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loneranger

Well-Known Member
Anyone ever hear of or use James Valley Scents? I have not had any appreciable effects from using scents so far. Person who sold me my property,with many trophy photos to his name, told me to not waste my time on scents here in IA. All they would do was spook deer.
 
I have used them before. I use Tinks 69 most of the time or the primetime stuff from H.S. I have killed alot of deer in Iowa using scents not sure what the guy meant about them scaring them off. Just pay attention to what you are using at certain times.
 
ive tried all differen't kinds of scents and have had numerous deer walk right across a scent trail i put out with a drag rag and they never pay attention to... the only reaction i've ever gotten out of hunting over scents is one time i placed the drag rag with Mrs Doe Pee in a tree limb in my shooting lane and a little 1.5 yr old smelled it and kinda freaked out like he was scared.. i didn't know what deal was with that guy.. so i dont really waste my time with scents anymore
 
Just as I figured,,as with other hunting practices,,some say they work,,others say,,they don't. Guess depends on the place,,time,,and the deer. I used Deer Dirt, in mock scrapes,,supposed to be freeze dried so lasts for weeks. No buck ever touched them and I know bucks were walking by them. That stuff was promoted by an article in deer and deer hunting. So who knows??
 
I think lures have their place. I've rarely if ever had one spook and I'm guessing that many of those who say they've had them spook actually had their own scent detected rather than the lure. I've had them follow a scent trail and had them check out scent placed in plastic film type canisters. I've also had them ignore it when it seemed the wind was perfect. Another interesting story was when a hunting partner and I both used Tinks one time while hunting in close proximity to each other. He accidentally bought the regular doe urine while I was using #69 during heavy rut. One of the largest bucks in the area crossed both scent lines and without hesitation followed the regular doe urine instead of the estrous. Walked right up to my friend with nose to the ground the whole way where he met an arrow.
 
I stopped using scents years ago . I'm not sure I ever had a deer even acknowledge a scent I had out when I was using them . I have heard others claim to of had success with them but I can only go by my personal experience . I came to the conclusion that I knew they weren't helping me , but I couldn't say for sure they were not hurting me .
 
Just like everything in hunting. Worth a try,,but alot depends on the deer,,your area,,your hunting pressure..etc.
 
I'll use scents when the mood hits me to, and in my experience I've either had a positive reaction, or no reaction. Actually, I've had alot more no reactions. I can't say I've ever had one spook from it.
 
I honestly don't believe they really can do much more than hunting in the right areas at the right times.

My only issue with all these scents and "gimmick" products is that you are laying down human scent no matter what. The last thing I'm going to do is to make sure I walk where I believe a deer will cross my path - that's the worst thing you can do!

IMO, you can fool a young horny buck - but an old buck is a tough cookie to crack. I'd count on no-scent as-opposed to non-fresh urine (or synthetic) mixed with human scent.
 
In my experience, using scents on the ground is worthless and sometimes spook game. I have had good luck taking a ziplock bag and putting a code blue tarsal gland in it, and attaching the bag to the tree where I'm sitting. I feel if you are strict with your scent elimination practices, and then strictly use deer scents from high above you can minimize your presence a lot better.
 
The tide seems to be turning twards no scent use. I kinda think that is the way to go. I am sweating most of the time. Do not need to spread it around putting out scents a wising up an old buck.
 
I've experiemented when my aim was not to hunt but to observe. I've seen, as previously noted, that the young bucks tended to go after the estrous scent that I used. I did sit back from a distance and watch my buddy take a nice 10-pointer that was DEFINITELY attracted to the bottle I handed him. That's the only situation where I've seen a mature buck go after scent attractants. I've never taken attractant scents into the woods when my aim was to hunt. If they don't work then it seems like a waste of time to me. If they work then it just doesn't feel like "hunting". Some of my best days in the woods were days that I didn't have a clear shot at anything but had the opportunity to observe behavior. I don't look down on anyone who uses a scent attractant. As long as you have the appropriate tag for the season and you are hunting on legal land and are using the implement appropriate for that season then I don't see any harm with the strategy. It just doesn't really play a part in my "reason for the season" so-to-speak. I'm not a purist. I've only shot 2 deer but I think the 3rd one will feel like more of a trophy to me if I've done it the hard way.
 
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