Deer Scents (atttractants) What you use and when?

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Horizontal Hunter
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Deer Scents (atttractants) What you use and when?

Post by Horizontal Hunter »

Well deer season for me opens up in about 8 weeks (September 15th) and I was wondering what you folks used for scents during the pre-rut, rut, and post-rut. I have used Trails End #307 during the pre-rut and during the rut I have used Tinks 69 100% natural doe estrus urine. I really have had very little sucess with these. I can honestly say that during the last 5 seasons the Trails End has brought in one doe, which ended up in the freezer. Thats it for me.

I realize that there are a lot of variables here and I am very wind and scent control orientated. I even sprayed the scent cans with scent away spray and only handled them with gloves. I wash my clothes, and myself, in scent free soap and keep them seperate etc..

So I guess my question is what works for you during the pre-rut, rut, and post-rut?? Should I spend more for "better quality" scents?? Or, save my money and continue to focus on keeping my scent down and my nose in the wind??


Thanks,

Bob
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crazyfarmer
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Post by crazyfarmer »

The only time ive used scents is during the rut and I use tinks 69 most of the time. Using scents is tricky since if done wrong it will do nothing but alert deer and spook them.

For pre rut and all season long I just focus on my own scent and hiding that

the best scent is a food plot, stream, or a real doe in heat :lol:

im not a old pro with them, but ived tried scents for 10 years with hardly none of them paying off.. so I spend my money elsewhere now 8)
hatchet jack
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Post by hatchet jack »

well for years my son & i have used myles keller scents gel ( hot doe) but couldnt find it anymore ,,but was told on this forum that kellers scents no longer in business,,& that( still steaming ) gel is the same thing,,,if it is the same , that is good stuff we have had very good sucess with it .


h.j.
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BigTiny
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Post by BigTiny »

The only deer I shot so far came in on doe estrus. I rattled for a while, until I heard him in the bush. Once he caught the smell, he came running. The shot was almost self-defense.
crazyfarmer
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Post by crazyfarmer »

jh45gun wrote:The Packages show some big bucks taken using the stuff but then so do most other scent packages LOL.
every scent out there has some big buck on the label supposedly taken with it. I wonder if I could get a deal from Pepsi if I sit a pepsi can out and just happen to kill a huge buck that walked by at that time :D

bottom line, dont by because of whats on the labels.. the best stuff is that which has dates on it since its pure doe pee :D Most other scents are blends of stuff.

the only thing I see come to scents are doe.. ive never killed a big buck over a scent
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Post by crazyfarmer »

jh45gun wrote:
crazyfarmer wrote:
jh45gun wrote:The Packages show some big bucks taken using the stuff but then so do most other scent packages LOL.
every scent out there has some big buck on the label supposedly taken with it. I wonder if I could get a deal from Pepsi if I sit a pepsi can out and just happen to kill a huge buck that walked by at that time :D

bottom line, dont by because of whats on the labels.. the best stuff is that which has dates on it since its pure doe pee :D Most other scents are blends of stuff.

the only thing I see come to scents are doe.. ive never killed a big buck over a scent
Well I mostly do not use it like I said I have bought Tinks before but not that often. Only reason I bought this is because it was cheap and I figured if it does not work no big deal I am out the price of a beer. I agree though some times it may not be the scent at all but coincidence or they are just nosy as to whats that funky smell LOL. Or maybe some do work I really do not know. Or maybe it just works ok as a cover scent???? When it comes to scents there is a hell of a lot of hype out there and very few facts in my opinion as this is a subject that gets lots of pro and con just like bringing up what is the best bow or rifle ect. Your gonna get lots of opinions. :D :D :D
oh I know.. wasnt bashing you or anything. Just syaing half of those pics on the bottles probably werent even related to the scent used;)

