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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Pat B on August 20, 2020, 12:11:44 PM
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Reading the recent thread about baiting got me thinking...are attracting or cover scents considered baiting? I've used both. I've never had much luck with attracting scents like Doe in Heat, etc. The few times I tried them, at the appropriate time of year seemed to scare off deer or at least they become very alert and to me these scents are counter productive. I have used cover scents on my boots, specifically fox urine or fresh deer urine or even walking in a fresh cow pie on my way to the stand. With the fox pee I've had both foxes and deer follow my trail right to the stand but as far as estrus scents or dominant buck scent they seem to scare off most deer. I know that in some areas they can be very productive but do you consider them baiting?
We all know that your best cover is using the air movement in your favor.
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I wouldn't consider using scents to be baiting anymore than I would consider using a call or rattling antlers baiting. I've never had a lot of success with scents, although I know people who have. I've used a drag rope before in the walk in and have had deer follow it before, but never anything that worked out.
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Baiting = bait = food?
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Scents aren’t bait. I’ve killed a bunch of deer w em. I don’t touch them before I see a walk phase starting and I only use em a few times a year but they def work than
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I wouldn't consider scents as baiting either. I have had mixed results with scents from the deer totally ignoring them to the far fewer where they came right in. With rut related scents my personal experiences have been mostly negative but on two occasions I pulled in two bucks, one small and one mature, otherwise it has been where they just ignored them or took off. That could have been from using them too soon or improperly but I have had enough negative reactions that I stopped using them altogether. I think that hunting pressure has a lot to do with it as well.
Thanks,
Roger
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I use Tinks Skunk oil for cover scent. Heaven help you if the wind dies or changed direction when you've got a scent bottle hanging on a limb by you. I also use evercalm but although I have seen deer go up and sniff it when rubbed on a tree I mostly use it on my boots and my walk in trail seems less of an issue for them then.
I don't consider scents baiting. But then again if it is legal I don't have an issue with baiting either.
As far
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Like I said, for years I used fox pee or fresh cow pies on the soles of my hunting boots to cover my walk into my stand with good results. I even used scent eliminator spray on my cloths but I have no evidence it worked because a deer down wind will know you are there.
I guess I was more curious about attracting scents like vanilla, apple, anise oil, corn and others. If throwing corn or apples out in front of your stand is baiting why wouldn't their scent used for the same reason not be. This is more of an antidote question than an inquisitive one. Just wondering why.
I have no problem with others using whatever is legal while hunting or what they shoot. That's their business but I am curious about how others feel about this cover and attracting scents subject.
Over the years I've rarely had the opportunity to hunt over a corn or soybean field but hunted thick woods of the Southeast US, the edges between the woods and coastal salt marshes, the edges between hardwoods and cane breaks or the edges between hardwoods and planted pines.. I hunted trails to and from bedding areas, to and from food plots but rarely on the food plot itself. I have relied on these well worn trails or the less obvious buck trails that paralleled them and in my experience the use of scents, cover or attracting scents has been more of a detriment than a help.
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I've used vanilla before but with limited success. I have had good success with scent control as long as I'm consistent using it. Not saying it eliminates scent but the deer smell us all the time. They know if we are close by or far enough away they aren't in danger. The saturation of your scent in the air is what alerts them of that.
Using a good scent control product and system cuts way back on scent and lessens the saturation level. I often have deer down wind and they do not spook.
However pigs are a whole different story.
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I’ve used cover scents, hunter soap in morning especially for my hair, wash my hunting clothes in baking soda and also sprinkled it in hair to minimize my odor. Seems to work.
:campfire:
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No, I don't consider cover scents or attractants to be baiting. I have used them with mixed results. I still like to use them just to see the reaction of the deer. While I have had deer respond favorably, I can't actually say that any of these directly resulted in me taking a deer. I don't care for baiting, even though it is now legal.
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Rattled in Thanksgiving dinner....more than once.
Called in with grunt calls too many time to remember..... what a BLAST!!!!
Scents... Smokey's... ask Gene and Barry... those wicks are scary at times...
Scentloc clothing...a JOKE!
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sorry....went off....
Best thing for scent reduction? Chlorafil... look it up.
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So you just drink it ?
:campfire:
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GCook makes a very valid point about skunk scent. On a calm day it can be rough. I once put out a whole bottle all close around my stand. As the sun came up the wind died totally away except for the updrafts as things warmed up. That may be my worst day hunting ever. So don't get too carried away with cover scent.
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I stopped using skunk, if you think about it they spray when they’re alerted !!!
:campfire:
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That's my thoughts about skunk scent too, Wudstix.
