Scent Recommendations?

[The_Dinkmaster]

Looking at ordering some scent attractants for this season, specifically ones that are able to be diffused.

I hunt in mountainous terrain, so scent is a major part of the game and could potentially attract a deer from hundreds of yards, maybe even up to a mile (or more).

Im looking into Wyndscent because they have a product which is a pad that can be put into a Thermacell and will diffuse out for several hours. I also know there are several other companies out there that have similar products. They are somewhat expensive, so looking for anyone here that may have used some with good results, or perhaps any other companies that you would recommend which have a similar product?

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

Not sure about any diffusing scents but I’ve used raw frozen scents for about 2 years now and it’s resulted in dead bucks I’ve never seen anything like it. Use a drag and put it in a scrape or just under your tree and they will come in fast and stay there for a solid couple minutes had a basket rack in Illinois who stayed under my tree for 7 minutes trying to figure out where this “hot” doe came from and went. Keep it in the freezer and I take it out morning of the hunts and just keep it in my pocket it natural thaws out by the time I’m to my spot.

 

[The_Dinkmaster]

Not sure about any diffusing scents but I’ve used raw frozen scents for about 2 years now and it’s resulted in dead bucks I’ve never seen anything like it. Use a drag and put it in a scrape or just under your tree and they will come in fast and stay there for a solid couple minutes had a basket rack in Illinois who stayed under my tree for 7 minutes trying to figure out where this “hot” doe came from and went. Keep it in the freezer and I take it out morning of the hunts and just keep it in my pocket it natural thaws out by the time I’m to my spot.

What product do you use? Was looking into this recently but I heard that shipping is very expensive because they have to be shipped frozen?

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

What product do you use? Was looking into this recently but I heard that shipping is very expensive because they have to be shipped frozen?

Peak estrus, calming spray, and the scrape lure all which work phenomenal I’ve seen it first hand and yes the shipping is a touch pricey due to it being shipped frozen but they run deals and it pays off when you buy a whole package instead of paying for individual items and some of their packages will last you well through a year. I use that scrape lure on trail cams and it seems to be irresistible, I use the peak estrus pre and all through the rut and it’s resulted in a dead buck since I started using it, and the calming scent I spray on my tree once I’m in my stand and it lasts a whole day sit you can smell it when the wind picks up and starts to carry it and it seems to me that the doe I’ve seen come in when using the calming scent don’t seem up in arms if they walk into my downwind scent so that’s a huge bonus. Now granted it’a not the answer to everything but I promise first hand from my experiences this stuff works and it works great if used in the correct locations and timing.

 

[The_Dinkmaster]

Good to know. Do you happen to know what brand of scents you’ve used?

 

[MacGyver]

I hunt in mountainous terrain, so scent is a major part of the game and could potentially attract a deer from hundreds of yards, maybe even up to a mile (or more).

I cannot believe scent could travel that far and be strong enough for a animal to smell it. Unless the scent was at the bottom of a hill and the wind was going up wind.

Animals don't smell scent that is upwind only the scent that going downwind. They will also smell you. Do you really want that?

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

Animals don't smell scent that is upwind only the scent that going downwind. They will also smell you. Do you really want that?

This isn’t necessarily accurate, deer have a phenomenal sense of smell plenty of studies show this and corroborate the fact that they don’t ONLY smell things downwind, now if you have a really strong wind sure but we don’t get to choose what wind we get only what we do with that information. Also you can put your scent in one spot and setup off that scent 20-40 yards to give yourself a better advantage of being detected downwind of a buck. Lastly during the rut bucks slip up and aren’t as cautious as they are when they’re on their early season patterns so when the wind carries the scent molecules and they attach to things such as forages as they flow through the air it creates a broader range of that specific attractant so not all of your bucks during the rut will come upwind or downwind again its the rut where a lot of things happen and mixing in hot doe estrus is only going to help during the rut keep the bucks mind off your human scent IF it’s detected by him. Lastly the wind changes all the time Mother Nature usually doesn’t just give us a 100% consistent wind so understanding this paired with where you’re gonna put your “attractant” and then deciding on those two factors where you need to place your stand setup is also key.

