Scents..be honest...

[growalot]

Oh Lawd,

Too busy and I know I have talked on this before...short version The main lease guy lives in the area...He is well known and well lets just say make friends and influence ppl ..hahaha until he doesn't ...So many many a bridge he has burned. Everyone he deals with always comes out with lots to say lots of note comparing and people saying to each other..."should have listened" ...You know there's always one of "those type" of local guys...

[Uncle Nicky]

Like many others have said, doe estrus works during the rut, much more so than the other gimmicks like ratting and grunting and doe bleating. In my experience, it brings in smaller bucks, but occasionally a mature buck will drop all caustion to the wind and come in for a look.

[growalot]

 

 I think that's funny how they come to check air fresheners!

 Every year there always one idea or another I'll test out after having gotten my first deer ..be it buck or doe...these things are what makes hunting fun for me....They prefer Yankee candle the best but I've tried spray cans and those automatic puff fresheners...I painted one camo and stuck it on a stump it would puff scent out every so often...I even modified one to  use the deer lure scents...I have used regular incense sticks  instead of the deer lure ones...and soaked those in urine from deer I shot ..let them dry over night for a vanilla urine smoker..You'd be surprised...I took a nice 7pt one year and several doe over the years...lots of young deer will come in..fox...even a raccoon or two over the years...it's curiosity they are a very curious creature really...it just gets them close enough for a shot...

[landtracdeerhunter]

  

Edited September 24, 2015 by landtracdeerhunter

[sampotter]

I've pretty much moved away from messing around with scents- just one more distraction. I know they can work at times, but for scents to work the wind direction is likely also going to blow your scent to the deer as well. I'd rather have them smell nothing at all.

[NYbuck50]

Deer can tell what direction a scent was walking when they come to it. i've seen it happen

 

 

Using a drag line seems like a fork in the road. How does the buck know what way to follow. Does he go in your direction or back the way you had come from

 

[Five Seasons]

you put air fresheners out in the woods?

[growalot]

Ya and when they are apple , vanilla or a cherry /berry scent ...deer get curious...I've had to be very choosy for some have more chemical than fruit smell but yep they get some good action go figure! I have also used pine scents to cover me in the pines I hunt...Yankee candle makes some good car scents.

[Five Seasons]

Ya and when they are apple , vanilla or a cherry /berry scent ...deer get curious...I've had to be very choosy for some have more chemical than fruit smell but yep they get some good action go figure! I have also used pine scents to cover me in the pines I hunt...Yankee candle makes some good car scents.

 

when you say "deer" I'm assuming you're meaning doe and younger deer though... I wouldn't expect an old whiley buck to get that curious.

[dbHunterNY]

big woods public land I've had good luck with scent drags.

 

urban or suburban public land hunting hardly ever call and don't use scents or anything.  basically try to hunt without any trace.  I've had a guys put out doe estrous every where all around while smoking like a chimney.  they say all these people and houses around the deer don't know or care.  smell things every day.  I think that's a load of crap they know the difference. a mature deer the lived to see it all will chill in the backyard with people inside the house or just in the woods with someone in the back yard sure.  as soon as those smells or people head toward the woods edge or into them the deer know.  I've had hikers push over a dozen deer at one time right too me on multiple occasions.  little trace of me in the woods so they are distracted with what's obviously out there versus me 15+ feet right over top of them.

[Lawdwaz]

Ya and when they are apple , vanilla or a cherry /berry scent ...deer get curious...I've had to be very choosy for some have more chemical than fruit smell but yep they get some good action go figure! I have also used pine scents to cover me in the pines I hunt...Yankee candle makes some good car scents.

 

And you're concerned about your neighbors on the lease next door to you using scrape drippers TOO much?

 

 

[jjb4900]

Nonsense... bucks are clueless which way a scent  trail is leading unless they got the lady in sight.

I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen a buck following the trail of a hot doe the wrong way when she ran by me with bucks in pursuit heading the other way.

More than 100x's that's for sure.

 

The secret is to make your move when you see that happen. They can come from either direction, but I've NEVER seen that kind of reaction to a drag rag compared to the real deal.

well, I'm not quite sure it's nonsense..there are many animals, my dogs for sure, that can tell which way an animal is traveling...maybe with artificial lures, but in the real world many can....I'm sure there's exceptions to every rule...but like I said I'm no expert, but for every time you say it's nonsense, I have an instance where I say it's not.

[Paula]

Scents can and do work when used properly. The biggest mistake Ive seen over and over again is human scent on top of deer scent. Why do guys buy scent to use then handle everything with bare hands?

As far as deer following the wrong way, Ive hunted deer for 31 years, with my own scent for the last 15 at least.

Always always always START the scent trail from your scrape or stand and GO AWAY from that location.

I firmly believe the heaviest scent molecules are in the spot where you first start and lessen over space and time.

A deer knows which way the heaviest or strongest smell is coming or going....

NEVER start at your vehicle and tow a drag rag to your stand... Just doesn't make sense...

Deer communicate through scent, vocalization, and sight markings...

Learn WHEN and HOW to use all of them to become better hunters..

Statements such as "they don't work" is complete nonsense...

what you mean is they don't work for YOU!

