Bag ‘o tricks vs NO tricks
 

OK, let’s get the fact that people have been killing deer for many years before we started bottling piss and inventing grunt calls, etc.

I have no doubt that people grunt and rattle and lure bucks in. I personally have never used a grunt call with any success, nor a rattle bag. I believe that a 9-pointer I killed two years ago heard me blow into a doe can and came charging over the hill. I believe that a spike I killed last year may have followed a estrous drag rag. But, I will say that every time I have ever dug into my bag ‘o tricks w/o success, I always have an overwhelming feeling that the reason I didn’t see deer was because I spooked them with whatever I was trying to do, whether it was using any variety of deer pee, a grunt call, a can call, a rattle bag…whatever. I then determine that next time I won’t use anything. But then I always end up succumbing to the temptation to use some pee or bleat the can, etc (can’t bring myself to leave them behind).

What do you think? Do you think we overload deer senses by using this stuff? Or do you think we have gained a significant advantage by using it?

The last two years I've stopped using scent lures and calls. The reason I've stopped is that I seems to see more deer when I wasn't using them than when I was. So, I carry one of those doe bleat can calls, and that's all. I only use that when I see a deer. The can works great to stop a deer.
I think the people that know how to use them properly have a lot of luck using them. I think a lot of people over do it. My own reason for stopping is that I enjoy just relaxing in the woods and seeing what comes by. Hunting was becoming too much like work when I was hanging scents around and planning how I was gonna call.
-Jake

I think your right. I do feel the same. The last two weeks I have grunted and rattled set doe pee lines with nothing. Last night I just sat there and had a doe bring a nice 8pt by my stand. I'm starting to think being scent free and hunting current sign is the key. If I hunt a stand 4 times and see nothing i find the most current sign and move.

Deer are soooo in touch with where they live I think rattling grunting and setting out scents that aren't from the area can hurt you. So it's fun to grunt and rattle sometimes, and you may luck out, but more times then none I think you can hurt yourself.

I use a grunt call to stop moving deer so I can get a shot. I have tried it to attract deer but have never had success; maybe because I am doing it wrong. Same thing with rattling. I have never had that work either.

But doesn't just about any sound stop a moving deer? Like the "meh" sound that so many TV bowhunters make before letting the arrow fly? I have heard of people just saying "hey deer" just before the shot.

Of course, on Saturday I tried using the "meh" sound on a doe that came in from behind and was moving rather quickly, and it didn't work! But I think she knew something wasn't right and had already decided that she was getting out of the area.

I do the mouth meh if a deer comes in. It works just as good, you're right. I stopped a buck with that last thursday for a shot.
-Jake

I mostly agree with what you said. I used to use the scent loc clothes, use a doe in heat drag line (using the "hot" lure that year), rattled, grunted, bleated, set mock scrape lines, and tried the latest sure thing, off the wall tactic I read about in the bowhunting magazines. I still use scent killer spray and the fresh earth scent wafers but have gotten away from grunting so much and don't use hardly any scents anymore. I will use the grunt call when I get into my stand and that is about it for calling. Sometimes I will use some trails end placed on the trail where I want them to stop for a shot.

You have to remember there's a huge $$$$ market for that stuff. There's money to be made! Look at all these TV shows. Over half the time is spent selling you this stuff and they show them using it but I never see any deer react to it.

I carry that stuff just in case if things are slow to play with but don't expect much. I did rattle in a doe last year! She came running right up to my blind. No bucks though.

And I won't pay extra for the "joeshmoe" camo pattern or the "scentlok" (which to me is BS) either. I've hunted for almost 50 years long before that stuff came on the market and the biggest deer I ever got was the first year I hunted.

We have scent eliminator spray and a the original can call. We hardly ever use the spray and the only time we use the can is to stop a deer that is moving. And that is the extent of my bag of tricks, but don't even get me started on all the predator stuff we have accumulated.

No tricks here.....
 

I had a gruntcall and lost it years ago.....never called anything, so I haven't replaced it.

I've had the same half-full bottle of doe urine for 5 years, lol.
I did have a buck follow a scent-line I made one time....and I got him, but haven't used it much since.

I think the best tricks are to hunt with the wind, be quiet and be still.....I don't manage my own scent AT ALL. I think that deer can pretty much smell ANYTHING human no matter how hard we try to fool them. Ever use mink oil on your boots? How about the Rem-Oil on your rifle?

