Hmm… What’s That?
The most versatile scents available are curiosity scents. These types of scents are typically broken in to two categories. The first category contains the scents that are made to mimic things that occur naturally in a deer’s environment. Corn, apples, persimmons, cedar, honeysuckle, acorn and even crab apple are a few of the more common types.

Secret recipes are often used to conjure up curiosity scents, although it matters little to the archery hunter what they are made from as long as they work. These mystery scents often gain a hardcore following because of their season-long effectiveness.

Because the area you hunt will not contain every kind of natural food or plant that these curiosity scents mimic, be sure to do a little research on what’s growing in your neck of the woods. If you were hunting my home state of Minnesota, a product that smells like acorns would be an obvious choice in the central and southern part of the state, but would not be the best choice for the extreme northern part.

The other category of curiosity scents is a little more mysterious. These scents are often concocted from secret ingredients that only the manufacturers know about. A lot of these types of curiosity scents have religious followings from hardcore archery hunters. Find success with one of these secret potions one time and you’ll be hooked for life.

The rules for these types of scents are not as hard and fast as a lot of the rules archers impose upon themselves. That is the beauty of curiosity, the deer don’t lose it when the rut is over or the soybeans they were hitting every night get picked. Curiosity is always there. That said, these mystery scents can be effective all season long, although during the rut I would opt for a few other options.

One of the best ways to use curiosity scents is by finding an area that the deer will likely filter through, and use it for a set-up shot. A great way to fill a couple of antlerless tags is to find a doe travel route and set up a scent wick or two in areas that will give you a slam dunk shot. I like to set it up so a passing doe will get wind of whatever curiosity scent I have set out, and then she’ll have to poke her head into some brush or put her nose to the ground. When she’s focused on the scent, I have ample time to draw and make the shot.

Cover-up scents are usually very similar to curiosity scents, except when using a cover scent you want the deer to notice but pay no mind. From fox urine to “earthy” type scents, the market has got you covered. The same rule applies to cover scents that apply to curiosity scents, do a little research and pick the right one. Typically cover scents are either applied directly to your boots or worn on a hat in a wafer form.

Pick A Fight
If you are hunting in an area with a good buck to doe ratio, dominant buck urine is a good choice. If there is fierce competition for breeding rights, the big boys in your woods will likely take offense to the scent of another stud in their core areas, and may come charging in looking for a fight. This type of scent is best used in the pre-rut stages when bucks are getting revved up, but the real action has yet to come.