Base Camp Leasing

April 2015

April Issue
Hunting Leases Done Right
THE TIME TO FEED DEER MINERAL IS NOW
by Tracy Breen

It appears that spring has finally sprung.  It is time to get the bow out and start shooting a few arrows.  It is time to start preparing food plots, to plant the garden, spruce up the yard … the list goes on and on.  It is easy to see why when spring arrives, many of us forget to put out deer mineral.  Many hunters think summer and fall are the best times to put out mineral, but the best time to dump mineral on the ground is soon after the snow melts.According to Dave Wheeler from Lucky Buck Mineral, the best time to put out mineral is when antlers start growing and the grass starts turning green.  “When antlers start to grow, a buck also has a strong desire to consume mineral,” Wheeler said.  This is the perfect time to take advantage of one of the best tools you have to make an impact on antler size.  Because their diet is relatively low in moisture just prior to green up, there is a low desire for minerals.  At green up, all the deer eat new growth grass which can be almost 90% water.  This can change literally overnight.  To eat a total diet of that much moisture can flush the sodium and electrolytes right out of the system. If a mineral is formulated correctly, you can take advantage of this because the deer will crave the mineral and intake will increase about sixfold.  If the formulation is correct, the antlers will get what they need to put on additional growth “by accident.”  Some of the minerals, like selenium, are not stored well in the body tissue and therefore need to be consumed at the same time they are needed for antler growth to be most effective.  The will benefit as well during birth and lactation.One reason many hunters don’t put out mineral in the spring is because they simply forget.  Wheeler has a little trick to help you remember to put out Lucky Buck.  “I have a memory association trick I want you to use.  Take a bucket of mineral and set it on the seat of your lawn mower.  Do not mow your lawn for the first time until you dump the bucket out.  Don’t let the mineral run out until at least mid-July.  After that, maintain the site by putting a part of a bucket in front of your trail camera every couple months.”
There are many benefits that come from putting mineral out in the spring. You are helping the bucks and does and you can put out a trail camera and take an inventory of the bucks in your area.  If you hunt near your mineral sight in the fall, starting the mineral sight in the spring gives the deer plenty of time to get used to using the area without any interference from man. The benefits of putting mineral out in the spring are many so get started now. Find a Lucky Buck retailer near you by visiting www.lucky-buck.com.

About the Author: Tracy Breen is a full-time outdoor writer, consultant, and game dinner speaker who often discuss how he overcomes cerebral palsy. Learn more about him atwww.tracybreen.com.

FEATURED HUNTER
KEN HILL
Ken Hill has been hunting for 39 years, since he was a 12 year old in Pennsylvania.  For Ken and his sons, hunting is a family tradition.  “I was raised where hunting was to put food on the table:  deer, pheasant, rabbits, turkey, ground hogs, and more.  I started trapping early on as well.”  Ken’s most memorable hunt, “When my oldest son shot his first buck at age 10.  My other 2 sons have harvested bucks as well, but the first one stands out in my mind.”

Ken entered the photo of his two sons in the Base Camp Leasing photo contest and made the top 10 finalists.

Ken currently hunts his own farm in Pennsylvania and his Base Camp Lease 6 hours away in Ohio.  He got the Ohio lease because youth season is longer and he can hunt on Sundays.  Plus, Ken believes there are better quality bucks in Ohio.  This is the Hill family’s seventh year on the same lease.  As Ken explains, “I could have considered others, but his one is easy for my father to hunt at age 75.”

On Ken’s bucket list: an elk out west, probably Colorado or Montana. As far as his sons’ bucket lists:  larger whitetail.

Here’s Ken’s recap of the 2010 photo of Ken and his eight point:  “We set out numerous trail cameras on our Ohio lease during the summer to try and gauge what type bucks we have roaming around. We then set up a hit list of potential shooter bucks. This 4 ½ year old buck was near the top of the hit list, even though it was only a 130” class eight point. My son and I had found his shed in the spring of 2009, the first year we had the lease, but never saw him the entire season. In 2010 I only saw him twice during the entire archery and regular gun season. Ohio had the extended gun season weekend in late December that year.  I asked my oldest son if he wanted to go out to the lease and hunt on the last day.  So we left our place in PA at midnight and got to the farm at 6 a.m., just in time to get to the stand.  We did not see much activity and broke for lunch and a short nap. We headed out at 2 p.m. for the evening hunt and the big eight came by with 4 does. My 12 gauge slug gun and Hornady SST bullets did their job.  The drag to get him out of the woods was pretty easy and we had him back at the local deer check station by 4:30pm. We got back to our place in PA at 11:00pm. All in all, not bad for a 23 hour excursion to get a buck that I specifically went after.”

Featured Property #6499

Nemaha County, KS
80 acres
Max Hunters: 3
$2,500

This is a solid little farm located in eastern Nemaha County. This one will be ideal for you and your kids or your hunting buddies.

This property has a nice set up with one creek running north to south, while another smaller drainage runs in from the east and drains into the pond in the middle.  Crops are on the south and west sides along with the northeast part of the property in hay.  A small alfalfa field with a buffer strip is along the creek and surrounded by woods on the north side.  There are no cattle on this property, so the woods can get pretty wooly.
A rustic cabin, straight out of a Terry Redlen painting, overlooks the pond in the middle of the property.  While this cabin has no electricity or plumbing, it does have propane lighting and a wood burning stove to keep you warm at night.
Deer unit 9.
**Use of the cabin is available for up to TEN nights.**
**While on the property, only respectful driving please.  In wet conditions, you will need to park at the road and walk in. **
**Shared fishing rights.**
Introducing Wisconsin
Leasing Agent:

Steve Ebert
Steve Ebert grew up on a dairy and hog farm, but had a father who loved the outdoors and always found time to share that with his children. This passion for the outdoors was certainly passed down to Steve, who in turn has found great joy doing the same with his children.  Steve lives in central Wisconsin and has worked for a major automotive parts manufacturer in various management positions for 30 years. He is a graduate of Marian College with a degree in Operations Management.

Steve has hunted whitetails in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota and Alberta over the past 35 years. He currently has leases in both Wisconsin and Minnesota. He has also hunted elk and mule deer in Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado and Montana, and caribou in Alaska, all DIY. Prior to joining Base Camp as the Leasing Agent for Wisconsin, Steve scouted thousands of acres on his own and truly enjoys that aspect of the hunt almost as much as the hunt itself.

When Steve first started hunting whitetails in Wisconsin more than 35 years ago, bragging rights were not typically how big a buck you shot, but how many you got. On the rare occasion someone actually got a 2 ½ year old buck, they were the talk of the town. Thanks to QDM and a younger generation of hunters wanting the challenge of harvesting a mature whitetail, the quality and age structure has improved dramatically, especially over the past 15 years. Buffalo County tends to get all the press, but there are plenty of quality whitetails present throughout the state and getting better every year.

Steve passionately believes that the future of hunting is dependent on finding ways to engage the younger generation, which is one of the primary reasons he decided to join Base Camp Leasing as the Wisconsin Leasing Agent. Bringing together hunters with landowners is a big part of that and from which Steve hopes to bring his years of experience and honest assessments of properties to all parties involved. Steve can be reached at any time to answer your questions about a Wisconsin hunting lease at (715) 281-8914.

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Base Camp Leasing, Inc.
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