In fact, I do about everything WRONG, scentwise!!!!!
I smoked over a pack of cigs on the stand last weekend.
I bought some sliced hard salami for sandwiches.....they reeked, but were delicious!.

I shoot a VERY common Marlin 336 in 30-30.....with a Bushnell 4x sportview.....

I got my deer (med size 5pt buck 150 or so pounds) on Saturday (opener) morning. I'm grilling tenderloins as I type......

Life is GOOD!!!!

I think most of this stuff about calls, scents, and keeping yourself scent free is a bunch of BS.

The only call I've ever had was "The Can" and the first time I used it a fairly large 8 pointer walked in. I thought for sure this thing was magic. I used it for years after that and never called anything in with it, and deer didn't seem to react to it other than to go the other way. I realized that first time the deer was just coming in anyway.

As for the scent stuff, I've also tried using Tinks 69, several times and I've never seen anything anytime I've used it. I'm not saying you will never see anything when using it, but I just haven't.

I also used to wash everything in Scent Away, take showers with Scent Away soap and shampoo, and then spray myself down on the way to the stand. The 2nd biggest deer I ever killed was on a day when I didn't have time to bathe in scent free stuff, and I had just taken a shower that morning it Axe. It didn't pay any attention to me. Since then, I've seen deer when I've taken all of these steps, but I've seen just as many when I've taken none of them. I just don't think it has much of an effect.

Last year I killed one of the biggest deer that has ever been killed in this area that we know of. I'd been cutting on wood all day in my coveralls and I had the fresh cut wood all over me, my friend had been smoking around me, and I'd really just done nothing right. They told me before I left that I'd never see any deer smelling like that. Well, I proved them wrong when I let them know I'd just killed a huge 11 pointer that obviously didn't care about my scent. This has made me realize it's a bunch of bs.

Another buddy told me he figured out the same thing. He used to take every precaution, and the last two years he quit doing anything to control his scent, and quit using calls. He killed more deer last year than he ever has in his 5 years of hunting. This year, he killed a 7 pointer the first day, and a 13 pointer this morning. Neither time did he worry about his scent, using deer scents, or anything else scent wise. He's started telling me not to waste my money on this stuff also.

I've come to the realization, they just use most of this stuff on TV because they are getting paid to use it. I've got one buddy that insists you need it all because he see's it on TV, but he is also the same guy that hardly ever kills anything other than a doe, which has made me realize he is full of it.

I use a can, and a grunt that's it. been 50-50 on results, nothing big. I use no bottled piss. I use my own works great every time.

More often than not I've noticed no effect. I once successfully used a grunt call to stop a running doe for a shot, and last weekend, a fork buck came in shortly after I grunted. I let him walk past, and he scented me and took off. I grunted a few more times, and he looked back and changed his course a little. That's the only 2 times I've seen an effect from a grunt call. I've seen deer ignore it completely. I had a 6 pointer come in to some doe scent last year--at least he came in from straight down wind after I had put it out. Never had any luck rattling or with a can call.
I don't think they hurt much unless you get too carried away with these things.

I think we are victims of irrational fears helped along by the slick marketing tactics many of the companies employ. We all want to be successful when we hunt and those of us who are new to deer hunting are the most susceptible to their wares and ploys. They get guys like Michael Waddell who I like and would enjoy getting to know I'm sure, and they help them sell the stuff because they sponser their careers which most of dream of having(hunting everything everywhere). But as has been pointed out all this stuff we are told will help give us success can stress us out as well as blow our meger budgets. The fear of not having what is needed to get that Buck of our dreams can move us to buy what is not truely needed. Some respond to this with,"But the Deer are smarter than they were 30 years ago." so the conclussion is we need help to get them in the modern deer hunting setting. I like many of you have employed all this stuff only to see nothing most of the time,then I go out not having time to full with it all and see more deer than I could ever hope for. Not being alert or failing to take a shot because of indecission at the last moment has cost me more deer than not using the gimmics has. So I think as I finish out the rest of my season I'm going try and purge my mind from some of the irrational bagage I've filled my already feeble mind with and just enjoy my hunts come what may.

I actually did rattle in a 9-point a couple of weekends ago. I put buck urine on his scrapes a few days prior to that to make him think another buck was hitting them. I left the area alone for a while. When I did rattle he was there in about 10 minutes looking for a fight. He went straight for one of the scrapes and I shot him as he was sniffing it.

