Tony Wallace: Butternut Lures
To make the Butternut scent dispersal a little easier for me I made this.
Things needed:
1) Cheesecloth
2) Drinking Straw
3) Wire
4) Pliers
5) Hot Glue Gun
First take the marking flag and take off the flag witch leaves you with a 20" piece of wire.
Bend the wire on the end about 1/2" so that the straw can slide over the end.
The second bend is 5 3/4" away from the end of the wire that you first bent.
Now the straw can slide on but won't come off till you take it off.
I cut the straw at 4 3/4".
Put the cheese cloth to a 4"X5" square
( you can make it what you want.)
Hot glue the cheesecloth to the drinking straw
Use hot glue because it wont have an odor and bonds well to the straw and goes into the cheesecloth to hold it together.
Simply put it straight into the ground or bend it around brush or a tree limb to hold it.
If you have everything it doesn't take that long to make.
Click on the images to see full size
WIRE CHEESE CLOTH &
AND DRINKING STRAW
BENT WIRE CHEESE CLOTH
GLUED TO STRAW
THE FINISHED FLAGGING STATION
Krisken Robinson: Butternut Lures
No food is necessary but do be sure not to get any butternut on anything that is going to remain behind when you leave.
I carry a small sleeve of peanuts with me for just such an event.
If I spill some or get it where it cannot be removed, I will scatter that sleeve of peanuts and leave.
If you don't spill any, just place the cloth in a zip lock bag and use it again the next day.
If you really want to increase the odds....place 2 drops in the palm of your hand (when you are leaving) and massage it on both hands as if you were applying a hand lotion.
Scatter a sleeve of peanuts in a 10' radius and walk out with your arms outstretched, allowing your hands to come into contact with any tree, brush, high grass etc. as you leave.
You will be laying down a trail right to your stand but with a scent that will be extremely light.
The deer will come and find their treats.
The next day (before you get in the stand) put out the scent pad and this will become a dinner bell for those deer that were there last night.
The stronger odor will say "fresh" (deer don't know that peanuts don't come out of trees)and they will respond right away.
Keep in mind....this is a lure and it takes time to get airborne and out there.
Most of the time, the deer have to cut the scent trail before they come in.
What this means is that for your part, you have to be patient.
If you sit all day....the chances of you not seeing deer are next to nothing....if there are deer present within the scent zone.
A younger hunter may have problems in sitting out the day.
I would suggest doing a camera set where a very small amount of food is left for a few days...removing the lure after sunset and replacing it at sun rise.
This will make the lure a marker scent and the deer will recognize that when they smell it, they will have a very short time to make it to the smell before the food is all gone.
This works like a charm!.
This lure is strong and powerful but will not scare a deer...so it is perfect for using as a call scent.
If your area where you will be hunting is very open....over fields or such, use more scent pads.
You really cannot use too much.
A 2oz. bottle could do maybe 40 or 50 pads that are 4X6 is size....so don't worry about running out.
The idea is... the more open an area you have, the greater dissipation to the scent trail.
Over fields....1/8 bottle on a total of 2 sq. feet of cheese cloth would work really well.
Cut a 2 foot square into 6 pieces and dose each one.
Hang each rag across the shooting lane from 10 to 2 o'clock and vary the height from 4 to 1 foot off the ground.
A set like this will bring deer a hundred yards if the wind is light to moderate.
I have seen it enough times to know that this is how it's done best.
How I do it:
I personally use the sterile Johnson & Johnson 1st. aid gaze pads which are 2x2
They come in two pieces which are together when you open the pack.
I put the drops on the gauze side, fold in half and give it a few minutes to spread/penetrate.
Then I separate the gauze from the solid and put that solid in the zip lock bag.
When I leave I take the gauze and put it in with the solid section.
This way you get at least 3 days before you need another application.
I then find where the browse is and find any small tree or bush.
I then find a limb/twig that forks. break of the ends of each branching fork and use those to skewer the gauze pad.....like a stick fork that you would use to roast a hot dog over the fire.
Thats good for the thick woods I generally hunt.
I have a huge deer ration per. sq. mile so I don't need more than a 30 yard reach for the lure.
If you are hunting a hardwood area that is full of large trees....very open....then I go to a 6x6 pad and go with 15-20 drops.
Again, I use the limb of a smaller tree to act as a fork to hold that gauze and to keep it spread out so that the air can get through it.
For fields, I will go 1-12x12 or 2-6X6 with a total of 30-40drops ...depending on the size of the field and the wind.
The harder the wind, the more the drops.
You really cant over do it....but I don't like getting carried away in the tight spots where the scent tends to permeate and become dence....which it certainly can if you load up the gauze.
I really encourage using the boost that matches your area forage.
Apple where there is apples and not where there are none...and so on.
The butternut will bring them in but they will come in with their heads up and looking.
They wont stop looking either...even after they find the cloth.
The boost will get their heads down and get them moving around so that you can get the shot opportunity.
Put a good dose on a cloth rag drag.
I used 20 drops and did it before getting in my truck to go to my hunting area.
After I made the butternut set, I would throw the drag out behind the tree stand and then walk a figure eight around the tree, stopping when I got to my o'clock shooting position as viewed from the stand.
We really don't want the boost getting up into the air
We want that scent real low so that the deer really don't get a good whiff till they are right on it.
Below is an example of the ideal set.
Do all of that and you'll have targets all over you
One point to remember.
Butternut Lures are not something that you use when you have to get out of the stand in an hour or two.
I recommend at least 4 hours of good sit time and all day is almost promising deer.
Keep in mind that this isn't a magic wind we are selling.
The lure has to get into the air and then work it's way out...like a chum line.
Then a deer has to cut that path.
If there are no deer right in the area...you aren't going to see them until there are deer in the area.
Krisken Robinson
Butter.nut Lures
Thanks for your support and have a great hunt!
One more note:
Of course any lure works best with the more time you give it....no different than sitting a stand with or without lure.
The reason I say that you need to give it time is in relation to the percentage for success that you wish to achieve.
This lure is good but it's not magical.
If there isn't a deer around...you have to wait for one to cut the scent trail before it can start heading to you.
It may take some time for that too.
I felt that b adding that to the recommendations, would allow people to remember that anything takes time...including using a lure.
Some folks just assume that if it's that good then it shouldn't take that long.
I have had deer come within minutes and others within hours and sometimes not at all...but that relates to deer being present and willing/wanting to feed...being present being the most important of all.
