Pull Bucks in on a String | How To Use Doe Estrous
Deer Scents | Using Doe Estrous During the Rut
While this year might have been a little hectic and overwhelming with the election, things are calming down now and we can focus back on the rut! November typically means cooler weather and the start of the rut when those mature bucks begin to show up on your Bushnell’s cameras during daylight! Ask any deer hunter, and they will likely tell you that hunting the rut is their absolute favorite time to be in the deer stand. The reason is simple, there is not a better time to come face to face with a mature whitetail buck than during the rut when his instinct takes a back seat, and he tosses caution to the wind in search of love. This is why deer scents, doe estrous in particular can be so effective.
Now, although hunting the rut greatly increases your chances of encountering a big mature whitetail buck, it certainly doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed to see a Pope & Young every time you hit the woods. Hunting the rut really comes down to a couple of simple rules, spend as much time as you can in the deer stand, check your cameras as often as possible, and use every tool that you have available such as deer calls and deer scents to help give you the upper hand.
The Power of Smell
A whitetail’s nose is one of its most powerful weapons, helping to keep them safe from would-be successful hunters. To help level the playing field, hunters utilize scent detergents, sprays, and outerwear like Bone Collector clothing to help them beat the nose of the whitetail they are chasing and take away that advantage. There is certainly two sides to the “nose” coin. The first is being able to take away the deer’s ability to smell you, while the second is to utilize a deer scent to help fool a deer’s nose and draw them right to your location.
During the rut, there is no better scent to use than a doe estrous. Simply put, doe estrous is the urine of a doe that is in heat, or ready to breed, and when used correctly during the rut can lure mature bucks from a long distance. Authentic doe estrous like Bone Collector’s Urge Whitetail Doe Full Estrus Attractant contains all the natural female secretions of a hot doe and is exactly the scent that a buck is looking to come across during the rut. A buck that encounters the scent of a hot doe during the rut is almost always going to come and investigate. Drawing from this curiosity, with a few tips and tricks, you can use deer scents like doe estrous in a strategic way, to bring that buck right into the range of your Hoyt bow and G5 broadhead.
A Drag Line is Your Friend
Sometimes, simple is just better. As hunters, we can sometimes get lost in the details and overthink any given situation, but when it comes to using doe estrous in conjunction with drag line, it really doesn’t get much simpler.
If you are unfamiliar, a drag line is simply a length of line or rope (parachute cord works best) with a cloth or sponge attached to one end. That sponge is soaked with a doe estrous scent, like Screamin’ Heat. Once you have added the doe estrous to the cloth, it is simply a matter of attaching the tag end of the link to you or your pack. As you make your way to your stand, you will be leaving the scent of a hot doe everywhere the line drags, putting the scent out on the landscape. If you have ever seen a buck on the trail of a hot doe, he often has his nose to the ground, as he is on the trail of that hot doe. Using a dragline can be very effective in bringing a mature buck right to the stand, as they are out cursing in search of the first hot doe of the year.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind when using a drag line with doe estrous. The first is your route in and out of your stand. Sometimes, it when using a drag line, it may be more beneficial to enter and exit your stand from a different direction than you would normally. This is typically due to avoiding the buck from going through an area that may be difficult to shoot to, or an area of high traffic say next to a crop field where a buck may run the risk of being spooked by farm equipment of other factors. The second factor to consider is you’re the wind direction. Doe and estrous works well with a moderator breeze, and will obviously be more dispersed downwind of your location. This can sometimes result in a buck coming in from downwind of your stand location; though they will often circle the scent once they get close to try to pinpoint the exact location of the scent. A great tip is to attach the drag line and scent soaked cloth to a tree just downwind of your location. It will not only serve as a deer attractant but can often work as a cover scent as well!
Dual Drag
Another even more realistic scenario for using doe estrous is using it in combination with other deer scents. Bone Collector’s estrus scent and buck rut scent allows you to mimic whitetail deer interactions and lure your target into sight. Simulate a buck trailing a hot doe by saturating the short drag with Urge Whitetail Doe Full Estrus Attractant and the longer drag with King O’ The Wood Whitetail Full Rut Buck Attractant.
Deer scents, like doe estrous, can really help level the playing field during the rut, and provide a hunter the opportunity to put a G5 or a Hornady in the bread basket of a booner this fall. We encourage you to pick yourself up a bottle of Bone Collector Attractant and give a drag line a try, you just might be surprised by what shows up!