Buying up last years scents.

[8uck5nort]

I am a father of three teenagers, money is and always has been tight. Just a fact of life.
 
I look to save any way I can. In the past I have stocked up on scents that are left over from the prior years hunting season and then store them in the basement in a cool and dry environment.
 
I have had limited success (that I can see) to my scents. Question is does an unopened jar of scent, especially the urine based stuff, go bad or loose their "buck appeal" on the shelf? Are there set shelf lifes? Does the chemical composition of estrus change the longer it sits, even in sealed jars?
 
Long and short, am I wasting my money trying to save money?

[Patriot]

I'm no expert, but I think you'd be ok.  I wonder if freezing them would also help.

[Goose]

I've read things going both ways. They should be good for a year I would think.
I know Special Golden estrous comes with a use by date but mine is empty and in the garbage so I cant look for ya.
I have read that it starts to break down after so long and the fresher it is the fresher the deer think it is....
Amber glass bottles are supposed to be the best and make it last longer and help with it not breaking down.
 
IMO I think it would be good next year if stored right(dark and cool, preferably refrigerated) but I wouldn't use it the following year.

[JOEL]

real urine would break down  to ammonia real fast so they must use some form of preservative or its synthetic not really sure.but i usually buy the bigger bottles of scent,cheaper  in the long run.i keep them sealed in ziploc bags and hidden in the fridge so the wife dont see em[;)].they seem  to work the next year when i put them on my boot pads and scent wicks.I prefer the wildlife research stuff 

[FFKEVIN]

[font=tahoma]I keep mine in the extra fridge out in the garage.  It seems to work fine for me the next year.  Never thought about freezing it. Might have to try that...[/font]

[8uck5nort]

Appreciate the feedback.
 
Both Walley World and Rural King, around here anyway, have most of their scents (all brands) off 60% to 40%.
 
I think I'll part with 20-40 bucks and stock up for the 09 season. I can't refridgerate, but can keep them in a igloo cooler in the basement to keep them at a constant temp (say about 62 degrees or so), out of direct sunlight, and dry.
Not sure if that is same as keepin it in the fridge, but it is the best I can do. Wife would have a fit if I put urine base products in fridge with the food. [;)]

[reeper0697]

"Woods Walker" was very informative for a question I had about this. Hopefully he will see this thread, if not I will post the PM information he gave me.

[shadow]

Just a thought, I don't know but if you keep them in a cooler even in the basement couldn't it be possible that the cooler would also act as an insulator, and if your basement temp should rise during the summer it would then keep the scent at a higher temp longer?
Also.. I used a scent this season that I swear to you was at least 5 years old maybe older, and I watched a small buck follow the trail in to me. It was doe in heat, in an amber bottle that I just had in the basement with all my other stuff. I made sure it didn't smell like ammonia or anything and it worked.
 
Either that or put it in a zip lock bag, dig a hole about 3-4 feet deep and drop it in, that should keep it cool.

[Woods Walker]

ORIGINAL: reeper0697

"Woods Walker" was very informative for a question I had about this. Hopefully he will see this thread, if not I will post the PM information he gave me.

 
Go ahead reeper, post it if you wish!

[reeper0697]

Here are the parts on the urine from this conversation. The bigger font is from woods walker, he is the person who is credited with this information, I just cut and pasted parts from our conversation.
 
 
 
Woods Walker,

In your post where a person was wondering if they could use tinks next year, you said that the urine turns to urea and in every bottle it is broken down and brown since it has been exposed to air. A guy at a hunting shop told me, which I posted, that as soon as you expose it to air that it starts to break down. He told me that after the bottle is opened it does. I agree with what you say 100% there is no way the urine can not be exposed to air unless it is sucked from the bladder. Do you know if the company sucks the air out of the bottled to make it break down slower or anything? Because he told me that the urine is only good for so long. I also know he is a salesman but were wondering if you knew any more information on this subject. Thanks alot!

Matt




Matt: I'm just using my common sense on this one. Do you really think that they would sell urine as cheaply as they do if they had to bring each deer into a lab type setting, tranquilize it, and then do what is basically an invasive surgical procedure to extract the urine?  I think not!
 
Think back to the last time you killed a deer. When you opened the animal up to field dress it, what color was the urine in the bladder, or on the sex organs? It sure a hell wasn't BROWN now, was it?
 
As far as I can recon, ANY urine that you see that is brown/amber is urea. And don't forget what I also stated about the animal lure industry be totally unregulated. That means that there's no industry standards for collection and processing, and that the only way that they could be sued would be if it could be proved that the urine that the sold you was NOT from the animal they claimed it was. The only problem with this, is that once it's broken down into urea, then it's ALL THE SAME ANYWAY.
 
I use my own urine in scrapes, and I see no difference between the reaction I get from that, and the from when I used to buy commercially sold urine.
 
And you bow shop friend, while maybe telling you what he thinks is true, is STILL in the business of SELLING URINE. Of course he will tell you that once it's opened you can't keep it.....he wants you to buy more every year. Point is, there's really no difference between the BROWN urine you just poured out of an unopened bottle, and a bottle that you opened a year ago. It's ALL urea.
 
I've worked around livestock and dogs my entire life. NEVER have I seen an animal with BROWN colored pee!!!
 
But to answer you question (sorry for being so long winded!).....no, I know of no commercial urine maker that sucks the air from the bottle before sealing, or more importantly extracting urine from an animal with no exposure to the air.
 
It's a scam. That doesn't mean that it won't sometimes work, but NOT for the reasons that they claim.
 
[font="trebuchet ms"]I also want to point out that just because the bottled urine is already urea when you get it doesn't necessarily mean that it won't have some effect. What remains[/font] in the urea are the PHERMONES that the animals secret.  In fact, if I were a woman, I would pee into scrapes and anyhere else I'd want to in order to attract a buck, because the phermones that are in a human female are the same chemically that are in a doe. The same goes for a male, which is why when I've pee'd in scrapes, they generally get freshened up soon after, because the buck detects MY phermones, and wonders, 'Now who in the hell is this SOB?'
 
The problem is, is that you have no idea when you buy commercially bottled urine, of what SEX the donor was, which is why I believe that many hunters have very spotty results with it. For example, I have NEVER had a so-called "doe-in-heat" urine work AT ALL for me, even when a buck walked directly downwind of the scent bomb I had out, yet I know other hunters who I have absolutely no reason to doubt, who've said it pulled a buck right into them. They must have got the lucky bottle!!