To Tink's or not to Tink's, that is the question....

[Suilleabhain]

Used to use Apple spray and Tink's. Apple worked the first few years until everyone figured out what we were doing. You just had to give us a sniff when we came back in the house. Tink's never worked for me, assuming because there were 10 other guys with it and I never saw deer really in rut during opening southern zone rifle other than 1977, 1994 and 95.

So 'methinks I heard a voice cry "Tink's no more", Tink's doth murder chances' and quit using it several seasons ago.

With the weather as it looks, and the rut in the past few years around southern opening rifle/shotgun, what do you think about some kind of scent in 9H?

My thought is the opener is right between the 1st and 2nd ruts and would probably work better in muzzie season.

[d-bone20917]

I'd say save your money. But that's just my opinion.

[Skillet]

I use the Tink's rut sticks. It's an incense that burns for like 2 hours. They make an all season and a rut one. You need to use some sort of chimney to protect it from wind and moisture and to slow the burn. Without a chimney, they burn in about 30 minutes, I've killed a buck over them, and had many deer respond to them, which is more than i can say for most scents i've used. The things reek, and it sticks to everythinr for hours, so make sure you don't get in the smoke too much. You can buy the chimney, but we make them out of PVC or welding rod holders. Drill holes in the sides, all the way up, and cut an angle on the bottom so you can stick it in the ground.

[growalot]

I love the smoking sticks and deer come in pawing the dirt the next day where they have burned...I've also poured a little doe estrus or buck urine on the lower half of them(all season)...they dry by the time the stick burns down that far and releases the smell in the smoke as well

Edited September 23, 2012 by growalot

[fasteddie]

I don't use the Tink's . It seems like every hunter in the woods uses the stuff so the deer smell it all over .

[Skillet]

I love the smoking sticks and deer come in pawing the dirt the next day where they have burned...I've also poured a little doe estrus or buck urine on the lower half of them(all season)...they dry by the time the stick burns down that far and releases the smell in the smoke as well

That's a cool idea Grow.

[covert]

I don't have much faith in any of the attractant scents. I've tried most of them through the years and I've had deer walk right next to them and not pay the slightest bit of attention. I do know a guy though who swears by using a drag soaked in doe urine to lay down a scent trail right by his stand. He has had good luck with it.

[Rick Howard]

I have tried scents and had deer come right into it, run away from it, and not bother with it.

[wdswtr]

About 4 seasons ago I decided to really limit myself on scents as I was getting carried away with the amount of money I spent each season on different scents. This is and was the best thing I ever did for me anyways. That season and everyone since have been much more succesful and seeing more deer. I dont mess with mock scrapes, scent trails, hardly ever and even not at all some seasons now. Part of me thinks that laying a scent trail will dipserse your own scent as well. Same as making a mock scrape. Etc. Too many times I have had deer come into a scrape, follow a scent trail etc and at some point it puts them on high alert and they are gone. The amount of times it put deer on alert versus actually effectivly working in my favor was minimal. After taking notice of this I have been a much happier hunter in the woods. I have one brand that has seemed to work better than all the others I use. Its not a name brand off the shelf I have to special order it. I use it very sparingly if I use it at all now. If I do I make sure there is rain in the forcast that night as well. You put some scents out and after spreading your own human scent getting in to the stand and then the human scent you spread getting back out I tend to think that inviting a deer to that area following its nose is going to come across human at some point and now the stand is a bust. Yep they could very well pick up on it anyhow but I think it really gets there noses working and sniffing around to figure out where or what made that new scent in the first place. Its like using a deer call. Once I get busted when using a certain call I wont use it again in that area. To me it would be announcing to the deer your there and he knows its you. I personally feel people get too wrapped up in scents and try to rely on a succesful season based on trying to draw deer in. Do your homework, pattern those deer, take every precaution to control your own human scent and skip relying on aftermarket and trickery to get your deer and Im willing to bet your success rate will go up as well.

Edited September 23, 2012 by wdswtr

[Four Season Whitetail's]

If you think Tinks is any good. Grab a bottle from your store,Pour it in a glass and look at the color...Whens the last time you saw a deer piss brown?

[Geno C]

i use code red

[Danny]

tinks used it for 10+ years and never once have a I seen a deer even acknowledge it, never once... stopped using it all together

[eagle rider]

TnT .... Tinks n Tampons..... Last year I went through more rags than Mrs. Eagle Rider did. Got the dead deer to prove it was money well spent.

[erussell]

I cut a black sock up into a 4 in strip and attach a 4 ft string to it. I then wash it in baking soda. Hang outside to dry. I then spray ziplock bag with sent away and place outside to dry. Put on rubber gloves. I then tie a loop on end of string and place in plastic bag. Place half bottle or enough to soak strip with Tinks or any Doe in heat scent. Use only when you see bucks running around with nose to ground. Place on end of long stick and drag out away from your boot tracks. If deer hit the scent trail and turn and burn your scent trail is somehow contaminated with human scent. Throw everthing out and start again. I have had many a buck come in right up the trail with nose right in it sniffing away. Key is to keep it 100% free of human scent. Yes a deer can smell human scent through all that stench.

