Doc's Deer Scent Q&A

Q & A With Doc From Doc’s Deer Scent

By Ralph Scherder

OVO: What should a hunter look for when purchasing deer urine?

Ralph: Freshness is key. There are so many different brands on the market today, so it’s important to look at the urine’s color. Color dictates freshness, not smell. Quality deer urine is the same color as a human’s – yellow. It may be a darker, yellow-gold when it’s closer to the rut.

OVO: How do you recommend that urine be used?

Ralph: Generally speaking, you want to determine your bottlenecks and corridors where deer travel. I make mock scrapes about 15-25 yards off of main deer trails and under an overhanging branch. The fresh soil, along with the urine, will double the attraction.

OVO: When is the best time to use urine?

Ralph: During hunting season! (Laughs.) All joking aside, we’re talking urine here, not attractives. Urine works best during the pre-rut and early rut. It will work no matter where you put it down, but the best time is when bucks are seeking does.

Attractive-type lures are good year round. I use them in conjunction with urine to give deer a variety. In the early season, use very little urine and lots of attractives and curiosities. After the third week of October, use more urine and cut back on attractives and curiosities.

Remember, when using urine, you’re trying to leave the same scent trail as a deer would. So stop thinking like a human and start thinking like a deer. If your own scent is eliminated, use deer trails while walking to and from your stand.

OVO: In your experience, which combo is most effective?

Ralph: Urine along with anything that’s natural to the area you’re hunting. If you’re hunting an oak flat, use acorn scent. In an apple orchard, use apple scent. But never use an acorn scent in an apple orchard or an apple scent in an oak flat. The does may still come in, but the big boys know better. Also, food-type lures seem to work best when the food source is nearly depleted.

OVO: What makes a good doe-in-estrus urine?

Ralph: Fresh urine is always best. If the doe-in-estrus urine is on store shelves any time before October, then it’s a carry-over from last year and the urine is probably a brownish color. If the product is released after October, and the color is yellow-gold, then it’s a good doe-in-estrus urine.

OVO: How much urine or lure should be used?

Ralph: Think of it in terms of cologne, except you’re not wearing it, of course. It’s not necessary to use five gallons of urine. A little goes a long way. Use just enough to draw the deer closer to find out exactly what the smell is. By the time they identify the smell, they’re already within shooting range. Use too much and the deer will decipher the smell from a far distance, so there’s no need for them to investigate.

OVO: How about cover scents?

Ralph: Use enough to eliminate your scent. Say you work up a sweat on your way to your treestand. Your pores exude an odor. That odor forms a big pool of scent in the area in front of you. Spray cover scent on your treestand, the tree, and the area in front of you – but you don’t have to overdo it. Just enough to make the deer focus on where you want them to, instead of on you.

OVO: What is the best way to store scents from year to year?

Ralph: Throw them in the trash! Buy new scents next year and start off fresh. Old urine changes color and breaks down. If the urine is brown and broken down, you’re not accomplishing anything. Think of it in terms of milk. Once milk breaks down, there’s no bringing it back, no matter how long you keep it in the fridge. Freshness is key.