Hey guys, I hunt in east Texas and can't really afford to do a protein program that would really benefit the heard. I have however realized that, bucks seem to almost become addicted to the stuff once they have learned to start eating it. Especially while their horns are growing. I've seen videos where bucks appear to be pushing doe's out of the way to get to the protein feeder with corn on the ground next to it. Does this happen to those of you who feed protein year around and what would be the best protein to try as an attractant. Bare in mind, I'm in Polk county, east Texas.

a cheaper route you might look at is sweet feed, deer love it and its just one more thing to put out along with corn that might keep deer close if your neighbors aren't using it. same with rice bran.

I know an old timer that will chum throughout the season with sweet feed and swears by it. Anything new might cause the deer to be a bit timid early on, or so I've experienced with using stuff like sweet feed or any attractants, but if you can be consistent with it they'll eventually come in for a bite to eat. The guy I know has been using sweet feed on the same place for over 20yrs in Comanche and says the deer love it. Not sure if there is any nutritional value or not, but seems to work as an attractant.

Do you just spread the sweet feed on the ground? I have my feeder in a Bermuda field and would probably lose too much of it to waste if I just threw it on the ground. Probably need a low feeder for it.

during the season I pour it on the ground in chum piles because I don't hunt feeders but I also have 2 gravity feeders that I mix it in with corn during the spring and summer. I also use some 14% "hi fat" pellets from my local feed store.

sweet feed is usually 12% protein and 3-6% fat with some other minerals in it, obviously not the mineral package and protein level of a good deer pellet but its usually quite a bit cheaper, which for me matters. and on my lease at least I know for a fact that I see bucks my neighbors don't who only spin corn.

another benefit of sweet feed, if it rains like crazy again, you'll have little oat patches all over the place lol, about the only pics I had late season were of the deer eating the oats from the sweet feed...

you might want to test out the sweet feed on your deer herd first. I tried using it last year at two places, one behind my house and the other out at my lease about 15 miles away. The deer at the lease demolished it... the deer behind the house wouldn't hardly touch it.... so test out their preference before you buy it in bulk.

As far as protein as an attractant, I mix 2/3 corn and 1/3 record rack most of the season and 2/3 rr 1/3 corn in the summer. The Record Rack has an aroma that I think they can smell from greater distances and it gets them on feed quicker.
BB2 is good stuff too if you can afford the price tag.... if not Atwoods carries a protein mix that is similar for like 8.99 per 50 lb bag. I just started using it so I will have to get back to you on if it works but I put some out in the back yard and there were deer eating on it this morning when I got up for work.

Yes my bucks(does like the corn) that are eating the protein would not even look at the corn until after their antlers are hard, now if i throw corn outside the pens they wull come to it but thats after their hard horned.

This is what I was talking about. I think I may build a few customized feeders and try both protein and sweet feed to see what happens. I have way to many hogs to put it on the ground so it looks like experimentation time come spring.

Roasted soy -- deer love the peanut-like smell and it is very high in protein