Doe estrus is urine of female deer in mating season or heat. When it comes to tempting male deer for hunting, doe’s urine works wonders. It is the most popular attractant scent used for this purpose. For years, hunters have been utilizing doe’s urine to drag out big bucks hiding in woods to their stands and blinds.
The most common question we encounter is: How and when to use a doe estrus?
Beginner hunters can use doe’s urine in various ways such as through a dragline, ready made bottle sprays, etc. Drag rags are often used to drag scent over 100 yards. Similarly, estrus scent is sprayed on tree trunks and deer trail/footpaths. Spilling a whole lot of scent in the same place may spook bucks and does around and can send them far away from the land.
10 years back, I did not know when to use doe estrus. However, with time and experience, I realized the best time to use doe estrus is in November, specifically the last 15 days. I use it religiously on some of my private properties to lure bucks to my stand location.
Don’t use estrus scent if you are not very specific about hunting giant bucks. Not using it the right way at the right time will lessen your chance of hunting. For beginner hunters, most of the time, it is easy to spot deer without using the doe heat pee scent.
Using doe’s urine is one of the top strategies to call out these primarily creatures. Catching bucks is even harder as they have a strong sense of smell and can often detect scent of hunters from far if human scent is exposed or doe’s scent is not used properly. However, if proper precautions are taken and wind direction is used wisely, catching big bucks is not hard.
If the land is filled with big mature does, don’t spook them by using estrus scent. Take your chances on doe instead of annihilating them.
Difference Between Doe Estrus vs Doe Urine
Doe estrus urine is not the regular deer pee but the one that is excreted out by a female deer during her heat cycle. On the other hand, doe urine refers to the excrement by female deers after their heat period ends. Depending on the season, hunters choose to use either doe estrus urine or regular urine to tempt the buck.
Estrus is way different than doe’s pee. It makes bucks aggressive and spook them from far. Knowing how far can deer smell will give you a pretty good idea.
During mating season, scrapes and rubs are pretty visible and can be easily spotted by experienced hunters. As per my experience, if a hunter is regular in hunting season, he can really nail down what is happening and can observe changes in behaviour of deer. Spending more time in the woods will help you identify these subtle differences.
What Is the Estrous Cycle And How Long Does Estrus Last?
A doe starts its heat cycle for 24 to 36 hours each fall. During this time, the female deer looks for a mating partner. However, if it fails to mate during these hours, the doe undergoes a heating period again after 28 days.
Commonly over 98% of all mature doe successfully mate during this time. This entire cycle is known as Estrus. When in estrus, doe urinate way more than they would on the regular days.
Using Doe Estrus Scent – Do’s and Don’ts
It is always a great idea to utilize the estrus in order to drag the bucks out from the woods. Male deer are highly tempted by doe’s estrus urine because of their breeding needs. Hunters use doe estrus in various ways but for the same purpose i.e. to lure bucks.
Don’t use it if you are not specifically looking to hunt male bucks. As mentioned earlier, it will spook female deer on land and repel them away. In this way your chances of hunting will lessen.
The easiest way to use doe estrus is through a dragline. It is simply a rope or line (mostly parachute cord is used) having a sponge or cloth attached on the other end. The sponge or cloth is soaked into the liquid urine and the rope is dragged along the hunter’s path.
You can tie the other end of a rope to your bag for enhanced convenience. As you move towards your position, the line will drag with you throughout, spreading the doe estrus scent along the path. This is one of the most efficient and successful ways of tempting the bucks towards you.
Another effective idea of using doe estrus is on the deer scrapes. These scrapes are a great source of communication among the deer since it indicates the presence of other bucks in the area. Moreover, deers lick the scrapes and inherent branches which also adds to their mode of communication. Using scent on scrapes will signal the bucks about their females around. Wind plays an important role in helping the scent over scrapes to travel long miles.
It is also advised to use scent free clothing, rubber gloves and boots while you are out in the woods. Since deers have a dominant smelling sense, they can smell you miles away and will get spooked. Therefore, to prevent them from running away while you use the doe estrus in nearby areas, make sure to kill your human scent.
