Well you can build a house without a hammer its just a little harder thats all.I can tell by Marlins posts that hes pretty much closed his mind to these tools but to the rest of you maybe I can make some suggestions." The trouble with scents and calls" ,I would reply theres NO trouble with scents and calls only in choosing the RIGHT ones and USING them properly.I have found that those the most vocal about scents and calls not working have merely had poor success with them theirselves and among their group.When used with " scents" (pun) they work as intended and can help tilt the odds of a mature buck in your favor.Rattling - I use REAL heavy beamed deer horns with the brow tines removed for comfort and sealed well to prevent dampness from penetrating and giving them that " dead" sound.I rattle ONCE real hard for about 45 seconds and then put them away,if you keep rattling on and off the bucks can pinpoint your location better and most bucks don' t fight for a while and then stop only to fight again in a few minutes.The bucks will come in on high alert and 90% of the time if mature will CIRCLE your position to scent check from downwind to identify the bucks fighting.Backing up to a river,steep embackment,open field,flowage,or something to impede or prevent the buck from getting downwind will greatly raise your success rate.Positioning a shooter 100yds down wind is also an excellant way to captilize on this downwind movement of the buck.Scent-loc,no-scent products(soap,sprays,deoderants,cover scents)will help as well as staying 15 feet or higher in a tree stand,it will make it harder for a buck to scent you or see movement as you prepare for a shot.Scents - I have found only one scent brand that works all the time and does not spook mature bucks with its use,James Valley scents made in gel form from a trapper in the Dakotas with a COMBINATION of glands,musks,and urine used according to his rather detailed and specific instructions.I believe straight urine has too short of a shelf life and breaks down to ammonia too quickly.Keep the scent in a GLASS container and except when you are starting a mock scrape or freshening a real one take the scent into your area to hunt and seal up and take it out with you.The bucks get used to a scent left out on the ground and quickly loose any interest in it,once the bucks start to hit a doctored scrape stop going near it and let them do the scenting.Wall Hanger or Full Rut seems to be his best.Using scent NEAR not in bedding areas will work the best and fooling with scrapes out near the edge of fields where the bucks stage at night before feeding is usually not very productive.All techniques will work far better if employed close to doe bedding areas and thick buck travel routes.Calls - I use a simple grunt call with NO buttons or tone changers just a good low grunt,I picked it out of about a half dozen grunts and have used it for years.3-6 low tending grunts and thats all for an hour or so,overcalling is far worse than undercalling.Grunts used before or right after rattling also can add to effectiveness.They will come in equally alert as with rattling and will often attempt to circle downwind be forewarned.Now my favorite and most successful calling technique,estrous doe bleats with a bleat can.Three bleats and than quiet for a 1/2 hour or more,the bucks come in more relaxed and will often come straight in with less circling.This technique can be DEADLY close to bedding areas at mid day!With any calling technique it can take a mature buck up to an hour or more to respond,thats how they got to be mature,be patient.All of these techniques can work by themselves or when used in combination with each other,they don' t work everytime and nothing does with mature bucks.They are tools that all help to reach your goal of seeing and shooting a mature shooter buck for your given hunting area.Less pressured areas the bucks are exposed to less man produced scents and calling and will respond better to these tricks in shooting light.I have hunted in Maine for 39 years and last fall called in four bucks three of which were mature cagey public land bucks of which my son and I shot two.I don' t view calls and scents as replacements for shooting or hunting skills and I don' t rely on them completely without scouting and setting up well in advance(Aug)with my stands and always being in funnels and near to bedding areas where big bucks are moving,you have to be where they are to get their attention.Hope some of these tips help,I' ve been a long time learning some of them.Don' t give up on scents till you try James Valley(hes a trapper and used to fooling animals with excellant noses)and use your calls sparingly,they work better when not overused.Rattling is a discourging method as it will lure in many bucks you' ll never see that circle and then often blow and let every buck around know theres danger, but try the backdrops suggested and keep experimenting!Good Hunting!

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