re: Deer Scents

quote:

---

People often try to mask the scent of something with another more powerful scent. The problem is that the dogs can disseminate both scents. Deer are no different. Therefore, I do not buy the "cover scent" premise

---

All true, deer can smell like we can see color and adding another scent doesn’t accomplish much but there may be something to the evercalm. Blood trackers will tell you the dogs aren’t following blood, they’re following stress hormones from the interdigital glands. That’s why a good tracking dog can cross multiple deer trails and stay on the scent. Evercalm is marketed as the other hormones, ones that the same gland emits when they feel content and safe, so there may be something to it making them feel more comfortable and less spooky in bow range if placed where they can smell it and not you. No idea if it actually works, it’s just sitting in a grey area between cover scent and attractant. There’s some evidence now that deer can identify each other by that hormone signature and do so in scrapes, so even if it does work it may put them on edge that a new deer has showed up.