WHITETAIL COVER AND ATTRACTANT SCENTS

When I was a bow technician for a national outdoor retail chain, my duties
included a lot more than working on bows, selling bows, or dispersing
information about bows. We also offered hundreds of archery and hunting
accessories. I took it upon myself to know as much as I could about all the
products we sold in the archery department so I could give hunters accurate
information as well as my informed opinion on the product. I can’t count
how many times I was asked what I thought about a particular product. Not
only that, but I was constantly asked how to use various products as well.
The use and application of scents was always a subject I discussed at
length with anyone who would listen.

SCENTS SENSE

Scents fall into two basic categories…cover and attractants. On the
surface, it would appear that you can never go wrong with using cover or
attractant scents whenever you want for whitetails. But you may be doing
more harm than good if you use either type of scent at the wrong time.

COVER SCENTS

To the nose of a whitetail deer, we are very stinky creatures. While we
should all take steps to eliminate as much odor from our bodies, clothing,
and equipment as possible we can still utilize cover scents as an added
precaution. Cover scents are to be used exactly what they are advertised
for…to cover OUR scent. But be cautious of cover scents that have an odor
themselves. Acorn scented cover scents are popular but if used very early
or very late in the season that scent is not normal to a deer at that time
of year. The best time to use an acorn scented cover scent is when the
acorns are dropping or shortly thereafter.

ATTRACTANT SCENTS

Attractant scents must be very carefully timed. During the early rut, when
bucks are establishing dominance amongst themselves, a dominant buck scent
is ideal. Later on, when the bucks are on the prowl for romance, a
doe-in-estrus scent is the way to go. But again, use these scents too early
(and sometimes too late) in the season and you run the risk of actually
having deer avoid your area because they may feel that something just isn’t
right with that particular scent at that particular time of the year.

CONCLUSION

You know those stores that specialize only in Christmas products? They all
seem to have that peculiar holiday smell to them. Now walk in to that store
in the middle of the summer. Your nose tells you it’s Christmas time but
your brain tells you it is July…the two just don’t go together.
Experiencing that scent at that time of year is the same type of confusion
a whitetail has when they detect an odor that is out of time with the
season.

By paying attention to what’s going on in the habitat around you and
understanding the timing of the whitetail’s breeding cycle, scents can be a
very powerful tool for us archery hunters who must get our prey in almost
on top of us. If the dominant buck in your area smells an adversary for his
does and comes charging in for a fight or if that same buck is focused on
finding the source of the aroma of love, scents are a MUST HAVE!. And don’t
get me started about combining scents with calls and decoys during the rut.
Oh boy!!

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If you would like to discuss this or any other archery topic with me
directly, please feel free to email me at todd@thinkarchery.com