Editor’s Note: Odd-ball tactics may sound funny – but they just may be the change-of-pace you need to put a buck on the meat pole. Deer are curious, and their natural curiosity is one of the most-overlooked aspects in most sportsmen’s hunt plans.

For some unknown reason, oftentimes the scent of a predator will lure deer in to the hunter. Fox urine is being used by some hunters to leave a scent trail that often deer will follow. Other than natural curiosity, no one understands why deer will follow a scent trail made from fox urine. But there are instances where this has occurred. Some hunters put fox urine on scent pads on their feet, walk through the woods to their tree stands and report deer following the scent of the fox urine to their trees. Probably because the deer are curious, and the scent is so strong, he follows the smell to investigate.”

Longtime avid deer hunter and researcher, Dr. Robert Sheppard of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, mentions, “I’ve been on a tree stand before and watched a young buck follow my trail in to the stand. Maybe the deer doesn’t know what human scent is, and he’s curious to find out. But I’ve seen an older buck hit that scent and back out the same way from which he’s come. I too believe that oftentimes strange odors and maybe the odor of a predator will cause a buck to come and investigate.”

To learn more about hunting deer, check out John E. Phillips’ book, available in Kindle, print and Audible versions, “How to Hunt Deer Up Close: With Bows, Rifles, Muzzleloaders and Crossbows” (http://amzn.to/11dJRu8).

Tomorrow: Know Other Ways to Attract Deer