Dave Wheeler owns a company that has been making livestock minerals for 85 years. About 1996 he got the idea of boosting antler size on wild deer with a special mineral formulation that also acts as an attractant.

Soon after he started experimenting with it, the local deer population started sprouting record-sized antlers. In fact, one of the first customers to try his "Lucky Buck" minerals, Vic Bulliner, shot a world record 8-pt. buck in 2001.

"My friends and I have hunted the same property in Southern Michigan since about 1976. The biggest buck we killed on the property before 2001 was in the 110-in. class. The only change we made was to start feeding Lucky Buck minerals in the spring of 1999," says Bulliner, whose world record-tying buck received a Boone & Crockett score of 180 3/8.

Wheeler himself says that since he started feeding Lucky Buck minerals to the deer on his property, he's been finding much larger bucks and retrieving huge sets of shed antlers all over the area.

Wheeler has had a lot of interest from farmers who lease land to hunters. "It can be worth a lot to hunters if you can consistently deliver deer with larger racks," he notes.

Lucky Buck minerals come in 20# buckets. You simply dump the mineral on a fallen log or just on the ground. Deere love the apple flavored mineral which contains trace minerals like selenium, zinc, and copper, all of which can be hard to find naturally in many areas. You can start feeding it in the winter but it should be available in May and June when antlers are growing.

"You're the judge. If you don't see bigger bucks after using the product, we'll send your money back," he says.