Deer scent attractants

[Denver]

I expect that many here like me have tried the various deer lure scents to try to bring in Mr. Big. I haven't yet found the one that I'm able to say definitely works, while others I've talked to will swear by them. I recall that a number of years ago there was a fellow that had an Outdoors TV show here in Michigan and he ran tests on several brands available at the time. His conclusion was that they were all pretty much useless and ended up getting sued by one or more of the companies whose product he tested and declared as such. Our rifle season is about to open in a few days and this season will be the last that baiting will be legal, so I'm thinking that deer scent use will be on many hunters minds in the upcoming seasons. Just interested in hearing from those who have used scent attractants and found them to be effective.


D

[kens]

I tried a couple of them. I put up a game camera, put a bit of the stuff on a patch and didnt get a thing on camera.
Then again, I put a old sock on a limb, and got a deer checking it out on camera.
Seems to me that your socks odor doesnt scare them away such as you are told, and, the attractants don't bring them in such as you are told.

[trapper9260]

I use some and ones that show that dose work .I seen it first hand of a buck stop in its tracks when on the run .Was something to see and did get the buck and one other I use with it also works and got my doe with it watch the does walk right to the lure. As for what I seen is that you keep there sight on where the lure is.

[cas]

I know it works to some degree as I've used it on boot pads and watched bucks follow the scent trail.
I've also seen them stop and sniff drip bottles. Though they might have done that no matter what was in the bottle. But if you think you're going to put it out and magically draw bucks in, you'll be disappointed.

I think they're like anything else, all the conditions need to be right. When I first bought a doe bleat "can" I took it bow hunting. In the afternoon I heard rattling (either two deer sparing or a deer rubbing a tree). I used the can once and the rattling stopped. Not 30 seconds later this big buck appears about 70 yards off and is coming straight to me! Oh my god this deer bleat can works amazing!!! And in the 10 years since I've used it countless hundreds of times and never gotten a response. lol But when everything was right, it worked amazing. I think scents work the same way.

[nagantguy]

My last several bucks have come to sent; my home made stuff on days I see chasing or very cold mornings they seem to come to the sent like being pulled on a string. I’ve experimented with about every over the counter sent one could find and had mixed results at best; things I noticed, if does come to to the sent; talking estrus type sents here; if does come to it especially if they are agitated by it like huff at it of stomp on the sent rag than it’s not the right time for that sent. Oddly enough the buck bomb sent cans have worked as well as any store bought; the estrus and the plain doe pee. If it’s rut in your area and there are bucks down wind and they are not with a harem and not yet 100% nocturnal and they have smelled a hot doe in the last 24 hours and haven’t been hunted hard than they work sometimes maybe. I use sent as part of a strategy; good area; like between bedding and feeding; personal sent control; cover sents, noise and movement disciple . Down my nothing else on your next hunt sit totally still for 3 hours; no cigarettes no snacks sit completely still and I bet the amount of game you see increases. Now add sent ; yours and your gear elimination. And bingo deer have a harder time seeing and smelling you you’ve become a better predator.
No yarn here true story; I knew I’d hit on something good on Oder control when in the same hunt a fox and a dog came within feet of me and never looked at me. Movement noise and smell are what Keep prey alive. Act accordingly! Have fun and remember to enjoy the sun rise; and the song birds and all the little things that make being in the woods so enjoyable!

[redhawk0]

12 years ago I was having doubts about attractants as well. I do NOT have doubts anymore.

I was hunting in PA on the 2nd day of buck season. It was foggy and drizzling. Nothing was moving in the woods. I was sitting on the side of a mountain looking down into the ravine below. My seat was between two trees that grew close together (to help break my silhouette) and below me was a cut stump (probably cut 20 years before). Thinking "this is ridiculous"...I reached into my pack and pulled out a 15 year old bottle of Tink's 69 lure. I dumped the entire bottle out on that stump just below me (maybe 4 feet away). No more than 10 minutes later an 8 point cut behind me on the ridge above...stopped directly above me and started coming straight down at me. This old boy was on a mission. Now...I'm not facing that direction because he came in so fast and I didn't want him to get too close to me, so I stood up...whipped around and got a shot off as he was running across the ridge 30 yards from me. He went down like a sack of wheat. It turns out I hit him in the neck and that was the end of that. Better lucky than good any day.

