Tips for Using Scents, Calls and Decoys
.. When you stay in our rental, you are right in the center of some of the best hunting action in the country. The following are some tips you can use to maximize the potential of your upcoming whitetail deer-hunting trip.
Scents:
Of course the type of scent you use depends on the type of hunting you are doing. Typically, early and post-rut parts of the season, all you need is doe urine to entice the bucks into your path. If you are already into the pre-rut part of the season, the smell of buck urine will help get other bucks amped up and running toward you. During the rut, you should be looking for doe estrous scent. Using estrous scent too early in the season can spook deer, as they know that isn’t natural for that time of year.
Calls:
A grunt tube is essential and is good all season long. In the early season, adjust your tube to make the grunt less deep and guttural so that it sounds more like a young buck. If you’re in the pre-rut season, its good to bring out those rattling antlers or a rattling bag. During this time, bucks are beginning to seriously challenge one another, and even the more passive ones will be curious about who is battling. In rut season, if you spot a buck cruising in search of does, three or four short, quick doe bleats will make it think a willing doe is nearby. Keep rattling and grunting during the peak as well. As the battles and challenges are winding down in post-rut every sound that is made should be reassuring the buck that the environment is safe.Occasional doe cleats can be helpful, but for the most part just stick to light, occasional contact grunts when you actually see a deer moving nearby. For some more rut tactics, check out Secret of the Rut
Decoys:
In the early season try using a smaller buck decoy, as young groups of bucks are still moving together and might become curious about a lone buck. If you’re entering pre-rut now is the time to go with a standing subordinate buck about 20 to 25 feet from your stand, looking perpendicular to you, never at you. In the thick of the rut, a good buck decoy with tarsal scent hung right next to us can serve to irritate territorial bucks on the prowl. Combine with a snort-wheeze or grunt. If you want to up the game, add a doe decoy with the buck. Post-rut means that feeding is becoming more important than breeding. Using a doe decoy in the open at this time will instill hunt-weary deer with confidence. It’s also best not to use a buck decoy as they may still be skittish.
Contact us if you have any questions or tips for hunting.
