Wade Nolan prepares a bottle of 24/Seven Unscented by adding just a half-ounce of his favorite liquid lure to the bottle. Once treated the time-release granules will make your hunt more successful by working for up to a week without the need to re-treat a scrape.
James Coffelt of Ohio shows Wade Nolan a buck that he took on his managed property. This buck was working mock scrapes adjacent to a food plot.
Hunting with a Plan
By Jerry BushOver the past 15-years, few innovations have affected bowhunting for whitetail deer more than the use of artificially introduced scents. It is rare to cross paths with a bowhunter who is not carrying a plastic bottle, filled with some type of lure.
Scents break down into 2 basic groups; cover scents and luring odors. Cover scents duplicate everything from the aroma of smelly varmints to that of the earth itself, and are intended to help disguise the smell of the hunter. Lures on the other hand imitate everything from food sources, to a doe that is hot to mate.
Regardless of which scent or combination of scents chosen, it is up to the hunter to know when, where, and how each scent should be used. This is where the flaw of using scents often raises its ugly head. Many hunters use purchased smells in a haphazard manner, relying on the introduction of odors to mask a host of errors. One of those errors involves the hunter continually chancing the introduction of human odor as he moves around a hunting area to lay his artificial scent. There’s now a good way to reduce the odds of experiencing that problem at a critical time.
A company by the name of 24/Seven has developed a better way to spread your chosen scent. They’ve developed timr-release scent enhancement granules that can be sprinkled over a hunting area. The biggest advantage to these granules is that they last and hold scent for days instead of hours. It is no longer necessary to traipse around a hunting area to distribute a chosen scent.
Granules provided by 24/Seven are designed to hold scent for up to 7 days. A hunter can show up Monday morning, spread his favorite scent, and needn’t worry about going through the process again until a week later. These granules will not freeze or soak into the earth Liquid scents cannot make such a claim. Frozen liquids lose the ability to distribute odor. Liquid that soaks into the ground will soon lose its power. There is yet another element to liquids that causes them to be inferior to the new granules. Liquids do evaporate!
Obviously real doe urine freezes and eventually evaporates, but because that same doe will make many visits to the same scrape, she will continually deposit enough scent to give it staying power. She can visit the same area a multitude of times and never give a buck reason to be concerned, but humans are not so lucky. Therefore another advantage is realized by long-lasting granules. Each time a hunter walks around a hunting area to dispense scent, he contaminates the area with human odor. No scent can be effective if human scent is included in the mixture.
Hunters may purchase various effective aromas of 24/Seven granules. For the early season, it is difficult to compete with “Early Buck”, which is made with a proprietary blend of premium deer gland extracts. It is made to lure deer into shooting position during the early season.
No scent manufacturer would dare enter the business without offering a doe estrus offering, and the makers of 24/Seven are on the ball, so of course they have such a lure, its called Doe Estrus. My personal favorite is “Dominant Buck”, because it is made to bring in the big boys during the rut. It is made from the scent glands of bucks, and it could be just the ticket to drive the dominant buck crazy with rage after it has been sprinkled into his scrape. Big bucks do not like to be challenged by smaller bucks, and will often approach to discover what male dared offer the challenge.
Wait; there’s more! Do you have a favorite liquid scent that you’re unwilling to give up? I don’t blame you. Sometimes you just have to stick with the partner that brought you to the dance, but why not make improvements to your favorite liquid scent by converting it to a powerful time-release granule? Yep, you can do that! Just add a half ounce of your favorite liquid lure to Unscented and you are in business.
The makers of 24/Seven are themselves hunters, and they understand loyalties develop when hunters find a product that works. Even though 24/Seven offers some tremendous offerings of their own, hunters can purchase “Unscented”, which is nothing more than an unscented version of their patented granules, and then add their own liquid to it. When you examine a canister of “Unscented” you will immediately notice it is slightly less than full. There is a reason for this. Add exactly one half ounce of your favorite liquid and shake. The granules will expand as you agitate the can, then causing the shaker to be full.
Now get this! Because there is no reason to add more than one half ounce, the hunter now has a means of extending the use of his scent. In fact, 24/Seven’s manufacturers warn not to use more than a half-ounce. That’s right! A hunter can extend the use of a one ounce bottle of scent by adding it to two, nine and a half ounce canisters of unscented 24/Seven. A little quick math shows the hunter now has nineteen ounces of long-lasting scent. If that isn’t providing hunters with added value, I don’t know what else would qualify.
In regard to the amount of aroma desired, it is important to use a proper amount, and granules are simpler to control than liquid. “I use scents very conservatively”, reports well known hunter Brenda Valentine. “Scents can be your trump card when trying to down a nice buck, but go easy with the lure. A buck’s nose is very sensitive, and over use is unnatural and will alarm a wise deer. Try to imagine that lady in the grocery store that applied too much perfume, when you determine to use scent. She literally turns off the people around her, and you are likely to cause the same reaction by a wise buck.”
In my opinion 24/Seven granules (www.mdroutdoorgroup.com.) help assure that I add the correct amount of scent to an area. That is especially important if making a mock scrape or trying to assure a big buck will be interested in visiting his natural scrape at the right time. Big bucks do not become big bucks by being stupid. A hunter may actually alert a wise buck to danger by over-scenting the area. Think about it! When was the last time you walked up to a buck’s scrape and literally smelled a hot doe? It just doesn’t happen unless you stick your nose right down into the scrape. Well imagine what a buck actually thinks if he picks up a scent from five hundred yards. I have to agree with Brenda when she advises too much scent truly is more of a warning than a lure.
This year, use scents wisely and use scents that last. Scent granules from 24/Seven truly can provide an edge and tip odds in the hunters favor.
Another strategy that will work in your favor is learning all you can about whitetails at www.whitetailu.com