Use Tarsal Scent for Pre-Rut Bucks
This is a true story, I swear. One morning in Virginia, I shot a 10-pointer with my muzzleloader and got on the trail. I could smell his rankness in the air and in the blood as I tracked, and when I found him I covered my nose with my sleeve and thought, Whoa, you stink. The deer’s hocks were dripping and black as motor oil. I rolled the buck over, held my breath and started gutting. Leaves popped. I peeked up and saw another 10-pointer bearing down on me, head and rack held low, hair bristling on his neck. I crouched lower behind the dead deer. A rut-crazed buck is unpredictable, and I figured staying put rather than trying to [...]