early in

Yep, I agree. It's not legal to bait in Pa anyway.

Jim Burns

Its not legal in alot of states.

halfbakedi420

start a chainsaw, cut a log, turn it off and be ready to shoot.

remdog64

I wouldn’t waste my money on lures, attractants or any of the other gimmicks that are out there. It makes me made to see these guys on TV telling you this magic poison will get you a giant deer. I have never seen any of what I would call the top whitetail hunters use and of these gimmicks. What I do is hunt smart, improve deer habitat and put in food plots.

I put in food plot as a way to get deer to stop on their way to the large farm field that surrounds me. I plant clover, chicory, alfalfa and turnips. By planting these four plots I have food all years for the deer. I use trail cameras to tract movement on my food plots and to get an idea of what kind of deer I will be hunting in the fall. You have to us trail cameras to your advantage not the deer’s. I used to put cameras on trails in the wood but I have found that if I use them to follow deer to and from the food plots I don’t have to go in the woods and spread my scent around. This is part of hunting smart. One of the other things I do is don’t over hunt stands. I set some for early season, some for the rut and some for late season. But the biggest think is don’t hunt a stand if the wind is wrong. I also put in a lot of screening so I can get to my stand without being seen.

I hope this helps you out but remember there’s no magic lure of powder that’s going to bring every deer to you. You have to be a smart hunter to be consistently harvest nice deer.

Jasonlester

I occasionaly use doe estrus during the rut but like others said scent control is priority if you want to see them. I have grunted and rattled in bucks but have never killed one like that. Not because I couldn't mostly because they were smaller deer (or I wasn't ready)

I like to learn the area. Try to get an idea what they are doing. I had an area that was like clockwork to see the does...it was just a matter of time and there will be a buck along...all that has changed and I have found it made me a bit lazy. Now I have a new area (a few actually) and I am learning their patterns all over...which is fun actually. It gets easier as you learn what to look for but never think you have it all figured out... because when you do ....it'll change.

Pazzoman

Hey everyone thanks for the replies, I guess I'll give the food based attractants to eighter a few cousins who do have food plots or just give them t the local birds and squirrels. I guess I'll stick with pushing, and the days of just when Im tired of pushing to sit and use the primos beats.

Thanks for your hep everyone, btw when do you go hunting? I figure getting in the spot just before sunrise...

DeppedyDogg

I'm in my stand 1-2 hours before I know when deer will move thru the area. This may mean as early as 4AM but is site-specific. It is also hunting pressure specific.

kelton smith

figure out what the does like if you have the does the bucks will come its hard to beat corn and apples

Mojotex

I have not used any commercial attractantsor cover scents in decades. No loose feed is used where I hunt. Food plots are. Only plain salt is put out during the season, though the Trophy Rock is legal because it is the same formula - NaCl. We do mix in Di-Cal during the off-season. Heck I can buy 150# of NaCl mixing salt for what 1 Trophy Rock sells for.

The only "attractants" that I have used, and I have for the past 25+ years, are a "drag rag" wet with urine that I have collected from deer that I have killed and "oily" tarsal glands taht I have removed from "rutted up" I bucks have killed. These seem to have worked somewhat , but certainly not anywhere near a sure thing as far as covering my walk-in or bringing bucks into range.

I ahve practically not luck with calls , but occasionally rattling has worked pretty well. Depending upon the time of the season.

I know .... there are a lot of guys that swear by this or that scent product, and the calls, and the cammo's, etc. But if the stuff was as good as the hype, we's all have a wall full of B & C's instead of mostly "Coon and Crickets".

uncle matt

My middle son uses what he calls his "patented snore call". It has worked almost flawlessly for quite a while and I don't think it needs any explaination!