Makes sense

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Scents can and do work when used properly. The biggest mistake Ive seen over and over again is human scent on top of deer scent. Why do guys buy scent to use then handle everything with bare hands? 

 

As far as deer following the wrong way, Ive hunted deer for 31 years, with my own scent for the last 15 at least.

Always always always START the scent trail from your scrape or stand and GO AWAY from that location.  

I firmly believe the heaviest scent molecules are in the spot where you first start and lessen over space and time.

A deer knows which way the heaviest or strongest smell is coming or going....

 

NEVER start at your vehicle and tow a drag rag to your stand... Just doesn't make sense...

Deer communicate through scent, vocalization, and sight markings...

Learn WHEN and HOW to use all of them to become better hunters..

 

Statements such as "they don't work" is complete nonsense...

what you mean is they don't work for YOU!

So you walk to your stand and then get your drag ready and then walk back away from your stand with the drag and then walk back to your stand???  I always drag to my stand. Not from the truck but if i am hoofing it in to a stand i will scent up long before my stand. You cant be skimpy with scent when using it. The trick is to freshin up your drag often on your way to the stand.

[nyslowhand]

The trick is to freshin up your drag often on your way to the stand.

.....which gives the impression of a direction of travel. I was told by a local scent farmer, every 40yrds or so. Of course, the bucks have to be in the general vicinity or traveling near it for a drag line to work. Which, btw has never worked for me! Not to beat a dead horse, but in the right place at the right time, maybe it'll work.

[wooly]

well, I'm not quite sure it's nonsense..there are many animals, my dogs for sure, that can tell which way an animal is traveling...maybe with artificial lures, but in the real world many can....I'm sure there's exceptions to every rule...but like I said I'm no expert, but for every time you say it's nonsense, I have an instance where I say it's not.

 

Blood trailing dogs usually have a pretty good idea from the start which way they need to follow.... same as their handler and the hunter that points them in that right direction.

 

I'm no expert either, but I would think if you cut those same dogs loose in the middle of a "scent/blood trail", they'd have a 50/50 chance of getting the direction right once it ended at a carcass, or vanished into thin air before they turn around and follow the other way. I don't think dogs can reason the blood splatter direction the way we can.

 

Certainly wind direction can play a role in determining which way a "hot body" can be found while tracking. but that's a best case scenario I'm sure you know doesn't always work out the way we'd hope for. Same thing happens when bucks come into a scent trail mid ways. They got a 50/50 chance of getting it right unless some other confirming clues tell them otherwise.... such as seeing a tail or hearing the chase.

[nyslowhand]

Not to try and change your opinion, but here's some food for thought. Assuming you've never hunted rabbits with beagles?? The dogs don't go far in the wrong direction before they realize the scent is stronger the other way. And..they almost never chase the bunnies by sight. Probably comparing apples to oranges, but would think dogs & deer share this same strength of scent detection..!?!

[Doc]

I don't use scents anymore, but I do know that estrous scents do work ........ sometimes. That would be one time out of a hundred ... lol. Yes, I had the drag-rag trick work perfectly one time. He came in following my trail step for step with his nose to the ground like a beagle. I tried it a jillion times since and had no success. So there apparently is a bit of a trick to it. It would be interesting to see if many have had good "early season" success with scents per the original post. I have a feeling that most success with scents are rut-related.

[growalot]

 

And you're concerned about your neighbors on the lease next door to you using scrape drippers TOO much?

 

 

Gosh Lawd...I know you want to have,just need, these teehee moments.  Though you need to read my posts better. There is a huge difference between putting out urine based scents at the wrong times,in areas where they never frequent ,until just before and during bow, leave there stench everywhere. To my using yes air fresheners with a fruit or licorice/anise base in an area that has lots of fruit and activity...BTH what do you think they use in the commercial scents sold that contain the same type of smells for deer and bear,real 100% fruit juice? So yes when they use all that urine based scents in that way by the time I have gone to try some 3 weeks into the season  around the 24th All I see are deer that spook at that and not fruit based scents...it's just so hilarious !

[Five Seasons]

the use of paragraphs, punctuation, a thought that doesn't branch off into many directions all at once make reading and understanding easier.

[jjb4900]

I always lay the scent in a big circle, with my stand at the point that would be the start and finish of it.....that way no matter which way they go, they always have to come past me.

[growalot]

Belo...you just haven't figured it out yet...and it always makes my day...thanks...hahaha

[Buckstopshere]

The zip-tied overhanging branch is bringing in does like crazy, and a few small bucks so far. The more it is hit by bucks and does, it seems the more the branch gets visited. Can't get much more natural than the real thing. Here are two does adding their scents to the mix the other day.

[jjb4900]

The zip-tied overhanging branch is bringing in does like crazy, and a few small bucks so far. The more it is hit by bucks and does, it seems the more the branch gets visited. Can't get much more natural than the real thing. Here are two does adding their scents to the mix the other day.

that's a great picture!

[nyslowhand]

Don't let him kid you..he has tame deer in his backyard! Sorry Oak, couldn't resist knowing how much of a "licking branch" fanatic you are!