These things can work when you use them as part of a plan to get a target deer you know is in the area. They aren't magic attractants that can substitute for scouting and planning your hunt.

I think there needs to be a distinction made here between bow and gun hunting. With gun hunting, the need for scent control is significantly less than bow hunting. Also, as far as shooting big bucks, I can't tell how many times I've seen a shooter buck(or any deer for that matter) in the distance to only think if I had a gun I would have been able to reach the deer effectively.

One of the goals (or requirements) for bow hunters is to get their quarry close as most shots are taken in ranges from zero to twenty five yards. In order to satisfy that requirement one can use scent spray and possibly a lure during the right time of the season.

Nothing against gun hunters. I just think the requirements are different in this context.

I USED to bea scent freak. I did the shower, clothes in bags, changing at the site yada yada yada. This past year my 2 month old scent lok clothing started falling apart...buttons pulling out and seems seperating. I decided I would try some other cheaper hunting clothes so I bought Gander Mountain GSX version and now just use the deoderant. My point is that I stopped storing my clothes in the bags and all the other BS and have seen JUST as many deer with my "lessor" clothing and tactics.
My girlfriend hunts with me at times and we make sure we hunt the wind in our buddy stand with just one scent wick clipped to the ladder for a cover scent and we have both killed a buck this way. Moral to the story is Its all about the wind and motion!
As far as calls go i use a grunt alot, but I think were people screw up using them, is they use a to deep tone on them and scare bucks away. I use in between a YD (young deer) grunt and a MD (mature deer) grunt and it is not uncommon to have a few bucks a week to come in and check it out. It also depends on the strenth of your rut and caliber of bucks in your area.
Just my $.02 sorry for the novel.....I just relized home much I typed LOL

watchin a show on tv the other day that showed how we use memory to relate sounds..so it doesnt really matter what ya use, the deer will relate a sound from what they know...so if ya get busted rattlin..then forever he will think its you rattling..per say
when i am goin to leave soon, i jack around with calls and rattlin, and have had some luck, i will keep at it i am sure.

I for one like useing this stuff. I try to keep my cloths scent free and spray down before I go out. I don't blind call to much but when I see a buck that I would like to shoot I reach for the bag of tricks if he isn't heading my way. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I have yet to spook them trying to call them. But I would rather have a grunt tube or the can when the chance presents itself rather than just watching him leave.

Grunt calls and rattling dont work around here very often and they seem to have the opposite effect more often then they work.I look at it this way, i went through all the work to hang the stand, got up early and sat in the cold before daylight to get thier undetected, why do I want to draw attention to myself by sitting up there making noises.

The one exception I will make to this is during the rut, and using a doe bleat call.Ive had it work on several occasions and even when it doesnt it doesnt bother the deer, they just basically ignore it.Thats only if its a buck by himself, if a does in the area she may well try to pinpoint the sound it seems like and cause you nothing but headaches.

Scents are much the same way, I can walk into my stand and have deer walk the path I came in on 20 minutes later without issue.Seems like if I lay down a scent trail it either puts them on guard or they completely ignore it after a couple sniffs.

I have no doubt in some areas and situations these things will work just fine.Mine isnt one of those areas, probably due to the fact that for years everybody in the field was dumping deer pee, and grunting and rattling at everything in sight.The only reason the bleat still works with moderate success is most people didnt have one when the calling craze started.

petasux, you know I agree with you alot. I like to not bring any attention to myself at all. But I carry some doe pee with me and squirt in on the tree next to me just so where ever my scent goes the doe pee goes also. as I said before I dont really call blind but I love working a deer in close to me if he is headed the wrong way. I have had alot of success calling to deer but I usually wait to see what they are doing first.

I have killed 4 bucks in the first week of muzzleloader season, which usually corresponds with the pre rut and during the rut. I have had awesome success rattling bucks to the very tree I am in each time. The gimmicks I dont go for is the bombs, however I always use a drag when going into a good spot, and during the rut I always put out tinks wicks high enough to just cary with the wind (who knows what is 100 plus yards down wind).

My philosophy is to climb higher than usual to get out of scent range, however I do believe in carbon and silver lined scent control. It has proved to allow me to get closer to deer than without.