The best use of any scent probably would be placing it on your downwind side just in case ones comes from that direction. Atleast it would hide your scent
crazyfarmer
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Post by crazyfarmer »

jh45gun wrote:Please do not get the impression I thought you were bashing me I know you were not I was agreeing with you as like I said I very seldom ever buy scents. The only scent I mostly ever tried was cover scent I made out of Pine and Alcohol. Sounded like a good idea at the time I had read it some where I do not think that worked so great either. When it comes to deer hunting I think there is so much hype out there to reel in the hunters money its hard to sometimes separate fact from fiction. Now I know deer are smart they have to be but at times they can be dumber then heck too and I am talking big bucks and not in the rut either. I know deer are not afraid of smoke and I know guys that smoke have killed lots of deer same with having a fire to warm them selves on a cold day. Like any other animal deers curiosity some times gets the best of them. I really do not buy into those charcoal suits either as you still have enough exposed flesh to give off human scent. I think deer out in the deeper woods may be more cautious but on the fringes were humans are a lot I think they loose some of that as they get used to people.
agree'ed;)

I like those scentlok suits but I go go to the extremes with them.. I just mainly buy the jackets like the dream season fleece and etc. Mainly becaus eits extremely comfortable. Also, they have to be onsale or xmas gifts since some of them must be made of gold LMAO

either way, scents can help or hurt.. espically when putting them out since most forget they leave their own scent to and from where they place the doe scent in the first place;)
Horizontal Hunter
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Post by Horizontal Hunter »

Guys, thanks for all of the input. as I said in my original post the Trails End has brought in one doe, which ended up in the freezer. I am sure that it was the scent as her nose was going like crazy and she was headed for the scent bomb when she came in.

Sometimes I think that the polular blended scents like Tinks 69 is so popular that the deer have come to associate it with a hunter. I remember watching a hunting show and the hunter was putting up the scent bombs barehanded. I am sure that there are a lot of weekend unters that do the same W/O thinking.

Sometimes I think that a lot of this stuff is really hyped up and it is designed to catch the hunters hard earned money. That was the reason for the post as I really wasn't having much luck with it and I was wondering what worked for you guys.

Bstout, I have heard about the vanilla several times know and I plan on trying it this year.

Thanks again guys I aam looking forward to some more replies on this topic.

Bob
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Sierra
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Post by Sierra »

When I hunted Pennsylvania & West Virginia I thought that scent helped, especially Tinks 69. I also used Dominant Buck scent. I'd try to watch the wind direction also.

Now that I have hunted a score of years in Ohio, I use scent more as a cover and not a lure. When I have used scent as a lure, it alerted the deer. Seems that rattling and grunting work better here. I also used scent-lock clothing and rubber boots.
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Mike P
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Post by Mike P »

When I first joined this forum (didn't even have my carved tip exocet yet) I wrote two posts on this subject. I pasted the two posts below along with a couple of pictures.

As most of you know, I am an antler "freak" and only hunt mature 150 and above bucks. The only reason I mention this is to allow people reading this to know what type of nose I am trying to fool. The way I use a scent must provide results with big four year old and up whitetail bucks. They are very difficult to attract using scents and over the decades I have determined that using scents usually is more detrimental then helpful the majority of times with these old guys. Over fifty years of trial and error have led me to the process I use that is described below in the two pasted posts from 2002. The only scent I will use in the product described below is fresh deer urine. I get mine from a deer farm about fifteen miles from my house. They know me there and cater to my fanaticism and give me urine collected the same day I visit them. The key here is it must be fresh. And most important, I only use it after I have witnessed a doe being run by a buck that confirms the rut is in swing. I will use no other scents to try and attract deer at any time during the season other then the rut. I firmly believe the commercial products send the big boys packing as soon as they get a whiff. For me, its only fresh doe urine or it is nothing.

Here are the two posts from 2002.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 22, 2002 8:52 pm Post subject:

While new to this forum, I am old to my passion, the hunt for massive whitetail bucks. And I know a really good way to lay down a scent trail that is not only very easy, it is very very effective.

Unfortuantly the product I believe is no longer being manufactured. I could be wrong about this but I have not seen one in years on a retailers shelf. The product is called the Scent Line by Cross River of Nekoosa, WI. I think Cross River at one time sold the rights to this product to another company.

