Hunting Back When The Choices Were…Well, Simple?

Last Saturday I walked through the local sporting goods section of a chain store and I literally had to stop in complete awe.   The entire isle—what must have been at least 30’ in length—showcased nothing but various deer hunting scents and assorted contraptions using scent, all designed to aid a hunter in scoring on their deer this fall.   What was even more shocking…as I looked a bit closer, the entire selection was produced by one single manufacturer who quite obviously had an “in” with the store when it comes to merchandising.   Hmmm….

Wow…have times changed.   I arrived home from shopping and grabbed an old Herter’s catalog from the mid-70s just to see how many deer lures were available for comparison 30 years ago when I was a young hunter.   Took me 10 minutes of searching…but I finally found it.   Herter’s…that massive hunting outfitter of the time…showcased a total of one deer lure product.   You could choose a musk version or a food version.   That’s it!   And to be quite honest, hunters of that time didn’t seem to be as enamored as we are today with fooling the deer’s olfactory sense by using lure.

I do fondly remember another lure that was widely available in many stores…particular gas stations and the corner sporting goods stores right near the cash register.   Do you remember the old Buck Johnson’s Deerscent packaged in the little vial?   For years everyone would know deer hunting season soon approached when they saw this little item appear as an impulse purchase right near the cash register.

BuckJohnsonI can’t tell you how many times I picked up a bottle of it…carefully inspected it for 10 seconds or so…and then put it back in the display only to then complete my pending purchase.   I never bought Buck’s Deerscent…but over the years many hunters obviously did.

Now I’m not sure if this lure was widely available throughout deer country or maybe it was more a regional thing in the Upper Midwest.   The point is back then we didn’t have three dozen different manufacturers of deer scents constituting a million dollar industry.   The choice was…you either used scent or you didn’t.

I’m not so sure that’s the case anymore.   Hunters have been so heavily marketed that to not use some kind of deer attractant today is the equivalent of hunting in a plaid wool coat while wearing an Elmer Fudd type of cap.   It’s just not vogue to go without the latest, greatest form of scent killing/deer attracting substance.

All of this got me thinking just a bit.   It could be argued that we now understand so much more about deer and that fooling the deer’s nose is much better appreciated.   Okay, I’ll give you that…but the hunters I fondly remember from 30+ years ago seemed to score just as easily as hunters do today.   Was their success back then based on just dumb luck?   If scent has revolutionized hunting and become such an innovative aid why then has the harvest ratios not exploded into the hunter’s favor over the years?

The fact is, just like those fancy fishing lures sometimes do a better job attracting fishermen, a good deer scent only has to be attracted to a hunter’s pocketbook to achieve its true marketing purpose.   Just like Buck Johnson’s deer lure offered a hunter hope 30+ years ago…the new high tech synthetically blended lures of today fuel a hunter’s passion for a successful fall outcome.

Yea, I have a buddy who swears by Tink’s #69 deer hunting lure.   Buys a new bottle every fall because he is totally convinced this lure performs some kind of backwoods miracle that only Tink Nathan and God seems to fully understand.   And more power to him…using scent in the manner he does adds much hope and intrigue to the way he hunts deer during the fall.

Now for me, on the other hand, I’ve gone through my phases of trying this type of lure and that one with very limited success.   I’ve drawn the conclusion that spending $10 to $15 on a one ounce bottle of liquid for deer hunting is utter absurdity.

This fall as you gear up for deer hunting take a closer look at what you have in your shopping cart.   Think back to the way you used to hunt and try to put things into better perspective.   Are you spending money chasing dreams…or are you spending money on the types of things that have long been proven to be essential?

I might contend that $15 spent on some new, warm hunting gloves might do far more to keep you in the woods and comfortable which is what it takes to consistently score on deer…rather than buying some proverbial snake-oil with outlandish and unproven claims.   Problem is…gloves just are not as sexy to the hunter as a bottle of liquid promising dreams of a trophy.

Nope, this fall when you go to your local sporting goods store walk right past that isle filled with the plethora of hotsy totsy deer scents.   If you must buy something…go up near the cash register and purchase a vial of Buck Johnson’s Deerscent for $3.49.   For over 50 years the price has been right…and let’s face it, chances are you’ll achieve the very same satisfaction with it out in the deer woods.

2007 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.