What are some opinions about scents,calls, and decoys use in MN

[Christopher Quast]

Just curious about what kind of opinioins and stories are out there on this subject please include things such as type of call used , lay of the land scenario, brand of call, scent, and dec you use and were you hunting on public or private land and please give the dates and time of day. Thanks for your cooperation

[Scouter]

they are fun

[Doug Smotherman]

In my opinion calls and lures are over rated. No question the deer are guided by their sense of smell or make calls to attract or run off other deer. The problem is everyone uses them, if you are walking though the wood on public land and hear a grunt there is a good chance it is another hunter. Or if your were walking into your stand one afternoon and smelled a skunk and then a arrow flies by your face, next time you are walking in to your stand and smell a skunk you might change stands. A little over the top, but true. I have had bucks walk in up wind of me and down wind of scent and smell the deer pee then and walk out the same way they came in. I also think it haves to do with hunting pressure and deer population. In Texas deer numbers are high and the bucks fight more, so rattling works very well. Well there goes my 2 cents.

[slimngrizzly]

I disagree that they are overrated. I think too many people go in overconfident and then end up disappointed. I use calling more than scent but know both can be very effective.

My opinion is that each deer have individual attitudes and personalities. At any given time your in the woods, those deer are acting different than the last or the next time. By using calls and scents you trying to create something, create an opportunity or reaction. And it can work depending what attitude that deer is in at that time. I may grunt or rattle 50 times out in a season, does it work every time...??? NO WAY! but im out an entire season looking for ONE chance, ONE opportunity! If rattling gets a big buck out of his bed early and to me 1 out of 50 times, then Id say it was effective! If grunting pulls a buck from 100 yards to 20 yards like that deer is on a string, id say its effective!

Will useing scents and calls get you a shot everytime? Forget it!........ Do they work? I wouldnt be caught in the woods without them, you may miss the only chance your gonna get that season!

To answer the original question in full.... youll probably have to buy a book! Good luck!

[Doug Smotherman]

I agree they will work and they have worked for me, but in my experience the bigger buck seem alarmed. When they work 1 out of 50 times are we pushing deer away we might see 10 out of 50 times. I guess it depends on time, place, and some luck. It is fun watching a deer come from across a field to calls.

[Doug Smotherman]

A friend gave me syringes and some bottles to get deer urine and said it works. I tried it last season seemed to work being. Fresh urine makes sense to me. I will only keep the urine for a week or two, because my butcher gets deer that are not field dressed and lets me cut them open and get it. I had a small 10 point walk in my step last early bow because it was on my boots, but he walk all the way up to my tree then look stright up at me.

[charliepete2]

I think scents and calls work, but their effectiveness is greater certain times of the year and definitely different from deer to deer. In the early phases of the rut I've had younger bucks (fawns and 1 1/2 yr olds) come strait to my stand a on a scent drag that I layed out. I've shot several bucks with their nose right on a scent wick I put out to stop them.

I've rattled and grunted in mature bucks during the pre-rut and rut. Typically I don't rattle and grunt blindly. If I see a buck and he isn't coming in my direction on his own, I call. I've also had bucks head for the next county the minute I started calling so I use it as a last resort if I don't have anything to lose.

I don't even know the brand of grunt I use. I've had it for years. I will say that a buck grunt has a more plastic sounding tone than I thought possible. I remember the first time I heard a buck grunt. I thought it was some guy doing a 'poor' imitation of a buck grunt coming through the woods. Imagine my surprise when a swulled neck eight pointer walks out a few seconds later. If you rub a plastic comb down the ribbed tube of a regular grunt call it proably makes a more accurate sound than blowing it does.

I've had good luck calling does using fawn bleats. I've also called in does using can calls, but never had luck on bucks with it, but some buddies have.

[Hula_Grub]

I got my first deer, a doe, late last October. She wandered 23 yds. in front of me about one minute after a can bleat.

[archerystud]

I believe that they all work but as others have suggested they work better at certain times of the year.

