Cover/attractant scents? Some of the best use them. Discuss

[Ridgerunner7]

Myles Keller has mentioned many times that he used vanilla extract as a cover/attractant scent. Adam Hays relys heavily on Border Crossing's Conquest scent. Stan Potts utilizes scents but not sure he did in his early years before fame on the public lands of Illinois. The Wensel brothers swear a small companies Gland Scent has brought them success. I am aware most of these guys aren't hunting heavily pressured public land but many started out that way.

I think most of us here have a basic understanding that its nearly impossible if not impossible to fool a deer's nose but there are just as many hunters out there with very good skills believe that there is some benefit to these types of products. Are they hunting much less pressured deer so have more positive reactions to these types of products? Do you think in certain situations they can be useful?

I'm not necessarily talking beast style bed hunting..just in general. I have my opinions..just wanted to spark a discussion on them.

[Southern Man]

I used scents years ago with some success but don't use them anymore. Seems like the only response nowdays is a spooked deer, unless you're interested in killin 1.5 yo bucks. Same thing with calls. I'd rather leave as little scent as possible and quiet when I'm there.

[whitetail007]

i never go hunting without spraying deer dander on my rubber boots. just because you take a good entrance and exit route does not mean that a mature deer is not going to cross your path at some point and know your in the area. its just one little thing that tips the scale in your favor when dealing with a wise old buck.

[Autumn Ninja]

I think most of us here have a basic understanding that its nearly impossible if not impossible to fool a deer's nose but there are just as many hunters out there with very good skills believe that there is some benefit to these types of products. Are they hunting much less pressured deer so have more positive reactions to these types of products?

If someone wants to give me the money to kill big bucks year after year with there product...it would be a done deal. I could kill 2-3 bucks this year with the acorn crunch call for the right dollar amount...(wink) (wink) ...lol.

[Ridgerunner7]

I think most of us here have a basic understanding that its nearly impossible if not impossible to fool a deer's nose but there are just as many hunters out there with very good skills believe that there is some benefit to these types of products. Are they hunting much less pressured deer so have more positive reactions to these types of products?

If someone wants to give me the money to kill big bucks year after year with there product...it would be a done deal. I could kill 2-3 bucks this year with the acorn crunch call for the right dollar amount...(wink) (wink) ...lol.

I agree..that's why I mentioned the above guys like the Wensel brothers and Myles Keller. There are no big name complanies giving them money for vanilla extract and the gland scent that the Wensel brothers use is a no name family owned mom and pop company.

I'm not talking about Waddel, Lee and Tiffany, etc.

A few of these guys are way old school and were killing P&Y deer before any TV shows...yet still admit to using this tactic.

Me personally, I stay away from cover scents..although I went several years experimenting with natural deer urine to cover my downwind side if a deer should go there. I had mixed success but my biggest Michigan buck..a mature 171" came right into a buck urine scent and a decoy.

[Autumn Ninja]

I agree..that's why I mentioned the above guys like the Wensel brothers and Myles Keller. There are no big name complanies giving them money for vanilla extract and the gland scent that the Wensel brothers use is a no name family owned mom and pop company.

Never hunted with the stuff, but I've had real good results with Buck Fever Synthetics in scrapes, and also vanilla extract with my trail cam's.

[uncleron]

I've often wondered if it's possible to effectively overwhelm a deer's sense of smell with a natural scent like skunk. Simlilar to the way you could overwhelm your taste buds with a certain flavor that wouldn't allow you to taste other more subtle flavors.I've heard of guys using skunk as a cover scent before, but Im not sure if it would alarm a mature deer or not. Vanilla is a fairly powerfull smell as well, but probably more appealing to a deer.

A few times on stand Ive used apple flavored foods or peanut butter to help mask my breath. One day while hunting from a blowdown, I had a doe (not a fawn) get a whiff of my peanut butter and walk to within petting distance from me. She knew something wasnt quite right, but she stood next to me sniffing the air for several minutes. Eventually she walked off, but it did make me wonder how well it worked. Surely it didnt hurt.

[Ridgerunner7]

I agree..that's why I mentioned the above guys like the Wensel brothers and Myles Keller. There are no big name complanies giving them money for vanilla extract and the gland scent that the Wensel brothers use is a no name family owned mom and pop company.

