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.
