It’s Time To IGNITE Your Deer Herd With Overload
GRAYLING, Mich. –-(Ammoland.com)- Successful deer-hunting-property owners understand that the end of hunting season means that true deer season has only just begun.
That’s because they know that, even though the long rut followed by a particularly brutal winter has come to an end, the real whitetail season starts with revitalizing their herd.
Feeding is more important now than ever to produce big bucks and prevent infant mortality. They know that without a herd of healthy deer roaming their property, there’ll be just an occasional immature buck crossing within range come hunting season. The best of them know right now is the time to condition their herd, and they do it with Overload from Rack One.
The Condition Phase of the IGNITE Whitetail Hunting System is designed to do exactly what it says: condition your herd. This phase is targeted towards the herd as a whole, not just the bucks. When it comes to staying healthy, conditioning the deer is a major step that many people overlook completely.
“To ensure the health of the herd, we suggest using the Condition Phase IGNITE product, Overload, from the time the rut ends until either the snow melts in the north or when deer start to shed their velvet after growing season,” said Casey Keefer, co-owner at Rack One. “Overload is a premium 20-percent protein deer pellet that can be fed in gravity feeders, trough-style feeders, or spin-cast feeders. This pellet contains all the necessary nutrients that deer need to get their bodies back into peak condition after a long and stressful breeding season.”
Having whitetail in peak condition allows a few different things to happen. In terms of a buck, Overload will pack the weight back on his body after the rut. Regaining weight that has been lost during the rut is a crucial aspect of how long that specific animals’ antler-growing season will be. In addition to its 20-percent protein content, Overload has a guaranteed analysis of nine-percent fat content with a six-percent fiber content to ensure your bucks can rapidly bulk back up.
“If a buck doesn’t put its weight back on and heal his body after the rut, when it comes time to shed his antlers and begin growing new ones—usually about the time spring foliage is beginning to appear—everything he eats will be directed to his body in order to gain weight instead of going toward antler growth,” Keefer said. “These are just the natural steps his body must take to ensure he is healthy again come that shed/grow time. This time is critically important to put mass on his body, so his body can immediately focus on antler growth when that process begins.”
For the herd’s whitetail does, there is no phase that is more important to the health and vitality of does than the Condition Phase. Every whitetail herd must have a certain number of healthy, breeding does in order for the herd to grow and succeed. Overload provides does with all the nutrition—fat, protein, etc.—that they require to return to good health after the rut. This is another extremely important aspect of herd management for a few different reasons.
First, if a doe is able to immediately begin recuperating after the rut, she will be much more likely to maintain a healthy pregnancy. If a doe is not healthy, her body will naturally abort that pregnancy in order to survive. This leads to a higher rate of mortality, which will decrease the number of deer in the herd in the future. This creates what is commonly referred to as a generation gap.
“Overload doesn’t just stop there,” Keefer said. “If the does are able to sustain a pregnancy throughout the winter, the real work begins the minute they give birth. For the first few months of life, fawns are completely reliant upon their mothers to survive. Eating every three to four hours for weeks on end, nursing fawns can in fact, drain the life out of a doe—and that’s especially true if there are twins. We’ve shown that does eating Overload during this time gives them the proper nutrition to support fawns throughout the fawning season into the summer, when fawns will begin to wean off the does and browse for natural forage.”
If a doe has twins, the minute her body begins to lack in terms of health, she is very likely to abandon one or both of her fawns just to survive, and once again, decreasing herd numbers. Whether it’s does or bucks, decreasing herd numbers will affect your hunting plans for years to come. When too many bucks die off, the buck-to-doe ratio gets thrown off, and a healthy herd can become decimated rather quickly because of the lack of breeding. Likewise, when too many does die off, the buck-to-doe ratio will slide to the other extreme, and the natural mortality will increase due to fighting and competition to breed the fewer number of does.
All in all, the Condition Phase is one of the most important chapters of the Rack 1 Ignite Whitetail System. By using it properly, hunters and land managers can ensure their herd remains healthy and in good balance, thus leading to more successful days in the field come fall.
Rack One’s scientifically engineered IGNITE Whitetail Hunting System provides 365 days of complete whitetail nutrition and attraction for your herd. The IGNITE system addresses the evolving needs with a comprehensive line of products that contain tailored levels of nutritional supplements such as protein and fat. This system is comprised of four specific phases—Condition, Grow, Scout, and Hunt. After the rut ends, it’s time to rebuild your herd health in the Condition Phase with Overload, the post-season calorie-consumption feed that helps your bucks recover from the strenuous schedule of fighting, chasing and breeding. As your deer herd stabilizes, the Grow Phase begins with Xcellerator, which is packed with the minerals and nutrients that promote herd health and growth while maximizing antler development among the bucks. When it’s time to set out the trail cams, it’s also time to begin the Scout Phase with the protein and fat-packed Chaos. In Hunt Phase, you’re ready to reign in those deer with Rut Fuel and Acorn Crush, the extremely powerful premium attractants that bring the deer to the foot of your stand and keep them there.
IGNITE your deer herd now with this year-round Whitetail Hunting System. Remember, success in this business is measured in inches. Don’t come up short.
About Rack One
Headquartered in Grayling, Michigan, Rack One LLC is a family-owned and operated company with a combined 60 years of devotion to the hunting industry. Check out all of Rack One’s fine products at your local retailer or online at www.huntrack1.com. For more information, contact: Rack One, 7756 Arcari Trail, Grayling, MI 49738; or e-mail info@huntrack1.com.