Here in Wisconsin, during deer-bow season, many people head out into the woods to try to harvest a nice plump deer for their freezer. I am no different. My dad and I make a special trip up north and spend several days to a few weeks trying fulfill this duty.
About 2 years ago, I made a temporary tree stand overlooking a well-worn road on our property. I thought this was the PERFECT site given the amount of deer tracks and the nearby bedding area. I wanted to lay a scent trail in hopes of luring a decent buck into my bow-range.
The scent I chose was "Doe in Estrus." This is doe urine collected from a doe that is ready to be bred. Whitetail deer breed once a year during what is called "The Rut." This typically happens mid-to late fall/early winter. The doe will "cycle" and special hormones are released indicating her readiness to breed. Her urine contains pheromones and hormones that will attract a buck to come and "breed" her. You know what I'm talking about.
*Bow chicka wow wow*
ANYWAYS, you can hang scent pads (or any absorbent material) on bushes to create a trail, use a contraption that causes the scent to drip at certain times of the day, or go old school and drag your scent-of-choice through the woods to create your trail. No matter which method you use, the NUMBER ONE thing you need to remember is to keep your grubby human scent off of ALL OF IT. Deer have an amazing sense of smell and if they get one whiff of YOUR scent-you're SCREWED.
I chose the old school method of making my own drag. I've had luck with this in the past. I use disposable gloves and string that have been kept in a scentless bag. What do I use to dump my doe pee on? A TAMPON. Yes, you're good old average tampon that every female has had experience with. Cringing yet guys? Let me explain-They are freakin' perfect! They're cheap, sterile, come in their own individual scentless packaging, and are incredibly absorbent! I couldn't ask for a better drag tool!
I was using a brand new FRESH bottle of Doe urine. I got up before sunrise and dressed for my morning hunt. I put on my scentless clothing and made sure I doused my hair/skin and boots in human scent killer. I then added an earth cover scent as my perfume. Feeling confident about my plan of attack I hiked to my spot of choice, dropped my equipment, and readied my materials for my drag. I donned my gloves, grabbed my tampon (tied to the string I brought along of course) and set off with my treasured bottle of doe urine.
While hiking to the spot I wanted to start my trail, I uncapped my bottle. Being an early mid-fall morning in Wisconsin, it was pretty chilly and there was a bit of fog making it hard to see. (Not to mention pitch black due to the early hour) While trying to hike to the place I wanted to start my trail I attempted to push the tampon into the bottle of scent- a.k.a PEE. I have found that this method works the best while using tampons and various kinds of scent attractant for deer.
Problem was, the tampon didn't want to go into the neck of the bottle. It was too fat. Being somewhat sleep deprived (as I am not a morning person) and concentrating too much on where I walking, I just decided to shove harder-no big deal. More force solves ALL problems right?
WRONG!
As I was hiking and simultaneously trying to force the tampon into the bottle of doe urine, my wrist bent which sent the bottle of doe pee FLYING.
FLYING INTO MY FACE.
My face and most of my upper clothing was now DRENCHED in doe urine. Not only doe urine, but DOE IN ESTRUS urine!
I stood frozen. In complete shock. I am literally dripping deer pee off of my face. I tried to wipe my eyes to clear the nasty fluid from them, but it just made them burn. OH MY GOD. WHAT DID I JUST DO?! During this ordeal I kept seeing the video in my head about the guy who decided to douse himself in deer scent and this is what happened:
I said to myself: "I am so @#*!&%!"
With my eyes burning, I HAD to do something. I managed to find an iced over puddle and after breaking the ice off I washed my eyes and face as best as I could. While being cleaned up minimally enough to function (and potentially spreading my human scent over part of my hunting area) I HAULED ASS to my tree stand.
I don't think I have EVER climbed my tree stand faster than that morning. Once I was safely in my tree I reflected on what just happened.
I had deer pee all over my face! Not only was it on my face, it was in my eyes, nose, and lips. Pretty sure at some point it ended up IN MY MOUTH. This was an EPIC FAIL. All of my scouting/planning was for nothing. No longer was I the cool, clever, and confident deer hunter I was when I left for the morning. I became the TARGET.
Perhaps I was overreacting. But when you can only see 5 ft in front of you and you are covered in prime whitetail buck attractant- not gonna lie-it makes you freak out a bit. But I made it to my tree safely! =)
Needless to say, the only deer I saw that morning was a spike buck I let walk.
