How do you know if it stinks correctly ?

[amboy49]

Every year I buy commercially produced doe urine and buck tarsal gland deer “attractants.” Every year I don’t seem to use it all and the opened bottles sit on the shelf. I now have quite a collection of various brand names that are at least a year old, some even older.

I’ve read the various articles by the self described deer hunting experts about whether attractants are effective in bringing in deer and/holding them in an area. Some of the comments even include the assertion that it’s just as effective to pee in a scrape yourself !

Just wondering if anyone has actual experience one way or another to state whether or not it’s worth spending a few bucks (no pun intended) on attractants AND do they maintain effectiveness for more than just one season ?

 

[phylodog]

We've bought and used quite a variety of different scents over the past six seasons and I've not see any indication that they've done much. I can't swear that they don't as we've had a lot of deer under and around us in those years I just have never seen any convincing evidence that it had anything to do with the scents. It's one of those things that is tough to prove or disprove shourt of having wild deer penned up to see how they react.

We regularly use Evercalm on our boots when we walk into a stand and we leave the stick at the base of the tree when we climb up. A few years ago we forgot it and had pics of a doe eating it during the night so I can attest that it doesn't spook them at least lol.

I'm not sure how much of what's out there is really usable information. We spend a minimum of 120 hours in the stand every year and I have yet to see a buck come in to rattling, get one to change direction due to a grunt or bleat call, I've never seen or heard bucks fighting, we've set up mock scrapes which have gone ignored and decoys haven't proven worth the effort to drag them in. I know all of these things do happen at times I just don't believe they're nearly as prevalent as some would have you believe or perhaps our place is an anomaly. We currently have 18 cameras out, 15 of them on one farm and we can't pattern the bucks. They show up anywhere, anytime and the only consistency is that they're 95% nocturnal until the rut is near. Does are much easier to pattern so we just go where they like to hang out and wait on the bucks to come looking for them.

 

[two70]

The general rule I've always used for whether or not scents are still good is that they should look mostly clear and not smell like ammonia but if in doubt pitch it. I've seen more deer come in to investigate a tarsal gland hanging from a limb than any commercial scent. IMO, the biggest problem with scents is that if the deer can smell the scent, they can probably smell you as well.

Until this year I've not had much luck with mock scrapes or even seen an increase in activity when adding scent to real scrapes. I found a product this year that appears to work fairly well but I need to try it out more to be sure. I've rattled in a few deer over the years, maybe once every 10-15 attempts and that's in an area where a lot of the bucks on my trail cams show broken tines and other signs of fighting. My father has twice now had bucks come charging in to his location after producing a loud crashing sound by smacking a stubborn padlock on his climbing stand closed. I've never seen bucks fighting while I've been hunting but I have heard a buck fight and I've seen one while spotlighting as well as had a few on trail cams. I've seen young bucks respond to and almost refuse to leave decoys alone and I've also seen older bucks that spooked upon seeing a decoy. I've had a few bucks respond to grunt calls but have had far more respond to a doe bleat. I've never had much luck patterning a buck with trails cams either, at least for day time patterns, and most of the time any semblance of a pattern is long over before I was able to check the camera and find it. This year I've been using Cuddelink cameras paired with a cellular home base to send photos to me on a somewhat real time basis and some interesting trends are starting to appear though I'm far from patterning a buck with it yet.

 

[phylodog]

Interesting stuff. I have to wonder if some of the differences in activities have to do with the buck to doe ratios in different areas. If there are plenty of does to be bred I'd think there would be less competition than in areas where the ratio is more even. We have a seemingly high number of bucks on our place but we haven't taken a doe in six years so there's probably plenty to go around.

 

[Leadeye]

Years ago I stopped using scents. I had used Tink's 69 with some success but notice some does with a trailing buck stopped and did a 180 on smelling it. Adding it up over the various seasons, I figured it was about a break even using it.

 

[Hoosier Carry]

I think estrus scents are good for getting camera pics at night. When the bucks start their seeking phase, a dripper with estrus is a good way to get buck pics. But donÂ’t hang the dripper near your stand area as the estrus seems to tick the does off and you donÂ’t want that.

I believe trying to use scent to get something in front of you is a waste of time and money and honestly can ruin your area. YouÂ’ve heard hunt where the does are at right? Let them lay the scent down for you.

Try a dripper and put a cam on it and see what you come up with. You might be surprised!

 

[Cameramonkey]

Some of the comments even include the assertion that it’s just as effective to pee in a scrape yourself !

Ive actually heard the exact opposite, and that is the key to ruining a trespasser's spot; pee all around his stand.