I have a seperate woodshed that I keep all of my fresh cut and split oak and cedar in. In that shed is where I keep all of my hunting clothes, boots, socks, and even a designated towel to use after showering with scent prevent soap and shampoo.

Does it work? I believe in science and the better I can control my scent, and the more curious scent I can put out there...the beter the odds. In 20 years of hunting, I have never used anything more than a field spray. The last 4 or 5 years I have killed more mature bucks as close as 5 steps away, which I have never accomplished in the other 2 decades.

If you are an archery hunter, you will understand the concept. When you are shooting at 150 yards away with a high power rifle, its a different kind of hunt...IMHO. I can honestly say that the last 4 mature bucks I have grunted, rattled, and caught their curiosity enough to have my farthest shot at no more than 20 yards, using archery tackle, smoke pole, or shotgun.

Oh, and by the way, my "boss" 130" decoy doesnt hurt either when you rattle. It seems that all the juniors and senior bucks want to see a little action and the decoy is just another "gimmick" that gives me an advantage.

Im not complaining about anything new. Its all for the better of the sport as far as I am concerned.:hit:

Yeah, I have all of the aforementioned items (piss, scent killer, grunt calls, snort wheezes, bleat cans, etc.). All I have to say is I never killed any really decent sized bucks until I stopped trying so hard and just enjoyed my time in the woods. This year has been very good to me. I put on my comfortable old camouflage hand me down coveralls that I took from my dad (that I've only washed twice in the past 5 years), my orange hat, grab a pack of cigs, a Mountain Dew, my bow/muzzleloader/rifle (depending on the season), and roll. I sit in my stand, take in nature, enjoy my drink and smokes, and eventually if I'm quiet and patient, deer walk out. This method led me to the two nicest bucks I've yet to kill. Killed both this season, and wasn't really "trying", I was just enjoying myself. When we get down to it, isn't that what we should be doing? The vast majority of us aren't hunting the deer farms we see on t.v., won't ever get any endorsements for using these products, and have probably only ever had marginal success with them. Instead of investing all the time, money and effort that makes hunting a job, why not just hang a stand in a good location after a little scouting, and sit quietly, enjoy nature, and if a monster walks out, calmly put down the cigarette, spit out the dip, etc., and pull the trigger?

Well said. This evening I rattled in a decent buck twice. I laid a scent trail. The buck did not give me the shot I needed. I guess the trick or tricks worked for me tonight sort of. I would say almost every year I have had the tricks help me out one time or another.

One thing not mentioned is the region of the country you are from. Here in SE Texas, it may be 80 something degrees in November, and sweat is an issue. I find myself washing my hunting clothes often. The main scent item I use is scent free laundry detergent and earth scent dryer sheets. I learned that unscented Sure is a whole lot cheaper than scent free under arm deodorant you find in the sporting goods section of Walmart. I do spray my sweaty hat with scent spray. Our woods are very thick, so my rifle hunting is a lot like bow hunting set-ups. I like to get in the stand and stay quiet. I use doe pee or raccoon pee as cover scent.

I have probably used everything. What I have learned is that the deer are either moving or they are not. I just try to make myself as much a part of the woods that I can. Probably the best tactic I have found is being down wind of a good deer trail.

C. Davis

Gidgets, gadgets, and pixie dust don't kill big bucks... Hard work and hard scouting does...
Every now and then you can trick one, but really, big bucks don't get big by running in evertime they hear or smell something.

Guys that dont rattle, grunt, and use scent are missing out big time! This stuff works anywhere! I would never just sit there and wait. I called in 23 bucks so far this year. Brought in 6 with the decoy. Iam starting to scent them in this week. Try this: buy $40.00 worth of doe estrus, dump into a old windex bottle or spray bottle. Take it to the stand and spray it every 15 min. The wind is your friend. It will carry and be ready, the bucks will come in fast. If you see nothing, hang a gamecam there when you leave. Over the last 25 years Ive brought in: rattle and grunting= 250 deer, bleat can= 40 deer, scent= 30 deer, decoy= 15 deer. I just started using decoys 3yrs ago. Also, does do not like the estrus. These methods will work in any woods! I tried this in many different areas and it works in the most remote woods to the farm fields and even city deer. A few of my friends were disbelievers and I took them and now they are hooked on the bag of tricks!

It does not work everywhere, not when every Tom, dik and harry are doing it all over. I almost never have anything come in. I tried piss and grunting this year again and nothing. Once in a great while it seems to work.