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A buck will use his scrape or a community scrape but it is also checked from down wind often enough . Some are used all year . I have had several experiences watching a mature buck smell human pee and it doesn't seem to have a different effect than any other kind. I think the "competition" is enough to get deer interested like a dog does .

If a scrape is being used then there is no need to add to it but during the phases of the rut it can bring him in to over-pee on the offending trespasser I believe , so wait until it gets going .

So, from mid october to end of November, I got 10 different bucks and a bunch of does on cam. Most at night, but one real nice 8 and a few smaller bucks seemed to troll through during the day or daylight at least in November. One 8 at about 1130 if I recall..

My experiment was poorly done though, because I cant be sure if they were working the snot out of that scrape last year due to the dripper, or the high number of bucks trolling through the area.

What I have found, is that if I try a dripper in a spot that looks like it would be good for a scrape but does not routinely have one most years... I wont "draw" deer to the scent. They seem to just do their thing and will literally never use the "new" scrape.

But, as Pi said, in spots where there is a well used scrape most years, if I kick the leaves and pee... Seems to work almost every time that the neighborhood bucks will start to get on it.

Now, that all said... I'm a gear nerd and like the idea of it, so Ill likely plunk down some cash and try to use a dripper again this year. I may try it early season with a "curiosity" scent to see if that does anything.

Murphy, that certainly makes sense on the branch. Many "experts" say the branch is where they rub preorbital gland scent and saliva. Given many if not a majority of hunters seem to feel human pee does nothing and may even get deer scraping more, it leads one to think the rapid breakdown of urine environmentally maybe leaves little to no real "identifying" scent. Perhaps the ground aspect is more visual than anything else...

I can't say with certainty if any type of urine in a scrape actually brings a deer out of its way and into a scrape... Maybe it was headed that way anyway. But I can testify to this. Deer do not react negatively to human urine. They are curious but not at all alarmed. I actually had to pee into the lower branches of my tree ,that two bucks walked under. They were around me for 1/2 an hour and when they passed under it one actually lifted its head up and sniffed a long time ... if it's eyes were focused (I assume they were not) he would have seen me right above him . Never buggered a bit. Same for a great Buck that I shot , he just sniffed and stood around waiting to get killed.

Now , I have dropped a glove that caught the eye of a doe and she came to look more closely and perhaps to give a sniff. She bounded off to 30 yards like she was shot then looked around , she continued to feed . It is our other odor I am sure, that buggers them, but not pee. I agree that the licking branch is a big part in the equation and that is one reason not to hang a drip bag from it. You could however, add from another scrape , a carefully relocated licking branch but why bother if it is an active scrape. Save that for beginning a mock scrape .

Will, not one coyote on that one last year. It did attract beavers, coons, and turkeys though. I also had a younger buck sleep in the scrape for just around an hour lol.

I don't use scent of any kind and leave the woods the way I find it. Bringing strange or different smells into the woods and alerting the deer to something that they're not used to might put them on alert and they're already alert enough.

Bringing strange scent into the woods can work I guess, but I believe in little to no changes in the areas you're hunting is your best advantage. Silent and scentless is your best chance at getting the job done. I'm sure others have had good success at scent placement and use, but I like to leave as little mark as possible in the woods I'm hunting.

I've tried placing scent in scrapes, on licking branches, only to blow a good spot. If you go with a dripper let us know the results. Best of luck this season.

If the deer are over the line on a forbidden zone then maybe one can try to pull them over with some tricks ... Maybe , It is tempting to try to hunt deer like one lures a fish but it is better to figure out their game and intercept, than to tip them off .

I do think a well place call can pull them in especially when a buck is getting worked up but when used incorrectly it will have negative effects. Rattling ? I haven't witnessed it working around here , maybe there is not enough competition in most of our spaces. Making noise that sounds like deer does work . Like raking the forest floor or breaking branches (rubbing trees) . They will investigate .

It grows closer ...

The best we can hope for is to not stink up a place any more than we must. Just in case you don't connect that day it is less stinky for the eventual passing of a deer. Which to that effect , is an advantage for next time hunting it. More intrusion and surprises are a good way to bugger a spot. It follows that less scent and less concentration of it ,will dissipate towards the un -noticable ,more quickly. You are probably in agreement so I am not directing this at you Murphy , just sounding it out .

I have thought that less molecules per million sends a message to the deer which is interpreted as further off or older scent, for which both have an advantage of not sounding the alarm . Stronger or more often left scent has the other response and will likely educate a mature animal which is all it takes for him to get our number and change his habits . Mature does , same goes.

So where would I find this Ozone for a tote machine ? That sounds like a reasonable investment for the return . 19 to 42 seconds , all other things the same , is 23 more seconds , Ill take it. One more thing , I wonder if a chemical suit could help ? Maybe worn inside out if it only works in one direction . Add a Charcoal filtered mask and we are getting someplace. Brave new Hunter world...

Where the scent free thing "shines" in my mind, is the trip in and out. You are brushing up against stuff, walking on the ground etc. While I could be wrong, I feel like working to lessen scent on you and your gear MAY reduce odds of a deer going nuts at your walk in / out trail, or feeling like there is a lot of human intrusion in an area.

That may also be confirmation bias though - but Ill go with it. It makes me feel better, more confident... and that's got value in the deer woods.

Will, I think you are right in your thinking. Regarding " down wind... smell me " I am sure that they do smell us but if it is a diffused / lessened amount it is likely to register as "not an immediate or "close by " threat". Which would give us an advantage over a big stink setting him off . It seems that you agree with that.

Up close is another thing . I experienced something absolute : I was up a tree 20 feet at least. The wind shifted as it does over water sometimes (A Thermal /temperature thing). I felt the wind swirl around my head and down drafting . A doe at 25-30 yards smelled the air when it hit her and froze. She followed in a great arching motion , back to where the wind had come from ,back and to her right /above . She looked back , almost over her shoulder in a long sweeping motion and up into the tree where I though I was safe . Somehow she backtracked the arch of the wind (to the smell and its location ) to me up the tree and not on the ground where it would be reasonable ... It Blew my mind . She didn't bolt but didn't let me move either. That was several years ago but it made a big impression on me.

Another like her, would look up when walking through the woods and she often saw me without the help of scent on the wind ( I know this because several other deer with her didn't react at all , several times) She would drop her head and walked past me with one eye on me . I educated her early on and she learned to do this . She also learned that that big blob in the trees is not a big threat to her because I never moved . But you get the point.

Worthy opponents.

I have relocated an overhead "licking branch" with success. Be clean , snip and zip tie to new spot. Dig at the dirt and pee. Add fake prints. They will join in or not . In my experience it always seems to work well to start it and just let it work . No need to tend it . If it gets attention , your job is done until the shot finishes the game.

Thanks B&S

8 minutes long but if you are not familiar with him,.. warning you will end up watching more like me,..

Thanks again for tipping me off to him