I do NOT doubt attractants any longer. I always have a bottle of Tink's 69 in my bag now...and I still use it regularly.

redhawk

[243winxb]

Some work, some dont. https://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/master-class/2013/10/deer-anatomy-lesson-how-buck-scent-glands-really-work


A musk scent i got from California years ago worked. Shot a buck 6 out of 7 years. Didnt use scent the 1 year, no buck.

I sold a bottle to a guy at work with a money back guarantee. Worked.

I stopped wearing the scent patch on me. Deer came in too close. I pinned the scent patch 7 feet up a tree at about 25 yards in archery season. 3 buck came up the trail together. One stood on its hind legs to sniff the patch.

In the early 50's, when i was to young to hunt, dad and his 2 buddies bought some lure. All 3 got buck. Proof enough for me.

[Lloyd Smale]

you guys that use doe and heat ever wonder how they get the 1000s of gallons of fresh deer urine from does in heat? Do you realize how much of this junk they sell every year? They would have to keep 1000s of does in heat locked up in enclosures just at the time they go into heat and collect all there urine. they couldnt even let them wonder around the pasture. Most are sold by companys that don't have a single doe in an enclosure. I remember a test back a few years ago where they found out a company was collecting cow urine and selling it as doe in heat. remember another test where a guy went around putting various doe in heat samples and at the same location peed himself and he said about 90 percent of the mock scrapes he made were never once even visited in the entire season. the ones that were were ones on existing game trails that he put scrapes right on them so the deer couldn't avoid them. he put cameras up on every sight and said that as many deer came in and smelled his urine as did those store bought doe in heat even when they were 5 feet apart. remember another test back years ago that said that most of the samples weren't even urine but water and ammonia with some coloring and artificial scent additives. don't get me wrong. Ive been suckered too, bought many of them and never had a deer come in to one. Ive had them eating right next to the scent and ignore it. I have had a couple does go over and smell it though. Everyone wants a magic potion that will bring in the monster buck to your blind and not your neighbors. Bottom line is what they do best is drain your wallet. my guess is these calls and scents have scared ALOT more deer away then they have attracted any interest from a trophy buck.

[NyFirefighter357]

I've washed my clothes in baking soda, stored them in pine needles, hung them outside, used skunk scent to mask odor & tried products like Tinks. I have never had a deer come in to my deer scent. I don't know if the others have "hidden" me. I will tell you I rarely use anything anymore. I figured out most of that stuff is hog wash. I smoked, pee'd, used untreated cloths, stuff covered in dog hair, boots soaked in heating oil ect. either in my trees stand or on the ground. I've had deer bed under my tree stand, walk withing 3ft of me. Guys won't even get in my truck to be dropped off in the woods because it and I smell like fuel oil. They spend hrs prepping and days waiting and eventually get a deer or two but I spend very little time hunting and usually get my deer with in an hr or three. I like to let them come close if they are headed toward me and I've shot deer 3ft from my barrel, my hunting buddies joke about me having a 200yd shotgun that I rarely shoot over 50yrds & usually under 20yrds. I think a lot to do with it is how close you hunt to houses. Here I hunt 600 acres that is pretty much surrounded by houses or farm. One of the biggest deer I've seen walk out from behind a backyard and headed right past my truck parked in the woods while I was standing eating a sandwich out of the back hatch. Not this time but I usually park within 30yrds of my stand this time it was 60yrds. I know they work sometimes but never for me.

https://i.imgur.com/thfwOyE.jpg?2
I didn't shoot him but one of the other guys did.