Best Time To Start Using Doe Estrus & Doe Pee
The best time to use the scent is during the rut season or a week prior to it. It is the time when male deer are looking for female partners to mate with. They call out the does in estrus by making loud noises. During the entire rut season, bucks become extremely aggressive, fight with other deers and choose their mate. That being the case, using doe estrus excrement during a rut would be the best time to bag yourself a trophy buck.
Another great way to lure the bucks is by using doe pee during the fall season. This is the time when the game animals are frequently visiting their food spots for munching. They do so in order to prepare their body by gaining the energy required during the rut season. It is a common ritual observed in deers as a part of their survival and genetics.
How Is Doe Estrus Collected?
Doe’s estrus urine is collected throughout fall since this is the peak time when doe’s are in heat. There are two common ways of harvesting doe estrus for later use. One is a bit tricky i.e hunters create a slope where doe’s pee constantly so that it continuously drips down. By the end of the slope is a tank where the urine is collected. This is further processed and preserved in a refrigerator.
Whereas, the second method is much easier where hunters scoop the urine along with some grime. It is stored in an air tight bag which is also refrigerated to conserve the components.
Instead of collecting urine, an alternate and easy way is to use commercially available scent made by code blue scents.
Can You Use Doe Estrus Before The Rut?
Well, yes you can. Rut isn’t the only season when you can get the bucks out of their hideout, you can do so before or after rut as well, also known as pre rut or post rut. To achieve this purpose, you must give the deers what they want, for example, mineral sites, food plots, etc.
How Long Does Code Blue Doe Estrus Last?
As far as the longevity of Code Blue scent is concerned, it lasts for a few hours. But, if hunters use the scent correctly, those few hours can bring a big catch easily.
As mentioned earlier, the best readily available doe estrus scent can easily be found in the market. According to our experience and research, Code Blue is the top brand in this regards.
Doe Bleat and Hunting – Do Doe Estrus Bleats Work?
Bleat is the sound produced by female deers to call out their fawns and fellow herd members. It is like a high pitched vibrating sound, similar to that of a goat. They make this call on regular days as well as when in heat. However, the call made when a doe is in estrus is known as doe estrus bleat.
When in estrus, doe’s don’t make this sound to call their fawns or group members but, they do so to call out the mature bucks for mating. Hunters often mix different ways to attract bucks and hunt them precisely. One way is using glassing equipment like best hunting rangefinders to check if deer is in comfortable shooting distance.
Since hunters don’t let go of any chance to attract deers, they fake the doe bleat and lure bucks towards them. There are devices designed to imitate a doe bleat known as doe bleater which are available commercially.
When To Use Doe Estrus Bleat?
If you wish to attract bucks towards you, it is suggested to use doe bleat on non heat days. However, if you plan on targeting mature bucks, the best time to use bleat would be in late pre rut days and right after the rut ends. The rut is the time when male deers are looking for female partners to mate with.
How Often To Use Doe Estrus Bleat?
Make sure you follow the regular patterns of a deer when using doe bleat so that other deer don’t find it unusual. Produce a few bleats through a doe bleater after an interval of 20 to 30 minutes. This would also work if you use doe estrus urine and then try the bleater.
Frequent Questions (FAQ’s)
Doe estrus urine consists of all the components it produces during the heat period. These components include mucous and bleeding which are secreted in the urine hence, it smells terrible. Despite the putrid odor, doe estrus urine is an absolute lust to the bucks including whitetails.
Yes, synthetic doe estrus works just as efficiently as natural doe estrus would. You can find both natural and synthetic doe estrus scents in the market.
While it is suggested to use doe estrus during the rut and that is what most hunters do, it can work post-rut as well. Doe estrus has worked for many people in the first two weeks after the rut season.
Conclusion
Deer hunting requires skills and effective tactics that can bring out the game animals for you. Like deer hunting, hunting big elks also require such tactics. The attractant scent if used wisely with other factors like human scent and wind gives good results.
Doe estrus urine scent, being the most widely used attractant, can lure a couple of trophy bucks for you to hunt down. But before that, knowing how and when to use doe estrus scent is key!
A hunter must know all do’s and don’ts of these scents. If done correctly, no one can stop you from bagging the big buck.
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