Anyway, the product is an enclosed reel system that has 100 yards of 30# test line. You unscrew a plug and pour the scent of your choice ( i use only live doe urine collected from Tabler Farms near where I live) into the fill hole and reclose the plug. The doe urine now saturates the line completely. When about 100 yards away from your stand, you attach the end of the line via a squeeze clothes pin to a branch about a foot off the ground. You then walk to your stand letting the line play out from the reel system. As you walk, the line follows behind you. When I arrive at my stand I simply lay the Scent Line dispenser at the base of my tree. When the hunt is over, I simply pick it up, give it a yank to release from the clothes pin, and wind in the line. Takes about a min.

Guys, this is like fishing for deer. I have witnessed over a hundred deer follow my line to my blind. Bucks just put their nose to the line and follow it all the way in. You get all bucks, the spikes, the forks, etc. etc. But you also pull in the big mature brutes. I have used my scent line in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Michigan, Wisc., Texas, and South Carolina. The results are the same.

The reel system uses industrial grade seals to prevent leakage and contamination of the scent.

I bought my first one around ten years ago. I was so impressed I called the company to order additional spools and O-Rings and that is when I believe I was told that the product rights had been sold. A nice lady from Cross River sent me several spools and a bunch of seals. I went back to the sports store where I bought the first one and bought the last five they had. I am on my second one and I treat it like gold and keep the remaining three in my gun safe.

So keep your eyes out for this product. There may be some still hanging on a rural sports store wall out there. If you see it, buy it. If you don't want it, I will pay you twice what you paid for it.

If anyone wants to see what they look like, let me know, I will take a digital picture of one opened and one still in the original blister packaging.

On a side note, my exocet ships monday. Cant Wait!!



Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2002 10:10 pm Post subject: Bolts Buck & Scent Line

Hi Guys,

I started a new thread because I have some questions on bolts, but I will try and answer some questions posed in the "laying down a scent trail" post also. First, all pics of the scent line have been sent to those that asked. Crossbow hunter, the product you reference is quite different than the scent line. The scent line has 100 yards of line you play out while walking to your stand. Any buck that cuts the path of the scent line usually follows the line.

On friday I was using the scent line and brought in a very large 12 point buck. He came in nose down on the line and I killed him at 35 yards. I have attached a picture. He has nice mass and tipped the scales at 273 lbs. (We grow them big here in Southern Ohio, eh Wabi!) Wish I had been using my exocet but I wacked him with my Remington Wingmaster and a sabot slug. (No rifles here in Ohio)

Since those posts, I believe the reel has been re-introduced and manufactured by another company.


Image


Here is a photo of the 12 point mentioned in the 2002 post.

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flbuckmaster
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Post by flbuckmaster »

I am with mike, the only scents I use are FRESH doe urine that I buy from a small deer farm online. The commercial scents are a waste of time and money.
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crazyfarmer
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Post by crazyfarmer »

flbuckmaster wrote:I am with mike, the only scents I use are FRESH doe urine that I buy from a small deer farm online. The commercial scents are a waste of time and money.
Jay
im with you and Mike P.. Typically you see the 3-6buck doe scents on the shelf, then you see the 8-15buck ones that have fresh dates on them. Those are the real doe scents and not blended stuff.

also someone else mentioned using as a cover scent.. thats about all I do with mine since I normally(during the rut) hang a scent bomb on my downwind side. Every mountable buck ive killed has come from downwind and were you dont expect them. Cover that area with some real doe in heat scent and it will work. But like Mike P said, you have to know for sure what cycles the bucks are in. To know this, you have to watch the deer. One reason letting small bucks walk helps here is because you can watch what they do with the doe. Using doe in heat scents to early pretty much means you are better off staying home that day

Mike P, I wish we had some 150 class bucks out here in Va.. they are few and far between. Good bucks here are in the 120-135 class range :( Granted its some 150-170's here, but they are like striking gold
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Post by flbuckmaster »

Here is my "secret" place that I get my deer scent from. Please dont tell anyone about this website, I may have to kill you if you do!! This stuff is very effective and strong smelling scent!!!!!
http://www.deerrunfarm.com/
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FredBear
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Post by FredBear »

Do u have the web site of that deer farm ive been trying to locate a small farm that sells pre orbital gland. Its a very tough task!
FredBear
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Post by FredBear »

Or I could just read a little closer! My bad!
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