How many of you cut lure with distilled water?I mist lure out of stand quite a bit and very often with lures that are thicker or potent I will cut them with distilled water.I would be interested to hear about any experiences you have had with this type of thing.

Well, first I generally don't spray scents into the air but rather use a scent pad or string so that I can take the scent back out of the woods with me when I leave. It seems to me that if you spray a lure out there, after you've gone the scent remains and deer may well follow that scent in. They'll get to the head of the scent pattern and find that there's no doe or food or whatever so the next time they smell that exact odor they're less likely to follow it in. It just seems that everytime you use that tactic you'reteaching some deer to ignore the lure you're using. I'd be interested to hear how the mist thing has done for you. Second, I usually worry about getting more scent into the air, not less so the only time Ithin out a lure with distilled water is when I use a buck hustler. That thing pumps out so much scent thatyou have to cut it back some. Otherwise, no thinning scents for me.

Since the strength of the odor would be greatly reduced you might end up having that buck think that the doe is far off and better prospects may be closer at hand . That's pretty much the theory behind scent control , making you appear farther away and therefore less of an immediate threat .

I know I talk about the use of scents, but the more I think about and the more I hunt, the less I even bother with scents. Meaning now, I really pick what I consider opportune times to use a scent.

First off, I use sythetics soley because I believe protein bases scents can work and do sometimes but I also know they are going to eventually breakdown due to bacteria and thus smell different than authentic "that day" fresh scent... I dont delute, and don't use a scent in which I feel needs deluting.

I do mist, but like I said maybe 6 times a season out of 40-50 hunts....I will mist the air during the heat of the rut when I am rattling and want a buck to pick up some scent to help entice him closer to the antler battle... I will mist heavily downwind with forehead gland scent or urines...for this...

During the early season in Sept I will use forhead gland scent for making mock rubs or licking branches. Bucks are rubbing heavily then so it just makes sense to me to apply that forehead scents to my set ups..and yes I have watched bucks come out of the timber and check out these rubs in early season..its like they smell a new buck in the area they haven't smelled before..I dont over do it, I may forehead scent up an area 2-3 times..in the early season..that's it..

Laying down scent trails, these days I only lay them down for shooting puproses mostly.. for the most part and I use a spray bottle to shootthe trailoff to the side of me say 15 feet..that way my human path isn't directly bound by my synthetic scent trail. I do this because I believe a buck smells your direct path with his noseto the ground were you walk a lot easier than he can smell you 10-15 feet away, especially if you all you can to minimize...not eliminate but minimize foul odors... I don't want my human path mixed with a scent trail.....I say this because I have watched bucks, mature bucks not show me any signs of knowing I am there and he's only few feetaway from my route to astand...yet when he eatshis way to my path..and he crosses my foot path ...he stops and notices something. Rarely have I ever had a buck bolt or blowout of there though...since I have taken an extreme approach to minimizing scent. I truely believe a human can minimize their offensive scent molecules and get deer to feel like your either fruther away or like you may have been there but not for some time...as with any scent trail we leave...it weakens over time...

Hunting during the raining season... I never worry about leaving any deer scents in the woods..most of my scent distributions lead to a scrape or licking branch or mock rob or all of the above anyway..so that is their ending point....I feel like a buck may return...when he doesn't see who left the trail..he's curious as to whom has entered his area and is using it and is scraping there....as long as he doesnt keep finding your human scent mixed in directly with your trails I think your fine.... just my 2 cents ....

Best of luck..

Thank's for the responses everyone! I appreciate the input!Lots of good information to give thought to.I am not a huge scent user and over a period of many years I have through trial and error narrowed down the products I use to about to about three companies,Realdeer,James Valley and Kishels.I am using forehead gland from Hawgs Limited as well as their vanishing hunter product.I have seen dramatic responses from all those products with all age classes of bucks.
I definitely am not anticipating that scents will make up for a lack of woodmanship,just another tool in the belt to create a scenario that a buck would naturally respond to.
Good luck and good hunting!