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Thread: Deer scents,,, what works,,, what doesn't??

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    Deer scents,,, what works,,, what doesn't??

    I am a long time deer hunter, short time hunter with the scents-in-a-bottle thing.
    I am not inquiring about opinions here, only verifiable fact.
    Does the deer scent in a bottle i.e. doe urine; doe estrous; tarsel glans; special laundry detergent; deer dryer sheets; etc., etc. does this stuff really work?
    Who can positively say it works?
    Who can positively say it spooks deer?

    I have never gotten into the scents thing. I do however, shower before going into the field, with fresh clothes, I never wear my hunting boots near my dog, I never wear my boots to gas up the truck (petroleum gas station smell), I don't eat gassy foods the day before, don't drink coffee to make me go pee.
    With that being said, I can say that the deer I have missed are just that, I missed them, but did not 'spook' them.
    There is a difference between a deer miss, and a deer spook.........
    so, how much more advantage may I expect with the deer-pee-in-a-bottle?

    Facts only, please, no opine.

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master
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    for me scent free is a scam
    no such thing
    so called doe in estrus is **** probably bovine urine
    I have used tarsal glads from deer I have harvested that I have
    had bucks tracking me by the scent trail I made with them
    so whatever you are doing it sounds like you are doing it rite
    just don't need to ad a bunch of gimmics into your hunting
    keep the wind in your favor its been working for along time
    Hit em'hard
    hit em'often

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy MAGA's Avatar
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    I think the scent away stuff is a scam also

    I have never used the estrus urine but I did some reading about it last season and the results I read were dismal

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    I don't think any of them are gonna have bucks running in to it. I use it when I bowhunt, mainly just to get them to stop while their coming in close proximity to my stand. I used to go to a lot of trouble to put cotton balls soaked in it in 35mm film containers and place them around my stand on the ground so I could close them and take them with me. Since then, I have started spending fewer days on stand, but a whole lot longer when I do, like one day a week, but from before the sun comes up until the sun goes down. Now I take a zip lock bag of cotton balls, soak them and just toss them around from the tree and leave them. I've been seeing more deer during late October/early November since I started doing theis than I used to when I only spent early mornings or evenings on stand. A lot of deer move in the middle of the day during that time of year.

    I think the brand I used most was that Tinks#69 which is about the cheapest and most common of them and have observed bucks come in and actually nose the stuff sometimes. Other times I've had (usually young, small bucks) not even seem to notice it when they were quite close to it. Give it a try, I really don't think it can possibly hurt anything, and may get a curious one to hang around.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    I had an hunt of a lifetime in Colorado for elk. I felt the need to up the ante, so I bought and used
    Doe in estrus urine. Long story short-I had a too small bull follow me around all day. Then he had the audacity to stand in front of my truck!
    luvtn

  6. #6
    Boolit Master trails4u's Avatar
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    If you study your maps/terrain, get your wind right, and only hunt a particular stand/location when the wind is right, none of it matters. My personal belief is that the 'products' are marketed to those who just don't know any better. The last good deer I shot I did so in the same clothes I'd worn all day, cooking at deer camp, with a fire, while having a good cigar. If they're upwind....it don't matter. Period.
    "Do not follow where the path might lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" Ralph Waldo Emerson

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    I also wash my hunting clothes in scent free detergent and take a shower with scent free stuff, sometimes just good old Ivory soap. Nearly all detergents and soaps have perfumes in them. I have a pretty keen nose and if I can smell the stuff on clothing I figure they can too. The way I see it, you're gonna wash your clothes and body anyway, might as well use something that has no smell. I think it helps, and had several deer in close to my stand just this past Saturday. This early in the season and with farmers and other humans that get out in that area, I don't think a little human scent spooks them like it might when they are hunted hard.

  8. #8
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    A friend of mine works at a state ran chemical lab. He had the lab run an analysis on a major brand scent away clothing spray. 98% water and baking soda. I just spray my hunting cloths with water and baking soda to de-stink and make a tea by boiling cedar needles to mist my clothes with as I head to the stand.
    "In God we trust, in all others, check the manual!"

  9. #9
    Boolit Master Idaho Mule's Avatar
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    I personally believe that most of it is "snake oil". However, I do believe in keeping clean. That means a shower with some sort of non-perfumed soap when going hunting. If one is out and about for a few days without shower facilities, wash up the best you can in what ever water is available and use plain old Arm & Hammer baking soda as a powder/talc type application and go about hunting, yes, it does cause chafing, but less stinking. JW

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    I've done that tea using leaves of stuff that's common around and believe it helps to some degree. Sure can't hurt. Putting cedar needles in your pockets or rubbing a cutting of it on you could be helpful too, assuming cedars are common where you hunt.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    I have scraped a pine tree to get it bleeding,,,,,,for the cover smell,,,,,,smells like turpentine.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    Ok, then try my opinion on this little matter, please:
    We all have read that deer can smell a half mile away, correct????
    With being said, who has been a half mile into nowhere land (no deer sign), put up some deer-pee-in-a-bottle, and got a picture of a buck sniffing it, on the game camera?
    Who got the photos???

