Imperial Whitetail 30-06 Products: Year-round nutritional supplementation helps improve the antler size and the health of the entire herd.

By Whitetail Institute Staff


  If you want the bucks you hunt next fall to have bigger racks, make sure they have access to the minerals and vitamins they need during the 200-day antler-growing window of spring and summer. To get the most out of the antler-growing window, though, make sure you indirectly promote antler growth during the rest of the year as well. Imperial Whitetail 30-06 nutritional supplements for deer are scientifically designed and professionally formulated to help you do just that.  


Genetic Potential

Before we get into nutritional supplementation to improve antler size, let’s make sure we’re on the same page about why that’s possible. In most free-range situations, bucks have the genetic potential to grow larger, heavier antlers. That means if the genetic blueprints of bucks in your area set the maximum possible antler size at 165 inches, then absent a freak, they’ll never grow antlers of 200 inches. In most free-range situa­tions, though, bucks don’t carry antlers any­where near their maximum genetic potential. The limiting factors are primarily age and nutrition.  Age and nutrition are cut and dried. A buck cannot grow his biggest set of antlers until he’s mature (about 5.5 to 7.5 years old) and unless he has protein and the min­erals and vitamins in the forms and ratios he needs to do so. Unfortunately, although Mother Nature usually provides sufficient nu­trition for bucks to grow antlers she usually provides nowhere near enough for deer to max out on antler size. In such situations, properly for­mulated mineral and vitamin supplementation is a must.  

The 200-Day Antler-Growing Window of Spring and Summer

During spring and summer, protein, minerals and vitamins are es­pecially important to the entire deer herd — to does in the third trimester of pregnancy and, later, when they’re producing milk for their newborn fawns. Research has shown that does provided with a high-quality diet during pregnancy can drop healthier, larger fawns and produce more milk, and that larger fawns often maintain their size advantage into adulthood. Here, though, I’ll stick with just bucks and antler development.  Bucks grow antlers about 200 days during spring and summer. This 200-day antler-growing window might start and stop at slightly dif­ferent times in different areas of North America, but it always lasts for about 200 days. When you think about it, that’s an incredibly brief period in which to grow antlers.  
Antler composition: When a buck starts growing new antlers in late winter or early spring, he starts by building the velvet antler, which primarily consists of the protein, collagen. When the hardening process starts, the buck deposits minerals on the collagen matrix of the velvet antler, a process called mineralization. A hardened antler is about 45 percent protein and 55 percent minerals, so you can see how important minerals are. Logic dictates these components must come from somewhere, right? Logic is correct. Bucks obtain them from two main sources: their skeletal systems through osteoporosis and their diet.  
Imperial Whitetail 30-06 and 30-06 Plus Protein: The White­tail Institute’s 30-06 and 30-06 Plus Protein Mineral/Vitamin supple­ments are scientifically designed for the needs of deer during spring and summer. They are scientifically formulated with essential macro and trace minerals along with vitamins A, D and E during spring and summer to help deer stay healthy and improve body weights and lac­tation, and to help bucks reach more of their genetic potential in antler growth. Antler Up D3 increases calcium and phosphorous uptake to promote growth and development of antlers. 30-06 and 30-06 Plus Protein are designed for use in ground sites.  As similar as 30-06 and 30-06 Plus Protein are in terms of the nu­trition they offer, the products differ in several ways. One is protein content. 30-06 Plus Protein contains a 10 per­cent protein boost. Second, 30-06 is available in granular and block form, and 30-06 Plus Protein is only available in granular form. Third, the products differ somewhat in their texture and the taste enhancers each uses to attract deer. Accordingly, although deer usually hit all 30-06 products with a vengeance, these al­ternative options can help you tailor spring and summer mineral and vitamin delivery for your requirements and the preferences of your deer by testing each and determin­ing which they prefer most.  

The Other 165 Days of The Year

If bucks grow antlers during a 200-day period, it stands to reason they are not growing antlers during the remaining days of the year, right? Right, but that does not mean you can ignore the rest of the year if you expect to maximize antler growth.  To maximize herd health, body weights, fawn size, milk production and antler size, you need to provide your deer with properly formu­lated nutritional supplementation year-round. The critical under­standing is that a buck will always prioritize nutrition after winter. The first thing he will do is recover his body weight and other health losses, and he will do that before devoting more nutrition to antler growth. Accordingly, by helping your deer reduce winter health losses and recover from losses they sustain as quickly as possible, the sooner they’ll nutritionally prioritize antler growth in the antler-growing window.  
Imperial Whitetail 30-06 Thrive: Thrive brings the Whitetail In­stitute’s line of 30-06 products full circle by helping deer maintain body weight and overall health during fall and winter. During these seasons, the rut, dwindling food sources and energy-sapping winter weather can take a heavy toll on deer health, and bucks can lose up to 20 percent of their body weight. 30-06 Thrive is scientifically for­mulated with a specific balance of energy, protein, mineral and vita­min components to help deer maintain body weight and overall health during fall and winter. It’s nutrient-dense for winter stamina, helps deer maintain muscle mass and helps replenish critical minerals and vitamins. It also includes antioxidant nutrients that help deer main­tain a healthy digestive system and aid in muscle and tissue recovery. 30-06 Thrive also contains Devour, the Whitetail Institute’s exclusive scent and flavor enhancer, which is extremely attractive to deer.  
Caution: Imperial Whitetail 30-06 supplements are so attractive to deer that some states consider them bait, so be sure to consult your local game laws before using or hunting over a 30-06 site.  For information about Imperial Whitetail 30-06 supplements, go to whitetailinstitute.com, or call the Whitetail Institute at (800) 688-3030.