Putting the Stinky Limburger to Deer

Thinking differently than most hunters can turn out to be your UNFAIR advantage.

Note*: I recommend the following tactic only as a last resort, when no other solutions are available.

I hate to bear bad news, but unless you’re “out of the ordinary” your chances for consistently harvesting trophy bucks isn’t good. Thinking differently has created solutions that have generated a boatload of big bucks for me over the years. And thinking differently can bring you solutions (and a lot of big bucks) for you too.

Several years ago, I found an alfalfa field in which several big bucks were feeding. The problem was, I did not have permission to hunt that property. There were a total of four different property owners whose land butted up against field. Only one would give me permission to hunt. Unfortunately, the big bucks were not traveling through this piece of land.

I watch the big bucks for several nights and they consistently came out of the timber to the North. I approach the landowner and again asked permission. He told me I could take all the pictures I wanted and I could walk around his property, but under no circumstances was I to hunt on his land. He told me he reserved hunting on his property for his family and his neighbors.

I thought for a while about what I could do to convince the deer to change their travel patterns. I decided that I would use scent, not as an attractant but as a deterrent.

My grandfather, John Chervenell, loved Limburger cheese sandwiches! As a young boy, whenever grandpa would eat one of his strong smelling sandwiches, my brothers and sister and I would cover our noses and make gagging sounds as we ran off. Some people say Limburger cheese smells like BO, and others say it smells like dirty socks, but I think it smells like sh__.

The next evening armed with two bricks of Limburger cheese and a camera, I decided to take the property owner up on his offer to photograph deer on his property. In reality, the camera was just a disguise. I walked all three dear trails the entire length of his property cutting off a small wedge of Limburger every 10 yards.

The result was unbelievable. As dusk approached, the woods came alive with snoring, stomping, and brush crashing. The sound level was almost deafening. It was obvious that deer do not like the smell of Limburger cheese anymore than I do.

The following evening I sat in a tree stand on the property which I did have permission to hunt. A couple of does crossed underneath my stand late in the afternoon followed by a large 4 x 5. I recognize the buck as one of the deer that had previously been using the stinky Limburger trails. The deer was 20 yards in front of the stand when I bleated to stop him, and shoved an arrow through his neck.

Sometimes doing the opposite of what other hunters do is the surest way to increase your odds for success.

Jim
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