  13. #13
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    I'm afraid opinion is all you will get. I've tried many scents, attractents and cover, and can only say they work, and they don't. I've shot deer sniffing my trail, licking the air and using my scrapes, I've shot deer sniffing where I've peed. I've also went into the woods with no added scent and shot deer. My take on this is to not smell different than what is already in the area, they will bust you in a second. It doesn't hurt to use scents, just don't break the wallet doing it. I wash my hunting clothes in scentless soap, use scentless body soap, but I never bother about my boots. I did start using a spray called buck bomb, mostly to slow them down, but have yet to actually see one noticing.
    "Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it."
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    I am of the opinion that most deer live close enough to human contact that it doesn't really matter. I believe scent matters on elk, and that you are for better served by kneeling in feces or urine near a scrape than any purchased product. They will see and hear you coming and know you're not an elk. Scent just gives them one less thing to spook from.
    [The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by MT Gianni View Post
    I am of the opinion that most deer live close enough to human contact that it doesn't really matter. I believe scent matters on elk, and that you are for better served by kneeling in feces or urine near a scrape than any purchased product. They will see and hear you coming and know you're not an elk. Scent just gives them one less thing to spook from.
    I agree. What I do firmly believe in is that UV Killer soap and UV Killer spray coating for your clothes. It really works! I have confirmed its effects with both deer and elk. It is especially effective if you use fleece outerwear. I have tested the UV Killer spray coating with a "blacklight" in a dark room and the effect is amazing especially on fleece when compared to non-treated. Not being a tree stand user, I can't tell you much about that.

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    birds see UV better than deer, but I think they can see a 'glow' around things that reflect UV light just because of how their eyes are constructed.

    I don't deal with white-tail deer but know with mule deer 'weird' sounds trip their switch to run, and seeing them before they see you is more important than trying to fool their nose.

  17. #17
    Boolit Buddy Powder Burn's Avatar
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    Stay down wind. Minimize your stink going to stand. Keeping clean helps your confidence. I use scents on the ground to fool the big ones to give me a few extra seconds to draw down on them, (during rut) Rubber boots seem to help. I like to mess with them with decoys more than scents. Anything to move their attention away from my position. Used an aluminum pie plate on a string once to get a nice 8 pointer to give me a better shot. They are curious creatures.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]The meetings will continue until we find out why we can't get anything done around here. NRA Life Member, Illinois State Rifle Assoc., Chillicothe Sportsmans Club.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Powder Burn View Post
    Stay down wind. Minimize your stink going to stand. Keeping clean helps your confidence. I use scents on the ground to fool the big ones to give me a few extra seconds to draw down on them, (during rut) Rubber boots seem to help. I like to mess with them with decoys more than scents. Anything to move their attention away from my position. Used an aluminum pie plate on a string once to get a nice 8 pointer to give me a better shot. They are curious creatures.
    "stay down wind" you say ??
    How do you know which direction the deer is coming from?? Most of the time deer come from my back or off shooting side,
    I do believe that most all game is naturally 'curious', but will spook easily.

    Why do deer stand on the road shoulder just watching cars go by?? Why do they spook if you drive down a dirt road through the woods though??

  19. #19
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    The most irresistible "deer scent" in the world is Hardee's Grape Jelly. Smear some about waist high on leaves or branches every 10-20 feet as you walk a trail then sit and watch it.
    Got a .22 .30 .32 .357 .38 .40 .41 .44 .45 .480 or .500 S&W cylinder that needs throats honed? 9mm, 10mm/40S&W, 45 ACP pistol barrel that won't "plunk" your handloads? 480 Ruger or 475 Linebaugh cylinder that needs the "step" reamed to 6° 30min chamfer? Click here to send me a PM You can also find me on Facebook Click Here.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master OnHoPr's Avatar
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    I never went HARD CORE scent free, but I believe it would be beneficial IF you kept a strict regime and were interested in shooting P&Y whitetails regularly IF you were in an area that has P&Y bucks, constant 4.5 yo and better, if you had the time. But, just the weekend warrior, annual deer camp participant, or even the hunter that lives in an area that gets to hunt an evening after work, scents can be beneficial. To be completely scent free would be difficult if possible to a experienced deer's nose. Basically, you just try to knock your scent down a bit. Arm & Hammer and Mule Train I believe are scent free detergents, no brighteners, fels-naptha. Basically you have attractant and cover scents, using both IMO is beneficial. There is also deep woods hunting and deer running in between houses and cottages with cats, dogs, and people all over the hunting woods, it is a pondering thought.
    May you hands be warmed on a frosty day.

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