Josh Honeycutt says that using decoys can lure bucks within shooting range.

Hunters can create a mock version of a real-life commonality to convince a buck that another mature deer has moved into its core area. To do that, you must trick a buck’s senses. It’s all about realism and selling the pitch.

Step 1: Profile target bucks

The first step in staging an intrusion is determining which deer are and are not susceptible to it. Whitetails express different behaviors, tendencies and levels of aggression that prove deer have different temperaments. Because of this, some deer are more likely to succumb to this tactic than others.

Trail cameras and in-the-field observations are the only ways to profile a buck. “In places where it’s legal to bait, if you have a camera around some sort of feed station, you can tell how a deer is in trail camera pictures if he’s aggressive toward other bucks,” says Bone Collector TV co-host Nick Mundt.

In areas where bait isn’t permitted, hang cameras over confined natural food sources, food plots, watering holes, scrapes and mock scrapes. While most any trail camera model or mode will work, video is best. This provides a 10- to 30-second sequence packed with information. Analyze every available second of data for target bucks, but especially clips where other deer are present.

Watch how target bucks behave. Look for them to habitually pin ears, bristle hairs, turn antlers toward other deer and display other dominant expressions. It can be revealing, and you’ll know which deer are prone to the intruder tactics play. On the flip side, deer that cower, nose up to other bucks and display additional submissive characteristics likely won’t fall for this trick.

Obviously, for most hunters planning a whitetail road trip to a distant land, profiling a deer becomes more difficult, but isn’t impossible. I oftentimes run cameras on properties well before I hunt there—even on out-of-state tracts. If planning a non-resident deer hunt, take a special scouting trip to learn the area and post trail cameras.

Step 2: Stink it up

Freshen scrapes and deploy some fake ones. These things are social media apps for whitetails.

If possible, start with real scrapes. These are already established by deer. Oftentimes, locating large community scrapes that remain open year-round, or at least appear in the same location each season, are your best bets. These are visited by most of the local deer herd. That said, don’t invade bedding areas or high-risk spots where you might bump deer. Stick to scrapes along food sources and areas that aren’t as likely to pressure them.

If possible, drive a truck, four-wheeler, bike or simply wear a set of waders to help reduce the volume of ground scent left around scrapes. Where legal, pour a touch of urine into it. In areas where real deer urines aren’t permitted, if regulations allow, try synthetic scents instead.

After you’ve doctored up a few real scrapes, create a handful of mock ones. Treat these the same. If you like to go all-out, use a hoof from a dead buck you’ve killed and add some tracks to it. Place mock scrapes in strategic locations that make sense for hunting over.

Step 3: Let frustration build

Now that you’ve doctored up the buck’s core area, just give it some time. Two to three days of soak time should do the trick. That’ll give most bucks in the area time to get a good whiff. Still, if you’re hunting close to home, giving it a little longer—and perhaps another round of buck pee—might not hurt. Understandably, that usually isn’t feasible on an out-of-state trip.

Regardless, that sudden explosion of foreign buck urine that local deer don’t recognize should trick some noses and help set things in motion.

Step 4: Stage a fight

The pre-rut is ramping up, and the rut might even be at hand. Take advantage of rising testosterone levels, deploy a buck decoy, and get ready for battle.

If bowhunting, place a decoy within 15 yards of your tree stand or ground blind. Use rubber gloves and boots while handling it. Pour some of the same buck urine you’ve been doctoring up scrapes with onto the decoy. This level of detail might not be necessary, but it could help a passing buck connect the dots between the scrapes and the buck it now sees.

Stake the decoy so it’s quartering slightly toward your hunting location. Generally, while younger, submissive bucks will approach a decoy from the rear, a bigger, dominant deer will circle downwind, then approach the decoy from the front. This allows them to smell their opponent and then meet it head on. The best part? You likely get an ethical, quartering-away shot opportunity.

Step 5: Tell them off

Try adding vocalizations, but start slow. “I like to check their temperature with a grunt call,” says Backwoods Life co-host Michael Lee. “I’ll see what it does. If it stops and looks, I might try it again. If it still doesn’t pay attention, I might get more aggressive and louder.”

If grunts don’t do the trick, ramp it up and snort-wheeze. Again, see how the deer reacts. If it doesn’t work, try another series of grunts and snort-wheezes.

Of course, if calls don’t work, it isn’t a bad idea to graduate to a rattling sequence. This is effective, especially if the deer is too far to hear a grunt tube.

By using a decoy to trick a buck’s eyes, and using calls to trick its ears, the odds of a shot opportunity increase. Just make sure the wind direction blows from the decoy toward the stand or blind. Then, if a passing buck can hear you and see the decoy, while it’ll likely swing downwind of the deke, it’ll probably remain upwind of the stand. We call that, “mission complete.”

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