Monster Bucks and Minerals

Check out such whitetail mineral supplements as Hunter’s Specialties’ Vita-Rack 26 and on the bag you’ll read things like “unlock their genetic potential” and “watch ‘em grow.”  But can Vita-Rack 26 and similar products really produce mega bucks? 

Under the right conditions and when used correctly – Yes. 

The problem is that many hunters use them incorrectly.  Nonbelievers dismiss minerals because they fail to see bigger bucks that hunting season.  And they’re right.  The chances of seeing improved bucks after only one year is slim.

“Minerals have a cumulative effect realized after years of continuous use,” says Dave Fuhr, chemist and developer of Vita-Rack 26.  Fuhr’s research has shown that after seven years of continuous use, it is possible to change the genetic structure of a deer herd.

When Fuhr and his wife first started working on their farm in Missouri in 1991, the typical 3 ½ year old buck weighed approximately 140 pounds.  Fuhr soon began experimenting with what would later become Vita-Rack 26.  In less than a decade, the typical 3 ½ year old buck weighed well over 200 pounds, and in 2009 Fuhr’s wife killed a 5 ½ year old that weighed 295, field dressed.  “Deer on our farm,” says Fuhr, “average 50 pounds heavier than anywhere else in the area.  The average buck killed on our farm weighs 350 pounds or more live weight.”

It stands to reason that if a deer’s physical capabilities are fully realized, then the size of its antlers will follow suit, and the result will be larger racks.  “Whitetails instinctively seek out the minerals and vitamins they need,” says Fuhr, “which are often lacking from their everyday diet.”

One such vitamin is B-12, which does not occur in the wild.  B-12 plays a vital role in strengthening the immune system in both animals and humans.  When an animal or human is sick, more often than not they will receive medication with a heavy dose of B-12 in it.  For example, when the H1N1 virus scare swept through the U.S. last year, the booster shots given contained multiple types of B vitamins, B-12 among them.

B-12 helps boost the immune systems of whitetails in the same way.  It helps them fight off diseases and other stress factors that may inhibit antler growth so that more energy can be spent on physical development.  One of those stress factors is ticks.

“Our research across the country has shown that deer with healthy immune systems, deer that have been exposed to Vita-Rack 26, actually repel ticks,” says Fuhr.  A tick count is done on all deer harvested from the Hunter’s Specialties Farm in northern Missouri.  Out of 50 deer checked last season, only one had ticks.  It was covered with them, if fact.

Why that one deer had so many ticks while the others had none can be easily explained.  “The buck was killed during the rut,” Fuhr says, “when a buck’s range increases, and we think that buck came from a neighboring area where the deer do not receive this type of nutrition program.”

Fuhr, who has extensive experience working in regions where Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is present, says that minerals such as Vita-Rack 26 can help prevent CWD, not to mention it can also prevent Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD or “blue tongue”), which took its toll on whitetail herds in many parts of the country in 2007 and 2008.  In short, Vita-Rack 26 works as a miracle drug and should be a cornerstone in building and maintaining a healthier deer herd.

For Vita-Rack 26 to be effective, though, how much of it should deer consume?  “It depends on the deer,” says Fuhr.  “Sometimes it’s as much as five or six ounces.  On average, though, an ounce is the norm.  Deer know how much they need.”

Vita-Rack 26 gets its name from the number of minerals and vitamins it possesses – 14 and 12, respectively.  Among the minerals are calcium and phosphorous, which many other brands also use.  The difference between brands, says Fuhr, is the levels of each mineral used.

I’ve used several brands of minerals, and each one has been effective to some degree in that deer used the sites.  How often they used them varied according to the brand.  For instance, the Whitetail Institute’s 30-06 works well where I hunt in West Virginia, but near my home in Pennsylvania, deer hardly touch it.  Other brands I’ve tried work better in PA than WV.  In all cases I judge a brand’s effectiveness by the number of deer visits to the site every week.

So far, the only brand that seems to work well everywhere I use it is Vita-Rack 26.  The reason could be that the levels of calcium and phosphorous in Vita-Rack 26 are lower than in most other brands.  As Fuhr says, “More is not always better.  It’s how the levels of those vitamins and minerals work together with the other ingredients that make it appealing and easier for the deer to digest.”

Another interesting fact is that Vita-Rack 26 is completely odorless, yet deer still find the sites.  “We had a lot of snow last year,” says Fuhr, “and deer dug through the snow to get to the mineral.”  Once again, it’s a case where a deer’s instinct takes over.  They know they need something, and they instinctively know where to find it.

This also explains why minerals don’t necessarily work in all parts of the country.  Some deer herds are already getting proper nutrition from natural food sources.  For most whitetail populations, though, this is not the case, and when these minerals are used correctly, deer will flock to them.

Setting up mineral sites with Vita-Rack 26 this August will not help much when it comes to growing bigger bucks this fall, but keeping those sites refreshed and active all year round will result in bigger bucks and a healthier deer herd later on.  And there’s no better time than right now to start investing in the future.