even way out in the middle of the crop fields in waterways during the summer months. By staying in these places, it allows them to be secluded and keep pressure from other deer and even humans to a minimum.

            I have had my best summertime velvet pictures of big bucks in areas with more cover that are a little deeper into the woods. I try to keep my mineral sites in these areas just outside of where they are bedded on one of the trails leading into the area. This has worked for me for several years, and I have been able to get tons of daylight pictures of big bucks that are 4+ years old this way. Although it can be very tempting to have the nerve to check your trail cams often, in places like these you will need to have your Ani-Mineral Blocks out so that you can ensure that there will be mineral for the deer for a long period of time since you will not be going back in for a good while. If you do have the urge of checking your trail cameras prematurely, a “cell cam” would work great in this spot. I tend to put cameras up in these areas in early June and I will let them sit until the end of August. 

            As a deer hunter, the summer months are one of our favorite times of the year, as it’s truly amazing to watch the antler growth process as well as being able to watch the new fawns start to grow. I hope after reading this article, you will be able to better your chances of getting some awesome summertime trail cam pictures this year!

Wesley Green