Buck Nut Deer Scents is a new name in hunting scent game and they are located right here in Andalusia.

Owner and operator Rusty Groves said the company grew from a simple idea.

“We started out with the idea that we wanted to create powerful hunting scents and bring them to the hunters who are looking for them,” Groves said. “After testing various combinations and getting real boots-on-the-ground feedback from hunters, we put together several top of the line cover and attraction scents that really work.”

Groves said he initially got into making cover scents around four years ago when he was living in Virginia. Groves moved to Andalusia about a year and a half ago.

“I started making dirt-scented soap about four years ago,” Groves said. “That was sort of my idea of a cover scent, but the process was very time consuming to get it packaged up. I had the liquid that I started with to make the soap and decided just to make it a spray scent and I got a lot of good responses from that.”

Groves began with dirt and pine cover scents before branching out it to attractants.

One of the most popular items are the Peak Rut and Peak Estrous attractants that come in miniature whiskey bottles.

“I’m not really sure how the whiskey bottle look came about,” Groves said. “I just wanted something that was different from everything else, and so far it has been a really big hit.”

Groves said that stores from different parts of the country have contacted him about getting his product in their stores because of its eye-catching appearance.

But Groves was quick to point out that not only to does the product look good, but that it really works.

“I’ve gotten so much feedback from hunters that have used the product and have bagged big bucks with it,” Groves said. “I also have several field staffers that test the products out and have come back with great pictures and videos of bucks coming to the scent.”

Two of the field staffers are local residents Warren Maddox and Dustyn Tyre.

“I placed an ad on Facebook looking for field staffers and two of the guys that responded to it are from right here in Andalusia,” Groves said. “Warren Maddox is from here but lives in Tennessee and he is one of the best field staffers I have. He has some very good videos up on our Facebook page. Then Dustyn Tyre works out on the national forest as a ranger and he always has great feedback on the products.”

Groves wouldn’t divulge the secrets of his scents, but hinted that the base of the cover scents was soy.

“I can’t tell my secrets,” Groves said with a laugh. “All I can say is it’s soy-based, because that is something that deer are naturally drawn to.”

Groves also gave a few tips on how to get the most out of the product when using it.

“Some guys just want to go out and pour out the bottle when they get there to hunt and expect to draw in a big deer, but that isn’t the best way to do it,” Groves said. “A lot of bucks are nocturnal, so they might not be out moving around when are you in your stand. The best way to do it is to make a mock scrape and set up a drip two or three days before you go hunting. That way it really gets the scent in the air and when that buck comes through at night he smells it and he might come back during the day to see what is there.”

The company currently has several options to choose from when it comes to scent covers and attractants, including Peak Rut and Peak Estrous that come in bottles that will remind people of miniature liquor bottles. These can be purchased separately of $9.95 or in a combo pack for $18.95.

Groves said that another thing that sets his product apart is the freshness of the deer urine.

“Most products you buy off the shelf have been sitting up for about a year, and it does have a shelf life,” Grooves said. “When you get something from me, it’s going to be no more than a week old.”

Other products include dirt, pine and acorn cover scents as well as items that can be found on the company’s website at www.bucknutdeerscents.com.

Currently the products can be purchased from the company’s website and can also be found at The Sporting Lifestyle.