Tarsal Glands......

[Bayshorebuck8]

Last night my cousin arrowed what i beleive to be a 1 1/2 possibly a 2 1/2 year old buck and i cut the tarsals off ziploced them and put them in the freezer to keep them fresh they are very dark and very strong smelling, should i make a scent drag downwind of doe bedding hoping to alert a mature buck of a lesser stag in his area or what could i do with these?

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[seazofcheeze]

I've tried this at least 5 times, I am 0 for 5 in those attempts. I don't think it hurts to try, especially since it is natural scent, but the results are not there for me. I have been think about getting a decoy, and I think pinning them to a decoy could be a positive addition in that setup. Good luck either way!

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[PK_]

I have had very good luck with tarsals. I don't go out of my way to drag them anywhere special, because that is just more chance of laying down more of my own scent. I just carry one in with me and wipe it here and there on some foliage. If I have two I flank them on the crosswind sides of my stand. I feel if a buck cuts my entrance he may follow the trail, or if a buck is cutting downwind he may smell the tarsal scent before mine. I have had both work for me.

I do not feel as though they 'attract' deer from a long ways, but the deer that come through seem to be more relaxed because they think they are smelling where a deer was recently through the spot. During the rut if a buck comes through it is 50-50 whether he will follow the scent and many times I have had them put their nose right on the gland. Even mature heavy pressure bucks have come in. Killed my biggest buck with bow over a tarsal and I would not have had a shot at him if he didn't follow the scent trail to me. He put his nose on every bush I touched with the gland and was walking in all bristled up and I shot him at 20 yards as he was closing in on the gland. This was in fairly open woods, if you are walking through brush I think you are leaving way too much of your own scent trail for it to matter…