"Got Rack"

The Iowa Antler Gold Message

The development of Iowa Antler Gold began back in the fall of 2008 while on an extended work assignment in Texas. I observed the locals buying large quantities of shelled corn to feed the whitetails on their hunting property. The sporting good stores had large numbers of tri-pod barrel feeders in their parking lots assembled and for sale. This was a method of deer hunting that I had only read about. What I was observing, was deer hunters using shelled corn as a protein source as an attempt to enhance antler growth and as an attractant.

As I traveled throughout Texas, I found myself asking, what if instead of feeding shelled corn, hunters had available a high protein and mineral feed, with a perfect balance that would enhance antler growth. If there was such a product and it was in a pellet form a whitetail hunter would be able to assure the whitetails on his or her hunting property were receiving the prefect balance of minerals and vitamins, giving the whitetails the greatest potential for growing huge trophy antlers.

We began our research on what a whitetail needs to grow a bigger set of antlers, it carried over into the common areas of deer nutrition, herd health and deer hunting; thus it became evident, as deer hunters we were leaving out a key component. Before we reveal this missing factor, let's look back over the 30 previous years of deer hunting.

Today we are planting food plots, building mineral licks and in some areas, a portion of a grain field is being left as a late winter food source. It wasn't that many years ago when no one ever thought of planting a food plot let alone putting in mineral lick. If we would research the evolution of deer hunting, it would prove these changes have been good for the whitetail and very successful for the deer hunter. All of these efforts to grow bigger and better whitetail deer have been given the title Quality Deer Management by the whitetail hunting world. The proof and success of the past 30 years and the evolution of Quality Deer Management has been documented in the record books. If we were to dissect the record books, Pope and Young & Boone and Crockett, we would confirm the previous efforts to grow bigger deer have been successful and that QDM i.e. food plots, mineral licks and harvest selection does work.

Maximum Potential Antler Growth - The Need

Hard winter months directly affect the health of the deer herd, requiring the whitetails to use their fat reserves and the minerals and vitamins stored in their body structure, thus, we may never see a bucks Maximum Potential Antler Growth.
In most geographical areas of the United States, a whitetail buck's antler growing season is from April through September, six months. If the whitetails on our hunting property must wait until spring green up to begin replenishing in their body structure the used up minerals and vitamins, before they can start growing the current years antlers, we may never see a bucks Maximum Potential Antler Growth.
An unpreventable drought, effecting the growth of food plots and hindering the lush growth of natures' greenery, where the nutrients come from that whitetails need to replenish in their body structure the minerals and vitamins; we may never see a bucks Maximum Potential Antler Growth.
The whitetails on our hunting properties may have the genetics hidden inside their body structure to grow big antlers, but if they are lacking the necessary minerals and vitamins, we may never see the Maximum Potential Antler Growth.

Maximum Potential Antler Growth - The Missing Factor

We believe our study has found the missing factor to Maximum Potential Antler Growth and that is quality supplemental feeding. Here at Iowa Antler Gold our study began with the question, what does the whitetail buck need to maximize his potential antler growth? We determined through numerous university studies and department of natural resources research, that a high quality protein base was the first on the list of needs. Followed up by the proper balance of minerals and vitamins, this assures everything is working together to grow antlers and increase herd health.

As you probably know, Iowa has some huge whitetail bucks. The bucks in Iowa are born, raised, feed and live in our protein rich corn and soybean fields. At Iowa Antler Gold we have capitalized on this, putting together what we believe to be the perfect recipe for a protein base, corn and soybeans. To this, our nutritionist perfectly balanced our recipe with the exact amount of minerals and vitamins whitetails need to maximize their antler growth. Additionally, they built in everything the does need to grow and raise a healthy fawn.

Quality Deer Management - A Four Part Program

Our mission here at Iowa Antler Gold has been to educate the whitetail hunting world of the missing factor, or as we call it Part Four - Supplemental Feeding.

Food plots - The whitetail hunting property must contain at least one, if not two good protein food plots
Mineral Licks - Minerals licks are a great economical source of protein and vitamins when a hunter is unable to plant food plots, due to the lack of funds or equipment, or possibly his or her agreement with the landowner will not allow food plots. Mineral licks are a great compliment to food plots; as they can be placed on travel corridors to food plots, assuring the whitetails have easy access as they pass by. The only down side to mineral licks, research has proven whitetails will only utilize licks during the summer months and abandon them the rest of the year.
Quality Harvest - TV hunting shows, magazines, seminars and new product trade shows have preached and recommended quality harvest to assure bigger bucks. As previously mentioned, we believe the record books, if studied, would prove the size of whitetail racks entered in the record over the past 20 years, have gotten bigger, and there are more entries, so there are more bucks that qualify, proving hunters are practicing Quality Harvest.

As we have previously discussed, over the previous 30 years we have witnessed the great success of the above Three Part Quality Deer Management Program. The success of a three part program, begs the question, what would the record books look like in another 30 years, if this program could be improve upon the current methods of Quality Deer Management. Here at Iowa Antler Gold we believe we have discovered Part Four.

Iowa Antler Gold our message to the Whitetail Hunting World

Part Four - Supplemental Feeding - Winter breaks, things begin greening up and the whitetail bucks began feeding on the new greens and grass shoots, trying to replenishing the loss of minerals and vitamins, used up during last years summer antler growth, rut and winter. A whitetail buck's body has the amazing ability to store up minerals and vitamins, until they need them for antler growth. Once a buck's antlers start budding and growing, he begins pulling in from his bones and tissues any stored up minerals and vitamins he will need to turn them into antlers. We all know spring green up and antler growth occur at the same, thus almost everything he takes in, he is using to grow his antlers. It's a real miracle how this works, research has proven, antlers are one of the fastest growing tissue know to man. In some antlered animals such as caribou or moose, they are able to grow as much as four inches of antler per day.

Versus making the bucks and does on your hunting property wait four months before they are able to begin replenishing the minerals and vitamins they need to grow this years antlers and birth a healthier fawn; begin at the close of your states whitetail hunting season a supplemental feeding program of Iowa Antler Gold. Have the feed available either through a feeder, trough or by pouring it out on the ground. A weekly supplemental feeding program begun during the hard winter months will assure when the whitetail bucks body tells him, it's time to produce antlers, he is ahead of the curve and he will reach his Maximum Potential Antler Growth.