SCENT BOMB FOR BUCKS - Part 2

Here is part two of yesterday's blog. I hope you enjoy it

Within ten minutes, two does emerged from the heavy, dark cedar-tag alder-spruce cover west of my spot (probably the same two I first saw). They hit the scent trail and moved away from me. This was great, because I now had real doe scent near the trail I laid, and the two does were not approaching me - they would probably have discovered me and spooked.

I sent out a few more notes on the call once the does were out of sight, and had barely put the device away when a deep, resonant grunt came out from the dark cover the does had exited from. Shortly, the eight-point stepped out from the cover, stopping exactly where the does previously stood and where the stick held the scent pad. While trying to sort out the scent signals, he stepped into a quartering away position with his head hidden behind a large poplar. I made a rather simple heart shot, bracing my .308 against the spruce trunk. He went just fifty yards before piling up on a nearby rise in the ground.

This particular strategy should work for just about any antlered deer in the Midwest from early November into early December since this is prime time for “pre-rut” and “main rut” hunting in a typical year. The average hunter could use a bow, shotgun, or rifle depending on the state hunted and local regulations.

Workers at the local DNR office aged my buck and three and one-half years. The antlers were not trophy sized, but it was one of several I have taken while "still-hunting" (slipping through the woods slowly and quietly while watching for opportunities), and using some potentially confusing scent signals. That kind of hunting makes each buck a trophy for me.

Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008