Using salt and cameras to locate a specific buck

[LonePineOutdoors_AZ]

@JSR thanks for the detailed response. I plan on getting to work out there this upcoming weekend. Being as you recommend getting the buck on cam to fine tune the salt set, I have the 44# and 50# trace mineral blocks. Should I try busting them up, partially burying them when I set them, or get the appropriate format?

@Shawn thanks for the insight on how lions and terrain affect where you set.

@grey curse sounds like the blocks I bought might be handy after all. Ill have to research the cattle situation better to see if it'll be a factor.

@muledeerarea33? luckily, I have a sturdy and not too heavy shovel. Yay, 1 more thing to pack.

@Roosevelt Mark What you do at 'that time of the month', and whatyou do with your body is your choice. 

 

 

[Lazy-H98]

Cattle will be your Nemesis, if they are in the vicinity, the will find and destroy it.  Nothing worse than a card full of cattle.

When using salt, set it and forget it.  They will find it.  All game seem to always find mine, usually in a day or two.  Set your time interval based on card size and how often you plan to check on them.  Also keep an eye batteries.  Dead batteries can also ruin your day.  

I've tried them all (water softener pellets, salt nuggets and trace mineral blocks).  I prefer the trace mineral bricks (brown).  I pick mine up at Cal Ranch or Tractor Supply.  I usually break them into cubes with my mason chisel.  I get 6 cubes out of one brick.  For me they blend in much better then a bright white pile on the mountainside.  When in cube form they pack much better too.  Some deer and elk like to nose or push the salt blocks around, when in cube form not so much.  

Now is the time to get your salt and cameras out.  Personally I wait until after the general javelina seasons are over, just to be on the safe side.  When the bucks and bulls are in velvet, they seem to really hit the salt hard, once they shed their velvet, not so much.  Good luck and post some pics of your set up.

Al

 

[CatfishKev]

13 hours ago, muledeerarea33? said:

Take loose salt, water, and a small shovel. Dig a hole and mix it in. 

I think this is your best bet. Don't get rid of your blocks since you have them.  Maybe start with the loose salt then bring the blocks next visit to keep it going.  Cal ranch sells the loose stuff.  I think it's good to visit your cams in a week or two anyway. Its good to check and see if the tree they are on moves to much, did you put in on the wrong setting, is the sun bleaching out the image at prime time etc.  It sucks to get 800 pics of garbage.  Oh and pay attention to your cam direction as fsr as the sun goes.

[Lazy-H98]

+1 on the visit soon there after to verify all is good from CatfishKev.

I also take along a plastic torpedo level, to make sure my box is on the level for stellar pics.  I know, mas loco, my wife and kids remind me all the time.

[high rise hunter]

I just got a few salts established. I order this shovel from Amazon. It's cheap, poor quality but light weight and got the job done. $8 well spent. 

Folding Shovel

[ThomC]

Double duty on the shovel.  Wolf hunting. SSS

[grey curse]

5 hours ago, ThomC said:

Double duty on the shovel.  Wolf hunting. SSS

Keep in mind the last s.  Shhhhhh. 

[no worries]

Kinda went thru the same scenario last year with trying to pattern a big buck.  
A coworker told me about a giant buck that he had seen a few times over the years and wasn’t hunting anymore.  I went out and set 5 cameras over salt in the area. Does and fawns hit it multiple times daily and some decent bucks as well. Not the big guy though.  Not one pic on any camera.  
Both my kids killed smaller bucks during the youth hunt off the same mountain, but no sighting of the one I was after during the four days hunting. 
My late hunt came and I hunted that spot the first day, 5 bucks but nothing big. Next morning we spotted a shooter but it wasn’t him either.  It disappeared into the flats and we didn’t even go after him.  Checked trail cams again, no pics  of him.  Decided to hunt a different mountain that afternoon and got trigger happy on another buck.  I thought he would break 100 but he was a bit shy. 
A bow hunter killed him in January while he was sparring.  Knarly looking old buck with a double main beam on one side. 
I pulled my cards in February and still don’t have a single pic of him alive.  5 cameras and prolly 10 days glassing ( hunts and scouting) and never saw him.  
Good luck with finding him.  Let us know how it works out.  


Hindsight would have me position the cameras more toward the bottom of the cuts. 3 of my cameras were way up the mountain.  Pain to check them and they produced less pics than my low cameras.  

[knothead]

Don't really want to change subject but this kind of relates.  How close do you put salt licks to one another?  Is 1/4 mile to close.  I would rather have one good salt lick location than 3 or 4 so so locations.  Strictly archery most likely from a double bull blind.  Thanks for replies.

[Prakaj]

 

 

 

1

On 2/7/2020 at 11:02 AM, LonePineOutdoors_AZ said:

Hi All,

I really appreciated the threads debating types of salt, methods of site prep, and other info. I am interested if anyone has used 1 or more salt lick sites to aide in locating a specific buck. I found some last season sheds of a buck which I think may still be alive, and I'd like to get to work on proof-of-life. My main mode of tweakbox location will be glassing, but I'm limited to weekends, and the occasional long weekend. Being that I'll only get 2-3 weekends a month to get out, I'd like to get some passive location tactics working. While I have ideas on where to set some cameras, what are your thoughts on whether a salt lick or two will help out. I have about 5 cameras to spare for this endeavor. I've considered that more than 1 new site, and any existing man-made or natural pre-existing sites, may lead to an un-pattern-able buck.  

Yes, don't tell those things for the public, however, the camera is helpful in some situations.

[cohntr6]

I know it is hot but any luck Lone Pine Outdoors?

Jeff