[lefty o]

I know it works to some degree as I've used it on boot pads and watched bucks follow the scent trail.
I've also seen them stop and sniff drip bottles. Though they might have done that no matter what was in the bottle. But if you think you're going to put it out and magically draw bucks in, you'll be disappointed.

I think they're like anything else, all the conditions need to be right. When I first bought a doe bleat "can" I took it bow hunting. In the afternoon I heard rattling (either two deer sparing or a deer rubbing a tree). I used the can once and the rattling stopped. Not 30 seconds later this big buck appears about 70 yards off and is coming straight to me! Oh my god this deer bleat can works amazing!!! And in the 10 years since I've used it countless hundreds of times and never gotten a response. lol But when everything was right, it worked amazing. I think scents work the same way.

im right there with you. when things are just right, stuff can work. i used to have one of them small cans, and used it to bring in exactly 1 mature buck. killed him with the bow, but no matter what i did after that no other deer ever gave a rats behind about that can.

[wgr]

The only thing I use is wood smoke to hid my scent.. Have shot a deer the last 30 years most times its buck first then one are two does. I think the best thing is have the wind in your face and be still.

[waksupi]

No matter what you do, you will not fool the nose of a buck or bull. You just need to play the wind game with them, and hope you win.

There is a particular bush in front of my cabin that I pee on daily. Been trying to kill it for years. The deer always go to that bush and eat from and around it. So, for proper consideration, I will come to your hunting spot, and pee on a bush of your choosing.

[white eagle]

My last several bucks have come to sent; my home made stuff on days I see chasing or very cold mornings they seem to come to the sent like being pulled on a string. I’ve experimented with about every over the counter sent one could find and had mixed results at best; things I noticed, if does come to to the sent; talking estrus type sents here; if does come to it especially if they are agitated by it like huff at it of stomp on the sent rag than it’s not the right time for that sent. Oddly enough the buck bomb sent cans have worked as well as any store bought; the estrus and the plain doe pee. If it’s rut in your area and there are bucks down wind and they are not with a harem and not yet 100% nocturnal and they have smelled a hot doe in the last 24 hours and haven’t been hunted hard than they work sometimes maybe. I use sent as part of a strategy; good area; like between bedding and feeding; personal sent control; cover sents, noise and movement disciple . Down my nothing else on your next hunt sit totally still for 3 hours; no cigarettes no snacks sit completely still and I bet the amount of game you see increases. Now add sent ; yours and your gear elimination. And bingo deer have a harder time seeing and smelling you you’ve become a better predator.
No yarn here true story; I knew I’d hit on something good on Oder control when in the same hunt a fox and a dog came within feet of me and never looked at me. Movement noise and smell are what Keep prey alive. Act accordingly! Have fun and remember to enjoy the sun rise; and the song birds and all the little things that make being in the woods so enjoyable!


Well said
as for scents the only thing I have seen work is scents from deer that I collect
other than that its a **** shoot

[dverna]

My neighbor is a 250+ acre deer camp. Those guys were heavily into scents until this year. Now at least two of them think they are a waste of money.

I am thinking about planting apples and chestnuts to attract them onto my property. Already do food plots but they are getting less action this year. I have oaks but oaks do not have acorns every year.

[Omega]

Scent is hit and miss, if there are plenty of active scrapes, one more may not work. I've hunted places(military training area) were you could smoke in your stand and not spook the deer, while other places any human scent would spook them all. So I make sure I shower with scentless soaps, and wash my hunting clothes with hunting soap. I still use camo, scents, calls and rattle now and then, even though I absolutely need none of it. But I've harvested deer while one or more of those things may have been a contributing factor, so I continue...it's just not hunting otherwise.

