Deer- Tips, tricks and such

[Greg Krause]

come one people, here is the thread that lets us all share out tips with each other for the upcoming season. whatever it is that you do that gives you an advantage, share it.



I'll start with one of mine. It's simple and everybody knows about it, but here goes.

Stay scent free! I don't care scent block or not, either way you must stay scent free unless you know that the wind will not change on you and the deer will always come from where you want. I keep all my stuff in a rubbermade container. it costs like $5 at wal-mart. get it before the seaon and leave it outside. leave it open and toss some leaves in there, let it get some rain in it, toss some dirt in there. get it smelling like the woods you hunt. if you hunt pines throw some pine branches in there, acorns....whatever. Now, wash your clothes with some scent free soap. I usually wash a bunch of towels with scent free soap first, maybe 2 or 3 loads. that should get residual soap out of the washer. I then air dry all my clothes on a line outside away from smells of gas, smoke.....whatever. once dry I dump out the container and store them in there. I also hand wash and air dry my pack and back quiver and store it in there as well. now don't take them out until you are out of your truck where you are gonna hunt. last year I used a waterproof rafting bag to keep my clean washed boots in. that way the mud and stuff dosent get on my clothes. I keep another container for my long johns, socks, underwear and such in at home after i wash them in scent free soap. when i head to my spot in my truck I wear my long johns or sweat pants that I will wear under my hunting duds.......it's better than getting naked in someones driveway

I go through the same thing when leaving. My gear never sees the inside of my truck and i wash it at least once a week.........one wash at the begining of season dosen't cut it.

I will also try to walk in a stream or pond anytime i pass one and try to grind my boots against the mud, grit and rocks on the bottom to help wash off any scent i picked up along the way in or in the driveway.

[statelinerut]

Last year I bought a product from Fitzgerald Outdoors called "Deer Dander". Get some. I use it as a cover scent and I have not had a deer wind me from the stand yet since using it. A buddy of mine got in my truck last year and said it smelled like deer in there. It is good stuff.

[jamaltwy]

my trick

i use plenty of buck bomb!! seems to work well for me!! this and tarsel gland scent!!! early season doe pee and young buck pre rut and rut doe pee and doe in estrus scent like this best on windy days so it carries far!!!!!

[Greg Krause]

I have another trick that works well.

Find an active scrape that is in an area away from the area you hunt. The bigger,deeper ranker the better. take a clean shovel and a clean 5gal bucket. dig up the scape and put in in the bucket. now wearing rubber gloves clip off the licking branch. now bring it all to the property you hunt and make a mock scrape or dump it on an existing scrape. take the licking branch and using a clean zip tie hang it above the scrape. if you are adding it to another scape hang it 6" higher than the licking branch that is there.
the smell of new bucks in the area will attract and piss off the bucks that live there. if the new licking branch is above theirs they will become even more agravated, as the biggest dominant buck will make it as high as they can.
this trick works much better than just using scape juice from the store because it has all the scents that are left in a scrape.

[SPIKER]

Good stuff skip! Rubbermade always works for me!

[BT]

I really don't have a trick to tell at all.
I just make sure my shooting lanes are open out to 50 yards and that I am on a transition point.
I have tried alot of stuff over the years but nothing has beat a simple transition area.
With one exception .... a doe bleat.
I have had alot of success with a doe bleat and I have been carrying one for maybe 5 years now.
Of course it only works when I have a visual on a deer so again ... transition point.

[Greg Krause]

I like transition points too. I really like findintg funnels where 3 or more points come together. I like to set up at least 20yds from any of the trails when hunting with the compound. it gives a much better chance at a good angle, even if the deer come in closer than expected. funnels can be very subtle or very distinct. the best way to se them is to follow a heavy trail and check out where and why they intersect another heavy trail.

[Greg Krause]

I agree with the doe bleat. I carry a "can" call and have suckered more than a few deer in with it. I also carry a rattle bag and have taken a few bucks with it. i use it as a last resort when i see a buck and he dosen't respond to other calls. How loud and long I rattle depends on the deers reaction. if he starts coming i calm down, if he looks like he is trying to decide to come or not and getting fired up I fire it up some.

[BT]

Actually there is one other thing that has made a huge difference over the years as to my success and thats camo.
I have tons of it and most of it is pretty much worthless
As was pointed out here last year ..... most tends to make you look like a blob in the tree.
I used to get picked out from a distance back 20 years ago and then I came across the tree bark camo.
All of a sudden deer were walking right up to me

Some years later when tree bark disappeared and I had out grown those first suits , I began to buy what looked good to me.
Suddenly the deer started seeing me again
Not all the time mind you....just alot more often
Worse yet after the first season when the colors would start to fade.

I started looking for something more diverse in pattern (like the tree bark) but there was nothing like it
So that was a pretty hard 15 year stretch as far as just climbing a tree and shooting a deer.
I lost alot of deer that in the past would have walked right up to me.

Fortunately there are company's coming back with these multi color blends and my first new suit from Ghost Camo was a winner as to effect
With good camo being what it is (as to cost) it will take me awhile to re-stock with working patterns but it's probably the most important thing in my arsenal so I guess it is worth mentioning.

[Greg Krause]

now that you have your camo............practice with it! putting on a cold weather face mask one day without practicing in it cost me a 140" 10pt at 15yds! I was calm as a cucumber and the deer was 15yds, broadside and watching a doe. I shot 6" behid the deers rump! My string got caught on the draw strings of the mask and it damn near took my head off!