Thought this would be some fun, maybe enlightening too.
Long before the advent of all the " trick" stuff that is out there today, much of it being hyped junk, bowhunters of yesteryear also pursued the quest to hide their scent, themselves, and bring the deer to them.
Even today, there are innovative bowhunters that are not pushovers for the " snake oils," who experiment with their own techniques or other innovative techniques learned from other bowhunters.
Tell us about some.
For starters, here are a few from my past that other shooters used and, of course, claimed they worked. Some that I used that ....of course, worked.
1. Just before the season, a friend, an avid and good deer hunter would wear his underwear for a few days without changing them. He would then cut the shorts into strips. He would strategically hang the strips as to corral deer towards his stand, which (stand) was on the ground or a large limb. He claimed it worked.
2. One shooter would put a pocket transistor radio beneath the leaves or brush nearby, tuned to a music station that was mostly instrumental, classical, I assume, with the volume set low. He claimed the music aroused the curiosity of the deer, and they would creep in to identify what the noise was.
3. Another shooter kept a tanned tail from a deer. He would attach the tail to a bush nearby. He then attached some thin black string to the tail and held the other end at his location. If there was a breeze, he let the wind move the tail. If no breeze, he would occasionally twitch the tail with the string. He believed that a buck standing off in the brush or at a distance would see the tail moving and come to investigate. This guy did down a very big buck and claims the tail decoy was what brought the buck in.
4. For scent cover, many of us would rinse our hunting clothes in pure apple cider. Lack of apple trees in most areas and the sweet smell eventually getting to you soon eliminated the method.
5. If a shooter downed a doe, some would cut out and save the metatarsal and tarsal glands and freeze them for the next season. They would tie the glands on a small cord, pour some " Indian Buck Lure" on the glands, and then drag them on the ground behind them to where they would setup.
In 1973, while using this method, I did kill a big 8-pointer that I observed follow the exact drag trail to my location. I had thrown the treated glands on the ground about 15 yards from where I was sitting in a fall. He went directly to the glands and was sniffing the glands when I dropped him. Was it the combination, the glands, the lure? I don' t know.