EDITOR'S NOTE: David R. Fuhr of Winigan, Missouri, a research chemist with Fuhr Research Laboratories, has developed Vita-Rack 26, a vitamin and mineral supplement for deer that Hunter's Specialties handles.
QUESTION: What is Vita-Rack 26?
ANSWER: It's a wildlife nutritional supplement of minerals and vitamins.
QUESTION: How is it different from the usual mineral blocks that many hunters use?
ANSWER: First of all, it's loose granules rather than a block. It's a unique combination of 14 minerals and 12 essential vitamins -- all the keys for optimal whitetail nutrition.
QUESTION: What do you mean by "optimal nutrition"?
ANSWER: In other words, this product is comprised of the ideal ingredients a deer needs for overall health and well-being.
QUESTION: You've also stated that someone who uses Vita -Rack 26 over seven years actually can change the genetics of a deer herd. Is that true?
ANSWER: What actually occurs is that the genetics are already implanted in the animals. The normal problem is that the animal doesn't have the proper ingredients to allow it to grow to its fullest potential. What this product does is unlock the dormant genetics of deer. If the deer is destined to be a 9- or a 10-point buck, the product won't change that. But Vita-Rack 26 can change the overall physical structure of that animal.
QUESTION: What changes have you seen in rack and body development on growing bucks?
ANSWER: We found in a 7-year period that if we started out with an average of 150-pound weight for a 3-1/2-year-old deer, then after seven years on Vita-Rack 26, the average 2-1/2-year-old buck in that herd would weigh in excess of 250 pounds. It's a tremendous weight gain. And with weight-gain increases comes great antler development.
QUESTION: What effect has this had on the fawns of does that have taken the Vita-Rack 26?
ANSWER: We've found that multiple births, as everybody knows, are common after the first year that a doe gives birth. What typically happens is that if a doe's body system isn't perfectly in sync, she will abort the multiple births because her body can't carry them. With the body enhancement that comes with this nutritional supplement, the does' bodies are in good enough physical shape to carry the multiple births.
The other thing that seems strange is the doe takes that fawn or fawns right to the same mineral site, which helps them develop good coats and healthy weights.
QUESTION: What changes have you seen in the buck's racks when they've eaten Vita-Rack 26?
ANSWER: We've seen the overall mass increase dynamically, and with that mass comes wider beams and taller tines.
QUESTION: What is actually in Vita-Rack 26?
ANSWER: The easiest way to explain it is to call it a "synergistic reaction," which means an interaction between the vitamins and minerals so that one enhances the other and brings it to its fullest potential. For example, if you take the B-vitamin series, and take B1 by itself, it'll have certain benefits. However, if you add a B12, you get a multiplying effect to those benefits. We have the 12 vitamins in the product interacting between themselves. We also know that minerals in certain proportions will interact with each other. For example, iodine spikes calcium for more efficiency. We also know B1 interacts with calcium. Bringing these reactions together makes the vitamins and the minerals work together better to their full potential.
QUESTION: You and a partner developed Vita-Rack 26. What's your educational background?
ANSWER: I've been a research chemist for more than 30 years.
For more information about Hunter's Specialties' quality hunting products, videos, accessories, and Vita Rack 26, click here. You also can e-mail David R. Fuhr at davefuhr@nemr.net.