 

[Hookeye]

Back in the day I had excellent results with two scents.
Foggy Mountain "Hot Doe".
Found an almost empty bottle in a hunting bag the following season, used it and had two bucks come right in.

For younger bucks, the old HS "Buck Lure Supreme" worked very well, like pulling them in on a string.

Neither of these are made any more.

Have tried others..............with ZERO results.
So worthless I gave up on using anything.

Haven't used scents for years.

Couple of seasons way back rattling worked very well.
Of course every Walmart Nimrod started crashing antlers beginning Oct 1 and the deer went deaf.

So..............I think scents might suffer from the same .................if everybody around you is turning their spot into a toxic dump..........


I forgot, did try "active scrape" way back and had a 145" buck come to it, sniff and act mad.
Know how big he was because he was shot a week later by bud.

So.............gave up scents about 15 yrs or so.

 

[Hookeye]

I won't go anywhere without a grunt call though.
Also had good results with doe can call.

 

[Leadeye]

I won't go anywhere without a grunt call though.
Also had good results with doe can call.

Same here, those are the only two things I carry.

 

[phylodog]

The most reaction we've ever gotten out of grunt or bleat calls here is a pause and look our direction. We've never had a deer come in to one.

 

[Leadeye]

I've had really good luck with the can calls, brought bucks in like they were on a string. It's fun to bring a young one in, then stop and watch him wander around looking for the doe. They wander off after a while of being silent then come back when I start back up. Along with being entertaining, watching where they are looking and their posture has been a good indication of an approaching larger animal.

 

[Hookeye]

Grunt calls work.
Sometimes they come right in.
Most times they circle down wind and lock up at 50 yards.
Not cool when bowhunting solo LOL

I called a decent sized buck from the field last yr, but he was beat up bad, busted rack and gored.................yet he came to a can call.
Problem was, no doe decoy, so he skirted me at about 60 - 70 yards.

Proly wish I had a deke tomorrow morning.

 

[Hookeye]

Have had big deer gallop in to kick azz, responding to grunt call.
Pretty darn cool!

Never tried snort wheeze, buds say thats what works best. Good results.

 

[two70]

Interesting stuff. I have to wonder if some of the differences in activities have to do with the buck to doe ratios in different areas. If there are plenty of does to be bred I'd think there would be less competition than in areas where the ratio is more even. We have a seemingly high number of bucks on our place but we haven't taken a doe in six years so there's probably plenty to go around.

I'm sure that plays a role as does the level of aggressiveness of individual bucks. Not all mature bucks are aggressive and some will even shy away from grunt calls. Sometimes even the most aggressive bucks are on a mission and won't abandon what they are doing to respond to a call. I had a buck in some thick brush about 50 yards from stand in muzzleloader season a few years ago. The brush was so thick I couldn't get a shot or even get a complete look as his rack. I spent an hour sporadically hitting him with grunts and bleats and he would look my way but wouldn't move in to the open. Eventually he left without giving me a shot or even a better look. Later that same evening I had another nice buck pop up over the edge of the ridge where I was hunting. He stopped to look around when he crested the ridge and as soon as he turned away from me I hit him with a soft bleat. He came in on a string and I proceeded to completely miss one of the easiest shots I've ever had.

Ive actually heard the exact opposite, and that is the key to ruining a trespasser's spot; pee all around his stand.

I remember reading about a study several years ago that concluded deer really didn't respond any differently to human urine than they did coyote or bobcat urine in a scrape. All of which encouraged some additional scraping activity during the study. Several prominent deer hunting writers advocate urinating into scrapes and while I'm not ready to go quite that far, I don't believe that urinating around your hunting area spooks deer.

The most reaction we've ever gotten out of grunt or bleat calls here is a pause and look our direction. We've never had a deer come in to one.

I've had more luck blind calling than calling to a visible deer but I did have a very memorable encounter with a buck I could hear but not see many, many years ago. On the second day of firearms season I heard a buck approaching my stand about 5 minutes before legal shooting time. I heard him from more than 75 yards out, he was popping brush like a bull in a china shop and I could even hear his antlers raking trees as he walked. It was almost like he was popping brush on purpose to announce his presence, like he expected other bucks to flee in fears and the does to come running to him. He passed my stand at about 50 yards and still before legal shooting light. I waited until he got a little bit past me and then I threw a couple of soft bleats back in the direction he came from. He immediately stopped and after a brief pause began circling back in the direction he came from. He stopped again at about 50 yards and started looking around for the doe he thought he had heard. By this time it was past legal shooting time but it was still too dark to pick him out well through my scope in the heavy cover. After a couple minutes that seemed like an eternity I felt the wind hit the back of my neck and almost immediately he snorted and took off. Sometimes I wish I had at least seen exactly what he was, often I'm glad I hadn't.