[deerpassion]

the only methods i use are: early season, i spray coon urine on my boots for the walk in , then spray 1 or 2 squirts of "bowhunters fatal obsession" on some leaves before i climb up,,, around rut time i do the same, but add ONE squirt of doe in estrus buck bomb on some leaves, climb up, and every hour or so i squirt one short blast of the buck bomb in the wind.... LESS is more!!!! i can't stand how hunting shows and marketing promotes the hell outa scent wicks to disperse more scent for longer.... do you really think a deer dispersing those scents are that concentrated naturally in the woods?!:"? NO, if anything it puts them on alert if they do come in at all....

[erussell]

And if your rattling make sure to use some buck urine. If a buck comes in and he doesnt see or smell another buck they might hang up out of range or leave completely. I have rattled up to 5 bucks in a day using buck urine. Half that or less without.

[sweet old bill]

When I had the bow shop I use to get fresh deer lure from a NY deer farmer. In his own words, some times they work and other times they do not. The moon has to be right and they work the best during the chase period of the rut. I found I do just as well not using a lot of deer lure. I do use red fox on my boots....

[eagle rider]

My honest to goodness recipe is light rattling over a mock scrape inside a well hit rub line. I will hang some Tinks nearby or use a Tinks fog can. Then I just sit in the stand and wait for the action to start. I've been fortunate with this strategy. I will rattle every 20 minutes or so for two minutes lightly on a rattle bag and use a buck bawl call in between with a grunted that can develop some volume. Deer will literally appear from anywhere, bucks will come in either pissed or nervous. I guess everyone likes to see a good fight,.... The Tinks stink in the air just seems to help to convince them to come in. I did this once on the ground and wound up with a monster eight pointer practically not stopping his sneak into the rattling until he was practically standing on my boots. It works well, do it up in the trees and your gonna get a better view and give yourself a few seconds more to pull off a better shot. During bow season, same combo of stink and noise had six bucks in front of my stand throughout the day (average)...... I'm a believer.

[Doc]

My biggest problem with these products is that there is no sure-fire way of knowing if they really work or not, or whether we are simply spreading around the results of the bottler's last beer. It's kind of like all these scent removal or scent suppression products. They can say what they want, but when it comes to credible proof ..... there's no way that you can verify that any of it really works or whether it is all simply coincidence.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

My biggest problem with these products is that there is no sure-fire way of knowing if they really work or not, or whether we are simply spreading around the results of the bottler's last beer. It's kind of like all these scent removal or scent suppression products. They can say what they want, but when it comes to credible proof ..... there's no way that you can verify that any of it really works or whether it is all simply coincidence.

The day you have a 122in 8pt come running down the trail YOU laid, Hit the spot YOU put a few squirts in a mock scrape YOU just made,lock up at the spot,stick his nose down in and throws his head back up with his upper lip tryin to cover his nose you will KNOW for a fact that they do work...At Times!!!

[noahmstone]

My father swore by tinks when he used to hunt. He claims that more than once he had an 8 point walk up behind him while still hunting. But he also hunted and area that didn't see any other hunting pressure for miles. I tried it my first few seasons and the only thing I ever got to follow me was a fawn that didn't know any better. The areas I hunt are more high pressure areas that the deer have already been educated.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.

[eagle rider]

Yup,..... trial and error. They work but its never just one thing that does it. Its always a mixed bag (IMO). A little on te bag, stink on the ground, some grunting and maybe then. Like the expression says, you gotta make your luck. A guy uses stink, smoke a carton of chesterfields on the way to the stand, is noisey, fidigity, reaks from a bacon and egg breakfast and is silouetted in the tree,... brother you can put out a gallon of stink, there will be no honey in that hole.

[Doc]

The day you have a 122in 8pt come running down the trail YOU laid, Hit the spot YOU put a few squirts in a mock scrape YOU just made,lock up at the spot,stick his nose down in and throws his head back up with his upper lip tryin to cover his nose you will KNOW for a fact that they do work...At Times!!!

Yes, I have had a buck follow my drag-rag ...... once. Did he think the trail was a hot doe, or was he just curious about what made that stinky trail? Did I really fool him or was he just being stupid? I have no idea whether the stuff worked as advertised or whether he just had nothing better to do than follow a curious scent that he had never smelled before. I guess I'll never know because just before entering my shooting lane, he lost interest and wandered off.

I don't know, I have a lot of respect for the analytical abilities of a deer's nose.

[apoallo]

Used to use Apple spray and Tink's. Apple worked the first few years until everyone figured out what we were doing. You just had to give us a sniff when we came back in the house. Tink's never worked for me, assuming because there were 10 other guys with it and I never saw deer really in rut during opening southern zone rifle other than 1977, 1994 and 95.

So 'methinks I heard a voice cry "Tink's no more", Tink's doth murder chances' and quit using it several seasons ago.

With the weather as it looks, and the rut in the past few years around southern opening rifle/shotgun, what do you think about some kind of scent in 9H?

My thought is the opener is right between the 1st and 2nd ruts and would probably work better in muzzie season.

i personally dont use any scent at all and have had no problems I just dump alot of scent blocker on. I use the scent blocker deorderant, clothing wash, 99% spray on everything I wear plus I have a mouth spray for my breath. In the past I have tried vanilla extract and that seemed to make the deer courious about the smell. I put it on the ground to keep their head down when they were in my area Edited September 26, 2012 by apoallo