| Deer Articles |
John N. Felsher's Deer Hunting Adventures
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Nothing makes a dominant buck madder than another buck invading his
territory and putting moves on “his” does. When furious at another buck or
trying to entice a doe, even the most wily racker loses a bit of sense,
making it more vulnerable to a well placed arrow or bullet.
A Code Blue double-drag scent dispensing system takes advantage of
both vulnerabilities. It consists of two frayed absorbent tassels linked on a
cord about three feet apart. A hook attachment secures the system to a
boot.
“In the tassel closest to a boot, put estrus,” said Don Bell, creator of Code
Blue Scents, a company based in Fort Smith, Ark. “In the tassel farthest
from the boot, put buck urine. This creates the illusion of a buck trailing a
doe. A dominant buck believes that not only is a receptive doe around, but
another buck is following her. That gets him fired up.”
Remove human odors as thoroughly as possible from boots and keep the
tassels odor-free except for the proper scent. Only touch the cord and
tassels while wearing rubber gloves. Create a scent trail to the stand and
drag the system past a good shooting location. At an optimum spot, unclip
the drag and attach it to a low bush.
“For years, hunters trailed scents to their stands,” Bell said. “People
make the mistake of putting scent on their boots. Then, they climb trees
wearing their boots so the scent is in the tree. Deer look up and see them.
Never put scent on your body, clothes or boots. People also use scent
pads under their boots, but still the scent is on the boot.”
I tested the system during a hunt at the White Oak Plantation in the
famous Black Belt region of Alabama. Near my designated stand, a box
blind several hundred yards away, I dipped my tassels in different scents
and started walking to my stand. Unfortunately, I took the wrong trail and
wandered around in the woods until I could see well enough to find my
stand. When I reached the stand, I hung the scent drag in a low bush.
“Many people hang a scent bomb or canister high,” Bell said. “The
theory is that the higher it’s placed, the farther the scent will go. That’s
true, but what really happens is that the scent simply makes deer look up.
Deer don’t urinate six feet up in a tree. The highest I’ll hang it is about
waist high. When a deer walks up to it, it looks at the ground or straight
ahead.”
About an hour after I finally located my stand, a large buck, probably in
the 10-point class, walked 300 yards from my stand. With his nose to the
ground, he retraced my earlier steps almost exactly. I didn’t feel confident
enough in my shooting ability to pull the trigger.
The buck never returned, but several does walked near my stand
throughout the morning. Finally, a single doe walked in front of my stand
nestled in an open hardwood forest. I fired, dropping it instantly at 76
yards, my first whitetail!
More experienced deer hunters in my party killed a 9-point and two 8-
point bucks in two days. The 9-point should have been at least a 10-
pointer, but it had a broken antler. Each deer fell for the double drag scent
system carrying Code Blue buck urine and Standing Estrous scent.
“Estrus means that a doe will stand to be bred and not run,” Bell said. “If
a doe is running from a buck, she’s not in estrus. For about a six-hour
period when a doe is in absolute peak estrus, she will not run. She will
stand and wait to be bred. Each bottle of Standing Estrous scent is buck-
tested. It contains estrus urine from a single standing doe. We collect the
scent during that six hours after a buck has already come to the doe or
attempted to breed with her.”
For more information, on Code Blue, see www.codebluescents.com. For
booking trips with White Oak Plantation, call (334) 727-9258 or see www.
whiteoakplantation.com.
territory and putting moves on “his” does. When furious at another buck or
trying to entice a doe, even the most wily racker loses a bit of sense,
making it more vulnerable to a well placed arrow or bullet.
A Code Blue double-drag scent dispensing system takes advantage of
both vulnerabilities. It consists of two frayed absorbent tassels linked on a
cord about three feet apart. A hook attachment secures the system to a
boot.
“In the tassel closest to a boot, put estrus,” said Don Bell, creator of Code
Blue Scents, a company based in Fort Smith, Ark. “In the tassel farthest
from the boot, put buck urine. This creates the illusion of a buck trailing a
doe. A dominant buck believes that not only is a receptive doe around, but
another buck is following her. That gets him fired up.”
Remove human odors as thoroughly as possible from boots and keep the
tassels odor-free except for the proper scent. Only touch the cord and
tassels while wearing rubber gloves. Create a scent trail to the stand and
drag the system past a good shooting location. At an optimum spot, unclip
the drag and attach it to a low bush.
“For years, hunters trailed scents to their stands,” Bell said. “People
make the mistake of putting scent on their boots. Then, they climb trees
wearing their boots so the scent is in the tree. Deer look up and see them.
Never put scent on your body, clothes or boots. People also use scent
pads under their boots, but still the scent is on the boot.”
I tested the system during a hunt at the White Oak Plantation in the
famous Black Belt region of Alabama. Near my designated stand, a box
blind several hundred yards away, I dipped my tassels in different scents
and started walking to my stand. Unfortunately, I took the wrong trail and
wandered around in the woods until I could see well enough to find my
stand. When I reached the stand, I hung the scent drag in a low bush.
“Many people hang a scent bomb or canister high,” Bell said. “The
theory is that the higher it’s placed, the farther the scent will go. That’s
true, but what really happens is that the scent simply makes deer look up.
Deer don’t urinate six feet up in a tree. The highest I’ll hang it is about
waist high. When a deer walks up to it, it looks at the ground or straight
ahead.”
About an hour after I finally located my stand, a large buck, probably in
the 10-point class, walked 300 yards from my stand. With his nose to the
ground, he retraced my earlier steps almost exactly. I didn’t feel confident
enough in my shooting ability to pull the trigger.
The buck never returned, but several does walked near my stand
throughout the morning. Finally, a single doe walked in front of my stand
nestled in an open hardwood forest. I fired, dropping it instantly at 76
yards, my first whitetail!
More experienced deer hunters in my party killed a 9-point and two 8-
point bucks in two days. The 9-point should have been at least a 10-
pointer, but it had a broken antler. Each deer fell for the double drag scent
system carrying Code Blue buck urine and Standing Estrous scent.
“Estrus means that a doe will stand to be bred and not run,” Bell said. “If
a doe is running from a buck, she’s not in estrus. For about a six-hour
period when a doe is in absolute peak estrus, she will not run. She will
stand and wait to be bred. Each bottle of Standing Estrous scent is buck-
tested. It contains estrus urine from a single standing doe. We collect the
scent during that six hours after a buck has already come to the doe or
attempted to breed with her.”
For more information, on Code Blue, see www.codebluescents.com. For
booking trips with White Oak Plantation, call (334) 727-9258 or see www.
whiteoakplantation.com.
Double drag system doubles
chances for bagging big bucks
chances for bagging big bucks
Don Bell admires a big buck he killed in Alabama while using a
Code Blue double drag scent dispensing system.
Code Blue double drag scent dispensing system.
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