The fox pee I used was given to my by a GA DNR agent. It seemed almost like a calming scent for animals. Like I said earlier I've had deer and fox follow me to my stand with their nose to the ground.
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I agree the skunk scent is only there when something alerted or scared the skunk, I think it puts them on alert, but they will have one heck of time smelling you with that around. :bigsmyl:
Fox scent seems to work but both, foxes and deer seem to come right up to the tree and I've even seen the deer smell the tree steps where my buddy climbed the tree. That could be a good thing if it's a nice buck or doe, but if it's a non-target deer they sometimes, mill around trying to figure out if the fox is still in the tree! :biglaugh:
Rut or sex scents have been hit or miss for me, mostly miss but, I hunt on public land and,I think the deer have too many negative encounters for it to work well. I have had a little better luck on private land, but it still freaks out the does a lot of times so I, don't use it much.
As for ScentLok, I think it can work, but not like they claim where you can forget the wind and hunt. It's just that you have to spend a lot of time and energy to keep it clean.
I try to be as scent free as possible by washing with scent free soap and washing all my clothes with scent free soap from a month before the season starts till the end. I also play the wind and don't hunt a stand unless I have a favorable wind for that area.
I also have a Scent Crusher bag that I use if I really sweat or want to treat my hunting clothes between washes, but I take the clothes out afterward and hang them so the ozone dissapates. They do notice the ozone smell, and some mature deer will react negatively to it at times.
My goal is to reduce my scent profile as much as possible and be a ghost! That way, if the deer do smell me, hopefully, they will think it's old or residual scent and give me enough time for a shot.
Thanks,
Roger
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For the record, skunks always smell that way. Not just when alerted. You guys make me wonder if y'all really ever spent that much time in the woods!!!
Female coon scent is probably best for your boots. Want to know more about cover scents???? Talk to trappers.
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I guess I've got to disagree there Terry. I've been around a lot of skunks, way more than I care to really lol. Some of them smell that way although obviously not as strong as when they spray, but some of them don't have any smell at all. I've walked outside and times and smelled them from 30 yards away, and at other times I've been skinning deer in the yard at night and looked down to have one right at my feet cleaning up the scraps without ever smelling it.
I've never used it as a cover scent, but I can see where it would work as long as not used heavily. I've used ScentLok clothing and convinced that it works to a point. Obviously a deer downwind is still probably going to pick up on something but the clothing does seem to help a bit. Playing the wind is still the best bet for sure though.
I've walked through cow pies before but I think the deer kind of know that the cattle are generally not supposed to be in the woods.
When I was younger my dad convinced me that sour apple gum would attract them so I'd sit in the stand with him chewing on my gum and blowing in all directions lol.
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I have had the same experiences as TrentonG with skunks, they don't always smell and many times while camping they come right into camp looking for scrapes. We had one come right into the tent one time and my buddy just chased him back out and no smell at all. Another time one of the guys was eating his oatmeal before going out hunting and the skunk came right up under the picnic table, he didn't even know it was there till he stood up.
Our local pest control guy told me that he has removed tons of skunks from under peoples porches and decks that never knew they were there until a neighbor told them they saw the skunk going under the porch. My brother had one that would sneak into his neighbors yard to eat the apples and even when his dog or the neighbors would chase it the skunk didn't spray. The only time it sprayed was when my brother's dog finally managed to grab it while it was escaping under the fence, what a mess that was!
I agree that trappers know a lot about scents and covering scents as well. From personal experience with Fox the deer just seem to be really curious of that scent. I hunted with my buddy who used it frequently and many times I've watched deer follow his trail right to his stand. Now most of the deer are does or immature deer I don't think I've seen a mature buck do the same.
I even tried Evercalm but had mixed results with that as well, some deer totally ignored it while others were curious, and some would mill around nervously for a while. Other guys I talked to said it worked great for them and seemed to do exactly as claimed, calm the deer. I guess like people scents affect deer in different ways based on their experiences to certain scents positively or negatively.
Another reason I shyed away from using skunk scent was years ago one of the guys in our bowhunter shooting league left a bottle on his dash and the bottle tipped over and leaked into the vents. Needless to say that no matter what he did he couldn't get that skunk scent out of the truck for months. He would drive with the windows down even in the coldest weather to avoid the stench.... :biglaugh:
Roger,
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An item I forgot to mention earlier... I found that raw garlic makes a good cover. I would crush it on the soles of my boots. I have had deer follow my path through the woods with their heads down in the scent. They seemed comfortably at ease. When I posted this observation in another post somewhere else, one of the guys said that garlic has a reputation to spook the deer. Has anyone else used garlic? If so, what was your experience? One drawback is that yellow jackets are attracted to it so they often buzzed all around my fingers after I crushed the garlic around the stand. I haven't used it in quite a while now, but maybe I'll try it again this year.
