Scents 101

Hunting with scent attractants can come across as an intimidating endeavor. Buck Urine? Doe Estrous? Tarsal Gland Scent? When do I use them – and how? While your hunting season may not line up with ours or anyone else trying to teach you about scents, the good news is that scent attractants line up the same for everyone according to a doe’s estrous cycle. If you can identify when the rut is happening in your area, you’ll be well prepared with scent knowledge year-round. 

Early Season

Some folks want to hammer doe estrous year-round. Bucks chase does in heat – common sense, right? Well, not exactly. Before they become competitors during the rut, bucks generally stick together and travel in groups. While an estrous scent might grab their attention, you’re liable to do nothing more than confuse them, and not in a good way. Deer are smart animals, and they rely on their nose and instincts to keep themselves alive. In other words, the way to trick them is by giving them the information their nose is expecting for that time of year.  

Doe Urine and Buck Urine are going to be your go-to scents for early season. While they aren’t chasing does yet, having their scent around your stand will draw bucks in and put them at ease knowing that other deer are close-by. Buck Urine is perfect for use as a curiosity scent. These bucks are familiar with the deer they’ve been around for the last several months, and a new scent on the block is going to raise some signals that they need to go size the new guy up. Just as you’re gathering information about the local herd before the rut, so are they. 

Pre-Rut

Shortly before everyone’s favorite time of year rolls around, whitetail bucks stop being so friendly with one another and split up to go off on their own. They begin marking territory, telling the does in the area that they’re around, and letting other bucks know they aren’t welcome. This is when you’ll see high levels of scrape activity. While great for use year-round, now is the perfect time to boost the scrapes in your preferred area with several scrape-specific scents.

 
Rope-A-Dope® is the perfect all-in-one pack for taking a scrape to the next level or incentivizing they start a new one with a durable cotton-synthetic blend rope and Rack Rub® to mimic the pre-orbital gland scent given off from a buck’s forehead. Combine this with Scrape Mate® (buck urine intensified with tarsal gland scent) or Code Blue’s line of Grave Digger® products to grab the attention of dominant bucks looking to drive out competition.  

The Rut

Now’s the time. The does are hot and bucks are hot on the trail. There’s only one word you need to know for this time of year if attracting dominant bucks is your game: estrous. Doe Estrous is a best seller for a reason; it’s like a beacon in the dark for bucks looking for a nanny. You could pour it straight on the ground and find the results you’re looking for, though other delivery methods like drags, wicks, or PST! Aerosol Spray can paint a different picture in a buck’s mind if you find your herd is stubborn.  

Not all estrous is created equal, though. We offer three different versions with three different levels of intensity. Doe Estrous is urine collected during a doe’s estrous cycle. Screamin’ Heat® is a more intense scent featuring the same estrous urine enhanced with natural female secretions. Standing Estrous® is the most premium estrous scent on the market today, collected during peak estrous at the precise time a buck is trying to breed. Because the collection process for this scent has a very short window, availability is limited. So, if you’re looking for the hottest scent out there you’ve got to get it while you can! 

Scent Elimination

Now that we’ve talked deer scent, we should talk about your scent. It’s everywhere, even if you don’t smell it. Code Blue’s D/CODE® line of scent elimination products comes with patented Silver Scent technology that seeks out and eliminates human odor. So how extreme should you go to try to mask yourself? The real answer lies with your hunting setup, but if you want to go all-out, we’ve got products that can mask every part of your scent.  

To prepare for the hunt, we have Laundry Detergent and Dryer Sheets – you may want your clothes to smell nice in your daily life, but not in a tree. After that, Body Wash & Shampoo, Unscented Bar Soap, and Anti-Perspirant kill the stink from your sleep. Finally, cap everything off with some Field Spray and Hair & Body Foam once you get out of the house. A deer’s nose is so much better than yours that even if you can’t smell yourself, they can. Scent elimination is our best way of evening the odds and boosting your chance of success. 

Why Code Blue®?

If you’ve sold yourself on scents, you may still be asking, why should I buy Code Blue® over any other brand? We stand out in the scent attractant space with our proprietary From One Deer to One Bottle® collection process. This guarantees each bottle we produce contains the urine from one singular doe or buck, producing the purest and most potent results on the market. But what does this actually mean to the average hunter? Well remember, deer aren’t dumb. Their noses are so powerful they can detect specific deer from the scent of their urine alone, so using urine collected from a single deer won’t set off any red flags in their mind as they’re chasing the doe or buck you tricked them into thinking was there.  

Whether you’re new to the world of scents or not, the takeaway is the same for everyone: you must beat a deer’s nose for a successful harvest – why not give yourself an edge with Code Blue Scents and D/CODE Scent Elimination this season?