Local veteran, hunter develops deer and hog attractant

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press

A Kempner veteran is soon to see the labor of the past several years come to fruition in an entrepreneurial venture that he hopes will help hunters everywhere.

James Alesick has been a hunter since childhood, thanks to his father and other family. Alesick has spent the last several years working to develop an attractant for both deer and hogs, an idea he first had back in the late 1980s but one he’d put on hold while serving in active duty.

Now that he’s retired, he’s spent the last several years developing a deer and hog attractant that he believes is different than other products.

 “I was actually looking to come up with a product years ago, that would give me a little bit more of an advantage,” Alesick said.

He talked about the most traditional method in Texas to attract deer – corn. 

“Every property line in Texas has a feeder. If you took an aerial shot of Texas in October, it’d probably have a yellow tinge to it,” Alesick joked. But he said corn isn’t enough to keep deer coming back long term.

“When I first started looking at this product, I went back to the basics – what can you provide a deer that will keep a deer coming back? You have to provide to the body the nutrients that a deer will need and take into consideration it’s a ruminant.

“When you look at a lot of products that are on the market, especially in the lines of attractants, they’re a wham-bam attractant. You throw it on the ground and deer will smell it and they’ll come, but they don’t have the content or the ability to keep a deer coming back again and again.”

Alesick said corn and pellets are a temporary quick fix, and that feeders are good to feed deer all year long, but when deer season comes and guns start going off, deer become very flighty and spooky at feeders.

He recommends using J2 as an alternate source to corn feeders.

“You don’t want the deer to associate feed with fear. Once those deer start becoming flighty, they turn to an alternate food source besides corn. You put out the attractant as an alternate food source, to give you two windows of opportunity. 

“A lot of attractants, like rice or soybean, are a quick fix. A deer can’t take a whole lot at a time because of the ruminant factor. The attractant assists the digestive process and a deer will never get what we call burnout.”

Alesick said J2 gives the deer key nutrients for a deer’s ruminant digestive system, and this is key to the attraction of what he’s developed.

He makes J2 in his garage, where he’s worked to perfect the concoction that has been tested for the past two years by hunters.

“To test both my theory and product, I invested the last couple years in manufacturing and giving my product to hunters, and requesting only photos and feedback in return. The responses and support have been nothing short of stellar,” Alesick said.

He added that D & D Feed has given him solid input over the years, for feed and technical archery input, along with a select group of bowhunters from Fort Hood, hunters from Lampasas, Kempner, Lometa, and surrounding areas.

Local hunter Kevin Wylie was one of the testers of Alesick’s product before its launch.

“All my deer hunting brother and sisters, you need to check out this product James Alesick has developed,” Wylie said. “It’s an awesome product that's actually an attractant and good for the deer population.”

Presently, Alesick is developing a “wet blend” for feral hogs, although the dry J2 form appeals to them as well.

Alesick is working on his website but has Facebook page for J2 attractants where hunters can share their photos, successes and tips. J2 Berry Blend is available in 30-pound bags at D & D Feed in Copperas Cove. Alesick is also working to get the product into other stores locally.