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Deer Scent Question

Below is a great comment I received from Marcel regarding a prior blog post which talked about using natural cover scents for hunting. In his comment, Marcel, asks another great question. Below Marcel';s comment you will find my answer.

Good Luck and Great Hunting!

Marty

Thanks for your answer. I’m glad I wasn’t doing all that work for nothing.

You asked me what kind of deer scent I use to put on the deer droppings I bring back to my tree stand from other places. Before I started talking to you, I did not think it made a difference. I always thought as long as a deer smelled any deer scent it was ok. Could you remind me and every body else what is the best deer scent according to the time of the rut right. Thank you.

P.S. I told one of my nephews about you saying a fake scrape should have a branch above the scrape to look more real. He is a good hunter and he didn’t know about that.

After I told him, he said, “You know, now that you mention it, every time I watch a deer hunting program on TV, there is always a deer rubbing a branch with its face or its eyes.” “Thanks,” he said.

He also laughed at me every time I told him I bring deer droppings in a plastic bag to my tree stand. I got him this time. I’m going to show him your reply on that one. We’ll see how he laughs then.

Marcel

Marcel,

Thanks for the comment.

A person can spend a small fortune on deer scents. There are three main deer hunting scents I use when I deer hunt. During the pre-rut, I use a plain doe pee. If a buck is passing by and smells the scent of a doe he may stop just long enough to give me a shot.

As the rut reaches its peak, I will use both doe estrus (also sometimes called doe-in-heat) and rival buck scent.

During the peak of the rut most doe deer have come into cycle and are ready to breed. Big mature bucks are also on the move looking for these does. Here is what you can do.

Saturate two scent wicks with doe estrus/doe-in-heat scent and two scent wicks with rival buck scent.

Place the doe estrus/doe-in-heat scent wicks in a shooting lane approximately 20 yards from your deer hunting tree stand. Try to hang the wicks on a small tree branch or shrub, so the wind can blow the scent farther.

Place one of the rival buck scented wicks fifteen yards to your left, and the other fifteen yards to your right. Again, use a small branch or twig to hang your scent wicks off the ground.

Not only will an approaching buck smell the doe estrus/doe-in-heat scent, but he will also smell the rival buck scent. A big buck, smelling both scents, could come running towards your deer hunting tree stand.

When the main rut is over, I switch back to plain doe pee as my deer hunting scent of choice.

I am glad you shared the mock deer scrape tip with your nephew. Having a licking branch over a mock deer scrape makes the scrape more realistic to deer. I have seen lots of scrapes in my deer hunting woods. Ninety-eight percent of the deer scrapes I have seen have licking branches over them.

Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop