How I Got My First Deer with a Bow

[Stinger-Hunter]

Hunting Lure Strategy by Lou Storiale

This was only my second deer ever, a nice 10 point buck. Many deer have been taken with this strategy by me and my friends. Most of the deer have been bucks and 2 wall hangers to-boot.

• Purchase two bottles of doe-in-heat urine attractant like Tinks#69
  
• Obtain a gallon of water and empty 1/4 (roughly 30 ounces) of the water OR pour hot water into a gallon jug about 3/4 full (Hot Water Is Best)
  
• Empty both bottles of doe-in-heat urine into the gallon jug and mix well
  
• Take 2 wash rags (preferably without scent or at least ones that are clean)
  
• 1 Rope about 4 feet long should thread through the corner of each rag used to drag the rag on the ground
  
• Dip and drench both rags in the mixture of hot water and doe-in-heat scent
  
• When near your hunting spot, drag the rags to your hunting spot from several destinations approximately 75 meters from your hunting spot to a designated area 30 yards from your tree stand or hunting blind. A Star pattern is best, all leading to the designated shooting area. Obviously paying special attention to well-worn trails.
  
• When finished , the rags should be placed about 30 yards from your tree stand in an open or semi-open area in a clear shooting lane. and dump the rest of the deer urine water around the bush and freshen up the rag.
  

The rags should be placed approximately waist-high preferably in a bush where wind can pass through the rags to carry scent through the woods or hunting area. In other words, you do not want to let your "drag rags" get stuck on the side of a tree trunk (I've had it happen).

Deer scents and drag rags should be used in this manner during the chase period immediately prior to the rut.

This strategy does not mean that a deer will immediately walk up on your drag rag, but there will be deer coming in over the next 3 days to see what the hot scent is. Personally, I have used this method with great success, including my first buck taken with a bow and personal records shot by friends in 3 different states.

In the Midwest United States this time is, approximately between October 21st - November 14th, depending on when the rut occurs.

Some Deer Shot by This Method

• My first Deer with a Bow... He came in less than 30 seconds after I got in my stand and I shot him at 20 yards.
  
• My brother in law shot his first doe while she had her nose buried in the rag for over 2 minutes
  
• My buddy shot a 9 pointer coming in to the rag - the deer literally started dancing (jumping up and down) after smelling the rag
  
• My buddy's dad shot an 8 pointer that was fully gray (high racked 8 pointer) approximately 9 1/2 years old
  
• I shot a buck in the evening and my buddy shot a buck in the morning same stand, hunting over the same rag. Both deer came within 2 yards of each other (5 feet from the drag rag). Both ran to the same spot and dropped almost literally in the exact same spot.
  

Edited July 22, 2015 by Stinger-Hunter

[Ravin R10 man]

I just use tinks full strenght, on a drag rag then hang it up once I get to stand. have had bucks come in like a bird dog couple hundred yards down field edge and right into bow range.

[dbHunterNY]

I've used scent but most of the time it's with a quartering or marginal wind and up wind. idea is they circle down wind they smell that before they smell me. otherwise I try not to walk any where in bow range I expect the deer to travel. you could dump a whole bottle on your boots and they'll smell your boots. most young deer or some mature looking for love deer will come in but sometimes I've found walking around does more harm than good.

[Rhino]

There's a lot of tricks (like your drag rag trick) that work from time to time. Nothing works all the time and like you said, when you find something that works for you, not a bad idea to stick with it. Done the drag rag thing before with some success too. Obviously it works best during the rut but outside the rut using the wrong scent could spook a mature buck out of an area. I learned that the hard way a long time ago.

Like dbHunterNY I've had consistent success trying to be as stealthy as I can going to & from my stands. Yep...it's just as important to be stealthy leaving when a hunt is over. The overall plan is to try to make as little disturbance as possible so deer in the area don't realize they're being hunted. That plan also includes getting stands ready to hunt early and once they're ready to hunt, stay away from them until they're hunted. I could make a list of successes like you have along with mature bucks missed within bow range too all from implementing our stealth hunting technique strategies and stand position choice strategies. With that said...if you find something that works for you...no reason not to stick with it. If whatever you're doing isn't working to your satisfaction...try doing something else that appears to work for other hunters.

[Stinger-Hunter]

Rhino, totally agree about the timing. I had so much success with this in the beginning (2002-2005) that I tried to use it all the time and it just doesn't work unless it is (midwest) October 15-20th until November 7-10th. At least in my experience.