Never hunted with the stuff, but I've had real good results with Buck Fever Synthetics in scrapes, and also vanilla extract with my trail cam's.

Same here Ninja..I have used Buck fever on scrapes in the past and they really tear it up. Never tried the vanilla.

[PLB]

I've often wondered if it's possible to effectively overwhelm a deer's sense of smell with a natural scent like skunk. Simlilar to the way you could overwhelm your taste buds with a certain flavor that wouldn't allow you to taste other more subtle flavors.I've heard of guys using skunk as a cover scent before, but Im not sure if it would alarm a mature deer or not. Vanilla is a fairly powerfull smell as well, but probably more appealing to a deer.

A few times on stand Ive used apple flavored foods or peanut butter to help mask my breath. One day while hunting from a blowdown, I had a doe (not a fawn) get a whiff of my peanut butter and walk to within petting distance from me. She knew something wasnt quite right, but she stood next to me sniffing the air for several minutes. Eventually she walked off, but it did make me wonder how well it worked. Surely it didnt hurt.

You can, it's called Nosejammer!! Jam the whitetails ability to smell you!! Overload his number 1 defense mechanism!! LMAO!!!!

[ Post made via Android ]

[dan]

Cover scent:
No matter what you do your going to leave some scent and the deer that cross your path will know you were there. I do not believe you can eliminate or reduce your scent enough to make much of a difference. However, there are things you can do...
#1 don't over hunt the spot.
#2 get a portable stand so you don't have to hunt the straight tree in the middle of the funnel and set it back farther.
#3 use patience to wait for the right time to hunt the spot.
#4 Hunting just before, or during a rain gives you a free hunt by washing away your scent after you leave.

As far as attractant scent goes, my results showed occasional success private or public on sub-mature bucks. I did once have a mature buck respond favorable in conjunction with rattling right after hearing a buck fight break out down wind.
My belief is scents do more harm than good, and you really can't fool a deers nose, it might work on immature bucks, but not often on mature bucks, at least not often enough for me to rely on it as a legitimate way to hunt mature bucks.

I personally do not believe its possible to "jam" a bucks sense of smell by over loading it either. They have the ability to separate odors. I think they do this with there vomernasel organ ( we don't have one ) Instead of smelling a blend, they smell each ingredient separately according to scientists.
I also think an alarm smell that a skunk gives off when in danger would make the deer afraid of the danger that made the skunk spray.

[jlh42581]

Ive killed a deer off a drag rag in a highly pressured area but I think a lot of factors came into play that day. One being it was REALLY cold and just the onset of the rut. I had laid the scent 6 hours prior to the buck coming through.

Ive seen some bottles of scent bring in every buck in the county and the next bottle from the same company that was in the same box they wont even acknowledge it.

Thats what I think is a major down fall in this system is that theres no consistency from one bottle to the next. Ive seen it bring in big bucks, mature big bucks in high pressure but not with consistency.

Its definitely a crap shoot at best. I too use deer dander and never have seen a negative reaction. I spray it on my boots. Im taking the long route anyhow but it somehow gives me piece of mind and that smell of deer just makes me feel like I am hunting. I dont expect it to block anything and I dont expect it to attract anything.

[Dewey]

I have had good luck with Ole' Drop Tyne Doe To Door on bucks of all ages during the rut. http://www.doetodoor.com/

Never had any luck with any commercial scents you can buy in the store. (Tinks, Buck Stop, Wildlife Research Center, etc.)

This is the only time of the year I use scents of any kind.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[BigHills BuckHunter]

I think the "Great" hunters use scents to get money. They are also on very low pressure land. I used to use tinks but I have had it either not work or scare deer away. With the exception of a yearling that came in right to it. Like Dan said unless a rain comes in your smell will be there and they will smell it. Their nose is incredibly powerful compared to ours. I also read in a scientific research paper that deer can seperate up to 12 different odors at the same time.

[PLB]

I use Essence of Fall cover scent. As far as deer attractant scents, Nothing. You ain't fooling a mature pressured, public woods buck with doe pee imho...

[ Post made via Android ]

[Dewey]

As far as deer attractant scents, Nothing. You ain't fooling a mature pressured, public woods buck with doe pee imho...

[ Post made via Android ]

That's what I thought until I experimented with the scent in my above post. It's not a guarantee but during a very small window during the rut it can be very effective.

[ Post made via iPhone ]