[Down South]

I've never had much luck with scents. The only time I've seen one work and I've done this many times. Drag a cotton ball behind me with a string with scent on it.
I had one buck follow my trail once all the way to my stand and stop and smell of the cotton ball I had hung in a bush close to my stand.
Rattling during the rut, I've rattled in a few deer in my time.

[MyFlatline]

Back when I smoked, many a time I had to set the smoke down to shoot. No rhyme or reason. I'm leaning towards UV colors tho..Starting to believe that..

[Hogdaddy]

Urban deer are a little easer to fool,, they smell humans all the time.. I hunt 140 acers with sub divisions on two side,, use no cameo & see deer a lot. Harvest what I need..
Hogs got a better nose when it comes to those conditions IMO ; ) PS I still cover my scent the best I can ( Wind )
H/D

[Parson]

Anybody try peanut butter? After seeing a number of guys bragging about it on YouTube last year I tried it. I think I had the game camera on it for about two months, not one of the many deer that walked by gave as much as a single sniff, squirrels but no deer. My son in North Carolina has a couple of hunting spots with game cameras, he says the deer really go for it on his plots but not in ND

[Land Owner]

Deer are certainly different in every area. The abundance of deer and their movement makes a world of difference too.

It is thought, in some circles, that commercial scents, masks, and attractants, especially deer pee, may, repeat may contribute to the spread of CWD. Something to think about in that.

I have had zero success with scents and attractants. First and foremost, the abundance of deer near me is far too few. I am too small a parcel to hold deer, so their natural and random movement is all I can hope for. Also, I attract them better with food plots. The does find the food and where the does hang, so do the bucks.

[Hickok]

Been hunting deer many moons.

Deer are not impressed by tacticool snipers, ninja warriors or mystical kung-fu masters in the woods.

Don't show movement, don't let you scent get to a deer's nose, no noise, and when the shot comes, put it in the right place.

Designer and boutique camo is not needed.

Where the food is, the does will eat there, and the bucks will soon be following the does.

[Omega]

I've tried peanut butter, no luck, and I've also tried a bunch of stuff that worked Ok. I spent a bunch to get my food plot going, I bought a few pounds of radish, greens, rape, clover etc. It came up, and had a bunch of deer on it. But then I noticed that everytime I planted grass at home, I'd get a bunch of clover, so I bought the cheapest grass seed I could and it turned out great, I had large clover all over, and the grass kept the dirt in place. But what attracts them more are the salt blocks, just regular salt for livestock, not the stuff specially marketed for deer. I have game cams on each of the blocks and they get visited almost daily. I tried all the fancy scents, food plot mixes, and deer mineral blocks and liquids, but the ordinary livestock mineral blocks work just as well for me.

[Parson]

I've tried peanut butter, no luck, and I've also tried a bunch of stuff that worked Ok. I spent a bunch to get my food plot going, I bought a few pounds of radish, greens, rape, clover etc. It came up, and had a bunch of deer on it. But then I noticed that everytime I planted grass at home, I'd get a bunch of clover, so I bought the cheapest grass seed I could and it turned out great, I had large clover all over, and the grass kept the dirt in place. But what attracts them more are the salt blocks, just regular salt for livestock, not the stuff specially marketed for deer. I have game cams on each of the blocks and they get visited almost daily. I tried all the fancy scents, food plot mixes, and deer mineral blocks and liquids, but the ordinary livestock mineral blocks work just as well for me.

Success with salt is largely dependent on the natural salt you have in your ground, around here deer don’t touch salt, they don’t need it, get enough naturally from the food they eat.

[smoked turkey]

I used to put out a salt block (white), and a mineral block (red). I agree they are good for the deer and also they are visited often by deer. Unfortunately my county is in a CWD zone and salt blocks are prohibited.

[popper]

Funny, I'm not a deer hunter. In Ar, deer came up a trail, 3 of us siting, back to wind. Tx, sitting in an elevated box blind, smoking, doe walks under the blind. Maybe just plant rose bush next to the blind?