 

[The_Dinkmaster]

I mean you're entitled to your opinion, but where I hunt deer densities are so low that I don't think they would be able to survive as a species in these remote areas if they couldn't smell another deer from that far. Im betting in some places I hunt there are fewer than 15-20 deer per sq mile. How else would a buck be able to find a doe in that situation?

 

[Dave Thomas]

Look into vapor trails scents. Can't say for sure if they really work but that's the same for any of them.

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

What product do you use? Was looking into this recently but I heard that shipping is very expensive because they have to be shipped frozen?

Raw Frozen Scents and JinxEm are the two I’ve used and seen work. Black Widow I’ve only ever seen their rub butter work well on mock scrapes for cams.

 

[Thompy]

I’ve had great luck with rack rub. Used synthetic and not doesn’t seem to matter which one, a rutting buck has to check it out on my mock scrapes

 

[Brandon_SPC]

Don't waste your money. I hunt the Appalachians and if you logically think about it, if you are using scent on stand and are trying to attract a buck based on that scent, well guess what else is going that way? Your scent. Just find core doe groups and hunt them. The bucks will come.

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

Don't waste your money. I hunt the Appalachians and if you logically think about it, if you are using scent on stand and are trying to attract a buck based on that scent, well guess what else is going that way? Your scent. Just find core doe groups and hunt them. The bucks will come.

Again I get what your saying and this is the assumption that 1 deer can only smell downwind and 2 setup in a spot where no deer will come down wind…never seen a deer that only smells down wind (maybe during a super windy day) or a spot that exists where there’s no chance whatsoever of any deer coming from the downwind side, there’s always that chance, so why not use the attractant and see if that buck that might possibly come from downwind smell a hot doe attractant and smell you and see if he makes the conscious decision to ignore your human scent and see where that “hot doe” scent is coming from. The reason I say this is because I’ve had it workout for me on a few occasions where you set up on what you think based on boots on the ground scouting is the right ridge side overlooking a drainage system with good thermals and wind and all the scouting points to that buck coming from upwind because xyz wether that’s doe bedding, food sources, or travel corridors or all the above but I’ve still put out my raw frozen scent or jinxem and not once not twice but three times in the past 6 years has it resulted in a great buck being harvested because they made the conscious decision that the smell of the hot doe during the rut is more important than whatever human scent they’re smelling and come in to check it out. These attractants are usually tailored towards a small portion of the season and that’s the rut and I don’t care what anyone says when there’s hot doe in the woods these bucks aren’t usually coming from where you think they are even when setting up in fresh scrapes the attractant isn’t the answer to the entire puzzle but it’s a solid backup plan for deer that come from a bad wind side and I’d rather have them smelling me and a hot doe than just me because the rut causes bucks to slip up and make bad choices. Just my two cents but again I see what you’re saying and I respect your opinion on it.

 

[Brandon_SPC]

Again I get what your saying and this is the assumption that 1 deer can only smell downwind and 2 setup in a spot where no deer will come down wind…never seen a deer that only smells down wind (maybe during a super windy day) or a spot that exists where there’s no chance whatsoever of any deer coming from the downwind side, there’s always that chance, so why not use the attractant and see if that buck that might possibly come from downwind smell a hot doe attractant and smell you and see if he makes the conscious decision to ignore your human scent and see where that “hot doe” scent is coming from. The reason I say this is because I’ve had it workout for me on a few occasions where you set up on what you think based on boots on the ground scouting is the right ridge side overlooking a drainage system with good thermals and wind and all the scouting points to that buck coming from upwind because xyz wether that’s doe bedding, food sources, or travel corridors or all the above but I’ve still put out my raw frozen scent or jinxem and not once not twice but three times in the past 6 years has it resulted in a great buck being harvested because they made the conscious decision that the smell of the hot doe during the rut is more important than whatever human scent they’re smelling and come in to check it out. These attractants are usually tailored towards a small portion of the season and that’s the rut and I don’t care what anyone says when there’s hot doe in the woods these bucks aren’t usually coming from where you think they are even when setting up in fresh scrapes the attractant isn’t the answer to the entire puzzle but it’s a solid backup plan for deer that come from a bad wind side and I’d rather have them smelling me and a hot doe than just me because the rut causes bucks to slip up and make bad choices. Just my two cents but again I see what you’re saying and I respect your opinion on it.

