Photo: Montana’s Christine Miller took this fine 8-pointer at her favorite spot. She shares her story about being followed from that stand by an unknown creature, along with advice on when not to leave a scent trail with buck lure.
I'm a female hunter from Montana who doesn’t mind the strong smell of buck-in-rut lures. They are highly effective in drawing rutting bucks.
I love to hunt with buck lure on my person — or should I say — I USED to love hunting with buck lure on my person.
Pinning scent wafers to my hunting cap was standard practice for years. I’d hike to and from my stand all season, using buck lure to create a scent trail.
One evening as I made my way out of the dark woods, I began to hear something large following directly behind me.
My tiny flashlight was so dim, I could only see a few feet in front of me. At first, I thought it was just a deer, but then the creature began to growl aggressively!
Not being able to see it was terrifying. I screamed at it, but it continued to pursue me. That’s when I nearly panicked. Frantically, I called my husband on our two-way radio. He instructed me to shoot my rifle into the ground immediately.
When I did, the creature ran off into the night.
Soon, my husband arrived to escort his very shaken wife out of the woods.
I have no doubt the animal — whatever it was — found my scent trail and followed it, thinking I was an easy venison meal. Since that night, I’ve kept my scent wafers in a tightly sealed container while walking out of the woods!
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Editor’s Note by Tim H. Martin
You’ve probably heard similar stories of everything from bobcats to bears and rutting bucks acting aggressively toward hunters wearing deer scents. Although these are isolated incidents, there are some circumstances where keeping scents contained until you get to your stand is a good idea.
Christine and her husband live in Montana where encountering large predators is a strong possibility. Leaving a deer-scent trail after dark in bear, wolf and mountain lion country is a bit risky.
Stories I’ve heard about bucks acting aggressively toward hunters wearing doe-in-estrus lure is a testament to how powerful lures are for attracting deer.
Attacks from wild deer are rare, but never wear scents near domesticated, tame or pen-raised bucks. They have little fear of humans and will often turn on their owners during the rut and pre-rut.
Don’t be afraid to use lures, but use common sense. Keep scents in a container while hiking in large predator country, carry a good flashlight, and be prepared to defend yourself should something mistake you for a deer.
– Photo Courtesy Christine Miller