Why I Like A Drag Rag

Using a drag rag to lay down a trail of deer scent as you hike in to your stand is an old trick.

It has been 30-plus years since I first tied a strip of old diaper to a bale twine, poured some deer urine onto the rag and hiked to my deer stand dragging the rag behind me.

I'm still at it, but I'll admit that most of the time, laying down a trail of scent has been a waste of both time and money. On most hunts, that trail of tantalizing scent on the ground has not brought a buck to me. But despite this low success rate, I plan to keep right on using a drag rag, because when it does all comes together, and a buck does follow that trail of scent right into a shooting lane, it is a thing of beauty to this old deer hunter.

An Old Rag Works Well

You can use an old rag tied to a 5-foot long piece of twine or any of the commercial drag rags available today. When our children were babies, I used strips of old diapers. They worked well because diapers hold a lot of liquid. Hunters are always asking me what the best scent is to use when laying down a scent trail. If I had one that worked better than anything else, I would share it with you, but I do not.

Over the years, I have used scents from a bunch of different scent companies and I have enjoyed success with many of them. During the last five seasons I've used a lot of Primetime Doe-In-Estrous urine and have had real good luck with it. But the thing with scents is that it is difficult to prove that another scent would not have worked equally as well. My advice? Try different brands until you find one that works for you, and then stick with it. Confidence is probably more important than the label on the bottle.

Don't Skimp On Scent

Whatever brand of scent you decide to use, don't be skimpy with it. Stop every 100 yards and put some fresh scent on the drag rag. You want the scent trail getting stronger, not weaker. Get too conservative with the scent and deer will follow the trail backwards. I've often wondered what must go through a buck's mind when he follows a scent trail in the wrong direction and ends up staring at the pickup truck!