A stump along a high-traffic deer trail, or near a water source or similar area that deer frequent, is a good spot for a mineral site. (Photo courtesy of Working Class Hunter)
April 09, 2025
By Ryan Fair
Many whitetail hunters often view springtime mineral sites as unnecessary. By the time March rolls around, most major hunting seasons are over, turkey season is arriving shortly and fishing in many places is picking up. I’ve heard all these excuses in the past, but none of them truly justifies forgoing a mineral site in the spring. Mineral sites not only benefit you as a hunter; they also can play a vital role in a whitetail’s overall health.
WHY DO IT Know Your Deer For hunters, the primary reason to create a mineral site is because mineral sites attract deer. Bucks, does and fawns will all start frequenting your mineral site on a regular basis once they discover it. This is great for inventorying bucks that made it through hunting season and winter, and for identifying any new bucks in the area. Because most does and fawns remain in the same area much of the year, a mineral site can also help you gauge local doe and fawn populations. From this you can determine how much doe management needs to be done to maintain a healthy buck-to-doe ratio.
When I establish mineral sites at the beginning of March, I place Moultrie Mobile cell cameras nearby to capture any activity. It’s best to leave your camera on picture mode for the next 4 months and to use a longer-than-normal trigger delay. This helps you avoid redundant image captures and conserve battery life, which helps minimize human intrusion to replace batteries.
Around the beginning of June, I usually go back in and freshen up the site, which by then is bare dirt, and swap out batteries and SD cards if needed. Using cameras in this fashion lets you watch bucks grow throughout the summer in velvet. And it affords you an idea of which buck to start patterning for the fall.
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Promote Herd Health Mineral sites offer all deer a plethora of benefits. For starters, they help deer replenish key minerals they lack after a long winter spent scraping by on scarce food sources. More critically, though, mineral sites help them maintain sodium levels in spring and summer. Deer crave and seek out minerals high in salt content at these times—whether they come in the form of powders, blocks or liquids. Deer have a sodium deficiency in the warmer months due to their high water and potassium intake as they forage on greens.
Fawns and does also benefit from mineral sites during and after pregnancy. It has been proven that does seek out minerals during the gestation and lactation periods. This is because they need high levels of calcium and magnesium leading up to and when they are nursing. Does with a balanced diet and proper mineral intake (which also aids digestive health) are better able to focus on keeping their fawns as healthy as possible during their first year of life.
Beyond helping deer, mineral sites excel for monitoring your herd. Use a long trigger delay on your trail camera to avoid redundant images and conserve battery. (Photo courtesy of Working Class Hunter) Grow Bigger Antlers (Maybe) For years and years, there have been deer camp debates about whether minerals help bucks grow larger antlers. The answer to this varies depending on who you talk to, though nothing has been firmly proven yet. Some scientific studies have suggested that minerals may help with antler growth in situations where deer are nutritionally deprived or in areas with mineral-deficient soils. But most studies showed no significant differences in antler size between supplemented and non-supplemented deer, especially after deer reached 2 1/2 years of age. However, there are a few interesting points to consider with this.
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First off, whitetail bucks can store calcium and phosphorus to use later to aid in antler growth. This is important because studies have shown 11 different minerals make up a whitetail’s antlers. Of those 11 minerals, calcium and phosphorus constitute almost one-third of the total. With those numbers, I would like to think that minerals do support antler growth in some small way.
Beyond that, as mentioned above, minerals more generally help keep a whitetail’s diet balanced and promote good digestion. This is important because it has been proven that a healthy buck can focus all his energy on antler growth throughout the summer instead of fighting malnutrition or disease.
HOW TO DO IT There are several different ways to create a mineral site, with most dependent on where you choose to put it and the mineral type you select. I like to place the mineral sites we’ll discuss below on or near a heavily used deer trail or close to a water source. This lets whitetails find them fast without having to seek them out.
Let’s start with a rock, cube or granular form of mineral . I generally create this mineral site in one of two ways. For the first, I’ll find a tree stump about knee high and place the mineral rock or block on the stump. I like this method because the stump will soak up the minerals over time, making it easier for deer to consume it. If a stump isn’t available, I’ll clear out a spot on the ground about the diameter of a basketball and place the rock there. Both methods work great.
After placing my block, I like to pour an attractant over the top to make it even more appealing. I’ve found that anything with an apple scent tends to work well.
Liquid minerals are a great option if you must walk a decent distance to reach your desired mineral site. You can easily toss them into a pack, which is much easier to carry than, say, a 10-pound rock. With liquid versions, I’ll always put them on a tree stump or something that’s off the ground and can absorb the minerals.
I haven’t had much luck with just pouring liquid minerals on the ground. Always remember before using liquids to shake them well beforehand to mix everything up nicely before you put it out.
Also note that you can use minerals in a feeder, too. I recommend this method if you already have an established feeder site that deer frequent. Simply mix some mineral in every time you fill it with feed.
How you make a site, generally, is not as important as having one out that is easily accessible to the deer. Once established, deer will continue to visit these sites for many years to come.
Lastly, and this should go without saying, but I’ll mention it anyway: Check all state and local regulations pertaining to the use of minerals and mineral sites. Rules vary widely by state—and even within states—due to the presence of chronic wasting disease. Review all applicable regulations to ensure you’re staying legal.
This article was featured in the March 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .
