Others might view them more as the longer-term youngsters who frequent these forums.

Sounds like a bargain lol

Nothing beats, good area and time in stand

And time beats all, just gotta see him once...

I do believe scents have some level of effectiveness because I've had too many hunters report good results using them. Just like using lures when fishing, their effectiveness seems to depend greatly on the mood of the deer who detects them, and how much human scent in also present at the time. For that reason, I've always placed scents where deer are more likely to detect the scent before they smell me. I'm not a believer in using cover scents because I suspect a deer's nose is good enough to differentiate scents, much like we do in differentiating what we see.

I believe that experience in using some scents helps.. with little or no experience how to apply them, they may not work as well as years of using the same scent. Little knowledge goes a long way. My first scent (attractant) was anise oil(licorice smell)added to corn..works great for deer and fish...until I couldn't find the concentrated oil any more. My next corn additive was jello powder...also works great but a lot of trouble. Then some time later just settled on the Tinks 69. Now, that's all I use. Over the many years I have found different ways for the application.... some worked ok....some not as well. Patience always pays off in the long run.

I could not find online the actual Texas study that used human urine in scrapes, but I did find an article on it.

https://www.themeateater.com/wired-...-or-deer-urine-does-it-make-a-difference

"The scientific community got involved in 1998 when Texas researchers Ben Koerth and James Kroll at Stephen F. Austin State University tested how deer responded to mock scrapes treated with four unique scents: no scent, human urine, estrous-doe urine, and rutting-buck urine. Deer visited all the scrapes, but bucks paid more visits to scrapes treated with either human urine or rutting-buck urine."

"Koerth and Kroll expanded that study in 1999 to include six mock scrapes and untreated natural scrapes. Starting October 26, they applied three substances to different mock scrapes: rutting-buck urine, estrous-doe urine, and “new-car” scent, a spray bought from an automotive store. Deer “readily visited” all of the scrapes, mock and untreated. Based on the deer’s reactions at the scrapes, Koerth and Kroll concluded they were merely curious about the scents, and that the scents elicited little or no sexual attraction."

The problem I have with using scents is they get all over everything. I tried them a few years ago. The smell would get on your hands. And then where do you put it? How do you store it while hunting and between hunts?

Did a little price checking this morning while browsing at my local Academy. At $24.99 for a 4oz bottle, the new Trapper John's Ultimate Buck Lure isn't such a bad deal when you consider a 1oz bottle of Code Blue will set you back $12.99. Of course, this assumes the two products work equally well.

I’ve used a drag rag dipped in Tinks69 successfully during the rut in archery season. I’ll generally start dragging the rag when I get within 100-150yds or so from my stand. As I get closer I aim for a place about 20 yds up wind of the stand where I set a canister with cotton balls that have been treated with an eye dropper of Tinks69. I’ve shot several bucks over the years following my trail with their nose to the ground grunting the entire time they are on the trail. They usually stop at he canister for a good whiff.
I use rubber gloves when handling the rag and canisters. I store the drag rag in a 35 mm film canister and wrap the string around the canister. I keep them in a heavy zip lock sandwich bag while heading out to my stand and keep them stored in a snap lock Tupperware type container when not in use.

Knew a guy who shot a deer that he said was trailing his dad who walked past his stand about 30 minutes earlier with a drag rag tied to one of his boots.

Vanilla Extract is the best.

I'm in the boat with those who say anything that appears out of the norm to an older and more experienced deer will make them wary or even become spooked. If they haven't smelled it lately, they tend to avoid it.

Which is why I've known old timers who would put a smelly shirt in their stand weeks or even months before the season opener. By the time the season rolls around, the deer have become accustomed to their smell.

Want to add ....that with tinks 69 the visiting bucks made a new scrapes under the same scent pads. Last year I had 10 scrapes around my blind, if I remember correctly. Other bucks visited the same sites and scraped the ground also. This kind of action proves to me Tinks 69 works real good. This is my experience with Tinks NOT a commercial.LOL

I just piss on the scrapes around my blinds and watch the bucks get “ pissed off “. 😁

There’s a lot of successful lures that lure hunters to buy them.

They do get upset, don't they? I remember a hunt where I thought for sure I shot a doe. Had to pee, so I got down right away and pissed in the road behind my stand since I figured I was done. Found my arrow and I somehow missed that deer. Climbed back up and shortly after I got settled a buck came down that road and found my puddle. That dude huffed and puffed, snorted, grunted, scraped the ground, stomped his feet, everything but climb up the tree to get me. Never seen a deer so mad before. Not real sure what I ate that day, but I should have bottled it and sold it. Since then I pee in the scrapes in my area. Haven't seen another one get so mad, but I see them on camera tearing it up. Maybe I should see a doctor.