Each deer hunting season, hunters become frustrated when they hunt trip after trip and fail to see bucks. Sometimes it may be because the area that is being hunted has few deer, other times it may be because the deer are just plain smart. This is when many savvy hunters either try rattling or using deer decoys to become proactive deer hunters.
Many deer hunters love rattling in bucks, and it is exciting as all get out when it works. However, rattling usually is deemed not effective unless it is done at the right time, otherwise bucks will be non-responsive, right? Not always. Buck are territorial and quite nosy.
Rattling can become much more effective when used in combination with a deer decoy. This is because often times a buck will sneak into a rattling set looking to see another buck. When they don’t see anything, they get the hell outta dodge! Setting a decoy in the area gives the buck a visual cue that everything is okay because he sees what he expected to see… another buck.
The buck decoy also allows the buck to focus on something as he approaches you. Of course, you and your fake buck could work against you, especially if you are not both scent free. Make sure to keep yourself and your deer decoy free of human scent when in the field. Otherwise, the buck you rattled up is history—and not the kind of history you want.
One of the easiest ways to cover up any scent as well as make a buck decoy appear more real is to apply a good amount of deer urine on it. Attach a scent pad to the deer and put urine all over it. This will help make the deer smell real and not like your garage. Follow these deer hunting tips and you will be less likely to make these deer hunting mistakes and more likely to be successful using your deer decoy on your next deer hunting trip.