The Kelly Harris Mineral Recipe
Whitetail Deer
My dad and I just got back from the farm and put a couple of these out. We talked about Kelly and I told him about the knife and how Morgan was doing. I informed him when Kelly had his injury and he was in their prayers. It was such a sad deal for a guy that I knew but never met.
Kelly and I emailed back and forth on his mineral recipe. I shared trail cam pics and harvest pics. He was such a great addition to this board and what makes Bowsite special. I almost took a job in Ohio back in 2019 and would've reached out to him when I was contemplating the move.
I figured in honor of Kelly that I would post his recipe that we've been using in his words:
"I always buy 50 lbs bag of dicalcium phosphate, 50 lbs bag of trace mineral salt, bag of powdered molasses. I dig a 3 ft hole wide and about 18 inches deep. I chop up the dirt really good, shovel in the ingredients with dirt 1 shovel full at a time. I mix it up really good and keep doing it until the hole is filled back up.
There used to be a guy on here who was a biologist who went by Blue Buck. He told me that 98% of content for deer antler was calcium.
Apparently the dicalcium also really helps with lactation in hoofed animals.
We put them out and skipped putting them out for several years. We noticed big differences in rack size when we do put them out."
Be sure to use dicalcium and not monocalcium. We did this the first year and Kelly said to spend the time finding the dicalcium the next year, as there is a huge difference.
RIP Kelly, you are missed!
This is what you want for di-cal.
I would suggest adding 50# of white salt to the recipe.
Kelly was spot on with the ingredients.
Thanks for bring this back up! Kelly was a great guy. And good for bowsite.
I use dical, trace and stock salt. Never heard of the powdered molasses. I’ll have to see if I can find some
I used a similar mix. I also added dollar store brown sugar and powdered apple flavored jello. If ya can't find that.....any berry flavored jello mix will work.
I have not found anywhere in Western NC to get the Di-Cal. Any larger stores yall are finding it at?
I get mine at our local Co-Op. Not sure if tractor supply or anyone similar carries it
Kenny, you may have to hit the phones a little bit or have them do a special order. On our first round, the guy at the Co-Op knew what I was doing and said that the mono would be fine. Kelly was very clear that the Di-Cal was the way to go after I told him this comment. It's a lot of work to cut this major corner.
The brand I found and used this year was PCS 18.5%. A little research showed the following: PCS Phosphate Company Inc. Raleigh, NC. They could probably tell you a distributor in your area if you gave them a call.
Purina Nutrebeef has a high content of Di-Cal.
Kscowboy, I found the 18.5 at Southern States in Fletcher NC. Took finding a different employee to let me know they had it. I have already put out 160lbs of trophy rock 365 and 100lbs of trace minerals from Tractor Supply. Trying to decide if it will be worth it to buy this mixture and put out this year, or just get it and wait til next year.
IMO.....yes! Especially if you add the sugar and jello.
Scoot, its possible your sites arent in locations that deer frequent already. I cant recall ever having trophy rock minerals out on a property that deer didnt hit them regularly. They definitely like that stuff a lot, whether it benefits them or not. I would look into changing locations for your mineral sites.
Scoot, What time of year did you put out the trophy rock? In the winter they dont have as much interest in it as they may in spring/summer, as they are looking for mast . This has been my experience anyways.
I've found mineral use varies with terrain. One area I hunt is rocky with poor soil and deer there will hit salt blocks all year. Another is good valley soil and they only hit it spring and summer. So, 'it depends'.
I agree, spring and summer are the only times mine usually get hit hard. I was just assuming that was when they were put out.
^....if you're asking me....I never used the powdered molasses. Brown sugar, powdered sugar, jello, etc....I was getting that at the dollar store.
Im trying powdered molasses for the first time this weekend. I got the ingredients for the mix mentioned here. Putting 150lbs in a new hole next to my buried water tank. Just seems like a great spot to start a new site. Even though i have the two others already.
If ya get a good batch....you can smell it from downwind.
I would think all the sweet additives would draw bears and coons.
Where I was doing that...there were no bears and the coons wouldn't touch the mineral....too salty I guess. I did it a bit up in northern MI when ya could and never had a bear issue.
Thanks for posting this. I think about Kelly a lot.
So I put out this mixture 10 days ago on my new property. Checked the camera yesterday. Literally the evening of the same day I put it out, I got video of a potentially nice buck hitting it. After that , several does and a couple of dink bucks were hitting it daily. This site is right beside my buried water tank near a bedding area. I have a stand on the edge of it as well. Looking like a good spot at this point.
Hey Scoot if your placing minerals in Minnesota you cannot put out anything that has any flavorings, food products etc. in it, trace mineral has a flavoring in it if I remember correctly so would also not be legal in Minnesota.
JL "Good deal. Any pics?"
I have one of the video clips saved on my laptop. I have several pics posted recently already on my New farm post. Ill be posting more at some point for sure.
I’ve still got to get a couple of bags of loose mineral for the mix. Gonna give it a try to see if they’ll utilize it.
Found granular molasses at the local farmers supply store $17
Got it all mixed up. Just need to get out and refreshen the sites.
I think I made enough for the next 13 years!
How often should you refresh a site?
Went down to the farm today and there was all kinds of traffic through there. Unfortunately, the camera wasn’t working. I’ll have pics in a couple of weeks.
The deer have pounded my spot since the first night after I mixed up and put out a couple months ago. I will be using this same combo next year as well.