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Years ago when I lived in Coastal SC my hunting buddy decided he was gonna use muscadine(sp) grapes for a cover scent. He put his hunting cloths in a plastic bag with lots of grapes and mushed them together. The next morning he headed to the woods. Right at sunrise the yellowjackets started gathering and needless to say, Richard missed that morning hunt. :knothead:
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No offense but Mr. Terry is right. I've had skunks come into my tent in scout camp. The babies, no smell. Adults always smell. Sure it's not overwhelming. But if your using cover scents right they aren't either. A deer can pick out the many scents on the air. The idea isn't to try to overwhelm their nose. Just create a scent saturation that minimizes the human scent.
If you use a good scent reduction system, a good cover scent properly, skunk or fox or coon work, then you have a better chance of not putting deer on high alert and spooking out of an area.
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That said no system, even hunting the wind, is foolproof. At some point the wind isn't perfect for days, or swirls at prime time . . .
Sometimes you need a little luck as well.
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I, like several others her have said, tried the buck scent stuff and had zero luck. It did seem to frighten the deer. I also tried vanilla, and even some corn syrup stuff that was out there for a while. The best solution I found here in the interspersed woodland and row crop hills and hollers of Southernmost Illinois is cow shit or horse shit on my boots and clean clothes washed in plain 20 mule team borax or baking soda. I sweat like a whore in church and produce an oil when I do. I cant smell it but my wife can so she keeps me on my toes. She has had deer walk right up to her with the wind in their face. Not me by a long shot.
I just try to be as clean and scent free as I possible can.
I really think this scent thing is blown out of proportion by sales of product.
JMHO
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anyone tried musk oil?
i've tried musk and vanilla with no real interest.
different time of year perhaps?
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As I have indicated, I have used numerous types of scents nearly 60 years with mixed results. Actually, I feel that a deer's nose is a lot like a dog's nose. They can pick out individual odors among a mix of smells (my opinion). I always have the feeling that a deer in in the area sniffs and thinks, "Ah, McMichael is in the woods and is trying a new fragrance this morning". Still, I use them from time to time.
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Back to the skunk thing. Female skunks will spurt when being harassed by amorous males. Not always a danger situation.
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:biglaugh:
As I have indicated, I have used numerous types of scents nearly 60 years with mixed results. Actually, I feel that a deer's nose is a lot like a dog's nose. They can pick out individual odors among a mix of smells (my opinion). I always have the feeling that a deer in in the area sniffs and thinks, "Ah, McMichael is in the woods and is trying a new fragrance this morning". Still, I use them from time to time.
:clapper:
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The best response to a scent I ever got was to hock gland from a recently killed deer. A real stud came into it. It’s a long and embarrassing story as to why I didn’t get that deer and I’d just as soon forget it, but can’t. It haunts me😩
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Cornfusion works great on hogs and attracts deer too . Comes in a liquid very thick but can be sprayed form a squirt bottle .
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Back to the skunk thing. Female skunks will spurt when being harassed by amorous males. Not always a danger situation.
Guess ol' Pepe LePue was just the norm among male skunks, then? Cats just don't know how to properly tell a skunk to buzz off.
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I thought about using a cover scent. But our archery season is now -- warm weather. With all the sweat and bug spray, it's kind of dumb to think a little animal urine can cover all that up. Maybe in whitetail country and late season hunts. But not here. Not now.
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I never had any luck with urine based scents. Deer urinate throughout the entire woods all day every day. But with gland based scents like the real thing from a fresh killed deer or James Valley, I have great results. Its all in the tiing as well. As for cover scents, I just store my hunting clothes in a air tight container with a bunch of green black walnuts. Within a day or two, my clothes are permeated with the scent of black walnuts.
My dad has had great success with vanilla extract in the early season.
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According to Idaho law, the use of bait to hunt or take big game animals other than black bear is unlawful. Bait is defined as any substance placed to attract big game animals, except liquid scent for deer and elk. The use of salt placed to attract elk or deer for hunting is considered bait and is illegal.
I've used my share of attracting scents. Spilled liquids in my truck or pack, used human urine for scrapes ( it works) tried incense etc.
For me I've learned I'd rather smell like nothing than something. Seems deer are always more alert when coming to doe or buck scent.
Now I use scent wafers, easy, no mess, usually fresh earth or maybe pine or cedar if appropriate. You can get hot doe too, which I have used with varying results.
Shoot straight kevin