Real Vs Synthetic Doe-In-Heat Urine
Why Do Doe in Heat Scents Work?
Whitetail deer have senses that are very finely tuned to their environment. Their eyes provide a wide field of view and detect movement very well. Their hearing is very acute and can alert them to even the quietest of predators trying to sneak up on them. However, their sense of smell may be their greatest advantage.
Deer use their sense of smell to not only detect the odor of a predator, they also use it to find sources of food and communicate with each other. "Licking branches" are utilized to communicate from one deer to another. "Scrapes" are used during the breeding season, or rut, to communicate the presence of a local buck and any receptive does. They use saliva, glandular secretions, and of course, urine. A buck can detect the hormonal and odor changes in the urine of a doe going into estrus. He can tell by these smells when she is ready to breed and track her by her scent. Using this against them, hunters can hope to harvest a large active buck.
Real Doe in Heat Urine
Real doe in heat urine can be hard to beat or duplicate. Collected from a doe at or near the peak of estrus, it naturally contains all the elements to make it extremely attractive to a rutting buck. Used near your stand in a fake scrape or using a scent dripper, you can increase the odds of having a mature buck present himself near your stand. Easy and effective.
Sounds like the best option, no? It certainly can be, but using real deer urine can have its difficulties. The first problem is that to be effective, it must be FRESH. Urine goes bad fairly quick. Within a couple months, your bottle of estrus urine has become a bottle of mostly ammonia and bacterial sludge. Preservatives can help, but it may only extend the life only a short period of time. This means the bottle of deer pee you bought at the Big Box hunting store was likely already of little value before you even bought it. This makes it IMPERATIVE that you only buy Fresh scent if you want it to work well and attract bucks.
Having fresh scent does make all the difference in its attraction qualities, but you also have to keep it fresh. This does mean you have to keep it refrigerated and out of the light when not in use. You can't leave it in the hot truck or in the sunlight. During warm weather, it can age quickly in the heat in your pocket or even in your scent dripper. So while real doe urine is a great tool for deer hunting, it does have to be cared for properly to remain effective.
One other reason authentic urine may not be a choice for you is if you live in one of the states that has banned its use. Due to concerns of spreading Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), more states may ban its use in the future. A synthetic then becomes your only choice.
Synthetic Doe in Heat Urine
The technology of hunting scents has come a long way. Very recently, synthetic copies of doe in heat urine have taken a leap forward. Made in a lab, these synthetic scents can almost perfectly mimic the smell of fresh urine at the peak of estrus. The quality approaches that of real pee, but has a significant advantage: it requires no refrigeration or special handling and never goes bad. If warm weather is still hanging around your hunting grounds during the whitetail rut, synthetic doe in heat can be a great choice. You can keep it with your other gear, in your truck or in your pocket. If you use a scent dripper, it won't go bad inside. Plus, if you have some left over at the end of the year, you can use it the next. These can be significant advantages over real pee.
If you choose to try a synthetic version of deer pee, just remember at this time it is a BUYER BEWARE market. Testing has shown that even some leading brand synthetics only vaguely resemble real urine in composition. More than a few are simply urea, ammonia and water. They are poor products and will be ineffective. Some may even scare deer rather than attract them!
Real or Synthetic, Buy a Quality Product.
Both real and synthetic doe in heat scents have advantages and disadvantages. Choose the type that best suits your needs or experiment with both. May times you will want to use both for specific circumstances. No matter what you use, do make sure you choose a quality product.
Not many companies offer FRESH, real doe in heat urine. Instead it is bottled MONTHS (maybe last year) before the season to get it delivered to a Big Box Sporting Goods store. By that time, it is of little value. It is mostly ammonia and spoiled well beyond having any attraction qualities left. Don't buy this stuff, it is a waste of your money.
If you choose a synthetic scent, you need to really be careful. Being new to the market, there are a lot of people trying to take advantage of it. They put together products that barely resemble urine and are totally ineffective. You have to choose a company that has a great reputation for providing quality products. The best option is to buy a few and give the the "sniffer test". If it doesn't smell like doe in heat lure to you, it won't to the bucks, either.
This season, use the buck's greatest defense as you best weapon. When the rut comes around this season, choose your scent type and hedge your bets by buying a fresh, high quality product. You'll bag your buck.