I prefer to use scents as more of a cover up than as something that attracts deer.

I also prefer when a deer comes in casaully as opposed to on the alert (i.e. looking for a noise or scent). I think it is much easier to get a shot at them when they are more relaxed.

[fishinmajishin]

I do take part in the firearms season, but I'm replying here as an archer(where you need to get the deer in close)During most of the fall I'd much rather "be the woods" than send out alarms. I try to eliminate scent instead of introducing more. Your in the deer's home, and they know what's going on. Young deer can be fooled, but an older buck or doe haven't usually lived that long by falling for tricks. The only time I'll try to fool a mature buck is during the rut when he's thinking with his....Otherwise I just try to blend in on an ambush point on his way to/from the dinner table.

[chucker34]

I agree, instead of spending too much money on scents these past few years I have spent them on scent killer products. I make sure I have the scent reducing soap, shampoo, deodorant and laundry soap every season and make my own homemade scent killer spray. I do buy one bottle or buck bomb or whatever for use during the week of gun season but that's more about fooling around and experimenting when the deer are on high alert and thinking with something other than their brains as a previous poster just mentioned.

[PFUNK]

Last year was my first year of archery hunting, and boy was that first year a learning experience. You go out there thinking it'll be different becuase i'm launching an arrow instead of a slug and thats about it. But in reality, there are so many ways in which it is different, and i personally think the effectiveness of scents/calls/decoys is one of these ways. I had hunted my whole life with the gun and experienced very little success using scents and calls. I shot one buck that was absolutely glued to the path i left with my drag rag but never had much success otherwise. This past year i had a LOT of luck using calls early in the season. Then on the day before the firearm season I rattled in a buck as he came bolting in and stopped darn near right under me. Then during the second week of firearm season, I used a silouette decoy and covered it's tail in some estrus doe scent and not a half hour later a curious buck came in nose in the air during the hottest part of the day. I am 100% convinced it was that scent he was coming to because he would have no other reason to be moving and active that time of day. I think you can experiment more early in the year and lure in some curious deer, but as time goes on you have to be more careful as you are trying to fool deer that have transformed from curious to cautious.

[USPENAMC]

PFUNK,

im with you this past year was my first year bowhunting i got many opportunities on PUBLIC LAND. i believe that part of it is because there are less people bowhunting therefore the whole woods isnt smelling like your scent isle at your local sports store he he. plus we get alot more time to experiment. I think as bow hunters we get to go through all PHASES of the deer pre rut, rut, post rut so we have more opportunities to try and have more things work. i saw quite a few deer.

[Christopher Quast]

I think you can experiment more early in the year and lure in some curious deer, but as time goes on you have to be more careful as you are trying to fool deer that have transformed from curious to cautious.

PFUNK Amen brother!!! This sentence says it all just curious where were you hunting (general area) obviously is all I want to know so I can compare your success of rattling to the area you hunt thats all cuz I'm actually from your neck of the woods and would like to give this a go by my spots and see I feel alot of this concerns the buck to doe ratio in a given area.

[PFUNK]

I hunt mostly the hutchinson area, which is where i had the success i talked about. When i got the response to the rattle i was hunting a bedding area and rattled just before sunset and he came busting in. It was the first time i rattled a buck that i knew 100% he was coming looking for a fight. As far as the buck/doe ratio goes, i know of the groups that hunt the same general area as me, we came to conclude that at least 25 bucks had been taken that year so the high number of bucks could very well have contibuted to the success with rattling as there was a lot of competition for does. That's a very good point.

[Christopher Quast]

What time of year did you rattle that buck in at and did you use real antlers or a bag and did you have a decoy out?

[PFUNK]

It was the day before the firearm season opened, so early November. You wouldn't catch me dad with one of those rattling antler bags. I think they sound muffled and don't have the solid crack of rattling antlers. The antlers I use came off a nice roadkill. I didn't have a decoy out but did mix a few grunts in with my buck growler. He'd have been a hurting unit at 10 yards but was a bit small. Didn't fail to give me one heck of a rush though.