If they can smell X scent, then they can smell Y scent. Sure you might fool that young bucks nose but in most situations I have used scents, they have lead to negative impacts on the hunt and it isn't just one area I have hunted. More cases than not, I have had ALOT better results using woodsmanship and trying to find a hot doe or hunting terrain features that are advantageous for bucks vs using scents. IMO hunters could spend their hard earned money on other things vs scents. Then again I am also that guy that doesn't believe in scent elimination and after killing over 150 whitetails, there is certain trends that stick out to me that work, and that do not work. At least in the capacity that it is worth worrying about.

 

[antlerridge]

Only scent Ive saw work is Fritz from PA


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[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

If they can smell X scent, then they can smell Y scent. Sure you might fool that young bucks nose but in most situations I have used scents, they have lead to negative impacts on the hunt and it isn't just one area I have hunted. More cases than not, I have had ALOT better results using woodsmanship and trying to find a hot doe or hunting terrain features that are advantageous for bucks vs using scents. IMO hunters could spend their hard earned money on other things vs scents. Then again I am also that guy that doesn't believe in scent elimination and after killing over 150 whitetails, there is certain trends that stick out to me that work, and that do not work. At least in the capacity that it is worth worrying about.

Scent elimination is a gimmick I don’t disagree with that a deer is gonna smell a lot more than just down wind scents I don’t disagree with woodsmanship either it’s where I spend 99% of my time, the hunting season is short but the scouting season is all the months I can’t hunt and I spend every day in a WMA I live in a wildlife management area literally my house and tiny road long neighborhood is off a little road right in the center, I pride myself on the same things and have killed great bucks without scents but during the rut anything can happen I’m not saying use an attractant pre rut or anytime outside the rut when you can scout for doe bedding and start setting up on scrapes when the bucks are still somewhat predictable on travel corridors scent checking doe bedding and which way they’ll most likely come in to their scrapes based on what the wind’s doing that day, thermal hubs, and terrain features all more important than an attractant but again this is the rut we’re talking about and a lot of things can happen and I’m not saying throw down some bs buck bomb or synthetics but these products like raw frozen scents that have real anal and vaginal gland liquids that get extracted put on ice immediately and shipped directly to you frozen and are only thawed right before you put it on a setup that works for that scent being used I’ve seen it drive mature bucks insane in the mountains I hunt and it’s resulted in a a lot of walls in my house having amazing bucks hanging up, not the only reason I killed all these bucks but a few of these mature mountain bucks have been taken because they made the conscious decision to see what and where that scent was coming from so again to each their own I’ve had great experiences with scents and you haven’t I get that but I’m not here advocating that it will solve all your problems or any of them I’m just letting the guy know I’ve seen it work great and it’s not a bad tool to use as long as it’s an actual deer extracted scent that was frozen or extracted recently a lot of the other stuff and synthetics that aren’t properly extracted or are manufactured and not put on ice go bad and deer know the difference in old and new urine and real and synthetics they have phenomenal noses.

 

[Thompy]

I've got several deer on the wall that were working my synthetic scent on a licking branch. Never say never or always when talking about whitetails !!

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

I've got several deer on the wall that were working my synthetic scent on a licking branch. Never say never or always when talking about whitetails !!

Amen to that. Sometimes you get guys who look at chasing whitetail in such a black and white way instead of thinking about the fact that every setup is different, every approach can need a plan b-z, and the fact that deer during the breeding period rely on scents of females to ensure they find a hot doe ready to breed so using a hot doe scent isn’t the most insane approach ever if your setup allows for it. Not saying rely solely on it but why not try it and see if it works? I’ve seen it work pretty dang well in spots I scouted heavy off season and hunted hard in the early bow season and used all that intel on how bucks would use it during the pre rut and the rut itself based on where doe bedding and travel routes are and then use a drag string with scent wrapped on my boot when I access or run that drag upwind of my setup 80-100 yards (if you’re muzzy or rifle hunting) and setup down wind and I’ve seen bucks come flying in on the same trail I used my drag on right to me or to where I ran that drag, not saying it works 100% of the time but you find that old boy who isn’t done breeding or hasn’t found enough hot does to meet his mental quota and he will slip up wether that’s due to your scent or woodsmanship and setup or both but it’s just another tool in the shed to use if you want!